Ooh Ooh Ooh…. We’re all about travel, so the latest Life Hacker Hive Five is most pertinent – Best Travel Web Sites.

The Hive Five is a weekly poll run by the Life Hacker seeking the communal response to a FAQ. Last week saw the contest debate Best URL Shrinker, with TinyURL coming out on top. Molly is sure to be disappointed that her preference for her Twitter updates, TweetBurner didn’t make the top three…

Nevertheless, this weeks Hive Five, as I’ve already said, is for Best Travel Websites. So, for you, our travel hungry readers it’s going to hold some value in the types of sites that are being nominated. Of course, it wouldn’t harm you to vote, you know, for your favourite travel site…

Back in the early days of this most autumnal of Octobers, Stiff Socks posted about prepping for his trip, first port of call, Ecuador.

In making his pre-travel plans the net has been a valuable source of information, and he lists among such sites our very own bit of the travel web world, STA travelbuzz. He’s even linked to a few of our STA Explorers. It’s a pleasure to be appreciated. He’s also been impressed with the amount of online tools that can help a globe trotter like himself, something he intends to give advice on at a later date. For now though why not make do with ours…

This was of course, a while ago, so why not leap to Stiff Socks’ site now and see how things are going. He’s already survived a tricky landing at Quito airport and soggy luggage, experienced standing on the true equator and rode a cable car to the dizzying height of 4100 metres.

The Budget Backpackers have warned us that they’re about to head into an internet dark zone as their adventures in Thailand take them to the famously beautiful National Marine Park on the island of Ko Tarutao. The couple have been enjoying their time as 2 of the only tourists in Trang before they head to the island, so now’s the time to head over and ask them anything about travelling with STA in Thailand before they temporarily disappear. Fear not though - Matt promises he’ll blog from Kuala Lumpar on the 10th, so we’ll keep you posted!

Rushie89, or Adam as he signs off, has asked the Student Room community for some advice on the travel extravaganza he’s planning. A clue to his requirements? Check the title of the thread he’s started,

“Map, darts, throw, travel. £2,500 budget.”

The thread has yielded much discussion in the past few days, amongst which was Viirkokka’s STA recommendation.

“Check out http://www.statravel.co.uk/cps/rde/x…p_5_routes.htm to see their top 5 round the world routes. I especially like the look of the four corners of the globe one! They seem great prices…”

To view the entire thread leap through here…

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s update from our gadget-loving traveller Tim about how the STA Explorers scheme has impacted on his travels, he’s uploaded a backlog of posts about the highlights of his time in Bermuda. And quite a time it was too. If you want to know how he managed to win some tickets to see Beyonce with the help of an Evian bottle, what it was like to rub shoulders with the photography in-crowd at a Bill Brandt exhibition, how to make a Dark and Stormy, or what a tree frog in a tree stump looks like, you’ll want to click through on them there links above.

Admittedly the world of an STA Explorer seems a pretty glamorous one. Foreign lands, new experiences and a needy public eager for every nuance of self fulfilment and revelation to be shared. But with such a life comes a responsibility…

And it is this very subject that our Gadget Boy Goes Global takes a reflective look at. Debating staying connected and the value in doing so, along with whether globally, such a thing is realistically possible for your regular trip-around-the-worlder?

“Is the world set up for this kind of exploring yet? Is the technology ready for it?”

His conclusions might surprise you? One thing is for sure though; we haven’t heard the last from GBGG…

“I’m still as determined as ever to make this work, it’s just taken a while to figure out what is and isn’t possible right now, and what limitations the places we have been and are going place on this kind of thing.”

He finishes by ‘hoping’ his work is being read. Tim, I’m reading it and it’s great!

In the current economic climate, tips on travelling cheap are more welcome than ever, and our Budget Backpackers Matt and Emily are, as their name suggests, always on the lookout for ways to make the most of their round the world trip without shelling out. Their latest blog update sees them arrive in Ko Phi Phi on Thailand’s west coast and, although they decided to splurge on a bit of kayaking and snorkelling, this place doesn’t need much more outlay than a pair of eyes - its natural beauty is enough to entertain the most jaded travellers.

Thinking of taking a credit-crunch-inspired timeout from the UK? Now’s the time to head over and ask Matt and Emily for advice.