WORK OR LEISURE ::
If your travels will focus on working abroad or volunteering, Transitions Abroad is the best resource for researching your options beforehand as well as while you're gone. Ignore all the flashy ads on the right and go straight to the terrific content links on the left.

For the rest of you on holiday who have your destination picked out, here's a short list of online resources. Check out the Extended Links page, if you have the time for additional surfing.

Rough Guides | Believe it or not, they have the entire content of many of their guidebooks online. If you've never used it before: choose a country and use the left hand nav bar to scroll through the book. Clicking on "Basics" will reveal a whole slew of links to pre departure info specific to that country.

National Geographic Traveler | The Travel Wise archive kicks butt. Here you'll find links for information on hotels, restaurants, transportation, activities, attractions, weather, exchange rates, and more. An important pit stop while you're planning your trip.

PAPERWORK ::
Lonely Planet | Their "Pack Your Brain" section is excellent one-stop-inquiring about passports, visas, embassies, tourist info, insurance, cybercafes and more.

HEALTH & SAFETY ::
Travel Health Online | Forget the CDC and the State Dept consular information sheets. All you need to know about vaccines, immunizations, country specific diseases, travel medicine providers, current health concerns, and anything else travel & health related is here. I love this site.

BUY YOUR TICKET ::
CheapTicketLinks | BootsnAll has listed and advised you on the cheapest online sites to buy a ticket, including Priceline, Hotwire, Travelocity, Expedia and more. They've also given you links to the web sites for popular major airlines. Again, streamlining your research efforts.

AirTreks | Here's a great Round the World trip finder with great prices. But be warned, you can spend hours here planning the endless journey...

Travel Zoo | Online or delivered straight to your inbox, here are the top 20 travel deals of the week. Whether it's RT to London from the West Coast for $298, Vegas weekenders that don't compromise style for price, or a dreamy affordable cruise to the islands, this is the site that caters to your wallet.

WHERE TO STAY ::
BootsnAll.com | Their accommodation page gives you a good list of types of accommodation web sites to choose from including: Hostels, hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, Homestays, Elder Hostels, Home exchange, and free places to stay.

INSIDE SCOOP ::
Lonely Planet Thorn Tree | This is the best set of travel discussion groups on the net. By destination or activity, there's lots of great information being shared here. WARNING: There's also a ton of crap too. But don't be discouraged, check it out.

BootsnAll Insiders | Nearly 900 members have offered up their email addresses to answer travel questions. Come here to get the info that's not in the guides.

BUY YOUR GEAR ::
letravelstore.com | Get your luggage and accessories here-gift wrapping too!

Mapper.com | Beyond what to wear and where you'll put it. GPS systems and software, language books and atlases, maps, globes, and more.

SAFETY WATCH ::
World Travel Watch | Online location for the nationally syndicated travel advisory column. Written by Larry Habegger and James O'Reilly since 1985, it's updated weekly. Whether it's a dengue fever outbreak in Hawaii, rail strikes in France or political protests in India, World Travel Watch provides timely updates on fast-changing situations. You can search the site for reports by region, country, report type, or any combination.

WashingtonPost.com | Type in a country in the "Search the World" box at the bottom of "World" news page and you'll be taken to all the latest AP stories as well as all the current Washington Post articles written about the country as well. Additional travel/news related links are included in this incredibly useful tool.

WHILE YOU'RE THERE ::
Johnny Jet's International Destinations | Whoa! You've never seen links like this before. Everything from local transportation, things to do, tourist info, destination info, and, and and.... you've got to see it to believe it.

The Worldwide Holiday Festival Site | is a large database of festivals and events happening around the world. You can search by calendar month, country, religion, and there's plenty of other travel advice there too.

THE BIG RETURN ::
Travelers' Tales | Use the "Travel Writing" section on the TT Links page to find out where and how to share your travel stories.

Transition's Abroad Volunteer Page | It's always a good thing to give back to the communities in which you've traveled to. Use this page to choose a cause for your donations of time or money.