Do we women need travel guides of our own? Maybe.

Like all working mothers, I wear a lot of hats, often on the same cross-country flight. I’ve been a mom traveling alone with kids and a business traveler at the same time, and I’ve combined a work trip with both a family vacation and a romantic getaway (we were lucky enough to have local friends to babysit).

Maybe that’s why I’m skeptical of travel sites and books that try to cater to an overly specific demographic. A business travel site won’t tell me everything I need to know, and neither will a family travel site.

When I first pulled up new Web site See Jane Fly, I thought this would be another overly targeted site. The first thing I saw was a piece about what to wear on a plane, and I thought, really? Do we women really need travel advice that’s different from your average guy’s?

The site’s sample destination guides changed my mind. They are quick-and-dirty cheat sheets for a city, and they are customized to the type of trip — business, girls’ getaway, romantic or tots-in-tow. So far, the site only has guides up for San Francisco, but I was very impressed by the information they included. In the tots guide, they listed a manicure salon that has babysitting — something I never heard of in my seven years living in San Francisco. Another of the guides included a shoe repair shop. Hey, that is something that we girls might need to know about a destination but guys would not.

The site says it will also be offering perks such as discounts and free upgrades to readers, but they don’t have any up yet.

Next time I take one of my multi-hatted trips, I will definitely check in with this site to see if they’ve added more destinations. I may have to print out three different guides for the same city to fit all my roles, but at least I’d be getting them all from one Web site.

Photo by Kaunokainen, used via Creative Commons license.

Wise Bread's new book contains tons of travel tips.

This week Wise Bread released its money saving book, “10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget.” OK, I’m one of the authors, and it’s my first book, so forgive me if I feel that this event ranks just below the inauguration of our first African-American president in the “momentous occasions of 2009″ category.

But beyond my own excitement, I wanted to share that the book includes a whole chapter’s worth of tips for saving money on travel. And since the book is made up of blog posts from WiseBread.com, I can link to all the tips here. (But you should still buy the book! Because, for one, it’s way cheaper than a Kindle but still offers you a very handy chunk of the blogosphere in a portable format. Also, it contains tons more tips than the ones listed here, ideas for everything from cheap eating and entertainment to shopping and credit card management.)

1. 14 Tips to Have a Frugal Vacation and Still Treat Yourself by Nora Dunn

2. 3 Easy Steps to Finding Great Airfare Deals by David DeFranza

3. 16 Ways to Go Light and Low-Budget by Myscha Theriault

4. 9 Great Ways to See the World for Free by David DeFranza

5. 6 Savvy Ways to Travel Around a City by Myscha Theriault

6. How to Save Money by Taking a Vacation by Linsey Knerl

7. 4 Secrets to Eating Cheaply While Traveling Abroad by Thursday Bram

Photo courtesy of Wise Bread.

Is this a good time to buy those tickets? Microsoft's Bing promises to help you decide.

In tough economic times, it seems that everything is marketed as “a good deal.” Marketers know that plugging goods or services as discount offerings is the only way to get a foot in the door with consumers right now, and the travel industry is no exception.

That’s why I’m kind of intrigued by Microsoft’s planned Bing Travel search engine, to debut next week, and its promises to help us make travel decisions “based on science, not marketing.”

Some of Bing will be based on Farecast, a company acquired by Microsoft that offers flight search and predicts whether current fares will rise or drop. Bing will also alert users of fare drops, since most are short lived, and will even tell you how a particular price rates in context of past prices, so you know when those tickets to Bora Bora have finally hit a historic low and it’s time to take off.

Bing will also analyze hotel rates and advise travelers on whether a certain rate is a good deal. As a consumer, I would check that out before booking; although when making my initial hotel decision I would consult UpTake with its 20 million traveler opinions.

To learn more about what’s expected from Bing, check out Microsoft’s press release on the service, or follow the team on Twitter where they are known as @Fareologist.

Photo by Shane H, used via Creative Commons license.

New ultra cheap airline Jet America Airlines (www.jetamerica.com/) is offering $9 tickets for non-stop one-way seats on its flights between six U.S. cities. The first flights take-off from Newark’s Liberty Airport  on July 13.

Jet America

Jet America is starting off with flights from Lansing, Michigan, Melbourne-Vero Beach, Florida, South Bend, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio to New York- Newark, New Jersey. And starting August 14, Jet America will also fly roundtrip from Toledo to Minneapolis-St. Paul.

It works on the same concept as Europe’s Ryanair and the now-defunct US based Skybus. Which is no big surprise, since Skybus founder John Weikle is also the founder of Jet America.

In a press statement, Weikle said that “Our goal is to fly wherever JetAmerica can offer air fares of at least 40 percent less than competitors. The Jet America business model is based on flying routes to mostly secondary, underserved cities with populations of 3 to 6 million people living within 75 miles of uncongested airports that do not currently provide big jet, direct, non-stop service to key destinations.”

And if you’re thinking how a new airline could possibly take-off and survive in the current economic climate, here’s how it works – there is no airline or crew. It’s all virtual. The company is a Part 380 Indirect Air Carrier which leases planes and flight crew from other airlines. And even that hasn’t been easy.

They were supposed to work with planes and flight crews provided by Sun Country Airlines, but that deal hit a roadblock, so now they’re working with Miami Air International Inc., starting with one leased Boeing 737-800. And the operational logistics (most flights are not daily, see flight schedule) were made even easier by the airports, some of whom are even offering grants and incentives to Jet America.

And as for the $9 fares, it’s something like the $1 Boston-New York fares offered by Boltbus. Jet America fares actually range from in between $9 to $199, with the lowest fares going to the early bookers. And then, there’s the add-ons and extras – mandatory $5 convinience fee, plus baggage ($15 per checked bag), softdrinks and reservation charges ($10 each way).

On paper, the company is based in Clearwater, Fla., but the operational base is in Toledo, OH. The details are not pretty, and neither is their website, but it might just work - there is virtually no competition, and let’s face it - a 40% discount is not something you can ignore.