Wish you were there?

• Travelocity
  One of the biggest travel sites online, this provides a one-stop shop for holidays, flights, car hire, and accommodation. It's also home to a whopping great database of travel and destination titbits. And don't forget to check out the handy 'best fare finder' tool while you're there.

• Expedia
  Perhaps Travelocity's biggest rival, Expedia was established in 1998 with the aim of providing every service you'd find in an established High Street travel agents, and some. It's packed with information, links, travel guides and useful tools such as a nifty currency converter, insurance service and map room.

• Lunn Poly
  Lunn Poly is a bricks and mortar travel company that has made a success of moving online. For the seasoned holiday booker, its site combines the in-depth information offered at your local branch of Lunn Poly, with up to the minute flight deals and special offers. Bookings are taken immediately.

• The Cruise Line
  Book a trip with Europe's foremost cruise specialists and you won't be in better hands until your captain welcomes you onboard your floating palace. The 'Cruise Finder' will help tailor the right ship and itinerary for you, while the chance to meet your British crew online might comfort landlubbers.

• Club 18-30
  Everything you'd imagine a Club 18-30 site to be – loud, brash and flashed to the hilt with unnecessary, in-yer-face animation. You'll find all you need to know about where to go, how to get there, what to do, who to meet and how to get paralytic with them and drag them back to your room for 'a coffee'. Recent TV exposure has only encouraged this lot - brilliant stuff if you can handle it.

• Opodo
  Shiny new flight-booking portal operated by a European airline cartel comprising Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, BA, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa. It's early days yet, but there's already more than just flights on offer here from this eclectic bunch of brands from the first half of the alphabet.

• EasyJet
  EasyMan Stelios's first Easy venture is still going strong. Despite the company's regular appearances on BBC Watchdog, it's still a favourite bookmark for UK customers looking for flight-only bargains, although there are only 16 foreign destinations to choose from.

• Ebookers
  Specialising in discount fares negotiated directly with 120 different airlines, this site sifts the market for the best prices it can find, as well as delivers standard prices from the biggest carriers. An innovative feature called Flight Watch will even keep you updated on the progress of particular flights by SMS – handy for meeting friends at the airport.

• Buzz
  If your timing is flexible and you grab your opportunities quickly, this low cost airline has some stunning bargains. Buzz flies no-frills to 18 destinations across Europe. Our tip is to look at fares carefully and understand that stunning prices are quotes for one-way flights only, without tax. We enjoyed the tips for what to do if you only have two hours in a European city.

• Virgin Balloon Flights
  Fancy a flight with a difference? We're all familiar with the cross Atlantic service from Branson's boys, but have you ever thought of flying Virgin half a mile over the countryside in a wicker basket? These balloons can take 2-19 passengers at a time on short flights from a selection of launch sites nationwide.

• STA Travel
  If you're 26 or under, this is the definitive travel site for you. Whether you're looking for simple flight, holiday or accommodation info, or whether you need help planning your year out, STA can help, and at hard to beat prices. Current deals include flights to the World Cup in Japan or Korea for under ú500, or round the world deals for just a few quid more. Jealous, envious, gutted.

• Trailfinders
  A few years back, if you wanted to escape your desk and follow the well-beaten travellers' trail to south east Asia and beyond, the first journey you'd make would be to Trailfinders in Kensington High Street. But now you can dream of the backwaters of Bangkok, plan your itinerary, order brochures, discover what visas and jabs you'll need and find out how much it'll all cost in work time.

• Rail Europe
  Before the Trustafarian generation decided Australia and South America were de rigueur for the summer hols, Britain's youth jumped a train and discovered what Europe had to offer. Thanks to Eurostar, TGV and the Motorail, European train travel is now more popular with families and older passengers than ever before, but this site can still sort you out with an Inter-Rail pass.

