Niche websites go beyond cheap seats

NEARLY every avid traveler has heard of Expedia and Travelocity, and Priceline.com is almost a household word. But 10 lesser-known websites could be just as important to your travel planning.

* If you’re preparing for a trip, go to www.viator.com, which lists thousands of sights, tours and attractions in cities and islands worldwide. You can book activities before leaving home, avoiding long lines at the destination or being shut out during busy periods. Included are such varied things as London’s giant Ferris wheel (the London Eye) and golf courses in Hawaii. Activities are offered at the same price you would pay on the spot.

* Fans of theme parks will enjoy www.themeparkinsider.com, which provides impartial advice on when to go and what rides to try, plus information on safety issues and hotel reviews. You’ll also find frank reviews on more than 60 parks, from Universal Studios Hollywood to Tokyo DisneySea. Besides staff reviews, readers rate attractions and parks.

* Find apple pie that tastes like Grandma’s and waitresses who call you “honey” at www.roadfood.com. Though fast-food joints have taken over the interstates, RoadFood.com helps you find affordable, nonfranchise restaurants that serve home-style meals. About 1,000 U.S. restaurants are listed. (Also see DinerCity.com for photos and addresses of classic diners.)

* Budget travelers should look at www.alternateairports.com to find airports within driving distance of the area they wish to reach. Often, alternate airports offer more affordable flights, cheaper parking and less expensive car rentals. The site lists alternate airports for more than 100 U.S. cities.

* Traveling abroad? Check out www.tripprep.com for advice on health hazards and recommended inoculations worldwide. After registering (free), click on “destination information” for details on vaccines and malaria and other diseases, including those transmitted by insects, food and water. Click on “travel medicine providers” for physicians worldwide.

* Members of frequent-flier programs might like www.webflyer.com, which contains an impressive amount of information on such programs. The site, founded by Randy Petersen of Inside Flyer magazine, reviews customer-loyalty programs, suggests strategies for using mileage, lists bonuses and provides tools such as a blackout calendar of excluded dates for mileage-award tickets.

* If you’re looking for cut-rate carriers, check out www.whichbudget.com, which lists the cut-rate carriers that fly between 568 airports in 60 countries worldwide. (Many of these are not listed on the well-known airfare-booking engines.) You can select both outbound and destination airports to learn which budget carriers fly between them.

* The website www.subwaynavigator.com provides subway maps and point-to-point directions for more than 100 cities worldwide, showing you the best trains to take, where to transfer and how long it should take.

* Before you fly, check out seat maps for your plane on www.seatguru.com which displays seating plans for aircraft used by 25 domestic and international airlines, enabling you to find and then request the best seats. Hold your cursor over a seat for comments such as “restricted legroom” or “tray table in armrest.” SeatGuru also shows exit locations, galleys, bathrooms and power ports for your laptop.

* Travelers seeking wireless hot spots should look at www.jiwire.com, which offers a worldwide directory of 65,000 Wi-Fi Internet locations. Hundreds more are added monthly. It tells you, in effect, where you can get online without plugging in (some log-in spots are free; others require payment). JiWire also can be used to search for hot spots at airports.