Ticket Planet: This is where I bought my RTW tickets. I dealt with the owner, Nick Kontis. Their prices were clearly the best for my itinerary, and I suppose the service wasn't any worse than the others. Don't expect any of these companies to truly help you plan your trip in any real way. The best you can hope for is that they suffer through all your changes and return your calls and/or emails.

Air Treks: This site is definitely worth checking out, and has a neat RTW fare calculator though it doesn't really work. Sarah there is quite pleasant and returns emails promptly.

Air Brokers: Another decent RTW broker.

Frommers Hottest Bargains: Part of Frommer's Budget Travel magazine -- worth keeping an eye on.

Air Passes: Air passes for a given region can be a good way to explore, but often have annoying restrictions, like you must fly in internationally with the airline, or a short time limit to use the flights (like 21 days). There also very difficult to get information on, because if you call, say, TACA, no-one will have a clue what you're talking about.

ETN Bucketshops: Good listing of bucketshops.

Embassy Travel: Has cheap flights meant for missionaries, but anyone can buy (you just have to sit next to them on the plane). Good fares to Latin America.

Dia Travel: One couple got a good RTW fare from these guys (but we didn't).

STA Travel: If you are a student or teacher, student tickets are great (especially to Europe and in the US). Also try the bigger Council Travel.

Travel Discounts: Good place to try various online discount search engines.

Expedia: The granddaddy of fare searches -- can give you a good idea of flight costs and routes. Internationally you can even price some one-ways.

OnlineRes: The next three sites I used to price obscure fares and/or airlines, particularly in Asia. This is very useful in going back to the RTW guys and letting them know exactly what route you want, and having an idea for a reasonable fare. I could have actually used these sites to save money vs. the RTW brokers, but to buy all the tickets in one place (and the dates are fully flexible), it was worth it.

Royal Nepal: As above.

Travel Select: As above

Travisa: A travel document (eg Visa) broker.

Embassy Listing: Listing of all embassy contact info and websites (though not entirely up-to-date).

Fielding's Black Flag Café: A kind of commando bulletin board, which is part of Robert Young Pelton's site (he wrote a book called the World's Most Dangerous Places). Sometimes you can get updates on troubled regions and get info from other travelers, but be warned there are hundreds of racist idiots who post the majority of messages.

US State Dept. Foreign Entry Requirements: US govt comprehensive list of visa requirements for US citizens, though not entirely updated.

TravelDocs: Another private visa broker.

US Travel Warnings: The main US State Dept. listing of travel warnings and country reports -- a must read!!

US State Listserv of Travel Warnings: A hard to find page where you can sign up for email notifications of travel warnings. Very handy.

Rec. Travel Library: THE most important site of travelogues. Contains links to hundreds.

2 Go Global: Good travelogue.

Adrian & Katie: Good travelogue.

ChickenBus: The first RTW site I ever saw -- excellent.

Ian & Trina's Big Trip: Good travelogue.

The Wanderlings: Good travelogue -- very professional looking.

Travel Sites: A links page to travelogues from another site.

Watch Us Wander: Good travelogue.

IgoUgo: A site which hosts travelogues for people.

Wired2theWorld: Very handy site with good travel tips.

worldtrip01: Good travelogue.

Worldwide Wanderings: Good travelogue.

Lonely Planet: You would be hard pressed to go anywhere interesting and not at some point refer to this site.

Adventure Travel Society: Worth checking out.

Best Fares: Great listing of cheap fares (see "newsdesk"). You have to subscribe (~$50) to actually buy the flights. I bought 2 trips to Spain from them for a great price.

Boots 'n all: Destination info and travelogues.

RTW Travel Guide: This document is by the guy who wrote the Practical Nomad -- advice is ok, with some good links.

Big World: Newish online and print magazine.

Adventureseek,  Away.com,  iExplore: Generic glossy travel sites selling packaged trips.

CDC Travelers' Health: First stop for all global health information.

Divers Alert Network (DAN): Scuba org -- $25 gets you emergency medevac for scuba accidents.

IAMAT: Free membership, global listing of doctors

MNUI Travel Insurance: A main insurance broker for long-term travelers.

International SOS: A popular medevac service.

Medicine Planet: Excellent site for travel health info.

Worldtravelcenter: Carries the other main type of travelers' insurance

TravMed: Good site -- carries some hard-to-find gear like mosquito nets.

Campmor: Start here -- by far the cheapest gear retailer (the only store is in NJ).

REI: Next cheapest. If you join the co-op for $15 you get cash back and better sales (worth it). Also check out the REI Outlet.

Eastern Mountain Sports: Generally not cheap but has good sales.

Backpacker.com: Key gear reviews.

OutdoorReviews: Peer gear review site.

GORP buying guides: More gear buying guides

Long Road: Sells different kinds of mosquito netting and tents.

Universal Packing List: One man's perspective on the perfect packing list.

Walkabout Travel Gear: Sells cheap, hard-to-find travel necessities (like a universal sink plug!).

Outside Magazine: Glossy adventure magazine w/ good gear reviews.

TravelSmith: High-end travel clothing catalog.

Altrec: I dunno.

Foreign Exchange Rates: Lots of currencies.

Daily Linguist: Foreign Language site.

What's Going on?: Great listings of festivals and events around the world.

Get Lost Books: Online travel bookstore.