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When planning a trip to Europe, there are a ton of available resources for travelers. With this is mind, it is often time-consuming to wade through all of the websites to find really valuable information.
Here is a list of some of the top travel resources for planning a trip to Europe.
1) Wikitravel
This is one of the best sites for travel available. It is open source, so it is constantly updated; further, it is usually locals or people who have direct, experience with an area who contribute information. Thus you get localized information you might not have gotten elsewhere.
2) World Travel Tips
This is a huge, comprehensive resource for world travel. It includes forums, articles, links, free membership and much more for every continent. Their European section covers every European Country and offer in-depth information about each one.
3) About. com: Europe for Visitors
This is a great site dedicated to travel in Europe from About. com. Geared towards everyone from first time to experienced travelers, it is a goldmine of European travel and planning information.
4) Virtual Tourist
This is a great travel guide. Their motto is ‘real travelers – real info. ” This seems consistent with the site, which has everything from transportation reviews to the best travel deal and trip planners. The site also includes forums where you can read about other people’s adventures in Europe.
5) Travel Europe
This is an swicki (cross between a search engine and wikipedia) where community users can add, remove and improve the results. This particular swicki is geared towards travel in Europe and is a great resource fro planning a trip to or in Europe.
6) Visiteurope. com
This is the European travel commission’s guide to Europe and is packed with tons of useful information, articles, advice and much much more.
7) Europe for Visitors
This is a site that offer European news, general advice, specific country advice, hotels, links to city guides, tourist offices and much, much more.
8. ) Europecities. com
This is a comprehensive portal site that offers European city reviews and guides to hundreds of European cities and over 40 European countries.
9) Travel Library
Travel Library is an impartial resource for travelers and offers a plethora of resources that offer in-depth travel information, from hotel and hostel ideas to travelogues and most popular locations.
10) Europa: Traveling in Europe
A huge site that offers tools and information for over 30 European Countries. Each country has their own site dedicated to travel resources, information news and more from that country. Categories for visitors include: documents you will need, choosing a time to travel, getting there, staying healthy, money, shopping, communicating, pets, and if things go wrong.
11) Europa: Your Europe
While this site is geared towards European citizens, it still offers tons of great information for visitors outside of Europe. Information categories include: working in Europe, education and study, living in Europe, traveling in Europe, consumer protection, European citizenship and diplomatic protection.
12) European Union Website
This is the official website of the European Union. It offers news, educational resources and tons of links to information about what’s going on in Europe and well as youth travel portals, travel guides, transportation information and much, much more.
13) Yahoo Answers
This is a great place to ask questions and get answers about anything Europe related. You ask the question and get a number of answers, then choose the answer that fits your question best. This site is great because it gives you several points of view to read and learn from and is focused on sharing knowledge.
14) Travels Wise
This site offers tons of information about travel in Europe and countries including Belarus, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the Ukraine.
15) Rick Steves’ Travel Tips
This site is a large portal site that offers tips and advice for exploring Europe safely, effectively and confidently. From packing tips and safety to accommodations and communications, you will find what you’re looking for.
16) Travel Punk
This site offers travel tips and advice targeted at backpackers, budget travelers and tourists. Offers tons of great information as well as travel tools and resources for finding cheap flights and accommodations.
17) TERC Europe Travel Tips
Offers tips on traveling in Europe and categories run the gamut from packing tips and staying healthy and safe to money matters, budget planning, food and accommodations and much more. It is a huge site that is well worth visiting for any Europe travel-related needs.
18) Accessible Journeys
This is an awesome travel site that offers a wealth of information, tips and travel advice about accessibility and traveling in a wheelchair. With information on everything from traveling with your wheelchair or scooter to equipment rentals, handicapped parking permits in Europe and accessible ways to travel, it is a great resource.
19) Europe Travel Tips
A large portal with tons of travel tools, articles and information about travel in 40 European countries, from Austria to the United Kingdom.
20) Independent Traveler
Great site offering lots of travel tips and advice to independent travelers.
21) Travel-and-transport. com
This is a highly useful portal that offers basic and necessary transportation information for Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. New to the site is a route planner that is especially handy.
22) Travel Notes: Europe
Comprehensive travel notes and advice for traveling throughout Europe. Lots of links, resources and tools for travelers.
23) Open Travel Info
Great travel site with a large amount of travel and Europe related information. The forums and articles are especially useful.
24) Discover Europe
Another excellent portal site that offers a wealth of tools, resources and links for travelers to learn about different European countries and plan their trips effectively and efficiently.
25) World 66: Europe
This is a great wiki site that allows members (free) to change and information. It has a great travel guide, maps, and resources for getting to Europe and getting around it. Members can also post photos and there is a cool photo gallery of different places in Europe. Well worth checking out.
26) Backpacker. net
Geared towards backpackers, this is one of the better sites for information, advice and travel planning for backpackers. Users can submit and read recommendations for hostels, tours, bars, beers and much more.
27) WorldWideBackpackers. com
This site is another excellent resource for backpackers and other travelers. While it is geared towards backpackers, there is a wealth of rich information for all travelers, so you should definitely pay them a visit.
28) Gate 1 Travel
This is a travel site for Central Europe. there is a wealth of information that is super handy; they offer info from climate and clothing advice to packing, required travel documents, travel insurance, transportation, communication and much more.
29) Backpackeurope. com
This is another site that is geared towards backpackers in Europe but is highly useful for all travelers. Has Europe travel tips, advice on packing, hostels and hotels, transportation and links to other travel resources.
30) Gemut. com
This is a great travel site that offers visitors advice on everything from car rental and rail travel to hotel reservations, money matters and much more.
31) Travels With Friends: Travel Tips for Europe
Travel tips and advice from planning your trip to executing it. The site’s creators travel Europe and research sites, accommodations, destinations and much more, so there is great, first-hand information available on all aspects of travel in Europe.
32) Suite 101: Eastern Europe & Russia Travel
Travel, culture and trip planning and advice. This is an excellent resource for finding out more about Eastern Europe and its cultures.
33) Traveler’s Point
Europe advice, tips and travel help for all European countries.
34) Budget Travel Online
Great site offering ideas, how-tos, advice and tips for travelers.
35) Yahoo Travel
Yahoo’s comprehensive travel site offers a wealth of information on all European Countries and many of its countries. Another great resource to check out.

