Charles Kuralt, the famed late travel correspondent for CBS, once proclaimed that “thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything.”
He might have expanded his point to include travel planning, as one would be hard-pressed to identify other endeavors in life that are as costly and time-consuming as the two-week family vacation yet are planned with so little first-hand knowledge. If we could just steal a brief advance look-see at that alleged four-star resort property we would greatly improve our chances of discovering that the promised “unparalleled rustic beauty” was in reality code words for stained carpets and ancient window A/C units.
In the new wired world, an ever-expanding array of online webcams offer live streaming video that is there for the viewing 24/7. The cross-sampling of travel webcams below will help you secure that invaluable advance viewing before buying non-refundable airline tickets.
www.webcam-list.com–This Web site catalogs in excess of 1,400 webcams that cover five continents and more than 100 countries. Webcam listings are broken down by region, with many countries boasting in excess of 25 links to video cameras pointed at beaches, hotel properties, public meeting places and various other snippets of daily life unfolding in front of the camera. A click on the Arctic region led me to what is reputed to be the northernmost webcam in the world, situated in Brogger Peninsula, west of Ny Alesund on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen. Those contemplating an adventure to the Great White North would be well advised to peer through these surrogate eyes first, as it becomes very clear that it’s awfully cold and snowy there!
www.camvista.com–Another participant in the travel webcam search engine category, Camvista is worth a visit if the previous Web site doesn’t offer the view you were looking for. Check out the 360-degree-views link to plunk yourself down in the middle of a particular locale and have a panoramic look at your surroundings from all sides (it’s almost like being there except you don’t even need to use your legs to complete the twirl). Interestingly, this company, which is based in the United Kingdom, offers some impressive looks over your monitor at a wide variety of destinations in the United States. In fact, at the time of writing, a click on the Chicago link yielded a rotating set of images, refreshed every 30 seconds, from atop Sears Tower.
www.beachcam.com–As would be expected from the Web address, Beachcam.com lets you dip a toe in the virtual sand before plunking down big bucks to stay on a beach littered with debris. For those drawn to beaches where most wouldn’t expect to find any, this Web site offers an impressive menu of research options, such as the opportunity to preview the scene from high above Tallinn, Estonia, overlooking the Baltic Sea.
www.snoweye.com–Ever find yourself surprised to learn that the ski mountain you’ve chosen offers nothing easier than double-black diamond chutes barely wide enough for one ski to slide down? Perhaps no other type of vacation begs so clearly for looking before you leap, and this Web site provides a host of views from across the globe that are easier to navigate than most intermediate ski runs.
