It's hard to believe, but just a dozen years ago, most travelers booked trips through travel agents. Today we use the Internet as easily as we use an ATM. Consider these sites for your online travel kit:

All-around booking sites (flights, hotels, cruises and more)

•Orbitz.com: Orbitz clearly displays flights, hotels and cruises on an easy-to-read grid, showing airlines, number of stops and prices.

•Expedia.com: Expedia offers competitive prices on flights, lodging, cruises, packages and rental cars. Another booking agency worth checking is Travelocity.com.

•Kayak.com: This site pings dozens of airline sites for each flight query. The slider bars let you sort results by departure times, return times, layover duration and total travel time.

•Priceline.com: Priceline now offers standard booking, similar to Expedia and Orbitz, along with its "name your own price" bidding deals. Wondering what to bid? See BetterBidding.com and BiddingForTravel.com.

•Hotwire.com: This site is similar to Priceline, but you don't bid. All fees are shown before booking.

Fare forecasters

• FareCast.live.com: With an uncanny knack for predicting when airfares will rise or fall, FareCast can help you decide when to buy tickets.

•FareCompare.com : This site shows how airfares fluctuate by day and month, so if you're flexible you can travel when fares are lowest.

Lodging

•Hotels.com: With more than 70,000 properties worldwide, from big chain hotels to tony B&Bs, this site has reviews from guests. If you book at Hotels.com, confirm your reservation directly with the hotel.

•Quikbook.com: Quikbook specializes in boutique properties and hotel deals. The site features more than 1,000 hotels in over 100 cities.

•Laterooms.com: This specialist in U.K. and European hotel rooms is worth checking.

• BedandBreakfast.com: With a vast inventory of B&Bs in the U.S. and worldwide, this site has maps, reviews and details.

•VRBO.com: This site lists more than 94,000 vacation rentals around the world. Another useful site is Cyberrentals.com.

Cruises

•CruiseCritic.com : A definitive resource for cruise reviews and advice. Also see the traveler reviews at CruiseMates.com and the well-organized CruiseReviews.com.

Traveler reviews and community

•TripAdvisor.com : Provides advice from travelers, with more than 5 million reviews at last count. Travelers also speak out at HotelChatter.com, WhereToStay.com and TravelPost.com. Other excellent community sites include VirtualTourist.com, BootsnAll.com and IgoUgo.com.

Budget and last-minute bookings

• SmarterTravel.com: Editors vet and display deals on flights, rental cars, hotels, cruises and vacations, and often offer coupons. Also see BudgetTravel.com with advice from Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine.

•Travelzoo.com: Chock-full of bargains, this site is known for its e-mail newsletter of deals, especially on package tours. Also see AirTreks.com for round-the-world or multistop international flights.

•Lastminute.com : This easy-to-navigate site has some great last-minute getaways. Also see SkyAuction.com.

Travel guides

•Frommers.com: This guidebook has placed online all the content from its books. Also see Fodors.com.

•RickSteves.com : The expert on travel to Europe brings his engaging personality to this site. Another site for Europe-bound travels is Durant Imboden's EuropeForVisitors.com.

•ReidsGuides.com : Compiled by guidebook veteran Reid Bramblett, this site focuses on trip planning and has a section on adventures.

•LonelyPlanet.com : Once a guide for budget-conscious backpackers, LP now has a massive mainstream following. Also see: RoughGuides.com.

•About.com/travel : Experts showcase their advice and link to resources by topic.

Activities

•Viator.com: Choose a destination and see top picks for what to do.

Frequent flier

•WebFlyer.com: Frequent-flier guru Randy Petersen keeps his eye on bonuses and other deals for mileage junkies. Also see FlyerTalk.com and FrequentFlier.com.

Restaurants

•OpenTable.com: With online booking for thousands of restaurants, this site lets you make your reservation before you travel. For restaurant reviews, see CitySearch.com.

Money

•Oanda.com: Currency converter tells how much the dollar is worth abroad. For basic conversions, see XE.com.

Travel site directory

•JohnnyJet.com: An extensive directory of hundreds of top travel sites by category.

Michael Shapiro is the author of Internet Travel Planner (Globe Pequot, $18).