New AAA Website Can Be Valuable Travel Tool
March 2, 2007. What if you knew who had the cheapest gasoline on the drive to your luxury vacation rental? What if an Internet mapping service also showed you the restaurants at each interstate exit? And wouldn't it be nice if there was one website that could give you both of those benefits, and information about the attractions at your vacation destination?
The new American Automobile Association (AAA) website opened to non-members this year, and the features are numerous. Simply type in a zip code and the association's Fuel Price Finder can tell you who has the cheapest gas within a 10-mile radius. A quick search of Newport, Rhode Island, for example, showed the least expensive gas station to be 34 cents per gallon cheaper than the most expensive one.
You still have to be a AAA member to order TripTiks, the famous maps, but the group's online mapping service adds a few extra features to the typical Internet mapping program. With a click of a few buttons, a route map also can display restaurants, gas stations, auto repair shops and local attractions. We thought this could be especially useful for planning breaks and lunch stops.
The website has also compiled some basic information about local attractions. A savvy Internet user could probably find better information somewhere else, but it's still a convenient one-stop feature. The website also allows visitors to search for rental cars, cruises, flights and hotels, although for the best accommodations, we recommend VacationRental.org.
