Each place is marked with a marker clicking which reveal more info about the place along with images.

Next time you want to find an interesting place to visit or want to know where your celebrity idol likes to go,  head to FavoritePlaces.

Features:

• Lists favorite places to visit chosen by celebrities and local experts.
• Browse by celebrity and view places he/she likes to visit.
• Explore map by city and find places chosen by local experts.
• Click markers to read more about the place and see images.
• Free and no registration.
• Similar tools:  NextStop.

Check out Favorite Places @ http://www.google.com/help/maps/favoriteplaces/

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• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• NextStop: Cool Local Tour Guides
• WhatsOnWhen: Local Event Guide For Over 500 World Destinations
• UniversalPackingList: Online Traveling Packing List Generator
• TripChill: Mobile Travel Assistant with Real Time Alerts
• Trazzler: Get Unique Travel Destination Recommendations

In many cases staying with locals is much better than staying at a hotel because the locals know better which places to visit and can tell you more about the history and local customs of their city or town.

Site members (called CouchSurfers) share their travel experiences on the site, are open to meeting people from different cultures and usually speak multiple languages, including English.

Currently site has more than 1 million members, with 2000 new members signing up daily. Register to message members in host cities, join and create groups, meet fellow travelers, find out about events and more.

Features:

• Stay with locals almost anywhere worldwide.
• Connects travelers and locals in 56, 858 cities in  231 countries.
• More than 1 million registered members.
• Meet people in cities you are planning to visit.
• Find a place to stay or someone to show you around the city.
• Register to browse members by countries, send messages, view photos, join groups, events and more.
• Site available in all major European languages and also in Chinese and Japanese.

Check out CouchSurfing @ www.couchsurfing.com

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• SeeYourHotel: Find A Hotel Close To Any Address
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• iStopOver: Affordable Short Term Rentals From Owners
• HotelDiscovery: Check Hotel Room Availability Worldwide
• HotelCalculator: Compare Hotel Prices on Multiple Travel Sites

To search simply type in the location, select number of days and guests and then hit the Enter tush. HotelCalculator will bring list of results that can be narrowed down by price, type, hotel star rating (1 to 5) and amenities (Internet access, swimming pool, air-conditioning… etc).

You can also view hotels on a Goolge Map, see its distance from the city center and hotels in nearby towns. To book the hotel, just follow the link and complete the order at the provider’s website.

Furthermore you can add the hotels you liked to a “shortlist”. Shortlist lets you filter and compare hotels from the overall list.  You can save the shortlist and access it later through a provided link

Features:

• Compare hotel prices in over 13,000 cities all over the world.
• Data aggregated from multiple hotel and travel info providers including ActiveHotels.com, Agoda.com, AlphaRooms.com, Booking.com, HotelClub.com, OctopusTravel.com and others.
• View hotel listings, narrow results by price, hotel star rating (1 to 5) and amenities (Internet, swimming pool, air conditioning etc).
• View hotel location on a Google Map.
• Add hotels to a shortlist and access them later via provided link (link valid 7 days).
• Easy to use interface and no registration.
• Similar sites: HostelBookers, iStopOver and SeeYourHotel.

Check out HotelCalculator @ www.hotelcalculator.com

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• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• HostelBookers: Find Budget Hostel For Your Backpacking Trip
• SeeYourHotel: Find A Hotel Close To Any Address
• Roomorama: Marketplace For Short-Term Rentals
• PadMapper: Easy Way To Search Craigslist For Rental Property
• MyApartmentMap: Find Affordable Places to Rent in US

Features:

• Calculate your car commuting expenses.
• View your you daily, weekly and monthly totals.
• Integrated Google Maps showing the commute route.
• Available only for United States.
• No signup required.
• Similar websites: Drive Pricing and MyMileMaker.

Check out CommutePrice @ www.commuteprice.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• MobileTraffic : Check Traffic Cameras from Mobile Device
• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area
• CostToDrive: Estimate Gas Cost For Your Next Travel
• CarRentals.com: Site For Comparing Car Rental Rates
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides

By default CarRentals brings results sorted by price but you can easily sort them further by vendor, distance, car type and vendor location.

Features:

• Car rental rate comparison site.
• Compare car rental rates from major vendorslike Avis, Hertz, Sixt and many others.
• Sort results by daily rental price, car type, location and more.
• Toll free support number available 24 hours a day.
• No signup required.

