Heading off for summer vacation doesn't mean you have to leave your morals at home. A new site called Compassionate Travel gives animal lovers a to-do list and, perhaps more importantly, a to-don't list for the road.

To be frank, the list of attractions to avoid is both general and pretty obvious: The animal involvement in circuses, bullfights and "wild animal rides for entertainment" is clear even to the tourists who gladly participate in them. We hope they'll add some guidelines to use to spot a cruelty-free version of these wild adventures, if such a thing exists.

The site, which is sponsored by the World Society for the Prevention of Animals, is more complete on the proactive side of what animal lovers can do when they're not in their native habitats. Its tips for watching wildlife could be useful even if the animals in question aren't dangerous (like the adorable dolphin pictured!), as is the factsheet on reporting animal cruelty on the road. There's also a nascent page of animal-related volunteer vacations, and seriously, anyone want to go to Kenya and help rescue elephants with us?

Related Stories:
· Travel Do's [CompassionateTravel.org]
· In Captivity: Where's My Elephant? [Jaunted]
· Animal Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo of an elephant in Kenya: meandmyshadow]]]> egw 2009-07-06T17:04:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/6/14717/42353

According to the press release that just got dumped into our inbox by travel security company SafeCheckIn.com, the world is a dark, terrifying place. It's even scarier if you're a lonely single woman. There are bad men out there, and they will get you! And when they do, no one is going to even know or possibly even care. SafeCheckIn.com is your only friend. Here's why:

What happens if you are a single and you go out alone for a hike, road trip, run, swim, or any activity, but do not come back safely? If you are single, live alone or are away from friends/family, who will begin looking for you? ... SafeCheckIn.com is a new service that allows individuals the security of having someone always waiting for him or her... When you are a single and heading out for any activity, you often do not have anyone to tell where you are going.

Please trust us when we assure you that this first paragraph is the least grating part of the promo. It's not nearly as bad as their website, which screams "don't become a victim" in huge red letters (more on that in a sec). But check out how it mentions "single" over and over again and promises to have someone "always be waiting for you."

Because without SafeCheckIn.com and its email and text service that checks up on you while you are away, you're alone in this dark, dangerous wilderness of life. So pathetically alone. ]]> Omri 2009-07-06T16:37:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/29/2359/08377

There's probably a good chance that the recession is keeping you home this summer, enjoying a staycation and maybe kicking back with some virtual tours. But if you're still planning to leave your neighborhood for parts unknown, Google is ready to help you plan your vacation.

The Internet search giant just unveiled its new Google City Tours, a service designed to outright create whole itineraries for travelers. Type in the name of your city and City Tours will return a series of trips designed to take you around the area's major landmarks. It displays locations, hours, and even the estimated time you should expect to spend at each site.]]> Omri 2009-06-29T16:47:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/4/13352/10729

Travel site Expedia has been stepping up its efforts in recent years to get travelers to think of it as an all-in-one stop, convincing users to book flights, hotels and car trips, or plain all-inclusives, via the site.

Usually, we're not convinced of the savings, since the package prices on these sites never seem like that much of a deal. But we're intrigued by the news that Expedia is teaming up with Payless Car Rental to offer more low-fare car rental deals. Payless has some pretty good last-minute deals through their website, with domestic rates as cheap as $23 a day. So along with Expedia's existing partnership with Thrifty, maybe this will make their three-in-one deals a little more enticing.

We've booked flight combined with hotel before, but have never gone for the car too to round out a vacation. What about you all? Do you ever look at Expedia's three-in-one options, and would cheaper car rental entice you to perhaps book one if you never considered it previously? Let us know in comments below.

Related Stories:
· Expedia [Official Site]
· Payless Car Rental [Official Site]
· Car rentals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Expedia] ]]> BS 2009-05-05T08:46:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/4/43534/9751

Set up along the same lines as Couchsurfing, there's a new website that will help you out if you're looking for a free place to stay in India. ExtraBed.in is a portal that connects bloggers from India and around the world, with the Indian bloggers offering others a spare bed for a night or more in cities and towns across India.

The idea of connecting bloggers is kinda neat--the theory is that if you can read somebody's blog, you'll get to know a bit about them and you won't feel like it's a complete stranger coming over to stay. The site encourages you to bring a gift for your host, and some blogger hosts also want you to do some light chores--or once in a while, babysit their kids! But that only seems fair when you're saving on hotel costs and meeting some interesting Indians.

Related Stories:
· Stay in India For Free [Reuters]
· ExtraBaed.in [Official Site]
· Making More Internet Friends [Jaunted]

[Photo: Dream.Chaser]]]> amandak 2007-10-04T09:15:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/8/24/9517/67395

World Hum had an excellent interview yesterday with NYT Frugal Traveler Matt Gross. You may remember him as the guy you were jealous of as he traveled around the world on the New York Times' dime. Well, he's back, he's getting married, and he didn't like Croatia.

According to Matt, it just wasn't impressive as, you know, Bishkek or Tirana:

I just wasn't all that excited about anything that I saw or did there. I had a fairly good time and I'm curious to maybe go back three or four years from now to see how it's developed, but that's more an intellectual curiosity rather than from-the-heart desire to return. Everywhere else I felt like I left with so much more that I wanted to do, people I wanted to spend more time with, food that I didn't get a chance to try. Everywhere else seemed so limitless, yet Croatia's ... Croatia. Every town on the coast has it's beautiful little old town with a hill and a church and white marble and terra cotta roofs. I spent two weeks there--and then I was ready to leave.