Taking off Travel blog

There’s a lot more to planning a business trip or a holiday than simply booking travel, making airport parking reservations and finding accommodation. These days you can find out a lot about where you’re headed by visiting sites for countries, cities, destinations and attractions. The only trouble is that those sites are designed to sell you on the delights of the places you are visiting. To find out what actual travelers think, you need to browse the travel forums. Here are nine forums where you can start your research.

Try these forums to plan and discuss your next trip

BootsnAll Travel is all about independent travel, with stories and blogs to make destinations come to life. The forum is sorted by destination, with active discussions of travel issues on all the major continents and regions.

Business Traveller, the magazine for business travelers worldwide, has been around since 1976. Its forum deals with any subject related to travel, with the most popular topics being airlines, airports and frequent flyer programs.

Cruise Critic is the place to go if you are traveling by sea. With five million plus members, there’s a wealth of information on everything cruise related. The forum also includes discussions of individual cruise lines. Read more »

So you think you’ve planned the perfect holiday getaway. You know when you’re going and where you’re going, but have you thought about what to do with your car when you jet off for a weekend break? Parking at the airport can be time consuming and expensive and won’t get you in the right mood to start your holiday. But you could avoid all that by taking an offsite airport parking deal. Here are five reasons to do just that.

1. Never Circle The Airport Again

How many times have you driven round and round an airport parking lot as the seconds ticked away to your check in time? It’s immensely, frustrating, isn’t it? If you book offsite airport parking, then all you need to do is show up with your car and you can soon be on a shuttle to the airport, making your flight check-in with time to spare. Your parking spot is reserved, so you know it will be there. Read more »

About 17 million people pass through Chicago Midway Airport (MDW) each year. If you are on a layover, you won’t even have to worry about Midway Airport parking; just stash your bags somewhere and start seeing the sights. The airport is only ten miles from downtown Chicago. That means there’s plenty to see and do that’s not too far away. Here are some places where you can start your Chicago sightseeing tour.

Five Miles Or Less From MDW

If all you need to do is get some fresh air, then there are plenty of parks where you can sit outside while you wait for your connecting flight. Pasteur Park, Archer Park, Minuteman Park and West Lawn Park are all a mile or less away, so a brisk walk will take you away from airport congestion and into a pleasant green space.

Those with an interest in Eastern Europe will enjoy a visit to the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, less than two miles from the airport on South Pulaski Road. It’s got the largest collection of Lithuanian material outside that country and is open daily from 10 till 4. A few miles further, you can explore the history of a different group at the DuSable Museum of African American History, located less than 5 miles from the airport. It’s got several exhibits and is well worth a visit. Read more »

Who wants to sit around at the airport? If you’ve got a layover in LAX, parking your bags somewhere will give you the freedom to explore and you can still be back in time to make your connection. There’s no left luggage at the airport itself, but you can use LAX Luggage Storage for a pickup and drop off service that means your bags will be safe while you look around. At between $5 and $12, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. Alternatively, use the LAX parking facilities and leave your bags in the trunk. Once your bags are safely stowed, it’s time to get moving. There’s plenty to see nearby. Read more »