Practicalities Getting Organised Extra Information 

More information of various sorts can help make the holiday work.

Reading

Your school and public libraries should be good sources of background info, as are titles
listed under Holiday Reading. There are also world information handbooks. Examples include:

The Usborne Book of Europe Usborne, £6.99 10+
The geography, history and politics of the countries of Europe

World Desk Reference Dorling Kindersley , £25
Aimed at adults but covering the physical, political, historical and economic maps, profiles of 192 nations, with maps, an index and gazetteer, including alternative spellings and recent place name changes.

Oxford Handbook of the World Peter Stalker, Oxford, £7.99
Again aimed at adults, with a country by country guide to key facts on economies, people and politics. Here there are profiles of 230 countries and territories with maps and global data showing main social and economic indicators for each country. For more info see www.oup.com

Internet

As well as the tourist office site the following may be helpful:

Britannica
A site based round the encyclopedia.

Countries
Basic information on countries round the world.

Earth-Link
A rather idiosyncratic collection of links on countries around the world.

English Heritage
Has a wide range of publications for teachers and is increasingly providing information for children along with items like interactive history book/CD ROM and Big History video. The web site now has a kids section on it.

National Trust
The web site includes information aimed at adults and the trusty section is aimed at children with plenty of interactive stuff.

Mapzone
An Ordnance Survey site for children and young people seven to 14 years, including Our Favourite Places, designed to give children a chance to celebrate the beaches, castles, theme parks and other attractions they most enjoy. It features a detailed interactive map which can be personalised by merging computer icons with photos, artwork and written comments.

Travel Library
A useful US general purpose site started in 1993 so by now pretty comprehensive.

Travelmag
Described as an independent travel magazine on the web, sponsored by travel club Wexas. Lots of features about places off the beaten track.

World Factbook
Compiled by the CIA, it offers the US low-down on countries around the world.

Worldwide Governments on the Web
Links to government sites.

On Arrival

Visit the hotel information desk/local tourist office on arrival to check out whether there is anything of interest you didn't already know about. If it is something suitable for children, you will be able to incorporate it into your plans early on.

Language

A little knowledge of any relevant foreign language may be helpful so it can be helpful to find a phrasebook or guidebook with suitable phrases in [Language and Holidays report due Spring 2001] or at least the local courtesies which make a big difference to how children are received, and it might be a nice touch to provide the local spending pocket money in the local currency so they will have to work out how much it is worth.