Beginner's Guide to Planning Travel Online

For anyone who has not booked their own travel plans in awhile, the options online are so overwhelming, one might avoid the process entirely. Not to worry. Here is a breakdown of which travel web sites do what. Some web sites are great at giving you many price options, and others are better at just letting you know what's available.

To start your travel planning, look at which cities are best to visit during certain times of the year. If you are a contrarian traveler, you'll want to do the opposite of these instructions, which might offer the benefit of fewer crowds and cheaper plane tickets. However, you might miss out on festivals and weather-sensitive activities. Many people start out knowing they want to travel for their honeymoon, anniversary or family reunion, but don't know where to start looking. This site will help narrow those choices. Go to Frommers.com, under Destinations, and select a region. If you click on When to Go, it will tell you about the weather, activities, and crowds.

Once you know your destination, decide what type of experience you want to have there. Are you adventurous or do you want to just relax? Your answer will determine which web site to visit next. Also, if you're traveling with more than five or six people, some hotels will pre-arrange for caravan outings or in-room food service for large groups. You should also consider seeing the world by sea, and possibly arranging for a chartered cruise. For those who like to live on the edge, visit National Geographic's web site for some inspiring ideas and photos. Luxury travelers will want to see what Condé Nast Traveler has to say.

If you've determined which city, which country and which time of year, you're ready for the next step: lodging. Before you book, you might want to read what others have said. While TripAdvisor.com is great for reading unsolicited user reviews, it's not the site for seeing the full picture of your destination. My husband and I have found this site to be great for finding an American perspective on international hotels. Yelp.com has more domestic points of view about American hotels. You should always be weary of locations with very few reviews where one or two of them are glowing since anyone can make up a review.

I like to find out the dates my preferred hotel or rental is available, then book my flight, then book the hotel rooms. When it comes to booking flights, Expedia.com reaches into more cities than any other travel web site because it also owns Hotels.com. However, the site with the best user interface (aka the prettiest) is Hipmunk.com. This site ranks your flight plan based on its "agony" level and then according to price. Agony can mean anything from lay over lengths to switching plans, to baggage fees. Kayak.com is the favored site of New York Times' Frugal Traveler columnist Seth Kugal when booking flights. However, if you want to fly Southwest Airlines, you'll need to go directly to their web site to book online.

When it comes to choosing the smaller parts of your trip like dining, dancing and shopping, you might not automatically think to consult American Express for suggestions. Cardholders can call for restaurant ideas and have them make reservations for you. Joining Opentable.com is great for domestic restaurants that book months in advance. Also try Google for mapping out your itinerary. You might find a sidewalk café by looking at their street view that you would never have found online. Feel free to add other great travel sites to this article by posting them in the comments.