Top Travels Sites of 2005

Newsletter - PREVIOUS   ---    NEXT  - Newsletter

Hobo TRAVEL TIPS - Top Travel Sites of 2005 - Bogota Colombia
187  January 15, 2006
TIP: Top Travels Sites of 2005
LOCATION: Bogota Colombia
HoboTraveler.com
A Hobo trip around the world. Year 9
Write Andy a HoboTraveler.com
Contact Andy of HoboTraveler.com

-------------------------------------------------------------

READ EASY ONLINE:
Newsletter Online HoboTraveler.com

-------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS

~ NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
~ HOBO TRAVEL QUOTES
         How I feel today...
~ HOBO DAILY TRAVEL LOG a.k.a. Blog
      Travel Blog! A daily web diary of my travels.
        Andy HoboTraveler.com Travel Blog
~ HOBO STEW (A Dish of Meat and Vegetables)
       Bogota Colombia
 ~ TODAY’S TRAVEL TIP
        Top Travels Sites of 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------

~ HOBO TRAVEL QUOTES   - Back to top
How I feel today, or a start down
the proverbial travelers path.

Love has given me wings so I must fly.
-- A Knight's Tale - A Movie

~ BACKPACKER JARGON

Backpacker Zone
I know what you mean about the party circuit.
I call it the backpacker zone.
- From my friend Bruce B. written and sent in an e-mail.

~ HOBO

Flagged
 - It may mean to be driven out of town
Hobo

-------------------------------------------------------------

~ HOBO DAILY TRAVEL LOG   - Back to top

Andy-s Travel Blog! A daily web diary of my travels.
Daily photos more or less.
Andy HoboTraveler.com Travel Blog

FAQS - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQS - Frequently Asked Questions
JOBS with HoboTraveler.com
I need help! I am deluged with data, info, typing, graphics.
Expats living on five dollars, or person in developing nations.
Work from anywhere and help travelers.
Jobs with HoboTraveler.com

25 U.S.Dollars WEEKLY Award for recommendations on how
to improve the HoboTraveler.com Website with SEO...
Your site and name will be in the newsletter and on site.
Apply for SEE Award with HoboTraveler.com
Learn about SEO with SEO Research Blog

-------------------------------------------------------------

~ HOBO STEW (A Dish of Meat and Vegetables)   - Back to top

BOGOTA COLOMBIA
Coming from and going to…
 
I will leave Bogota Colombia shortly after sending this newsletter.
Nice to get this one off my to-do list, it has been rock sitting in the middle
of the river of my brain for a few weeks. I procrastinated until January 19.
 
BOGOTA
I came to Bogota to meet with German a friend from Colombia that
presently manages the Platypus Bogota Hostel. He is both an expert
on Hostels and on Travel because he also traveled the earth for 15 years.
 
I worry about myself, am I going crazy, why am I still traveling, do I have
personal problems? I am sure all of the above are true; however,
I am also one of the sanest people on the planet. I am both.

Travel answers all the questions you did not ask,

I am looking for a home away from home. I believe in the future I will
retire from travel after I start and own about five hostels around the world.

Cusco, Peru.
On a beach in Brazil.
One in the Philippines.
Latvia in Europe.
Hopefully one in London, England.
Katmandu, Nepal.
Maybe Goa, India.
Pie de La Cuesta, Mexico, north of Acapulco.
Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand
Panahachel, Guatemala on Lago Atitlan.

So talking with German is great, a little advice both
on how to travel, and how to not travel.

Thanks to all my readers for a good Hobo year.

Today’s tip
Top Travels Sites of 2005

Life is Good!
Andy of HoboTraveler.com

Just another day in Paradise!
PLAN YOUR ESCAPE...
Be a Hobo, and leave your mark.
      X
Hobotraveler.com was HERE!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Article written by Andy the Hobotraveler.com
On Year 9 of Hobo trip around the world.
Budget Travel, Jobs, and Adventure, etc
Subscribe to Free Newsletter at:
HoboTraveler.com
You may publish this article for Free
on the internet If this box stays attached.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
 -------------------------------------------------------------
Top 10 HoboTraveler.Com Award TOP TRAVEL SITES OF 2005
The Year in Review

By Andy of HoboTraveler.com  HOME

TOP 10 TRAVEL WEBSITES
From January 1, 2004 to January 1, 2005
Former years -  2004  2003  2002  2001

2005 ...The year in review.
By Andy of the HoboTraveler.com

January 18, 2005
Published from an Internet Cafe in Bogotá, Colombia. Newsletter Number 188 of Hobo Travel Tips on year 9 of my world travels.

