Fodors is a website used to research and plan for travel. It is an offshoot of the popular written guides for travel destinations worldwide. The site has a very active user community that rates hotels, restaurants, and provides information about travel.

Visit www.fodors.com

Fodor’s guidebooks were initially created back in 1936. The Fodors.com website was launched in 1996 and now provides content for Internet, GPS, and mobile devices. Over 411,000 unique visitors go to the site each month based on the last 12 months.

Content is driven by user input. Each hotel and restaurant has a user rating indicated next to the Fodor’s review. The site supplements the written guides with most current information and the guidebooks may be purchased directly from the website.

This is a website with a plethora of information. The forums are separated into various continents, destinations, and types of travel. Users may post messages or questions, and other members post advice and answers. It is relatively straightforward, though there are so many topics; it’s likely that members simply post questions rather than trying to wade through the posts to see if the question was already asked.

The application has so much information on each page that its users may become overwhelmed if they don’t have at least a small idea of where they intend to go. Each section provides a map and users must filter through to find information. Those unfamiliar with exactly what the region is called may struggle – for example, is your destination in central NY or the Finger Lakes? Results cannot be filtered by more than one criterion, such as cost and location.

Fodor’s also has a section for browsing the top travel, hotel, airfare, vacation package, car rental, and cruise deals. These also may be browsed by region. The blog features entries of various subjects from global locations.

Fodor’s also has a mobile version of their guides available on iTunes for London, New York City, Paris, Rome, and San Francisco for $5.99 each.

No registration is needed for the general website. Users may sign up for the Fodor’s newsletter by providing an email address. Participation in the community forum requires registration. For this area, users may login with Facebook, Twitter, or create a Fodor’s account with Member name and password, email address, zip code, and security question. An email with activation link is sent to the provided email, and once activated the user may participate in the forum.

There is no cost associated with using the site other than purchase of guidebooks or mobile application.

Travelers wishing to learn more about their destinations will likely find what they are looking for on Fodors.com. Those people who own the guidebooks will find the most up-to-date information, ratings, and pricing on the site.

• Free to use
• Global destinations
• User ratings
• Forum access after registration
• Mobile app
• Check rates for multiple online sites from Fodor’s
• Established brand – reliable content

Visit www.fodors.com