Niche Travel Websites

Sites for specialty travel

There are also dozens of worthy smaller travel sites out there. These don't have a comprehensive feature set, but they are often a great choice for a specific need. Flycheapo.com helps you research more than 45 low-fare carriers in Europe. SeatGuru.com isn't a booking site, but features floor plans and seat information for various aircraft, allowing visitors to request seats according to such specifications as the amount of legroom or access to power outlets and restrooms.

BedandBreakfast.com offers an alternative to traditional hotel-booking sites. This travel site lists details for each location, such as architectural style and year of construction, and allows users to search for inns that are family- or pet-friendly. Some reservations can be booked through the site, though others require direct contact with the property.

Two travel sites that specialize in last-minute vacation packages are LastMinute.com (formerly Site59.com) and LateRooms.com. Domestic travelers can book entire itineraries with as little as three hours' advance notice through LastMinute.com, while international travelers can often find discounted rates at overseas hotels via LateRooms.com.

Social-networking sites continue to grow, offering even more options. Boo.com has travel reviews gleaned from more than 2,500 places, as well as photographs and lots of insight into local restaurants and things to do. BestTripChoices.com is a good place to start if you're not sure where you want to go. It gives you a personality test and then recommends places based on the results.

These are but a few of the interesting smaller travel websites. There are literally hundreds out there to explore, and more are being added all the time.

Sites for organizing itineraries and hotel/airline recommendations

If you're looking for travel advice and reviews, Frommers.com and Fodors.com are good places to start. IgoUgo.com also has reviews, photos and travelogues, while TripIt.com combines resources from several sites (including SeatGuru.com, Google Maps and OpenTable.com) to organize your complete itinerary on a single website.

TripAdvisor.com features literally millions of user opinions and photographs, though reviews warn that user-opinion travel sites can sometimes contain reviews written by the hotels themselves or multiple postings from the same reviewer. Maps and ratings on various attractions can assist users in planning an itinerary at each location. Reviewer Michael Shapiro of The Washington Post says that the site can be "clunky" to navigate, but notes that searching by destination can usually net users the information they're after.

While Kayak.com rates higher in this regard, TripAdvisor.com is also a search engine that scours many online travel agencies and hotel chains for the best deals for business or vacation stays. A search for the best airfares was recently added as well.

For articles, advice, message boards and reviews on cruises, CruiseCritic.com and Cruisemates.com are the two best-known websites. The family section at Cruisemates.com is brimming with information, such as kid-friendly cruises, says MSNBC's Amber Nolan. Meanwhile, CruiseCritic.com is the most comprehensive site, stuffed with reader reviews, news and editor's picks and recommendations. You can't book cruises at CruiseCritic.com though. The best site for finding cruise discounts, says Nolan, is CruiseDirectOnline.com. You can search deals by database, cruise line or port.