There are loads of fantastic ways to get free entertainment when traveling. All you need is a bit of research before you go and to think a bit laterally. Whether you get your entertainment from music, theatre, lectures, walks or museums there are free experiences all over the globe. Here are some ideas to consider when traveling at home or abroad:
 
1. Go for a hike or a bushwalk. Remember to pack enough food and drink and sunscreen. Enjoy the country’s scenery for free.
2. Gallery openings are a way to see local art and you might even get free wine and food thrown in!
3. Art walks and garden tours are where you visit local art galleries or homes with gardens for show. You get to meet locals and find out about the local art and garden scene.
4. Free nights at museums. Some museums are even open free all the time (for example The British Museum).
5. Visit the local churches. There is so much history and local culture to be experienced in places of worship and you’ll find a large majority of these have no entry fee, although some may ask for a donation.
6. Open mic nights at pubs where new musicians perform for free to an audience willing to listen. You never know which up-coming star you’ll get to hear.
7. Volunteer to be an usher at a concert, play or movie. Volunteer to help out at a conference or show. You’ll get to experience what’s on offer for no admission cost.
8. Visit the local library. Apart from getting to read books for free you get a different cultural experience in every library you visit. Libraries often have author visits and visiting speakers for generally free admission.
9. Find out if there are any free lunch time concerts.  
10. Visit the local television station and see if any shows have live audiences for taping. Join in!
11. Go to the beach for the day.
12. Is there a local fair or festival on where you are visiting? If so you will probably find lots of free attractions there as well as paid ones.  
13. Visit the local botanical gardens. In most countries these are free to visit and enjoy.
14. Walk around the city with your eyes open taking in all the sights. It’s amazing what sort of ‘free entertainment’ this will bring you!
15. Window shop. Some people can do this for hours! And it doesn’t cost you a cent.
16. And don’t forget, you can always purchase a local Entertain coupon book which will get you discounts on plenty of activities and entertainments, but can also offer some freebies such as “visit one day, get the second for free” or “pay for one person and the second visits for free”
 
Enjoy your free entertainment while traveling. There’s plenty of it around.
 
This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru
www. stuartstravel. com

MAKE YOUR TRAVEL WORRY FREE WITH TRAVEL INSURANCE

As you plan your next travel experience you should be certain not to overlook one very important detail—travel insurance. Many travelers opt to skip this step in the hopes of saving a little money. What you may not know is that insurance does not have to be expensive. In fact, this very cheap travel add-on can get you one thing that money does not always buy–peace of mind.

When you invest in a high quality policy you are guaranteeing that if the unthinkable happens and you or someone in your party experiences an accident or becomes ill, you are protected. For Australians traveling abroad, travel insurance will protect you from financial disaster should and accident or illness incur. You will also be protected in the case of property theft. The Australian government believes insurance is important enough to advise travelers to skip their trips altogether if they are not insured.

Medical situations are a particularly important consideration when determining whether or not to invest in an insurance policy. The need for insurance is not limited to international travel however, and you would do well to investigate insurance that covers inside Australia trips too.

 You can select an insurance policy that covers a wide range of misfortunes including trip cancellation or interruption, medical costs, and theft of property. Policies are available in a wide range of types from insurance for the mature traveler to special insurance for backpackers. Prices will vary policy to policy but you can find cheap travel insurance. There are many reasonably priced policies available that will offer you good coverage. If you are a frequent traveler, you may determine that an annual policy is the way to go or you may be able to secure insurance through your employer.

Finding cheap insurance to cover your trip is not difficult. You need only turn to the closest computer and search for trip insurance. You will find many websites that offer comprehensive search services. You will find sites that offer information and price quotations for single companies as well as good portal sites that will provide you with price quotations for a number of companies. All you need to do is enter your information once and you’ll receive all the information you need to locate a policy that will give you the comfort of knowing that you can travel without worry.

The next time you travel do not neglect to include travel insurance in your plans. It only takes one occurrence to erase your savings and eat up your nest egg. You do not want this to happen to you. When you purchase insurance for your trip you are not only buying peace of mind you are buying protection for your family and your assets. That is one detail you definitely don’t want to over look.