It's reading period — time to iron out the details of your trip
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 All Along Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went
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It's not the onset of spring weather, nor the end-of-year motivation drain that is giving studying a run for its money. It's that stack of travel guides, phrase books, and maps.
The pocket guide to Dutch and numerous Netherlands-related literature are for an upcoming trip to update and write "Let's Go Amsterdam 2004." My desk is littered with plane ticket receipts and reminders about rail passes. Rand McNally and I are old friends now as I attempt to plot my subsequent southbound trek and choose midpoints to Barcelona: Paris? Marseilles? I have three kinds of guides to Spain; don't get me started on the search for the right language school in Andalusia. My Net browser's history is laden with links to mileage calculators, backpacking websites, and online travelogues.
Yes, it's May, and putting the summer pieces together is a number one preoccupation. Perhaps there's a carefree day in the distant future, a day without to-do lists and minute-by-minute scheduling. But it will only happen if I plan it well enough.
The online and print resources for pre-trip planning run the gamut from indispensable to worthless. Having slogged through the best and worst, here are my picks for the best places to get help organizing a summer expedition.
The brat pack
Backpacking still conjures up images of youthful impulse and landmark hopping, but the world has changed a lot since our parents stuck out their thumbs. The glut of backpacking sites, nearly all centered on hyper-convenient European travel, are hit or miss. Among the better ones:Backpack Europe on a Budget (www.backpackeurope.com) focuses on the younger generation with its comprehensive selection of travel tips. Check out the first-timer's guide to hosteling: reservation etiquette, the best way to wash your socks in the sink, and other gems. It links to the highly useful Railkey software, which will instantly recommend the best rail pass for your itinerary.
Many sites promise to be the Internet equivalent of a hostel lounge, where travelers trade insider tips. Eurotrip (www.eurotrip.com) comes the closest to delivering, with well-edited comments about hostels, clubs, and sites. The Backpacker's Ultimate Guide to Europe (www.bugeurope.com) has some of the finest packing tips on the Web, in addition to general information about packing it across Europe. Aside from the traditional money belt and Swiss Army knife tips, for example, it recommends a sarong, which can double as "towel, sheet, pillow, room divider, for carrying clothes to the laundry, curtain for a bottom bunk, picnic rug, or for wearing to the beach!" You can also learn how to say "one beer please" in Hungarian, Basque, or Norwegian.
Game plan
The Ultimate Trip Planner (www.theultimates.com/trip) brings together a number of map services, Yahoo local sites, and the Hotwired Rough Guide, all on a centralized page. When the itinerary's set, you can calculate your total mileage at www.webflyer.com/travel/milemarker/. Fodor's actually puts out an entire book on how to pack. Barring that investment, try putting in variables of expected temperature, transportation, activities, and accommodation, among others, and the Universal Packing List (http://upl.codeq.info/upl/index.jsp) will generate a list that includes a helpful reminder to pack underwear and empty the trash before you go.
By the book
Having disclosed my particular bias for the Let's Go series of travel, I will add that it has a long and happy tradition of serving independent budget travelers, particularly students. (A good amount of content is available free at www.letsgo.com.) The Time Out series (www.timeout.com), with its cosmopolitan tone, does upscale city travel best, particularly restaurant and nightlife listings. The sprawling Rough Guide series (www.roughguides.com) is also a good overall bet.My favorite Web-only travel guide is put out by Bust, a magazine aimed at the arty and feminist-inclined. Let's Go Girl (www.bust.com/letsgo/index.html, no relation to Let's Go Travel Guides) is a message board teeming with advice for fellow low-budget hipsters. As they put it, "Who's gonna tell you what you really want to know, like where a girl on the go can go alone, or where the best thrift stores are, or where to pick up cute boys and girls?" When you finally get on your way, Travelpackers (www.travelpackers.com) is the pick of the free online travel journals, allowing you to post updates on your journey, upload photos, and check in on other travelers' tales, in case you get lonely on the road.
The new-style old college tour
High school students and their parents planning a college-to-college trek can cut costs by taking advantage of a partnership between Amtrak and Campus Visit. The latter, a company promoting regional tourism in connection with college visits, offers a 50 percent off deal on the lowest available fare for college-bound students and their parents. Print out a coupon at www.campusvisit.com/amtrak.htm and make sure to have a high school counselor sign it. Tickets must be purchased in person at least seven days before travel. The offer is valid through June 30, and does not include some peak times, blackout dates, and the Acela Express or Metroliner trains.
Irin Carmon, a student at Harvard University, is a researcher-writer for Let's Go Travel Guides. Taking Off, her column on student travel, appears the third Sunday of the month. She can be reached at carmon@fas.harvard.edu.