Check out CarRentals @ www.carrentals.com

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• TrueCar: Find Out Real Prices Paid For New Cars
• RealCarTips: Find Out How Much Others Paid for Their Car
• MobileTraffic : Check Traffic Cameras from Mobile Device
• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area
• CostToDrive: Estimate Gas Cost For Your Next Travel

All flight data is shown with an easy to understand color coded lines: Black, Red, Yellow and Green. Each color representing particular delay time.

Green 0-15 minutes
Yellow 16-59 minutes
Red 1-2 hours
Black > 2 hours

Works really easy, simply enter an area zip code, departure city or the relevant airport code and click on “Find” button. Then all available flight data for that airport will be nicely presented on the map. Furthemore, you can view delays for all other airports and see historical delays.

You may also want to check similar flight delay information providers that we have profiled earlier. These are: DelayCast and Traveas.

Check out FlightWait @ www.flightwait.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
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• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

The site provides you with an individual profile page where all your “accomplishments” are listed. Users are also able to comments on any listed item and share their thoughts.

If you do not feel like sharing anything you can just browse the site and discover cool things to do. The site has around 200,000 listed activities that you can both search and browse by category. The categories include history, travel, sight seeing, arts, culture, health, fitness, pleasure, music and more.

Features:

• Share and discover activities and things to do for almost any location.
• Over 200,000 activities listed.
• Search for activities.
• Browse activities by category.
• Check off things you’ve done (diddits) and star stuff you want to do (wanna dos).
• Share your stories and read stories shared by others.
• Meet people with similar interests.

Check out Diddit @ www.diddit.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• FavouritePlaces: Maps favorite places of celebreties & local experts
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• WorldTaximeter : Taxi Fare Calculator
• WhereIveBeen: Share Places You Have Visited

Additionally to mileages and time you can also view map along with detailed driving directions. Option to print and export calculation results as an excel file also supported.

Features:

• Mileage calculation between cities.
• Calculate miles and time for on multistop route.
• Compare distances between multiple destination.
• Get calculations of multiple routes.
• Export results or print them out.
• Quick and easy to use.
• Free and no registration.

RouteBlast @ www.routeblast.com

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• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• MizPee: Public Toilet Locator
• CommutePrice: Car Commuting Expense Calculator
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides

And in case you have already found a flight, you can submit that flight information and let him check whether your deal is the cheapest one.

Since Nico does it all manually it may take up to 24 hours before he sends you an email. You can check fares for any flights, both domestic and international, regardless of where you live.

For example I searched for a Los Angeles -> New York flight and found one with Virgin America for 126$ on Expedia.com. I sent an email to LetMeBook to see if he can find anything cheaper. And voila, Nico found the same flight for 119$ on priceline.com. Pretty cool.

Below is a screanshot of the Nico’s email that landed in my inbox

Features:

• Human-powered cheap flights searcher.
• Find the cheapest airfare between two locations.
• Check if there are any cheaper deals for your flight.
• Get response within 24 hours or less.
• Results sent to your email.
• No registration. Free.

Check out LetMeBook @ www.letmebook.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

Features:

• Find a ride to location you’re travelling to.
• Sign-up as a driver and share your ride with others.
• Google maps integrated.
• Facebook application available.
• Meet new people.
• Rate your experiences.
• Over 300,000 people are currently using Zimride.
• Free and simple to use.
• Available only for United States

Check our Zimride @ www.zimride.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• SpeedTrap : Locate Road Speed Traps in your Area
• MobileTraffic : Check Traffic Cameras from Mobile Device
• CostToDrive: Estimate Gas Cost For Your Next Travel

Features:

• Global restaurant guide.
• Guide to restaurants in over 40 countries.
• Search restaurants by country, city and sort by cuisine type.
• Website is available in 8 different languages.
• Lists detailed info such as menu, hours of operation and location.
• See beforehand if the restaurant accepts credit cards.
• View menu prices in 18 different currencies.

