published in print FEBRUARY 25, 2002
Weekend Escapes: Use the Web
Local sites
can help with short-hop trips
By Ellen Neuborne
You don't need to go far to benefit
from going online. The Internet may be the place to buy cheap
airline tickets or research exotic locales, but it's also becoming
a popular way to find nearby travel options. That's especially
true as recession and terrorism fears have led many to vacation
closer to home. I fired up my PC and began surfing for trips
not far from my home in New York City after my family nixed a
venture to Texas. I found the Net can do a lot to make a local
getaway more fun.
Although big online sites such
as Travelocity.com and Expedia.com offer lodging and activities
in almost any good-size city, when you're traveling within 100
miles or so, it pays to consult a local site. Several travel
sites devoted to individual cities and their environs can help
(table). With their narrow focus and locally based staff, these
boutique sites most likely have a vacation idea that would surprise
even a native.
How do you find a local site?
I used Yahoo! and Google, but other search engines work just
as well. Just type in such keywords as weekend, getaway, and
your city of choice. Also try searching the activities you'd
like to do.
That's how Matt Sullivan of La
Jolla, Calif., found Totalescape.com,
a site dedicated to California vacations off the beaten path.
His search on "mountain biking" turned up Total Escape,
which specializes in active and outdoor trips. He ended up booking
a four-day guided group camping trip at Anza-Borrego Desert State
Park, 90 miles from Palm Springs. Total Escape arranged for the
camp sites and the cooking and bonfire permits, provided driving
directions, and matched up Sullivan, 31, with about 20 other
like-minded vacationers.
Total Escape's Web master is
its lead tour guide, and the weekend included optional excursions
to nearby caves. Sullivan brought his own gear, so the trip cost
him just $25. While Total Escape focuses on outdoor fun, it also
features inns and resorts, such as the Gingerbread Mansion Inn
($130 to $385 per night) in Ferndale in Northern California and
the Blue Iguana Inn ($95 to $219) in Ojai near Los Angeles. Hotel
chains or amusement parks aren't listed.
I found my getaway by surfing
Escapemaker.com, which specializes in trips within 500 miles
of its Brooklyn (N.Y.) headquarters. When I searched for nearby
environs such as the Catskills, Hudson Valley, and Woodstock,
N.Y., on sites such as Orbitz, I came up blank. But Escapemaker
directed me to the Hunter Inn, which is within walking distance
from Catskills ski resort Hunter Mountain ($79 to $270 a night).
It also came up with a list of every specialty shop in Woodstock
and the annual Chocolate Fair in Mystic, Conn. I decided a weekend
of candy sampling--and a visit to the Mystic Aquarium--should
help my family of four get over the disappointment of not being
somewhere warm.
If you're willing to squeeze
a plane trip into your getaway, Site59.com has made a specialty
of packaging cheap airfares and hotels. Two recent offerings:
$277 from New York to West Palm Beach with two nights at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel, and $303 from Washington to New Orleans with
two nights at the Sheraton. Site59 is so good at quickie vacations
that Travelocity and Orbitz now use it to purchase much of their
getaway inventory.
The biggest drawback to smaller
sites is their uneven technology. While Site59 and the like are
fully virtual from search to sale, Escapemaker provides only
data and links. To book your trip, you'll have to pick up the
phone.
The yen to travel locally may
wane as the economy comes out of recession. Already, execs at
Travelocity and Site59 say average trip length, which contracted
after September 11, is increasing again as consumers regain confidence
about traveling. Still, when you get the urge for a quick trip,
the boutique sites offer great resources to help you indulge
your whim.