by Blake Guthrie

Created on: November 27, 2008   Last Updated: December 31, 2008

"You always find those good deals on the internet," my Mom said to me on a recent phone call.
"Where is it you want to go this time?" I asked. I am, after all, the travel guru for my family, ever since I found a $300 round-trip fare to Italy a couple of years ago.

Even though I always end up giving my parents all the info they need to find great deals online, they still give me their credit card number and make me do all the leg work as their de facto travel agent. It's a force of habit for a good son. But for those who want to plan and book a trip on the internet themselves here are some tips and web sites to help save time and money, without the use of child labor.

First: an important thing to do if you want to find travel deals on the internet is to sign up for airline fare trackers and email newsletters from travel companies. There are many to choose from, but two of the best are Yahoo and Travel Zoo (travelzoo.com). The fare tracker that comes automatic with a free My Yahoo (myyahoo.com) account has led many travelers to great deals on flights. The Travel Zoo weekly email newsletter is a great place to find package deals. Travel Zoo also has a great fare search engine. It utilizes multiple search engines and sorts through them all to deliver the best available fare to you. Travel and Leisure magazine has named Travel Zoo one of their Top 35 travel web sites, calling it one of the best places on the web to grab last minute deals.

If you have ever flown anywhere and have a frequent flier account it's a good idea to log into that account online and not just wait for the promotional mailings you get in your mail box each month. The airlines are always working in concert with the credit card and other companies on promotional offers that could fit into your travel plans. The first customers to get a whiff of these offers are those who keep their online information up to date. Most airlines will email their frequent fliers when a special deal pops up. If you're just getting the monthly mailing you might miss out. If your travel plans include Europe you'll want to check out the web sites for Ryanair (ryanair.com) and Easy Jet (easyjet.com). These European-based airlines have rock-bottom deals on flights within Europe that can sometimes be just a few dollars each way.

In the mood for a cruise? Easy Jet's sister company Easy Cruise (easycruise.com) offers deals in the Mediterranean that the major cruise lines can't touch. Granted, there aren't casinos and stage shows

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