Check out FoodJoker @ FoodJoker.com (Contributed by Tehseen Baweja from Ijaar.com)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
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• UEatCheap: Find Cheap Buffet Restaurants in Your Area
• SpecialGourmets: Find restaurants for people with food allergies
• Setup-Tableware: Learn How To Set Up A Table
• OpenTable: Find Good Restaurants & Book Tables Online
• NYCFoodMap: NYC Restaurants Map

You can search for places by city, zip code or by restaurant type. Each place is clearly marked on the map and clicking on marker will show you more information such as restaurant type, address, phone number and user ratings.

There is no registration needed for searching restaurants, but if you want create a list of your favorite restaurants, receive deal alerts, suggest restaurants, or rate restaurant suggested by other users the  registration is required.

Features:

• Find cheap buffet restaurants in your city.
• Search for restaurants by city, state or zip code.
• Search for restaurants by restaurant type.
• Rate and review restaurants.
• Add restaurants.
• Send restaurant addresses to your phone.
• Check out specials in your area.
• Sign up to receive deals by email.

Check out UEatCheap @ www.ueatcheap.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Woot: One Deal a Day
• Voyij: Best Travel Offers and Deals For Any Destination
• Texthog: Track Budget & Expenses via SMS, Email & Twitter
• SpendingDiary: Track Daily Expenses Online
• Shortcuts: Link Discount Coupons To Your Store Card

This site can be easily accessed on any computer or mobile device with an internet connection. Just type in the name of the city as well as the street you’re on, and MizPee will list out where you can find the nearest bathrooms.

Features:

• Get public toilet locations near to you just by typing in your city and street.
• The sites can be accessed from mobile phone as well.
• Search bathrooms by handicap access, diaper change, and how clean the bathroom is.
• Rate bathrooms and add new bathrooms to the MizPee list.
• View whether or not you have to pay to use the bathroom.
• US only
• Also see SitOrSquat and TheBathroomDiaries.

Check out MizPee @ www.mizpee.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• SitOrSquat : Find Closest Public Toilets
• Schmap: Free City Guides on your PC and Mobile
• RouteBlast: Calculating Mileage Between Cities Made Easy

You can search for skiing resorts, get info on snow depth, get a snowcast for each ski resort, view skiers’ comments, check YouTube videos, browse related photo blogs, and check out real time webcams when available.

Features:

• Find skiing resorts and get additional skiing information.
• Search and browse geographically.
• Sort resorts by name, weather conditions, number of lifts and runs.
• View depth of snow and get new snow forecasts.
• Option to view related skier comments, photo blogs and YouTube videos.
• View real time web cams if available.
• No registration.

Check out SkiBonk @ www.skibonk.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Zvents: Find Events in Your Area
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Yahoo Upcoming: Upcoming Events Locator for Your Area
• WorldTaximeter : Taxi Fare Calculator

To generate a ticket enter passenger and destination details in to provided form, choose airline and then click on “Done!” button. Ticket-O-Matic will generate your image that you can download or forward to any email address.

Features:

• Fake airline ticket generator.
• Choose from 33 airlines.
• Download generated tickets or forward to any email.
• Fun and free.

Check out Ticket-O-Matic @ www.omatic.musicairport.com (via matteodini.com)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
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• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• You Don’t Know Jack
• YearbookYourself: Give your Photos 1950s, 60s, 70s …. look
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• XSketch : Online Multiplayer Pictionary Game

The directory is easy-to-navigate, simply select the country that you want to find embassy for, choose the location you’re interested in and click on “Find Your Embassy” button. Next, EmbassyWorld will bring you the list of related resources for the ebmassy (if there are any).

Features:

• Search and find contact resources for any embassy and consulate worldwide.
• Browse content alphabetically (by countriy name).
• No registration needed.

Check out EmbassyWorld @ www.embassyworld.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• WorldTaximeter : Taxi Fare Calculator
• WhereIveBeen: Share Places You Have Visited
• WDL: Browse Important Historical Documents Online

As they mention, “Using the power and ease of Google Maps technology, you can now find a hotel, then view actual pictures of the rooms and facilities, compare with other hotels nearby and then make your reservations all from one convenient site.”

I’d say they are doing a good job leveraging Google Maps technology to fetch hotels in the US and Canada region. You can also filter hotels by price and standard or use their toll free numbers given at the top right of the page, to get in touch with them.

