gtrekker

The BBC Profiles provide an economic, historical, and political overview, with a section on current leaders. The Profiles also list the media outlets, which include television and radio stations and the press.

National Geographic's People and Places feature provides a short overview of the destination and include a Features section with related articles, photos, and videos, depending on the destination.

Travel + Leisure Magazine's guide to the greatest hotels worldwide as selected by its team of reporters and editors.

Weatherbase provides historical weather information such as "average number of day above 90," "average number of days with thunderstorms," and other similar types of data.

From website: Welcome to the revamped South African Tourism website the most comprehensive online source of information on travel - to and around South Africa.

Our website is packed full of updated information allowing you to discover and uncover the perfect South African holiday. To read more about South Africa as a tourist destination and what we have to offer take a look at Why South Africa section. Places to go and Things to do give you great ideas for destinations, routes, activities, attractions and events...click for website

Up-to-date information provided by the State Department on matters such as passport and visa requirements, safety and security, crime, health and medical issues, any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. It also links to Travel Warnings for that country, if there is one.

Virtual Tourist has user reviews on topics such as Hotels, Things To Do, Restaurants, Local Customs, Nightlife, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Transportation, ... etc.

Frommer's Forums are divided into countries, and all the messages relating to a country are presented in a list that makes it easy to browse through the topics.

Review site with hotel reviews and candid photos posted by users.

Concierge.com destinations guides include information on getting there, getting around, lodging, places to eat, see and do, ... etc. Although Concierge.com may not have as many hotel recommendations as some guide books, they provide hotel photos along with the recommendations. The destinations guides also have links to articles about the destination published by Concierge.com or Conde Nast Traveler.

Frommer's has put a substantial amount of content online, making Frommers.com a good resource for travel planning. The site is easy to navigate since all the destinations are organized by similar topics such as "Getting There," "Restaurants," and "Suggested Itineraries."

USA Today's Country Guides have information on topics such as Money, Health, Accommodations, Entertainment, Top Things To Do and See, Getting There, Getting Around, Climate, and Map. You can also select the topics you are interested in and create a mini guide that puts all the information on one page for easy reading.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published April 2005
Hunting safaris are booming, and after decades of protection, the nearly extinct black rhino is once again fair game. Debra A. Klein reports from southern Africa, where hunters and even many conservationists believe that the best way to save endangered wildlife is to kill it

Riding with me in a safari truck through Botswana's scrubby plains, my silent tracker, Mbo, gestures to our driver to stop. We climb down into the tall grass, pausing while Mbo locks and loads his rifle and walks ahead. As we step quietly through the bush, stooping to follow a set of faint hoof tracks and careful to avoid any piercing acacia thorns, I begin to feel vulnerable. Suddenly, without warning, I am staring down the horns of a two-and-a-half-ton male rhino. Mbo and his rifle are at least 20 paces away. Trembling, I raise my arms and take aim. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published December 2005
You can delve deeper into an unfamiliar culture when you are able to gain access to places, events, and people that are normally off-limits. Below are 50 examples of such extraordinary opportunities worldwide, ranging in price from $80 to $30,000. This list is not exhaustive: The very act of publicizing some rare opportunities offered by the most well-connected travel firms would burn the bridges that make them possible. Furthermore, many of the options described on these pages include special features that we are forbidden to divulge but that will surely enrich your trip. Because of the nature of such experiences, they are of course subject to change and even cancellations. Most cannot be booked a la carte but only as part of a larger itinerary. (Note that prices quoted are estimates for two people.) ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published March 2006
The African elephant, once under threat, has recovered in greater numbers than some habitats can bear. Graham Boynton considers the future of these wondrously sentient creatures in Namibia, Botswana-and South Africa, which faces the tragic prospect of culling ... click for full article

May 2005
Step out onto the balcony and broaden your view of Cape Town's historic Bo-Kaap district, just west of the city center, whose cobblestoned lanes creep toward Signal Hill, seen rising in the background. From your room, you'll hear a gun being fired precisely at noon each day, echoing the cannon that used to herald incoming ships. Most of Bo-Kapp's residents, called Cape Malays, are descendants of the Indonesians, Indians, Madagascans, and Malaysians brought to the region as slaves by the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. ... click for full article

In addition to standard listings on attractions, restaurants, and lodging, Fodors.com has a section called "Features" that are specific to the destination. For example, the Features section for Paris has articles titled "Cheese Primer," "Bistro to Brasserie," "Pampering Spas," . . . etc.

IGoUGo is a travel review site. The reviews are organized into "journals," which are a collection of reviews by an author about a trip, such as reviews on hotels, restaurants, nightlife, experiences, photos, ... etc.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published October 2003
Adam Sachs's 46-city world tour (see Incredible Journey, Conde Nast Traveler, October 2003) is a cornucopia of travel intelligence. Below are the nuts and bolts for every bit of advice he doles out.
All room rates quoted are for the current month.

ANGUILLA
Temenos (264-222-9000; temenosvillas.com; villas, $20,000-$50,000 per week).

AUSTRALIA
Federation Square, Melbourne (61-3-9655-1900; federationsquare.com.au).
Icebergs, Sydney (61-2-9365-9000; idrb.com; entrees, $19-$35).
Jacob's Creek Winery, Barossa Valley (61-8-8521-3000; jacobscreek.com.au).
... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published September 2005
No place has come so far in so short a time as Cape Town. A generation ago, it was struggling with apartheid's dark legacy and a tarnished reputation. Today, it's bustling, with chic restaurants and celebrity tourists. Patrick Symmes reports from a city that's learning to cope with the shadows of the past while keeping an eye on the glittering future ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published October 2002
South Africa's savory Cape Malay cuisine is starting to gain the recognition it deserves. Edward Robbins provides the insider's culinary guide

The evening I go to Woodstock, near the heart of Cape Town, Table Mountain is on fire. Parched vegetation that ignited during the hot summer's day is now being fanned furiously by The Doctor, the city's infamous southeaster. Devil's Peak is haloed in orange, people on the sidewalk are riveted by the blaze, and cars career down Roodebloem Road so fast that their tails could be burning. The atmosphere is charged, as if revolution were in the air, which makes it perfect for what we are about to do: eat. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published April 2004
Ten years ago this month, apartheid ended with the election of Nelson Mandela to the South African presidency. Graham Boynton considers the past, present, and future of the continent's most compelling country

The early light of an African dawn splashes a golden hue over the wheat fields, the rolling mountains of the southern Drakensberg, and the pine forests of Zululand. I have just spent a raucous evening with old friends at a trout farm in the Kamberg, the southern part of the great Drakensberg Range, and I am now driving northeast toward Isandlwana, the sphinx-shaped mountain where the defining battle of the old Zulu kingdom took place 125 years ago. It was the greatest military defeat Britain suffered in its entire colonial history, and it was inflicted, according to the British high commissioner at the time, Sir Bartle Frere, "with impunity by a bunch of savages armed with sticks." ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published August 2007
Unrivaled access, special connections, destination savvy-these are just some of the tools each of these uber-agents can deploy to bring the most to your next big trip. In parsing the day-to-day events of an actual itinerary, Consumer News Editor Wendy Perrin demonstrates how the intuitive maneuvers of a great travel planner can turn any journey into a smoothly orchestrated, magical experience. ... click for full article