Spring is in full bloom (both literally and figuratively), the kids are just days away from getting out of school, and Memorial Day weekend is now less than three weeks away.  Put all of those together and do you know what it means?

Well, it does mean that the next three months will see off-and-on plaintive cries of, “There’s nothing to doooooooooo!”  But it means something else too—that summer is just around the corner and that the time to plan that great summer vacation is fast approaching.  That used to mean endless phone calls (many of the long distance variety) to book endless travel services while somehow keeping all of them organized . . . or perhaps a trip to the local travel agent to spell out every last detail of where you want to go and what you want to see.

In that last sentence, put the emphasis on the words “used to mean.”  Because with the Internet as your travel tool, you can plan entire vacations from the privacy of your own home and make sure that you get the best deals for the trips you take.

First of all, several Web sites allow you to plan everything for your vacation—airline reservations, car rentals, hotel arrangements, cruise packages, and more.  Expedia.com, Orbitz, and Travelocity are three examples of these all-or-nothing sites.  Each will allow you to enter the details of your vacation plan (primarily the dates of your travel and your stay) and provide you with offers for your airfare, hotel, car rental, and more.  Some of them will also let you make deals concerning the attractions you want to visit and the things you want to see.

One thing to keep in mind is that all of these one-stop sites will tell you that they offer the lowest rates or best discounts that you can find.  Obviously they can’t all be right—so it’s a good rule of thumb to shop around at as many sites as you can and compare their offers for the travel services you need, and then choose the one that’s the best deal for you.  In most cases, you don’t have to sign up for membership to visit these sites and see what they have to offer.  If you should decide to book your vacation through one of them, you probably will have to become a member of that site.

Maybe you don’t want the all-or-nothing approach, but want to plan your vacation by each part.  If so, you can go to the individual Web sites for the companies providing each service you need.  For example, if your vacation destination will require an airplane trip, individual airlines will allow you to book your flight online with them.  American, Delta, Midwest, Northwest, Southwest, and United all allow you to book flights with them on their Web sites.  Several of them also let you check in for your flight online, and several offer you links to hotels, car rentals, and other vacation services too.

For hotel reservations, several of the large chain hotels also have Web sites where you can reserve rooms for your trip.  You can go to the Web sites of Best Western, Days Inn, Holiday Inn, Motel 6, Ramada, or Super 8 to book reservations at any of their locations worldwide.  Some of these will offer you links to other vacation attractions as well.

If you’ll need to rent a car for your trip, that’s covered as well.  Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty all allow you to reserve a rental car at their Web sites.  And incidentally, with the high prices of gas apparently not coming down any time soon, either a rental car or your own vehicle will require a great investment for a summer trip.  A site that we recently featured on the HunTel.net home page can help with that--GasBuddy.com allows you to get the latest pricing information for gas at locations coast to coast, so you’ll be able to find the cheapest gas wherever you’re going.

Want to take a cruise for your vacation (either in the summer or year round)?  You can use the Internet here too.  Carnival, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean all have online sites listing their cruises and dates.  Note here:  not all of these sites will allow you to directly book a cruise from their site, but those that do not will provide a number that you can call to make your reservation.

If you’re traveling with your family, an amusement park is always a popular destination.  Six Flags allows you to buy tickets online for any of their locations in North America.  Closer to home, Worlds of Fun, Adventureland and Valleyfair all have Web sites where you can buy tickets online.

Last but not least, if your favorite summer attraction/airline/hotel/car rental place is not listed in our article, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do business with them online.  Most companies will have Web sites where you can make reservations, and in most cases all you have to do is use your favorite search engine (using the tips we gave you in our recent article) to find what you need.

According to the song, the livin’ is supposed to be easy in summertime . . . and if your summer plans include a vacation, you can use the Internet to make your trip as easy as possible.