Travel Bookings
Sidestep.com
sidestep.com
A couple of years ago we christened SideStep one of the coolest websites around, but since then it has added a whole bunch of new features—including a handy Web-only version of its travel search engine (it started out as a downloadable application for your PC, and that toolbar is still available) and separate search engines for vacation packages and cruises. You can also try newcomer Kayak.com, which promises to scour more than 100 websites to find the best deals on airfare and hotel rooms—but only SideStep includes Orbitz.com listings in its search results. If you're picky about your plane seat assignment, Seat Guru provides detailed information (material, amount of legroom, location of video monitors and exit rows, whether there's a power port for your laptop nearby, etc.) by airline and type of aircraft. Mouse over icons on seating charts to get the lay of the land.