With spring in full swing and the official start of summer right around the corner, it's time to start planning your summer getaway. Here are some Area tips to make your life just a little bit easier.
Book It: Over the past few years, dozens of low-cost airlines have sprouted up. Find a complete directory, arranged by route, on Whichbudget.com.
If you've booked a flight directly through an airline website, Yapta.com will monitor the fare, alert you if the price drops, and instruct you how to get a refund or travel credit from the airline for the difference. Yep, it's possible.
Plan It: GreatStartUps.com, a site featuring new start-up companies for consumers to keep their eye on, covers a number of cool travel services. Here are some start-ups that can help take your vacation from ordinary to extraordinary.
Tripsourcing.com offers the first real time itinerary planning community and a tool to manage your trip diary and to find out what makes locals proud of their area.
Pitchup.com is a new website (based in London) that matches users with the perfect campsite or holiday park in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Want to get travel advice from locals? Localyte.com seeks to connect travelers with what they call Localytes (don't look it up, it's not a real word). Localytes are local people or services located in your travel destination.
Mimbeo.com is a vacation rental website offering travelers an easy-to-use resource to rent a holiday home - while providing its rental owner/manager members a free marketing resource.