Hello,
Thanks to all of you readers, viewers, friends and family, the Hobo family of websites is six years old, has learned to talk, walk, complain and is asking some good questions, and hoping to provide essential answers to problems of travelers and tourist.

The competition continues between the Paper Guidebooks and the Online Internet Guidebooks, the paper versions are still the best, therefore do not time to chuck your Lonely Planet, Roughguide, Footprints, Moon, or many others yet, hold them keep them they are the best.

There are three major problems with Internet Travel Sites:

1. CONFUSED:
Confused until you buy sales methods, therefore unethical web sites, no transparency.
2. TIME:
The internet is the slowest way on the planet to find a room.
3. INTERNET ACCESS:
The internet access is very good in your home, however when you actually are traveling, working on a strange computer it is only good for e-mail and chatting, the booking of rooms, tourist information, and travel information is weak, often decidedly dangerous for a person to utilize.

Bookings, reservations, purchases, credit card payments, need to be made three weeks prior to leaving for your world tour or one week vacation on a deserted island, somewhere over the rainbow. Please try to refrain from using your credit card when traveling the world.

Internet is for minor decisions and a few airplane tickets, great for a second opinions, However, misinformation the internet has taken over. There is a concerted effort by the internet sites to confuse the reader until they purchase. They are not transparent in information offered, how to buy, or what you are buying, it to is very annoying the unethical, and lack of scruples of some of the major sites. I am hoping the excitement of the internet wears off the readers and they become able to say to themselves.
- I am confused, I am only hoping this is a a good deal, I am not sure. -

A good deal is obvious.
Good travel destination advice is both negative and positive, a good balance.

Marketing - Sale - Presentation - Eye Candy
Somehow a person forgets, there is no sales clerk, talking fast, warm and friendly, helping you, trying to convince to try this Tour on, or what about this, the internet reader forgets. Marketing and Sales Tactics works on the internet, you can be sold a lemon.

THE WORST TRAVEL ADVICE
Number 1. - Internet Sites
Number 2. - Persons who walk up to you outside you hotel.
Number 3. - Taxi Drivers
Number 4. - The recommendation by reception desk at the Hotel or Hostel.
Number 5. - Travel Articles written that recommend where to buy.

My advice: If they can make money by giving you bad advice, then buyer beware.

PAID-TO-RECOMMEND-TRAVEL-WRITING
Many magazine, newspapers, brochures, and others sources tempt a person, they are written only as a marketing too in partner with the advertisers. They recommend, tell you where, and how to purchase from a company. Explanations about a wonderful travel destination like Machu Picchu, Paris, or how to see Big Ben in London England is fine, however when an article is written to help sell or recommend, my bull-s#(t meter start to ring. I believe presently 40 percent of all article writers are getting paid a fee to say nice things, not the Newspaper, or the Magazine company, the company that benefits.

Therefore I am trying to recommend some internet sites of value, I earn nothing from these sites, however please beware, do not trust them carte blanche, every site, including HoboTraveler.com must earn enough money to pay the bills, thrive, expand. Only when a site earns excess money can it devote money to research and explanations that do not earn revenue.

This is a great year for HoboTraveler.com there is now staff to do research, moderated by me, Andy of HoboTraveler.com somewhere on the other side of the planet, that desperately needs help to travel, and where books are hard or impossilbe to buy.

The sites I recommend were easy to find. I did not find them, they found me, they were recommended by other travelers, or they appeared in a search on Google.com. They are players on the internet, they are making a mark. Please take heed of my warning, do not trust everything you read about travel, it is abound with misinformation.

Life is Good!

