Best Travel Community Websites

"Over the past couple of years the word wide web has seen a dramatic growth in websites that are largely defined by their users, such as social-networking sites and web-based communities. This new phenomenon is also known as Web 2.0, the second generation of the internet. This development has also impacted travel-related websites, and there is now a growing number of travel websites, whose content is largely provided by travelers. They share photos, stories, articles, tips, reviews, and even videos, and allow open sharing of these resources, although sometimes membership is required to access all the available resources.

In this section we have listed the best established community travel websites, as well as a few promising newcomers. We will closely follow the development of Web 2.0 travel websites and update this section regularly." —Living Abroad Contributing Editor Volker Poelzl

Gusto.com, www.gusto.com, is a place for travelers to connect with each other based on their lifestyles. You can also find travel information, recommendations, and reviews. Currently the site only covers a limited amount of destinations, but that may change.

iExplore, www.iexplore.com, provides first-hand travel reviews and travel journals by travelers, general travel information, and information about tours.

IgoUgo, www.igougo.com, provides traveler reviews and stories on destinations, attractions, restaurants and accommodations worldwide.

iloho, www.iloho.com, is an online travel community, where you can share your experiences, discuss the latest travel news, create or join a group of travelers with similar interests, discuss issues or plan trips.

Matador, matadortravel.com, is a online community for people interested in travel, music, art, writing, photography, etc., where you can share your travel stories, articles, blogs, and photos, with other readers.

Travellerspoint.com, www.travellerspoint.com, is an online travel community, providing hotel and hostel bookings, as well as forums, blogs, and destination guides.

TravelPost.com, www.travelpost.com, provides Hotel Reviews and Ratings, Travel Blogs, and advice from travelers for destinations worldwide.

TripBook.com, www.mytripbook.com, is an online community for people who love to travel to share diaries and reviews, photos and videos about the places they have been, to find travelmates and trips or simply to browse to find inspiration and information about different places around the world.

TripConnect, www.tripconnect.com, is an online service that allows people to get travel advice from other travelers and also from established and relevant information sources.

TripUp, www.tripup.com, is a travel community connecting thousands of travelers and locals from all over the world. The site offers travel advice and allows readers to share and explore travel maps, videos, photos, blogs, and reviews.

Virtual Tourist, www.virtualtourist.com, is a worldwide travel community where real travelers and locals share real travel advice, experiences, and reviews.

WAYN - Where Are You Now?, www.wayn.com, is a social network for travelers and people, who love travel, want to share experiences, photos, keep track of all your contacts from around the world and make new friends based on where they have been, where they are going and where they are now.

Wikitravel, wikitravel.org, offers a free, world-wide travel guide, with user-generated content.

World66, www.world66.com, is an open-content travel website, with travel information by travelers for fellow travelers.

Zoomandgo.com, www.zoomandgo.com, is an online travel community, where 35,000 Travelers from all over the world share their travel experiences by submitting video clips of their vacation as well as hotel reviews.