Check out SeeYourHotel @ www.seeyourhotel.com ( Contributed by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog )

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• HotelCalculator: Compare Hotel Prices on Multiple Travel Sites
• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• TravelMapGenerator: Highlight Countries & Create Shareable Maps
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• SubwayMaps : Printable Metro Maps

When you’re done typing, copy the text and use it where you need it.

Features:

• Type in 6 different languages using your english keyboard.
• Supported languages: Hebrew, Russian, Greek, Urdu, Persian and Arabic.
• No registration needed.
• Similar websites: Gate2Home.

Check out MagicTyper @ www.tero.co.uk/magictyper (via technospot.net)

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• TypeIt: Virtual Multi Language Keyboard
• OneMinuteLanguages: Quick Language Podcasts
• LifeType: Easily Type In 50 Foreign Languages
• Gate2Home : Online Keyboard in any Language
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides

Currently the sites offers podcasts for 12 different languages: Catalan, Danish, French, German, Irish, Japanese, Luxembourgish, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian and Russian. For each language you get about 10 short easy-to-digest podcasts.

Features:

• Learn basics phrases for 12 languages (mostly European languages).
• You will get 10 free couple of minute long podcasts for each language.
• More languages will be added in the future.
• Premium option with more features also available
• No sign up or registration needed.

Check out OneMinuteLanguages @ www.oneminutelanguages.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• WordAhead: Video Vocabulary Site
• MagicTyper: Type in Six Different Languages on Your Keyboard
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• YTPodcaster: Turn YouTube Videos into Video Podcasts
• YouTubePodcaster: Convert YouTube Results to MP4 Podcast Feeds

You can search for events by keyword, by city name or simply zooming in on the map. For instance, it takes only a couple of clicks to view upcoming events for cities like London, Amsterdam or Berlin. Each event is clearly marked with a marker. To see the additional details about the event simply click on the marker.

Features:

• Search and find events in European cities.
• Sort events by country, category, and date.
• Browse events on the map.
• See events details by clicking on the event marker.
• iPhone app is coming soon.
• No sign up or registration needed.
• Similar websites: FanSnap and BandsInTown.

Check out Happenr @ www.happenr.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Zvents: Find Events in Your Area
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Zapproved: Web based Decision Making Tool
• YourLi.st : Get Event Reminders by eMail
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets

It also shows an airport map and which flights are expected to be delayed.

Features:

• Get flight arrival and departure times for any airport worldwide.
• Simple and easy to use .
• No sign up needed
• Filter flights by time range.
• Setup mobile alerts.

Check out FlyTime @ www.flytime.co.cc

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

There are two ways to search for brochures and travel information. You can either click on the map and find a region that interests you or click on one of the 30 plus states shown on the  sidebar.

Features:

• Get free travel guides and brochures.
• Receive them by postal mail or download on to your computer.
• US and Canada only.
• No signup needed.

Check out TravelGuidesFree @ www.travelguidesfree.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
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• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• You Serials : Adware-free Serial and CD Key Search Engine
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Wowio : Download Copyrighted eBooks for Free. Legally.
• WorldTaximeter : Taxi Fare Calculator

Just type in the details of your journey and almost instantly get the driving directions and a route a map. See above screenshot.

Features:

• Plan travel route and get driving directions online.
• Plan and print as many directions as you like.
• Clutter free and easy to use interface.
• No signup needed.

Check out TheRoutePlanner @ www.the-routeplanner.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• SpeedTrap : Locate Road Speed Traps in your Area
• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• TravelMapGenerator: Highlight Countries & Create Shareable Maps

The website is really simple to use, just type www.med44.com/metro/ in to your mobile or iPhone browser and find the city of your interest. Choose the map you need and you’re done.

Features:

• Get subway, bus or train maps for cities worldwide.
• Access maps using your iPhone or from any web enabled mobile phone.
• Currently maps for 70 major cities are available (and more being added).
• Download and save maps to your phone.
• Contribute by submitting map of your city.

You might be also interested in other similar tools that we have covered earlier:

- iSubwayMaps (subway maps for your iPhone or iPod Touch)
- Schmap (free city guides for your PC and Mobile)
- SubwayMaps (printable metro maps)

Check out Metropol iPhone @ www.med44.com/metro/

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
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• Schmap: Free City Guides on your PC and Mobile
• iSubwayMaps : Get Subway Maps on your iPhone or iPod
• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• TravelMapGenerator: Highlight Countries & Create Shareable Maps
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online

How it works :

Step 1 You can enter the source and destination city airports to start with. It has an autocomplete feature to help you with the exact information. You can also select the travel date.