Andy a HoboTraveler.com
These are my choices for 2005 of websites or pages needed and are a great help to me an expert world traveler...
a.k.a. Andy the HoboTraveler.com

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE OR MAKE A FAVORITE
I recommend you bookmark this page so you can use these sites as reference in the coming year.

Top 10 HoboTraveler.Com Award TOP TRAVEL SITES 2005

DESCRIPTION and LINK

 RANKING
2004		 RANKING
2003		 RANKING
2002		 RANKING
2001

 
1 WIKIPEDIA.ORG
http://www.wikipedia.org
 		 No
Ranked		 2003 - 1 2002 - 2 2001
 No Rank

FACTS - MAPS - DESTINATIONS
Facts and data, information is King.
Wikipedia.org has entered the game, it is a reader edited and created Encyclopedia of information in many language and for everyone to use for free. I personally first use the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia installed on my computer first, then will by design go to the Wiki Encyclopedia online, however it is normal for me to see them in a top search results in Google.com. This is good, I do not have to hunt for them, they are trying to find me. The hit a home run when I discovered a well compiled and complete list of LCC - Low Cost Carriers - These are the cheapest of the cheap airlines, and NOT listed or sold normally by travel agents, you will not find these airlines in Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia.com. However you will find them in the WIKI - Wikipedia.org
 
2 GOOGLE.COM
 http://www.google.com		 2004 - 3 2003 - 2 2002
Not Listed		 2001
Not Listed

SEARCH
I am a googler, I trust google.com, they are trying to help me first, then they make money, service and my best interest before money They climbed from the number three Top Travel Sites to number two because of some great new toys. However they are doing the world a great service this year by scanning and providing complete books on the internet. I discovered they have GUIDEBOOKS scanned and available for me to see.
http://books.google.com

The Google.com/alerts is wonderful research tool. I have some pre-set searches and daily I receive emails of information I am monitoring, it seems to work best in tandom with Google.com free email Gmail.com.
http://google.com/alerts

3 WHC.UNESCO.ORG
World Heritage List
 http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31
http://whc.unesco.org		 2004 - 2 2003 - 2 2002 - # 2001 - Not Listed

PLAN YOUR TRIP - DESTINATIONS - MAPS

A list of over 800 of the significant culture and historical locations on the planet. There mapping has improved, however the site is overly techie done, great for a nerd, with a great computer, however completely invisible to the search engines. Horribly made, however once you find it great. You must BOOKMARK the site, remember to go look, like most of the United Nations information and they are truly a great source of information, you much go and find it, they will not find you.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List
 
4 CIA - The World Factbook 2002
 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ 		2004 - 4 2003 - 3 2002 - 3 2001
 Not Listed

FACTS - MAPS - SAFETY
Great raw data and facts - A Map, the Flag, the population, type of government, a few warnings, etc., a specific way to discover the underlying details that help you to understand the why of a country. This site will help you to understand how to stay safe. It is well constructed and made to be found in the search engines.
5 VIRTUALTOURIST.COM
 http://www.virtualtourist.com		 2004 - 10 2003 - 10 2002
Not Listed		 2001
Not Listed

DESTINATIONS - FACTS - HOTELS
A wanna be Virtual Guide, they are not yet, however again and again this site invade my world. They are a world-class site, one of the very few, a real exception, they are trying to be a guide for the whole planet and not just the easy countries like the USA or Europe. This year I went to Niger to see the problems with Malnutrition, the prior year I was in Iraq, this site was a leader in my search for information about Visa, Rooms, or to me screaming, I need help. Take care, this is a site to make money, however half and half, it is not a replacement to the paper guidebooks it is a second opinion.
6 EMPTY - LOST AND NOT FOUND
A Marker - Left as a Protest
 		 Who When Where Why

HOTELS - A protest and shame on you to all the Accommodations sites.
Find a Mom and Pop site that has some recommendations, the small guy, made because he or she knows how to make a webpage. I have reserved and left one empty spot, the unknown, yet to be created Hotel or Hostel Information and Reservation site. To find a room on the internet is scary, I am presently off to explore the extremely expensive Caribbean Island, I wish to hop from Island to Island, the paper guidebooks are scarce and difficult to buy, not to mention too heavy to carry for the many Island and 20 plus countries. However it will take hours to find a good value Hotel or Room in the Caribbean. I will not trust any of these gougers, the sites that say, give up, you have to be rich to travel in the Caribbean, if you care about a good value, go fish.
7 ABOUT.COM
 http://www.about.com/travel/
http://www.about.com		 2004 - 6 2003 - 4 2002 - 1 2001 - 1

