www.i-escape.com
You won't find better if looking for a stylish, hideaway place to stay. Current specials look at Spring Escapes, Spain and the Canary Islands

www.couchsurfing.com
Excellent new independent travel website. Sign up and find people to stay with around the world, or host them where you live

www.parador.es
Government tourist board-run chain of beautiful rural and unusual hotels in excellent locations in Spain

www.bugbog.com

An excellent independent travel guide. Geared towards independent travellers, it has lots of sections, from world festivals to exotic places

http://world.altavista.com
Babel fish - a useful translation tool, enabling web surfers to understand travel-related sites published in other languages

www.igougo.com

The 'travel Google', igougo is a travel-specific search engine with 350,000 members who have contributed over 300,000 travel journals on just about everywhere

www.tripadvisor.com
US-based, sells the usual products. User reviews of hotels and other feedback makes this a useful resource

www.skyscanner.net
Searches Europe's budget airlines for the best deals and times to travel on any route

www.timeout.com
Website of the London listings magazine that also publishes guidebooks includes potted online city and event guides

www.japaneseguesthouses.com
Lovely design and easy to use. Over 500 ryokans available all over Japan