People managed to travel quite well before the Internet came along, although how they did it is now shrouded in mystery. There are so many Web sites to help you plan trips and book trips and fantasize about trips and (best of all) save money on trips that the difficulty is not finding a site that will help you but choosing from among the bounty.
在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)出現(xiàn)之前,人們旅行得也挺好,至于他們是怎么做到的,對我來說是個(gè)謎。現(xiàn)在有很多網(wǎng)站幫你計(jì)劃、預(yù)訂甚至幻想旅行,最重要的是幫你節(jié)省旅費(fèi),所以找個(gè)可以幫你的網(wǎng)站不難,難的是在這些多如牛毛的網(wǎng)站之中選出最好用的那些。
It's been a while since I updated the bookmarks you'll find next to the articles on the Frugal Traveler blog page, so I've decided to add a bunch more, ranging from the indispensable to the just-for-fun. Here is a selection of 10 that you should consider bookmarking.
在“窮游天下”(Frugal Traveler)博客網(wǎng)頁的文章旁邊,你會(huì)看到一些書簽,但是我很久沒有更新這些書簽了,所以我決定再加一些網(wǎng)站,包括那些必不可少的網(wǎng)站和那些純粹為了好玩的網(wǎng)站。下面是其中精選的10個(gè)網(wǎng)站,你可以考慮把它們加入你的書簽。
1. Dishtip.com
Though if I had to pick just one site to help with restaurant recommendations around the globe, it would be Chowhound, DishTip organizes the world of eating out in the United States a whole new way: By clam chowder. Or turkey sandwich. Or blueberry pie. In other words, by single dish, not by restaurant. The site sorts through reviews across the Web, figures out what has been raved about, aggregates its findings and spits out rankings of the best dishes in Denver or the pizzas in Portland or the fried food in Phoenix.
雖然如果只能選一個(gè)推薦全球餐館的網(wǎng)站,那我肯定選Chowhound,但是DishTip網(wǎng)站介紹在美國外出就餐的建議時(shí),采用的是全新的方法:上哪兒喝蛤蜊濃湯;上哪兒吃火雞三明治;上哪兒吃藍(lán)莓派??傊褪前凑諉蝹€(gè)菜品來推薦,不是按飯館推薦。這個(gè)網(wǎng)站整理網(wǎng)上的評論,找出那些受到熱烈贊美的菜品,進(jìn)行統(tǒng)計(jì),做出排行榜,比如丹佛最好的菜肴,波特蘭最好的披薩,或者菲尼克斯最好的煎制食品。
The result may not be perfect, but it sure is helpful if you're obsessed with one dish or simply like the very rational idea of determining where you'll eat by the meal you want rather than by the chef who will cook it or the neighborhood it's cooked in. Go ahead, try it with a dish you like in a city you know. Sure, you may not specifically agree with its "choices" for, say, the best cookie in New York City - 1. Oatmeal raisin from Levain; 2. Chocolate chip from Jacques Torres; 3. Macaroon from the Meatball Shop - but you have to admit, not bad for a computer.
它給出的結(jié)論未必完美,但是如果你對某樣食物特別著迷,或者就是喜歡根據(jù)你想吃的菜選擇去哪兒用餐,而不是按照常理那樣,根據(jù)做菜的大廚或者餐廳的位置來決定,那么就在你知道的一個(gè)城市里嘗嘗你喜歡的一道菜吧。當(dāng)然,你不一定正好同意它的“選擇”,比如,紐約城里最好的餅干——1. Levain的燕麥葡萄干餅干;2. Jacques Torres的巧克力碎塊餅干;3. Meatball Shop的蛋白杏仁餅干——但是你得承認(rèn),把這個(gè)網(wǎng)址加到你的收藏夾里,并不是什么壞事。
2. Skypicker.com
Skypicker basically helps you figure out where you can fly within your budget. It's sort of like the "explore" page of Kayak.com, but focuses exclusively on Europe, and on very, very cheap flights.
Skypicker網(wǎng)站能幫你找到在你的預(yù)算范圍內(nèi)能飛到哪兒。它有點(diǎn)像是Kayak.com的“搜索”網(wǎng)頁,但是它只關(guān)注歐洲的航班,以及非常非常便宜的航班。
Let's say you're somewhere in Europe (or planning to be), and you want to see where you can go from there for very low cost. You plug in your approximate date of departure, about how many days you want to stay, and voilà: there's a list of the cheapest flights available. (Not all fees are included - you won't find out the exact cost until you go to the airlines' Web sites to book.)
比如你在(或者計(jì)劃去)歐洲的某個(gè)地方,想知道花很少的錢能去哪兒。那么輸入你出發(fā)的大致日期,以及你大概想呆多少天,就會(huì)出現(xiàn)一個(gè)列表,里面是最便宜的航班。(不是包含所有的費(fèi)用——只有到航空公司的網(wǎng)站上預(yù)訂機(jī)票的時(shí)候,你才能知道準(zhǔn)確的費(fèi)用。)
When I tested the site, pretending to be driven insane by foggy, rainy London and wanting to go anywhere cheaply for a long weekend two weeks ahead, I ended up with a 38-euro (or $48) round trip on Ryanair to Nîmes in the south of France. When I actually went to Ryanair to book, the cost was £35 (or $55), including fees, and I assume the final cost (with a luggage charge, perhaps) might be a bit more. But still, a good deal.
