Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Online Traveler's Toolbox
Veteran travelers usually carry some essential items to make their trips
easier. Following is a selection of handy online tools to bookmark and
use.
Airplane Seating and Food. Find out which seats to reserve and
which to avoid (and more) on all major domestic airlines at www.
seatguru.com. And check out the type of meal (with photos) you'll
likely be served on airlines around the world at www.airlinemeals.
com.
Intellicast (www.intellicast.com) and Weather.com (www.weather.
com). Gives weather forecasts for all 50 states and for cities around
the world.
Mapquest (www.mapquest.com). This best of the mapping sites lets
you choose a specific address or destination, and in seconds it will
return a map and detailed directions.
Subway Navigator (www.subwaynavigator.com). Download subway
maps and get savvy advice on using subway systems in dozens of
major cities around the world.
Time and Date (www.timeanddate.com). See what time (and day) it
is anywhere in the world.
Visa ATM Locator (www.visa.com) for locations of PLUS ATMs world-
wide, or MasterCard ATM Locator (www.mastercard.com) for loca-
tions of Cirrus ATMs worldwide.
top modems, and a few thousand
hotels in the U.S. and Europe now
offer free high-speed Internet access
using an Ethernet network cable. You
can bring your own cables, but most
hotels rent them for around $10. Call
your hotel in advance to see what
your options are.
In addition, major Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) have local access
numbers around the world, allowing
you to go online by simply placing a
local call. Check your ISP's website or
call its toll-free number and ask how
you can use your current account
away from home, and how much it
will cost.
If you're traveling outside the reach
of your ISP, the iPass network has dial-
up numbers in most countries around
the world. You'll have to sign up with
an iPass provider, who will then tell
you how to set up your computer for
your destination(s). For a list of iPass
providers, go to www.ipass.com and
click on “Individuals Buy Now.” One
solid provider is i2roam (www.i2roam.
com; &
866/811-6209 or 920/235-
0475).
Wherever you go, bring a connec-
tion kit of the right power and phone
adapters, a spare phone cord, and a
spare Ethernet network cable—or find
out whether your hotel supplies them
to guests.
USING A CELLPHONE
Just because your cellphone works at
home doesn't mean it'll work else-
where in the U.S. (thanks to our
nation's fragmented cellphone sys-
tem). It's a good bet that your phone
will work in major cities—although
some services work better in Chicago
than others. U.S. Cellular is based
here, so if that's your service, you're in
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