FACTS - SEARCH - MAPS - NEWSLETTERS
This is a great site to find the top pages on a specific travel subject. If you want to go to Bolivia and want some down to earth information and without the hyperbole this is the place. Note that I also recommend you subscribe to newsletters offered, About.com has good moderated recommendations of sites, a place to find the Mom and Pop sites, the best links on any subject. It is clustered and confusing when it comes to finding the the travel specific information, but once you understand this site it probably has more information than the ones above.
8 FORBES.COM - Travel Section
 http://www.forbes.com/bow/b2c/section.jhtml?id=3		 2004 - 5 2003 - # 2002 - # 2001 - Not Listed

DIRECTORY OF TRAVEL SITES
Forbes.com is a huge site and these pages can only be found by people looking very hard, I stumbled on them by accident. But they have paid people to collect the best travel sites on the internet. So if you are looking for a great directory of good sites on various travel related subjects. This is a great source or the place to start, they do not appear to have an agenda.
9 HTTP://THORNTREE.LONELYPLANET.COM
 http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com		 2004 - 7 2003 - 7 2002
Not Listed		 2001
Not Listed

FORUM - ASK QUESTIONS - (Warning! Lots of BULLAT#%*)
The Lonely Planet is one of the worlds largest guidebook publishers, but I am not recommending this site as a guidebook, I want you to visit the Readers Forum called the Thorntree.

I offer this as a top travel site with a serious warning to be careful. I want you to visit their forum that allows you to ask personal questions and other readers will post answers, but please take care as there are often tour operators and obnoxious readers hanging around causing problems, but if you are going to the end of the earth and there is no guidebook this may be the only place you find guidance.
10 JOHNNYJET.COM
http://www.johnnyjet.com		 9 2003 - 9 2002 - 4 2001 - 2

AIRPLANES - TRANSPORTATION - PORTAL
Johnny is the collector. He collects all the links you need to book airplane tickets or enjoy your trip so you do not need to hunt for sites. This is an airfare sales site with a personal touch. JohnnyJet.com has left the USA, he is now going to some fun places like FIJI or Thailand, or Europe, the newsletters now are best read with a good connection and online.
 
JUST FOR FUN SITES
           
? MOSTTRAVELEDMAN.COM
 http://www.mosttraveledman.com 		2004 - Not 2003 - Not 2002 - Not 2001 - Not

This many has gone to more countries than any person I know, his list of all the areas of the world is great.
  TravelersCenturyClub.org
http://www.travelerscenturyclub.org 		       

This is a club of person who have gone to over 100 countries.
 
 
  E-MAIL UPDATES OR NOTIFICATIONS:
Sent to your e-mail box.
 		  

I receive emails from world news, tips and travel warnings. A great way to be notified when the world changes, and stay away from civil wars... or find them.
Travel Warning Alerts By Andy of HoboTraveler.com
NOTE: I am reading all the alerts and sending as they come in, however I may be two days behind on very current issues.
1

Canada Travel Warning
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/sos/ci/all-en.asp
Sign up for this one, probably the best.
 

   Not 2002 - Not 2001 - Not
2

Travel Warning by USA Government.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html

 2004 - 1 2003 - 1 2002 2001 - Not
2

CNN.COM NEWS UPDATES
Go to site and look for news updates.
http://www.cnn.com

 2004 - 2 2003 - 2 2002 2001 - Not
4

BBC.CO.UK
http://www.bbc.co.uk/email
The BBC of England has added a nice news report you can receive in your box.

 2004 - 3 2003
Not Listed		 2002 - NA 2002 - NA
5

Yahoo Alerts
http://alerts.yahoo.com
They will send you an annoying amount of news updates, however for sure you will know.
 

 Not Not Not Not