Muddyshoesguides.com and CheapOair

Today I want to talk about two sites that have caught my eye lately.The first is http://www.muddyshoesguides.com
This is really a terrific site with a great idea. The author and creator, Marcella Ponsen, is someone who clearly sees family travel in the same way we do. Muddyshoesguides.com is a series of guidebooks designed for kids to make their family travel more stimulating and interesting. The website has a lot of cool things, like child friendly cafes in intersting places, a tips and ideas section, and news items. I think this is a great idea. I've long been critical of the mainstream guidebooks (Frommers, Fodors etc.) who seem to believe family travel is restricted to theme parks, toyshops and malls with video arcades. We wish http://www.muddyshoesguides.com only the best success !

I'm currently researching a family trip for next summer. Top of our choice list Ecuador, Peru, Spain and Italy. Looks like it will be one of them. It used to be one could search airfares at the Big 3 (Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity) but that's changing. One site I've found to be very good is Cheapoair which is a little bit like Kayak but includes more news, a blog, deals etc. I think in the future these all encompassing search option sites will become more prevalent, and Cheapoair (I accept maybe not the best name) is in a good place to carve out a niche for itself.