我測試這個(gè)網(wǎng)站的時(shí)候,假設(shè)我被倫敦霧蒙蒙、陰沉沉的天氣折磨瘋了,想在兩周后花一點(diǎn)錢去什么地方呆個(gè)長周末,結(jié)果我找到了瑞安航空公司(Ryanair)飛往法國南部尼姆的航班,雙程的票價(jià)是38歐元(48美元)。我到瑞安航空公司的網(wǎng)站上預(yù)訂時(shí),票價(jià)是35英鎊(55美元),包括其他各種費(fèi)用;我估計(jì)最終的費(fèi)用(也許還會(huì)有超重行李費(fèi)),可能還會(huì)再多一點(diǎn)。但是,這已經(jīng)非常好的價(jià)格了。
3. Stay.com
I'm generally dubious of sites that claim they can plan your trip for you. But for a quick and dirty agenda with a few useful extras, stay.com is not bad at all.
我一般對那種聲稱可以為你計(jì)劃行程的網(wǎng)站持懷疑態(tài)度。但是如果你的日程很緊,而且比較混亂,stay.com是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的選擇。
Here's what you do: Choose one of more than 100 destinations, from Aix-en-Provence to Marrakesh to Lake Tahoe. Then go through their listings of top attractions, museums, shopping, restaurants and the like, clicking on whatever appeals to you. Those choices magically turn into a personalized itinerary that you can either turn into a pdf file and print or, better yet, send to your smartphone, where with the Stay.com app you can use it - and the city map that comes with it - even when you're offline (meaning no international roaming charges).
你可以這么做:在100多個(gè)目的地(例如普羅旺斯地區(qū)的艾克斯,馬拉喀什,塔霍湖)中選擇一個(gè)。然后瀏覽一遍該地最有吸引力的地點(diǎn),比如博物館,購物中心和餐館,點(diǎn)擊你感興趣的所有地點(diǎn)。這些選擇會(huì)神奇地形成一個(gè)私人旅行路線,你可以把它轉(zhuǎn)成pdf文件打印出來;更棒的是,你可以把它發(fā)到你的智能手機(jī)上,只要下載Stay.com的應(yīng)用程序,你就能用它了——還隨附城市地圖——即使離線也能使用(這樣你就不用花國際漫游費(fèi)了)。
And you're not limited to the places you've initially chosen: you can add from their lists (and, theoretically, from your friends' suggestions) on the run as well. Sure, guidebook apps might be more in depth, but stay.com is free and easy.
而且你還可以不局限于一開始選擇的地點(diǎn):旅行過程中,你還可以從他們的列表(理論上還可以從朋友建議的地點(diǎn))里添加一些地點(diǎn)。當(dāng)然,旅游指南的各種應(yīng)用程序可能更有深度,但是stay.com是免費(fèi)的,而且好操作。
4. Staydu.com
A neat site that matches hosts from around the world with travelers looking for unique local experiences. That can mean volunteering to teach English or doing farm work in exchange for lodging and meals, or simply paying a small fee to move in with a local resident. The site is not overly populated with opportunities yet, but shows a lot of potential.
這個(gè)網(wǎng)站很簡單,它把世界各地的主人和尋找獨(dú)特當(dāng)?shù)伢w驗(yàn)的游客聯(lián)系起來。你可能需要免費(fèi)教英語或者在農(nóng)場里干活,以獲得免費(fèi)的住宿和餐食,或者是花很少的錢,住到當(dāng)?shù)厝说募依?。這個(gè)網(wǎng)站人氣還不是很旺,所以機(jī)會(huì)還不太多,但是貌似很有潛力。
5. Vayama.com
Vayama is a flight search engine that specializes in international routes - the Achilles' heel of the sites you already use, whether you know it or not. Vayama simply seems to know about more airlines and often finds two one-way flights on different airlines that beat out a round-trip flight on a single one. It also occasionally offers you a lower price on a "secret carrier" whose identity you don't learn until you've booked the flight.
Vayama是個(gè)航班搜索引擎,專門搜索國際航線——你可能不知道,你已經(jīng)在用的那些網(wǎng)站,正是在這方面比較薄弱。Vayama似乎比其他網(wǎng)站知道更多航線,經(jīng)常能找到兩家航空公司的兩個(gè)單程航班,加起來的價(jià)格比同一個(gè)航空公司的往返航班要便宜。有時(shí)候,它會(huì)報(bào)出一個(gè)由“秘密承運(yùn)人”給出的更低的價(jià)格,但只有在你預(yù)訂了該航班之后,才知道是哪個(gè)航空公司。
6. Trivago.com
If you want to compare many hotel sites at once (including heavyweights like booking.com and hotels.com), try Trivago, an easy-to-use metasearch site. Trivago can be especially helpful in more unusual destinations. I was recently searching for a hotel stay in Fortaleza, Brazil, and Trivago included a few affordable rooms that were exclusively from volayo.com, a Brazil-based hotel booking site I had never heard of.
