How many websites do you need to plan a trip?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjY_hJL3nxY

Planning a trip can be a logistical tangle.  At any one time, I’ll have more than half-a-dozen tabs open in my web browser, each a different website.  For example:

  • Wikitravel – Get general info.
  • Air Asia – Find cheap flights in Asia.
  • Hostelworld – Book hostels.
  • Urbanrail – Look at subway maps.
  • Travelfish – Read hostel and guesthouse reviews in Southeast Asia.
  • Facebook – Find friends who live there.
  • Gmail – E-mail friends for recommendations.
  • XE.com – Calculate currency conversions
  • World Time Buddy – Figure out time differences.

Cross-checking between so many sites can be daunting, even for an experienced vagabonder. The new site Georama aims to change that by tying together different travel needs into one online platform. The slogan is “Plan. Book. Share.”  Still in private beta, but you can sign up to get advance access.

It’s certainly an enticing prospect. You’d save a lot of time from flipping from one site to another. On the other hand, it seems very much like the same idea behind web portals. Yahoo and MSN are prime suspects that the portal model can seem bloated in this age of lean, agile, focused applications.

Would you use Georama? What sites do you use for travel planning? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Posted by | Comments (4)  | May 7, 2012
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind, Travel News, Travel Tech


4 Responses to “How many websites do you need to plan a trip?”

  1. Piccio Says:

    Seems cool. How can i get access?
    I see from your list is missing http://www.drungli.com a pretty simple and clean tool that provides the cheapest flights from a given city of departure, but covers only Europe for now.

  2. Michael Says:

    I’m not convinced one clean web portal will be able to meet all my travel research needs. I’d be surprised if it would include all the sites you mentioned above, like Travelfish.

    Since you asked about what other sites we use for traveling… we use our own site… Darn Good Digs (www.darngooddigs.com), a guide to the world’s best independently owned accommodations for budget-minded travelers. You’ll definitely find worthwhile places you’ve never heard of.

  3. Selected Tech/Travel Articles for May 4-7 2012 « TechTravel Review Says:

    […] Vagabonding Blog […]

  4. David Urmann Says:

    I am still waiting for my invite from Georama but looking forward to checking it our. Wikitravel is great if you know where you already want to go. Lonelyplanet is great source always to get good ideas – I always like suggested top picks. At Touristlink we are trying to organize the same data as wiki but in a more visual way to help you see all the options with more of a highlight on the user interaction, photos and map.