Find a drivable destination and then calculate your fuel costs
Despite high gasoline prices, Americans are likely to hit the roads in near-record numbers this summer, according to the Travel Industry Assn. of America, which predicts a 3% increase in driving vacations this year over 2003.
"The summer travel season will start off with a bang, and we expect it to stay strong through August," said Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the association. "But there are some causes for concern, including rising gas prices and higher inflation."
If high gas prices have you looking for help in budgeting and planning your driving vacation, a visit to the information highway could help smooth the road ahead.
Your first stop might be the new Road Trips feature from Hotels.com (www.hotels.com; click on Road Trips). There you type in a ZIP Code and specify how long in hours (up to six) you want to drive to get a list of destinations. You can even specify in which direction you'd like to travel.
I did a test "drive" from my Ventura ZIP Code. Road Trips returned a list of 25 destinations within the six-hour limit: Some, such as Anaheim, San Francisco and Las Vegas were obvious; others, such as top-of-the-list San Bruno and Mountain View, lacked obvious appeal. Some that I thought would be obvious, such as Monterey, Carmel or Cambria, weren't listed.
The San Bruno information link gave me a generic spiel about the Bay Area but nothing about splendors or attractions of San Bruno.
I narrowed my search to driving northwest. This time Monterey did appear, and San Luis Obispo was the top search result. (San Bruno dropped to No. 4.)
My review: It needs more content for the less obvious destinations; it needs to be more selective about the destinations; and it should add some of the more obvious tourist destinations.
Wondering how San Bruno turned up as No. 1, I called Hotels.com. Human error, said Nicole Hockin, a spokeswoman for the website. "Destinations are ranked based upon consumer interest, available content and accommodations," she said. The problem was being resolved, she added. When I checked back two days later, San Bruno was nowhere to be found. More destination content is being added during the summer, she said.
Once you have your destination, check out the AAA Fuel Cost Calculator, www.fuelcostcalculator.com, for budget help.
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