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Budget Travel in the United States
*** This Guide is No Longer Being Actively Maintained ***
by Jacquie Kowalczyk, Librarian
The sheer quantity of travel information available today
can be quite overwhelming. This pathfinder was created
in order to provide assistance in locating some of the
most useful websites on the internet, as well as some of the
print resources that the OCPL
libraries have to offer on the
topic of domestic budget travel.
Please Choose from the Following:
Books & Videos
Magazines
Databases
Online Guidebooks
Websites
Associations
Related Pathfinders
Books & Videos
Here are some useful Subject Headings to search for materials:
Search for these subject headings in the OCPL online catalog to browse titles of interest.
Travel Guidebooks
United States-Description and Travel
United States-Guidebooks
Books
Frommer's
San Francisco From $70 a Day
by Matthew R. Poole. Wiley. 2005.
Frommer's
Washington, D.C. From $80 a Day
by Elise Ford. Wiley. 2004.
Frommer's
New York City From $90 a Day
by Brian Silverman. Wiley. 2005.
Fun
With the Family
A series of titles including the New England states.
The Road Atlas '06
by Rand McNally and Company. Rand McNally. 2006.
Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You’re Over 50
by Joan Rattner Heilman. McGraw-Hill. 2005
U.S. Family Travel Guide
Zagat Survey. 2004.
Woodall's North American Campground Directory
Woodall's Publications. 2006.
Videos
America's Most Scenic Drives series
America's National Parks
Great American Rail Journeys
Magazines
Certain libraries subscribe to the following travel related magazines:
Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel
Conde Nast's Traveler
National Geographic Traveler
Travel Smart
Databases
For articles about budget travel, see OCPL’s Online Databases. Here you can access magazine and journal articles, newspapers, and reference books 24 hours a day using your OCPL library card.
For in-library use of the online databases, please see a librarian.
Check the following databases for articles on many aspects of traveling on a budget.
Ebscohost MasterFILE Select - Full text access to hundreds of general interest magazines plus an image collection of photos, maps and flags.
Gale National Newspaper Index - Offers indexing and abstracts from 1977 to present for the Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. The New York Times Book Review and The New York Times Magazine are also included.
Gale General Reference Center Gold - Full text access to hundreds of general interest magazines.
Online Guidebooks
Lonely Planet
Fodor's
Frommer's
Amazon Guidebook Series Page
Websites
About.com Guide to Budget Travel
A great place to start your internet search, this site contains many links to useful websites, articles on budget travel and discussion lists for travelers to share their experiences.
Amtrak
Provides fare and scheduling information on Amtrak trains.
Best Fares
Best Fares collects information on travel bargains. Some of the information is free, other information is for subscribers only.
Budget Hotels
Directory of budget hotels, motels, youth hostels and B&Bs in the US and Canada.
Budget Travel.com
Provides comprehensive discount airfare and accommodation information for budget conscious travelers of all ages.
Cheap Tickets
This site provides another option for searching airfares. $5 booking fee.
Expedia
Easy to use, Expedia allows you to build travel packages combining airfare, hotel, and car rentals. This site also offers a terrific range of discount hotels, with flexible cancellation policies. There is a $5 booking fee for plane tickets.
Go Camping America Directory
Online brochures for RV parks, campgrounds and resorts.
Hotels.com
This site contains many smaller hotels and does a good job of steering you to low-cost lodging.
Hotwire
This is a no frills site with some great ticket deals; however, there are no cancellations.
Jetblue
Website for Jetblue airlines.
Kayak
Searches over 60 sites for airfare and hotel deals. Seems to work best for trips with flexible parameters (dates, airlines, and departure times).
Orbitz
Finding flights is what Orbitz does best. It arranges search results in an easy-to-read table that is organized by carrier. There is a $6 booking fee for domestic plane tickets.
Sidestep
Searches 100 sites for best airfares, hotel and rental car pricing. Best for comparison shopping with other sites, you can search other sites on a split screen. Currently, this is the only site that searches Southwest airlines.
Southwest
Website for Southwest airlines.
Travelocity
Travelocity’s Last Minute Deals tab at the top of its page is a valuable place to start at this comprehensive web site. In addition, the Guides and Advice tab, packed with information from travel guide publisher Frommer’s, provides useful guides to cities in the U.S.
Woodall’s Campground Directory
Directory of over 14,000 campgrounds.
Associations
AAA
The AAA site includes maps, reservation making, vacation deals and ticket purchases for selected theme parks.
National Park Service
This site provides a wealth of information on our nation’s parks, with cultural, natural and historical information as well as hundreds of useful links.
Related Pathfinders
Internet Public Library - Budget Travel
Indianapolis Marion County Public Library - Recreation and Travel
Camden County Library System - Travel Resources
Last updated: June 26, 2010