By ANGELA DRAKE
Spring fever is the precursor to spring break, when students nationwide succumb to one instinct -- to travel.
Several Internet sites show the hot spots and offer advice to alleviate this contagious disease.
Lonely Planet, found at www.lonelyplanet.com, offers 27 links on traveling. The business travel center link features Alamo Rent-a-car's web site, which allows the user to make reservations online, to check prices and to see what discounts are available.
Zagat's restaurant guide on Lonely Planet helps the surfer 'locate the best restaurant in Boise for a business dinner, sushi in Glasgow, and chicken fried steak in Montreal,'
Lonely Planet highlights exotic places such as Botswana and Indonesia. It also attaches to Italy on the Net web page.
'Lifestyles Direct wants to help all potential spring break attendees become 'super pro spring breakers,'' reads the homepage of a spring break guide, found at www.studentunion.com/sprbk/sbhome.html. This takes the user to the Student Union link, to 'find out places to stay, play and party.'
This site features Fort Lauderdale spring break information, which is world-famous for its past spring break seasons. This shows where to stay, where to eat and where to party.
But the spring break site isn't all just about partying: it showcases a 'constructive spring break,' in which a Trinity College student spends his break with Habitat for Humanity.
The site 'Spring Break Deals Stiff Students' offers legal advice and a magazine, Sunshine, that shows popular spring break places.
Shoestring Travel, located at www.stratpub.com/shoe1.html#icons, contains a valuable magazine, or e-zine. The editor of the e-zine collects stories and information via e-mail. Anyone can contribute travel information, and if it is helpful, it will become part of the e-zine. Shoestring's e-zine is designed to help users travel inexpensively.
One of the site's best options is American Bed and Breakfast, which has received 6,652 hits since Jan. 20. The user can get into the bed and breakfast directory, choose a state, and find some happenin' joints all around the country.
The site also contains Hitch Hikers Paradise for the adventurous traveler and a link that allows the surfer to post an ad for a ride share to cut down on travel costs.
Those who wish to book their tickets online can link to Travelocity or PC-Travel.
Air Bank, a link on Shoestring, is in the business of buying and selling Frequent Flyer Miles.
One good link deserves another: 'Opinions and Ideas on the Art of Travel' takes the surfer to other links, such as a book published on the Internet called, 'How to See the World on $25 a Day or Less.'
Spring is in the air, so check out the Internet to arrange all of your spring fever needs.