Step 2 Choose the flight you’d like to track and click on the track button to track it.

Step 3 Select what kind of flight information you’d like to get in your mobile phone.

Step 4 Track the information by sending an SMS in the given format to the specified cellphone number. That’s it. You can now get alerts on your cellphone.

Check out Traveas @ www.traveas.com ( Contributed by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog )

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher

Features:

• Check airport and flights related info from your iPhone or any web enabled mobile device.
• See security wait times, traffic and delays, weather condition and maps.
• Supports 420 airports across US
• No sign up or registration needed.
• Also see Traveas for tracking and checking flight information.

Check out ASApp @ www.wheretraveler.com/mobile/asapp

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

As some of you might rememeber we have already covered DrivePricing. CostToDrive does pretty much the same thing. Enter your starting and destination points, car model and make year, and get back an estimated gas mileage cost.

Features :

• Get estimates on how much it will cost you to drive from one city to another.
• See the route map (covers only routes within United States).
• No registration required.

Check out CostToDrive @ www.costtodrive.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Trapster: Get Alerted About Speed Traps On Your Way
• RealCarTips: Find Out How Much Others Paid for Their Car
• OhMyGas: Find The Cheapest Gas Prices In Your Area
• MobileTraffic : Check Traffic Cameras from Mobile Device
• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area

Each seatmap shows seats clearly marked with legends and when clicked shows seat reviews including pros and cons. You can browse seatmaps by airline and plane types.

Overall it’s a useful website, especially for those who travel a lot. Give it a try next time you’re booking a flight. SeatGuru is another such website.

Features:

• Check out airline seatmaps and charts and discover best places to seat.
• 370 seatmaps for 60 major airlines are available.
• Get detailed review with pros and cons for each position.
• Search and browse seatmaps by airline and their planes.
• Also see photos for VIP lounges, premium cabins, gourmet meals etc.
• No sign-up or registration needed.

Check out SeatExpert @ www.seatexpert.com

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• LetMeBook: Cheap Flight Searcher

As you start typing in the tripeedo search bar it shows you a live preview of your search in well known travel sites like Expedia, Kayak, Travelocity and many more. You can just click on the site of your choice and it redirects you to their airfares page.

If you just hit enter after typing your query then it redirects you to the relevant Expedia page (since Expedia being the first travel search engine in the list ) and shows you the required information.

Those of you who regularly travel by air and use the oinline travel websites to book tickets, Tripeedo could be just the service you’ve been waiting for.

Check out Tripeedo @ www.tripeedo.com ( Contributed by Abhijeet from Jeet Blog )

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
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• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• ZabaSearch: Search People by Name, Address & Phone Number
• Yauba: Anonymous Search Engine
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Yahoo Glue: All Search Results On One Page

Here is how it works, first choose the colors, select the countries you want highlighted, and when finished click “Submit”. TravelMapGenerator will then present you with a PNG image of your map. You can easily save your map to you computer or share with others by forwarding a URL.

Features:

• Highlight countries of your choice and generate a shareable map.
• Customize: water color, visited country color, default country color.
• Download and save maps to you computer.
• Share maps with other sby forwarding a URL.
• No sign-up needed.

Go to TravelMapGenerator @ www.29travels.com/travelmap/

• New: Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Recommended!
• MakeUseOf 'Geeky Fun' - Hillarious Geeky Pics and Videos from different parts of web.

• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• SubwayMaps : Printable Metro Maps
• SpeedTrap : Locate Road Speed Traps in your Area
• SeeYourHotel: Find A Hotel Close To Any Address

When the map is ready, share it with anyone you want. Actually, it’s quite similar to previously reviewed QuickMaps but with more features.

Maps can be shared online via custom link or embedded on any other website, blog or web page.

Apart from creating maps, users can also explore stuff created by other UMapper members, and check out the Most Popular and Newest Maps sections.

