This is my first post of “Best of the web”. A series of articles about the best website in Indonesia and in the world in each of the category or their respective fields. These website will be reviewed based on the design, functionality, usability, content, etc.
To celebrate this end of the year holiday season it is appropriate to start this series with the travel industry websites. This article features some of the best Tour & Travel Services, Hotels & Accommodations, and Travel Directories in Indonesia and also a couple of pointers about building your own Travel related websites.
Best of the web: Indonesian Travel Website
Because there are so many different things to write about , I decide to split this into 4 categories each on a separate article:
- The best travel directories and tour/travel agent & services websites
- The best hotels and accommodations websites
- The best travel destinations websites
- Design Tips: Travel Websites
Ok, lets get right to it, These are some of the best out there..
The Best Travel Directories and Tour/Travel Agents & Services
1. The new Visit Indonesia (Official Tourism website of Indonesia)
Visit Indonesia Website
There is no better way to start things off with the Indonesian national tourism website. This website suppose to be the frontline of the whole Travel Industry. It has gone a major reconstruction in 2009 and the result is way better than the last. It is not perfect by any means and compared with Indonesia neighbor’s official tourism website (like this one or this one), It still got a lot of catching up to do. And to think that Tourism is a big industry in Indonesia you got to wonder why the government doesn’t put more attention in the matter.
Design, functions, usability is good, hats off to the developer (Anyone have any info who build this?). The Content? Not so much, I wonder why the content rotator on the main page doesn’t lead to an article. And there are a lot of broken links. This shows a lack of effort in the content department. But overall I can say that this is a major improvement.
WhyGo Indonesia Website
This is a good website that is part of the WhyGo brand of travel websites. Apart from the obvious good and simple layout, the contents is what makes this website stand out. I love the content architecture, which took a more magazine blog approach rather than a cluttered one. This makes the site user-friendlier in terms of reading the contents.
But the best part of this website is the powerful travel search engine that is connected to the Bootsnall network. If you are traveling to Indonesia from abroad, then this website is very helpful in finding the best airfare deals and accommodations (hotel or hostel).
Liburan.info website
The self-proclaimed “the biggest travel information portal in Indonesia” may well on its way to becoming exactly just that. Backed up by Transpot, a sister site, which features a comprehensive database of all the traveling info, you will have a walk in the park in finding information from hotel rates to car rental. And based on the contents alone, this website deserve to be put in the top 3.
Yogyes Website
I usually hate website that use a left column menu and a font size that will make your eyes drowsy. But aside to the “old school” layout, this website is more than good, It is great. If you are planning to travel to Yogyakarta, you don’t want to miss this website.
I have two reasons why this website stands out: comprehensive information and good pictures, or to put it in web terms, great content. They’ve really put a serious effort in providing good visualization for almost every articles and directories. It is exactly what travelers are looking for. They’ve nailed it.
Panen Tour Website
Finally, a travel agent website that is not posing as a travel portal/directories. I like the straight-forwardness of its layout, simple but still in line with the brand. The content architecture is good, makes it easy to find everything. The content is not bad, could be better. The little animation on the header is an icing on the cake, but not too much.
Overall, I like it very much. Simplicity with class..
But still, every single one of the websites above is still way behind when compared to some of the best in the world. Here are, in my opinion, the cream of the crop:
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