99 Ways to Use the Web to Travel Like a Ninja

Packing

We’ve covered this issue super in-depth at Matador. All you need is on our Packing Tips Focus Page.

Staying Connected

Search JiWire to find wifi hotspots around the world. That way you can start or keep up your very own travel blog and let everyone back home know what you’re up to. Beats sending postcards.

Unless that postcard is sent from your iPhone.

Phone calls can be a bit harder to work out. Country Calling Codes will help you put together the mess of digits you’ll need to dial internationally. CountryCode.org is good too, and has other useful destination information.

Also, European travelers may benefit from learning How to Buy, Set Up and Use a Cell Phone in Europe.

Staying Safe

Travel safety is #1. SquareMouth compares different travel insurance policies so you can choose what’s best for you. TravelInsuranceFacts should answer any question you might have about travel insurance.

For solo female travelers, check out Journeywoman.com for resources written specifically for women. Hermail.net is a directory where you can connect with other female travelers.

A lot of Americans hate on the State Department’s travel advisories…with good reason. But if you like the idea of Uncle Sam knowing where you’re at and shooting you updated warnings, you can register here.

Recreation

Through Whatsonwhen, you can search by city, date, and category to find parties, festivals, and other events taking place at your destination.

There are plenty of specialty sites (far more than we can list here) that you can use to find specific activities/opportunities that appeal to you, like hiking trails, rock climbing gyms, hauntings, free guided walking tours (Europe), audio city guides, disc golf courses (U.S.), cooking classes, Irish pubs, Hash House Harriers, geocaching, …

For reviews of restaurants and more, it’s Yelp (in the U.S., Canada, and the UK currently).

General Destination Info

There are plenty of online alternatives out there to the traditional guidebook. Wikitravel is, obviously, the Wikipedia of travel, with all the potential and pitfalls of that system.

The destination pages at Lonely Planet’s site are good for a general logistical introduction to place — facts like weather/seasons, transport info, and visa fees are covered. You can also download pdf’s of their guidebooks, by chapter.

Project Visa has more visa info than you ever wanted to know, on what looks like every country in the world.

Don’t fry your laptop! Find out what voltage and pin configuration your destination uses. Again, CountryCode.org is a good resource for this, as is ElectricalOutlet.org and kropla.com.

No matter where you’re going, Localyte lets you put questions to local folks. As of this writing, a user who’d written in “Looking for a good beach town near Rio” had received 20 responses in 2 days.

Road Junky can help you plan your budget with their “Country Cost Comparison Tool.” And don’t forget the plastic: Best Credit Cards For Travelers.

Fodors has some very basic but also very free language lessons. You can even print out a pdf of key words to carry around with you.

And for everything Southeast Asia, you can’t go wrong with Travelfish.org.

Post-Trip

Matador’s got you covered when you get back. Read about How To Reconnect With Your Friends After The Journey, 6 Simple Ways To Beat The Post-Travel Blues, and Facing Off Against Reverse Culture Shock.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

For every website listed here there are probably a dozen we’ve missed. What are your favorite sites to use when travel planning?