Features:

• Create custom direction maps online and share them others.
• Create as many maps as you like.
• Add labels, lines, notes, polygons, etc.
• Use maps from OpenStreetMap, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or Google Earth.
• Embed ready maps onto your blog or online profile.
• Explore Most Popular, Map Wikis, Newest etc.
• Share maps on view only or wiki (anyone can edit) bases.
• Export map data to Flash ActionScript 3.0 or KML.
• Check out map creation guide.
• Registration is not required, though registered members can keep track of all maps from one place.

Check out Umapper @ www.umapper.com

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• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• TravelMapGenerator: Highlight Countries & Create Shareable Maps
• SubwayMaps : Printable Metro Maps
• SpeedTrap : Locate Road Speed Traps in your Area
• SeeYourHotel: Find A Hotel Close To Any Address

The results are ranked based on 3 factors such as comfort, speed and ease. These are further subdivided into things like security wait time, number of stops, legroom, connection time, aircraft type, gate location, baggage loss rate and so on.

When searching for flights you can specify which of those are important to you and let InsideTrip find the best flights for your needs. The results are ranked from the most to least convenient one (see this in the above screenshot).

Features:

• Find the best flight for your needs.
• Filter results further by depart/arrival time, connection waiting duration, airline and airport.
• Criteria: Number of stops, Travel duration, On-time stats, Security wait time, Legroom, Aircraft type, Aircraft age, Historical load factor, Connect time, Routing quality, Lost bags rank and Gate location.

Check out InsideTrip @ www.insidetrip.com

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• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• Traveas: Track Flight Information On your Cellphone
• SleepingInAirports: Traveler’s Guide to Sleeping in Airports
• SeatGuru
• SeatExpert: Airline Seat Reviews and Seat Maps

Drive Pricing calculates the total length of the trip and gas cost. The gas cost estimation is heavily based on the MPG (miles per gallon) value you provide, so make sure you enter that value correctly. If you’re not 100% sure about the MPG value for your car, find it out on fueleconomy.gov .

Go to Drive Pricing @ www.drivepricing.com

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• RiskyRoads: See Fatal Traffic Accident Statistics For Your Area
• PetroFix: Stay Immune To Gas Price Increases
• MotorTopia: Social Network For Bike, Boat & Car Enthusiasts
• MobileTraffic : Check Traffic Cameras from Mobile Device
• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area

To add subway maps to your device, first download them to your computer and then follow installation instructions on this page.

Features:

• Subway maps for your iPhone, iPod and iPod Nano.
• Supports 24 major cities worldwide. More being added.
• No sign-up required.

Check out iSubwayMaps @ www.isubwaymaps.com

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• SpeedTrap : Locate Road Speed Traps in your Area
• Schmap: Free City Guides on your PC and Mobile
• Metropol iPhone: Subway, Bus and Train Maps For Cities Worldwide
• VenueM: Turn Podcasts to iPhone-Friendly Websites
• Venjuvo: Get Cash for Your Old Electronics and Gadgets

Currently the service supports only 10 major cities in the US. These are:

• Atlanta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Baltimore, MD
• Chicago, IL
• Dallas, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Phoenix, AZ
• San Francisco, CA
• Washington, DC

There is nothing to install or download, simply enter a zipcode, the name of a city or your exact location and it will give you an area map along with the location of each vehicle. Vehicles are shown as little balloons (see screenshot below). Once you have located the vehicle you need, just call the service provider to reserve it. The company phone numbers are provided as well.

The Google Ride Finder is still a beta product and being constantly improved. So expect a wider coverage in the near future. For additional details see their FAQ section.

Check out Google Ride Finder @ http://labs.google.com/ridefinder

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• PrimoSpot: Find a Parking Spot in New York City (NYC)
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Trapster: Get Alerted About Speed Traps On Your Way
• The Route Planner: Get Route Map & Directions Online
• SpeedTrap : Locate Road Speed Traps in your Area

The website is very simple. Once you sign-up and login you can choose the type of holiday you’re planning and then start checking off the items you need. Finally when your list is ready you can print it out and use it for packing. Additionally, you can setup the reminders to your email address. Check out the screenshot below for the whole picture:

Features:

• Create a printable holiday checklist.
• Tailor your list for different types of hoildeays (beach, winter sports, camping, business, etc.)
• Set planning reminders to be sent to your inbox.
• There is no typing involved, you simply check off the items you need.
• If the item you need isn’t listed you have the option to add it manually.