如果你想同時(shí)比較多家酒店網(wǎng)站(包括那些重量級的網(wǎng)站,比如booking.com和hotels.com),那么可以試試Trivago,它是一個(gè)很好用的元搜索網(wǎng)站。當(dāng)你想在一些不常見的旅游目的地尋找酒店時(shí),Trivago顯得特別有用。我最近想在巴西福塔雷薩找一家酒店,Trivago介紹了幾個(gè)我住得起的酒店,這些酒店都來自巴西的一家酒店預(yù)訂網(wǎng)站——volayo.com,以前我從來沒聽說過這個(gè)網(wǎng)站。
7. Matadornetwork.com
Matador is a free online travel community whose site contains treasure troves of articles written in a variety of styles, organized into topics like "art and design," "culture and religion" and "language and study abroad." You can get lost in here, coming in via a search for essential Russian phrases and ending up craving lavender and hibiscus Popsicles from an Edmonton farmers market.
Matador是個(gè)免費(fèi)的在線旅游社區(qū),這個(gè)網(wǎng)站收藏了很多風(fēng)格各異的精品文章,整理成了很多主題,比如“藝術(shù)與設(shè)計(jì)”,“文化與宗教”,“語言與海外留學(xué)”。在這里,你可能會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)暈了,本來打算去找俄語基本詞匯的,最后卻眼饞起埃德蒙頓農(nóng)夫市場的薰衣草和木槿冰棍來。
8. Seat61.com
"It would be lovely if there was a single Web site that sold tickets for any European train journey at the cheapest price, but there isn't," writes Mark Smith, better known among the frugal train-riding set as "the Man in Seat 61." You could just go to raileurope.com and book a ticket, but in many cases you'll pay more than necessary. Mr. Smith's site is friendly and informal in style but encyclopedic in content, and full of links to get you to the right booking sites.
“如果有一個(gè)網(wǎng)站,用最低的價(jià)格,銷售歐洲所有的火車線路的車票,那就太棒了,可惜沒有這樣的網(wǎng)站,”馬克·史密斯(Mark Smith)這樣寫道。在火車窮游界,他以《61號(hào)座位上的男人》(The Man in Seat 61)這本書為人所知。你可以直接去raileurope.com上訂票,但是很可能會(huì)讓你多花一些冤枉錢。史密斯的這個(gè)網(wǎng)站很友好,不怎么正式,但是內(nèi)容很全,有各種鏈接,能幫你找到合適的訂票網(wǎng)站。
9. Triptuner.com
No idea where you want to go? With Triptuner, just use a panel of six sliders (like the kind on graphic equalizers) to "tune" your trip. Do you want "relaxing" or "active" or somewhere in the middle? "Bikini" weather or "parka" weather? An "urban/lively" spot or a "remote/quiet" one?
不知道該去哪兒玩?在Triptuner網(wǎng)站上,拉動(dòng)控制面板上的6個(gè)滑動(dòng)條(就像圖像均衡器上的那種),你就能“調(diào)制”出你自己的旅行了。你是想去“放松”的地方呢,還是“活躍”的地方,還是介于兩者之間的?是要“穿比基尼”的天氣呢,還是要“穿皮大衣”的天氣?想去“城市/熱鬧”的地點(diǎn)呢,還是“偏遠(yuǎn)/安靜”的地點(diǎn)?
When I maxed out the sliders toward relaxing-bikini-urban/lively trip, I got suggestions like Miami, Phuket and Salvador, Brazil - pretty good choices. When I went the opposite way - active-parka-remote/quiet, Triptuner came up with Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, or Torres del Paine, Chile. The site doesn't go much farther than that (though you can book hotels), but it's enough to get you thinking.
我把“放松—穿比基尼—城市/熱鬧”的滑動(dòng)條都拉到最高,得到了這樣一些旅行建議:邁阿密,普吉島和巴西的薩爾瓦多——都是很好的建議。我又試了試相反的選擇——“活躍—穿皮大衣—偏遠(yuǎn)/安靜”,Triptuner給出的建議是瑞士的少女峰或者智利的百內(nèi)國家公園(Torres del Paine)。這個(gè)網(wǎng)站除此之外沒有更多內(nèi)容(雖然你也可以在這里訂酒店),不過這已經(jīng)夠好的了。
10. Expatsblog.com/blogs
The best travel guides are often expatriates who have lived in a destination long enough to know it intimately but still maintain an outsider's perspective. This site lists over 300 expat blogs by destination, and in many you don't have to delve very far to find travel tips disguised as personal narratives.
最好的導(dǎo)游通常是那些在一個(gè)地方住了很久的“老外”;他們對這個(gè)地方夠熟悉,同時(shí)還能保持一個(gè)外國人的視角。這個(gè)網(wǎng)站列舉了300多個(gè)“老外”的博客,按照居住地分類。在這些講述自己的故事的博客里,你不費(fèi)吹灰之力就能找到很多旅游小貼士。