• Lonely Planet
  Would you like to escape the clinical, sheltered world of package holidays and get a real feel for the countries you visit? Lonely Planet understands completely, and through its books, films, TV series and now excellent Web site, it has been helping independent travellers satisfy their wanderlust for nearly 30 years. You'll find it full of information, tips, advice and some excellent travel photography.

• Gapyear
  This is your complete online guide to running away from all this madness for a year, whether you're taking a break in studies, or a sabbatical before joining the rat race. It has excellent UK-oriented content with every resource and link you'll need to turn your dreams into practical plans. And if it's your kids who are going travelling, there are also some brilliant resources here for concerned parents.

• Deckchair
  Sir Bob Geldof's first foray online in 1999 sprang from his irritation with Web sites that were fiddly and obstructive to use. Deckchair puts the emphasis on a simple, easy-to-use flight and holiday search and booking service for independent travellers. Since last year's takeover by World Travel Holdings, services have expanded further to include a wider array of travel options and frills.

• Lastminute
  It was the darling of the Internet on launch, took the brunt of the criticism when the Web bubble burst, and is now ready to announce profitability for the first time. It's a top online brand and an attractive site crammed with late availability holiday deals, bargain weekends away, and great value spontaneous treats. But don't actually leave it to the last minute – we found most trips require you to book at least a week in advance.

• Bargainholidays.com
  A great URL, and a site with a difference that's well worth a visit for bargain hunters. Bargainholidays.com has less in common with modern, slick online travel agents than it does with old school scouring of Ceefax and Teletext travel pages. Choose a destination or holiday package and let the site's back end contact the relevant operators to check availability. All the travel peripherals you'd expect are also here.

• Cheapflights
  Dedicated to UK & Ireland departures, Cheapflights doesn't actually sell tickets itself, rather it's a portal in the traditional sense, providing links to the best travel resources by comparing and displaying value flights and packages from across the industry. It's also home to some useful contact details for airline, agents and accommodation.

• The Campaign for Real Travel Agents
  An excellent site that seeks to promote independent travel agencies over larger anonymous mass market corporates, which it regards as brokers and distributors lacking the personal touch. CARTA brings you the latest news, forums, weather, maps, health and foreign office information, while hosting an excellent exposÄ on who owns who in the UK travel industry. Germans own most of it, in case you're wondering...

• ABTA
  The Association of British Travel Agents has over 600 tour operators and 2,300 travel agencies as members. ABTA registration offers you peace of mind when you book travel tickets, but many are unaware that ABTA's information department is also available online or by phone offering advice on any travel-related subjects. Curiously you can also make bargain bookings here.

• The United Kingdom Passport Service
  This site has been designed to help new passport applicants and existing passport holders renew their old, lost or stolen documents. It tells you how to apply, sets out guidelines and explains eligibility rules, as well as gives you information on hurrying through urgent applications and general travelling advice.

• ATOL
  The Air Travel Organisers' Licensing site has two entrances, one for trade and industry, and one for the public. It could be worth checking the constantly updated consumer advice available, as well as consulting the list of recently failed holiday companies before making that booking.

• The Weather Channel
  This is an excellent resource for weather reports, predictions, climate statistics and maps for the UK, European cities and the world. It tells you everything from driving conditions on the M6 outside Wolverhampton to monsoon predictions in Malaysia. An essential bookmark.

• Ananova Holiday Weather
  Less intimidating to the casual traveller than some more 'authoritative' resources, Ananova offers current and predictive weather reports based on actual holiday resorts and destinations. This is useful if for example, you're going to Greece, but want to find out how high humidity is on the south coast of Rhodes, a long way across the Med from Athens.

• The First Resort Destination Guides
  Although this site offers a broad range of travel services, it was the destination guides we found of most interest. Once you've decided where to go, you can research the resort thanks to AA backing, and get a mini-slideshow of the area, climate reports, maps and guide book recommendations.

