Online Help for Trip Planning

Problem: You don't have time to research and plan a vacation.

Solution: A wealth of Web sites offer travel itineraries and journals that can speed the planning of a vacation. IgoUgo.com features thousands of member-written travel "journals" that you can mine for suggested itineraries. The 6,400 trip itineraries outlined on TripWiser.com lack the personal touch of travel site iloho.com's smaller database, but a Facebook application lets you customize an itinerary based on length of trip, budget and age of travelers. TripTie.com and nileguide.com are also good sources for itineraries. At Zicasso.com, you can request bids from travel companies for tours in 110 countries after clicking on various trip details. The site will provide you with three personalized itineraries, or you can browse sample itineraries. For history buffs, the National Parks Service (www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/) offers 46 itineraries that are written in partnership with historic preservation officers and local organizations, and encompass over 2,000 Registered Historic Places across the U.S.

Caveat: The quality of site members' itineraries and journals can vary wildly, so pay attention to reader or editor ratings of posts. IgoUgo.com and TripTie.com offer detailed profiles of post writers.