The Vacation WebQuest

“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.”

                                                Sir Francis Bacon

INTRODUCTION

Where would you go if you could travel anywhere in the world? Fun to dream, isn’t it? Would you visit the Eiffel Tower, the Outback, or the Sistine Chapel? Or would you prefer an adventure in the Himalayas or an excursion down the Amazon River?

For many people an extravagant trip such as this is impossible. Not everyone has the financial resources to complete this type of trip. Fortunately (!?!?) your Aunt Gertrude died. She always liked you better than most of your family members since you always took the time to be with her, giving her moral support during all her painful trips to the podiatrist. Now in death, she has rewarded you with $4000. Her will stipulates that this sum is to be used for educational travel outside of North America and the Caribbean. Good old Aunt Gertrude!

THE TASK

Your task is to plan a vacation for yourself to be taken between June 1^st and June 30^th. Here are some specifics to keep in mind as you plan your trip:

·        The total budget for your trip is $4000 (from Aunt Gertrude, remember?).

·        Plan your vacation as if you are traveling alone.

·        Items to be budgeted include air transportation, ground transportation (rental car, taxi, train fare, etc.), accommodations, food, admissions, and souvenirs.

·        Each expense will need to be itemized somewhere within your project.

·        You will need to provide SPECIFIC information for most of your travel details. You must provide all flight information (airline, flight number, times of departure and arrival) and hotel information (hotel name, cost per night). The cost of food may be estimated unless this total includes a meal or meals at restaurants you identified through your research. Some of these restaurants have online menus that will enable you to be more accurate in listing your costs.

·        Remember that Aunt Gertrude has bequeathed you this money for educational travel. I know she would not mind if you spent a day of leisure on the beach, but most of the trip must be spent visiting significant cultural, historical, and geographic sites.

·        The minimum number of days for your trip is seven. There is no maximum length for your vacation as long as the entire trip is taken during the month of June.

·        Your final report of your trip should include these items:

1.      A typed daily itinerary of your journey. Each day should include an overview of the activities of the day as well as a record of the daily costs. You may copy pictures and graphics from your day in your final report. As always, this writing is expected to be an example of your best work. Therefore, proofread your work carefully. A narrative summary of each day's activities should be a part of this section.

2.      A spreadsheet that shows your budget for your trip and the detailed costs you incur (see example).

3.   Include any important copies with your final project. For instance, include your printed flight information for verification. Car rentals, hotel information, and hotel data are among the things you might wish to include.

WARNING: This is not the type of project that you can leave until the last minute and expect to get a good grade. In order to be successful you will need to budget your time and do a little bit of work each week. From past experience, it is very easy to tell the difference between someone who worked consistently on this project over two months and someone who tried to pull this project together at the last minute.

PROCESS

1. Decide where you would like to go. Make sure your destination is recorded and approved by Mr. Black. Use http://www.expedia.com/ as a starting point for all travel information you might need.

2. Plan flights to and from your destination. Use the handy flight finder on the home page of http://www.expedia.com/. Make sure your flights will fit into your travel budget. You may also use this site to find a hotel, secure a rental vehicle, and get further information about some of the sites you might wish to visit.

3. Outline the activities of each day. Remember to log the costs for each day of your journey. Make sure you are visiting significant cultural, historical, and geographic sites like your beloved Aunt Gertrude wanted.  

4. Create your spreadsheet that lists all your costs. Your spreadsheet should look something like this:

RESOURCES

GENERAL TRAVEL SITES

• Travelocity (http://www.travelocity.com/)  
• Orbitz (http://www.orbitz.com/)
• Hotwire (http://www.hotwire.com/)
• Kayak: (http://www.kayak.com/index.jsp)
• Fodor’s (http://www.fodors.com/). Use the miniguide (http://www.fodors.com/ptpbegin.cgi) to find the best tourist information for hundreds of cities worldwide.
• The Ultimate Directory of Travel sites (http://www.tudots.com/).

            OTHER SITES OF INTEREST  

• Google (http://www.google.com): Use the world's most popular search engine to find specific information about your travel sites. For instance, one could type "Paris" + "restaurant" in the search box to find restaurants in Paris.

• The Universal Currency Converter (http://www.xe.net/ucc/). Convert American dollars into just about any foreign currency. Convert foreign money back to American dollars as well.  

• Find Internet links with information about different places around the globe with Places Online (http://www.placesonline.org/)

 

COUNTRY RESOURCES

• CountryReports.org: Contains concise information about countries around the world. The design of the site is neat and clean, and basic information is easy to find and well organized.

• Library of Congress Country Studies

Email Mr. Black with any questions

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