Click here to see the Times Online selection of the top 100 travel websites. Don't agree with our choices? Know of one that merits inclusion? Let us know

TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

www.sim4travel.com
There are now lots of companies offering this service but this is the first we discovered. These simcards allow you to make cheaper calls while abroad. Simply replace the UK network sim while you away and save a fortune on calls that are charged at up to £2-a-minute by UK providers.

www.textintouch.co.uk
An excellent free service whereby you can send a text message to a dedicated number and that message is distributed to lists of e-mail addresses, so you can stay in touch with groups of friends and family for the price of one message rather than having to pay for an internet cafe.

www.mobycards.com
Use your mobile phone to take a picture and send a postcard of the picture so if you rarely find time when away to buy, write and post cards you can - and send a personalised picture to boot. Simply send picture with text to the alloted number and they do the rest - printing and posting first class in the UK. It costs £2.50 per card.

www.photographysites.com
When you've exhausted Times Online's Travel Images section, check out the large travel listing on this index of photography sites. Links to dozens of sites where you can travel the world in pictures.

www.itravelishop.com
Keep up with the latest shopping trends around the world along with reviews and information about destinations and luxurious places to stay when you are jetting off to splash the cash. A stylish website to match its content.

www.worldsurface.com
Attractive online magazine promoting sustainable tourism. Register to join and submit travel diaries.

www.thesite.org
A youth site with a section on travel, including keeping documentation secure, researching your destination, and legal and financial advice.

http://insurance.essentialtravel.co.uk/student_travel_safety.htm
Advice on all aspects of travelling for young people, plus online legal insurance.

www.climatecare.org
Busy trying to be a green traveller, but concerned by the amount of air travel to get to those eco-destinations? You can donate money — which is given to projects that reduce emissions — to offset the effects of your trip. Also try

www.informationfrance.com
Nicely presented website with pages on each region of France. Guides to each département detail highlights and include photographs.

www.gridskipper.com
Calling itself the “decadent travel guide”, this funky site pinpoints stylish entertainment and travel around the world.

www.stanfords.co.uk
Buy online from the UK’s best- known map and travel bookshop.

www.timeout.com
Website of the London listings magazine that includes potted online city guides and events.

www.expodition.com
Website with “podcast” guides to parts of Britain. Download a guide by postcode. Only problem - you have to register first.

www.surf2travel.com
Marketed as the “travel Google”, this site provides listings of travel websites based on keyword searches.

www.ahedonistsguideto.com
Well-researched guides to London, Paris, Rome, Lisbon, Tallinn, Prague, Madrid, Marrakesh, Stockholm, Beirut, Miami, Moscow, Berlin, Istanbul and Milan.

http://world.altavista.com
This is the address for Babel fish, a useful translation tool, so you can surf sites in other languages. Book tickets for events at your destination or get local information.