Check out Dont Forget Your Toothbrush @ www.dontforgetyourtoothbrush.com

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• SubwayMaps : Printable Metro Maps
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• WoW-Coupons : Search, Find and Print Free Coupons
• WorldTaximeter : Taxi Fare Calculator

Features:

• Check out live traffic conditions from your mobile phone.
• Browse traffic cameras by country, state, city and street.
• Includes over 4600 cameras across US, Canada, Austalia, China, Luxemborg, Sweden, United Kingdom.
• Requirements: web-enabled mobile device with a data plan.
• What’s missing: Maps integration, no search option.

Please note, if you plan to use this service on a regular basis then make sure to check with your mobile carrier about the data usage fees. Unless you are on an unlimited data plan, using MobileTraffic.tv from a mobile phone can be quite costly.

Go to MobileTraffic @ www.mobiletraffic.tv

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• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area
• CostToDrive: Estimate Gas Cost For Your Next Travel
• CommutePrice: Car Commuting Expense Calculator
• CarRentals.com: Site For Comparing Car Rental Rates
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides

Schmap covers almost every major city in Europe, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Get tourist guides to London, Rome, Paris, New York etc. See information on everything from the city’s historical background to the best places to eat and party.

Another noteworthy feature is the iPhone and iPod Touch support. Schmap can be conveniently accessed from any of these devices. All you need is an internet connection.

Features:

(1) Browse guides online by top destinations (Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Madrid etc.) or by country/region (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.)

(2) Schmap 2.0 : Get Schmap city guides on you desktop by installing Schmap 2.0 desktop application. The desktop version comes with more features (Windows Vista, XP, Mac OS X).

(3) Mobile Travel Guide: Just go to www.schmap.com on your iPhone (or iPod) browser. There is nothing to install or download.

(4) Coming soon: a local business search functionality for other cities. Find and get the business name, street address, and the phone number.

If you like Schmap you might also want to check out Metro and SubwayMaps, both of these services offer free public transportation guides for lots of cities worldwide.

Go to Schmap @ www.schmap.com

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• Metropol iPhone: Subway, Bus and Train Maps For Cities Worldwide
• iSubwayMaps : Get Subway Maps on your iPhone or iPod
• Google Ride Finder: Find Taxi, Limousine or Shuttle in the Area
• UMapper: Create and Share Route Maps with Friends
• TravelMapGenerator: Highlight Countries & Create Shareable Maps

• 1. Select the state you’re moving from and enter the first 3 digits of your zipcode.
• 2. Choose the type of move and get the list of related movers.
• 3. Fiil out the quotation form to get free quotes from selected companies.

Features:

• Find local mover comanies by zip code and request free quotes.
• Download and print free moving checklist to help you move.
• Read tips and relevant information for different type of moves.
• Browse moving services by move type, location, and moving distance.

Check out USA Movers @ www.usamovers.com

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• CityMove: List Your Move Job & Let Movers Compete For It
• ZimRide: Carpooling Website To Find & Share Rides
• Yapta: Get Refund on Flight Tickets
• WorldTaximeter : Taxi Fare Calculator
• WhereIveBeen: Share Places You Have Visited

One of the other cool things about Truphone is that you don’t have to change anything about your current phone contract. You can continue using your mobile in exactly the same way as you used to. Truphone is just an extra application that can be activated when you’re in the WiFi Hotspot. That makes it ideal for frequent travelers who want to save on roaming charges.

Features:

• You pay the same amount for international calls regardless of your location. No roaming charges.
• Send free text messages and make free calls and to other Truphone users worldwide.
• Use Truphone from any public WiFi access hotspots worldwide (airports, libraries etc.)
• Google Talk support : Make free calls to your Google Talk contacts.
• Incoming calls from other Truphone users are always free.
• Forward your Truphone voicemail messages to your email address.
• Setup custom rings for different callers.

Note: Truphone currently works mainly on Nokia N and E series phones. Support for other handsets coming soon.

[Video] How To Install Truphone

Check out Truphone @ www.truphone.com

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• ViaTalkFree : Free Calls within US and Canada
• Talkster : Free Long Distance Calling
• Ring2Skype: Receive Calls On Skype From Landline For Free
• PokeTalk: Free International Calling To 50+ Countries
• NimBuzz: IM and VoIP Client for Your Mobile