You're going to Hawaii and you're taking
an abacus, a barometer, and a chihuahua. There are several problems
though: How do you get there? Where do you stay while you're
there? What is there to do in Hawaii?
Luckily, you can find all of this information and more on
the Internet. You can even book your hotel room and airline flight right
from your computer! So how do you get started?
The first stop for most people in looking for information
on the Internet is the World Wide Web. Almost any topic you can
think of has a web site devoted to answering questions and bringing people
who are interested in that topic together. In order to find information
and buy stuff on the Web, you'll need to know the basics
of using your web browser to browse web pages and fill out forms (See Web Page Forms ) for Windows 95/98/NT
or (See Web Page Forms ) for
MacOS.
To begin your travel planning, you might want to visit a travel-specific
web site such as www.expedia.com, www.travelocity.com, or www.biztravel.com.
These sites combine the functions of a travel agent into a multifunctional
web site. They usually require that you register with them before
you can use them to plan a trip, but registration is free and lets
the site save your travel plans so that you can start shopping one
day and finish shopping the next! Most travel sites operate similarly,
so we'll use Expedia as an example in this article.
Note:
The resources described in this section aren't
MindSpring sites. All information is current at print time, but
the Internet is constantly in flux, so they may have changed by
the time you read this. It doesn't really matter as they're
only intended as examples.
Your first task is to find the best price on airplane tickets
to Hawaii.
Once you've typed www.expedia.com into your web browser's Address
field and hit your ENTER key, the Expedia web site will appear (See How to Browse the World Wide Web ) for
Windows 95/98/NT or (See Browsing the World Wide Web with
Internet Explorer ) for MacOS. Three topics at
the top of the page should catch your eye. They say "
Book a Flight
," "
Reserve a Room
", and "
Rent a Car
".
Note:
You don't have to actually buy tickets or pay
for a hotel room to use a travel site to do research. Most travel
sites let you save itineraries without paying for them, so that
you can do comparison shopping or plan for multiple trips.
Below those icons is a form that you can fill in to find airfares
in one simple click. After filling in the fields and clicking the
Go
button Expedia will ask you a few questions in order to
get exactly the kind of tickets you are looking for. Since there
are several airports in Hawaii, it asks you to choose one.
You can specify how many people will be flying, whether they
are children, seniors, infants, or adults. Other questions ask what
kind of seats you would like: coach, business, or first class.
If you fly a lot and are a member of a "Frequent Flyer" program, you
can select which airline Expedia should search for flights.
Finally, Expedia asks you how it should present the results
it comes up with. If you're looking for the cheapest flight
you can have the results in order of price. If you're looking
for a flight that most closely matches your schedule, Expedia can
sort the results that way.
Phew! That's a lot of questions! Once you have specified
exactly the kind of tickets you want, the
Continue
button will start Expedia searching its database for the
right flight.
After you are presented with the list of flights available,
you can click on your choice and Expedia will show you the details
of a particular flight. To see the details of another flight, use
your web browser's
Back
button to see the previous page.
If you've found a flight that you are satisfied with,
click the
Add to Itinerary
button. Expedia will show you a page that has your flight
listed, with several options to the left and you can continue your
travel planning on Expedia. If you'd rather go ahead and reserve
the seats (and buy the tickets), click the
Reserve
button.
Now that you've picked a flight to Hawaii and have
the beginnings of an Itinerary, you are ready to find a hotel room. Click
the
Add Hotel
link on the left side of your Itinerary page.
Expedia will ask you some questions, just as it did when you were
selecting an airfare. This time it will ask you if you want to stay
in a city or near and attraction, whether you like one hotel chain
over another, how much you are willing to spend on a room, and what
amenities the hotel should have such as non-smoking rooms, a pool,
kids eat free, etc. By following the instructions on the pages you
can quickly find a room that fits your budget. You can reserve it
right from the web site, or you can just add it to your Itinerary.
Usenet Newsgroups are a connection between people who are interested
in the same subject. Since you're going to Hawaii, you can
get a lot of insight by corresponding with people who live and work
there.
Scrolling through the list of messages from fellow travelers,
you might see some tips on getting good airfare rates, and a couple
of people inquiring about vacation spots. You could send a message like
the following:
Friends,
I'm thinking of taking a vacation to Hawaii this year,
but I'm not sure what part of Hawaii I should go to or
what sort of activities would be interesting. I'm looking
for something a little bit "off the beaten path". I'd appreciate
any tips you may have. Please post replies to this newsgroup. Thanks!
While you wait for a reply to that message, you may want to browse
through the newsgroups that are just about Hawaii. In hawaii.misc
you might find a message about www.alternative-hawaii.com :
a web site that is "Your Guide to the Path Less Traveled".
Using Usenet news to gather information often reveals places on
the World Wide Web that you may not have found otherwise.
You can use the power of the World Wide Web to find out all you'll
need to know about the secret nooks and crannies. A few good research
techniques will help you gather your information (See Feed Your Obsession! )
At www.alternative-hawaii.com you
will find all sorts of good information. Addresses of places to
go and things to do. As you find web sites that apply to your destination,
it's a good idea to save them as "Favorites" so
that you can look at them another time. (See How to Use Favorites ) for
Windows 95/98/NT or (See Using Internet Explorer's
Favorites ) for MacOS
One web site usually leads to many others, and in your research on
Hawaii you may come across several web pages run by Hawaiians about
the services that they offer. These small local web sites also frequently
let you book activities right on the web, or by using an e-mail
address to communicate with the owners of the service. (See Using Outlook Express For E-mail ) for
Windows 95/98/NT or (See Using Outlook Express for E-mail ) for MacOS. You can take a helicopter ride over the rim
of Mt. Kilauea and try to scoop up a handful of lava!
www.mapblast.com and www.mapquest.com both
offer door-to-door directions from one place to another. If you
type in your home address first, and then the address to the airport,
at the click of a mouse button the web server shows you a map to
the airport! You can also get directions in a text format if you
need them. Try each site to see which one you like the best.
MapBlast and MapQuest can also give you directions from the airport
in Hawaii to the hotel. If you plan to take a vacation that doesn't
involve an airplane, you can use MapBlast and MapQuest to plot a
course from one stop on your journey to the next.
The maps and directions that you get from these sites are formatted
so that they look good when you print them out, so you don't
need to lug your PC along on your trip!
In addition to plain old maps and directions, these map sites
can give you lots of information about your route and your destination:
Detailed text instructions from one
address to another
A graphical map from one address to another
A combination of maps and text to take you from
one address to another
Step-by-step maps from one address to another, instead
of a large overview map
Points of interest along the way to your destination
and in the area surrounding your destination, and local information
such as events and weather in the area.
An estimate of how long it will take to drive to
your destination
MapBlast and MapQuest also have a search engine that lets
you find stores and locations by name, rather than address. You
don't need to know exactly where you're going
in order to find out how to get there!
By using these resources, you can ensure that you'll
always know where you're going and where you're
at during your vacation. Of course, what's a vacation if
you don't get lost once or twice?
Using a combination of the features of the Internet and a
couple of hours of computer time, you will be able to thoroughly
plan a vacation to Hawaii (or anywhere else) and be confident that
you have gotten good deals on airfare, my hotel room, and the car
that you're going to rent. You will also have a bunch of
activities that you might not find in the travel magazines or books.
Enjoy your vacation.
