I recently blogged about a collection of writers who relayed their experiences whilst abroad. In a similar vein, Real Travel run a trip planner system, where the process really is quite simple. All you need to do is enter the locations you wish to visit, and the site will extract all the relevant information is stores about each stage of your journey.
So what can you expect from this trip planner? The basics are obviously covered, such as a map that displays your route, useful links to other sites that contain pertinent info for you, but you will also see links to other Real Travel users, who have visited the same areas as you; these people can help you to avoid the pitfalls of the crowded buses at a certain time of day, or the tourist traps where the price is doubled simply because that is where all the foreigners normally congregate.
Best of all, the trip planner is free, all you need to do is spend a little time researching, and your vacation experience will have improved massively! One feature I particularly liked was the ability to send your trip information to family and friends, so they can see where you are going to be at each stage of your holiday.