• Ordnance Survey
  The daddy of all mapping services, Ordnance Survey is a government agency that funds itself by selling its maps and guidebooks. But 80 per cent of revenue now comes through its electronic data, so it's no real surprise that its site is excellent. The free Get-A-Map feature is well worth bookmarking.

• Bookhotels
  A slick 24-hour online hotel booking service aimed exclusively at UK consumers and businesses. You can't make bookings for faraway destinations, but European coverage is quite good and UK coverage is very good indeed, with both chains and independent establishments represented.

• HotelLink
  An extremely accomplished UK-based hotel booking service that manages to deliver the goods whether you need a B&B in Northampton or a safari lodge in Nairobi. Extremely quick indexing and search facilities make the whole hotel searching process a breeze, while coverage is second to none.

• All-hotels
  This site looks and feels great, offering bookings for a broad range of qualities in accommodation worldwide. Despite being Scottish-based, participation is a little low for UK businesses with a number of other options. Still, if you're going long haul and want local hotel information and rates, it's a useful resource.

• 2002 Fifa World Cup Accommodation Bureau
  A great site that'll really frustrate you if you can't manage to get a trip to support England and the Republic of Ireland football teams this summer. It's easy to check out the various locations in Japan and Korea hosting World Cup games and to track down handy accommodation. A single room in the brand new 1,500 capacity Green Hotel next to the Sapporo Dome will cost you under 50 quid a night.

• UK Online Travel Guide
  UK Online has spawned several mini-portals of interest to travellers, including flight and holiday booking sites, but its UK travel guides impressed us most. Here, there are links aplenty to resources that will help you travel around the country more easily, including specialist advice on things such as sports venue travel.

• British Holidays
  Not a general resource, but a company in itself offering holiday packages to a selection of family-oriented fun parks and resorts around the British coastline. A sister company to Haven Holidays, the emphasis is very much on sand castles and candyfloss, although there is a section on nightlife for when the kids go to bed.

• BTCV
  BTCV is a UK charity working to protect the environment through conservation holidays at home and abroad. You can volunteer your services, book group activities, or just go on a holiday with a difference as a paying guest. Protect butterfly glades in Lincolnshire or save Turtles in Thailand – it's all here, as is a brochure request form.

• British Naturism
  This site asks the question: "Always wanted to go to a resort where you can be nude most of the time?" If your answer is yes, the UK's largest naturist organisation welcomes you to its site. The site's packed with FAQs, advice, news and guides for first timers, as well as links to upcoming events, holiday destinations and other activities that can be enjoyed in the buff.

• Access Travel
  This site offers holidays for disabled people and their families and friends. This company personally inspects all accommodation for wheelchair access and other individual needs and makes recommendations for individual situations. It also caters for suitable flight arrangements, special needs, nursing care and adapted vehicles.

• Saga Travel
  Saga is a household name for travel packages for seniors and its services are also available to silver surfers. It offers a wide variety of holidays with carefully tailored agendas for all tastes from river cruises on the Norfolk Broads to elephant rides in Phuket. It's also a one-stop shop for appropriate insurance and hotel bookings.

• Respect Holidays
  One of the UK's leading companies for gay holidaymakers, Respect Holiday's site lets you book holidays and flights to a wide selection of gay-friendly destinations around the world. There's a strong emphasis on Mediterranean island holidays for either exclusively gay or gay/straight friendly accommodation, complete with photo reports from staff of their experiences on location.

• Women Walking
  An independently run UK-based site, offering walking and outward bound activity holidays or short breaks across the country. If you'd like to take part in an exclusively female ramble in the Lake District for example, not only can you book online, there are also in-depth guides to local geography, facilities, entertainment, equipment and more.

• PlayHARD Sports
  Dream holidays for the lads. Get a bunch of mates together, form a rugby, cricket or footy team, and go on tour competing in organised tournaments in one of three Brit favourite home-away-from-home lager-drenched resorts – Ibiza, Mallorca or Benidorm.