Here are my recent "discoveries." Drumroll, please ...
Travel Zoo http://www.travelzoo.com
While the vast majority of e-mail newsletters do little more than clog your inbox, Travel Zoo's "Top 20" is one that really is worth signing up for. It's delivered free once a week to your email address. In it are 20 short descriptions of trips, airfares, lodging and car rentals that Travel Zoo agents have picked out as stellar deals. They claim to sift through more than 200 travel companies to bring you the cream of the crop each week. I say they're doing a fine job. A recent deal on the list was a $349 roundtrip airfare to Lima, Peru (yes, from the United States). The site itself offers a traveler's mishmash of this and that - including more special deals - but nothing as good as Travel Zoo's newsletter.
Away.com http://www.away.com
Extraordinary travel is Away's niche. That is, extraordinary by the theory that travel is more than simply taking a look around a place, but taking a step (or a gigantic leap) inside it. Newly redesigned after a merge with Green Travel, Away.com features a huge clearinghouse of pre-screened tour operators offering adventure, nature and cultural experience travel. A partner of Conservation International, Away's focus is responsible, "green" adventures. Some 5,000 different trips are listed at any given time, from Nepal treks to rafting in Central America to fun "escapes" from various American cities. Day-by-day descriptions and prices are listed up-front. Even if you plan on going somewhere independently, Away is still worth a look - check out "Research a Country" for up-to-date facts before you go.
Green Volunteers http://www.greenvol.com
Want to get your hands dirty on your next trip? Then this little site is a natural place to start. While a lot of so-called volunteer vacations make you pay a lot of money to work, Green Volunteers searches out opportunities that (gasp!) respect volunteer time and cost little or nothing save airfare. Protecting Andean fauna in Bolivia, watching over sea turtle nests in Mexico, and taking care of orphaned seal pups in northern Scotland are a few of the trips listed on the site right now. Many of the trips listed (including those I just mentioned) are "teasers" to get you to buy the Green Volunteers book. The book lists a lot more opportunities. Still, the "teasers" are worth checking out - listed is all the information necessary to volunteer.
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