First, your field trip destination is limited only by your imagination. A good search engine such as Google, http://www.google.com/, may be all you need for mapping out a trip for your students.
However, there are many excellent websites that you should consider—they might take you in a direction you had not considered.
WebCams can bring live images from all over the world onto the screen. They are small cameras that are linked to a website and programmed to broadcast images over the Internet. This means that you can bring live images from all over the world into your classroom.
Earthweb
http://www.earthcam.com/
This is a comprehensive list of WebCams. This website, because it is so comprehensive, also links some WebCams that are not appropriate for children. It is best if you pre-select the WebCams to be used on your virtual field trip.
If you are planning a trip to a foreign country you might want to introduce your students to the U.S. Department of State website so that they can research what shots and medicines they will need for their trip, download an application for a passport, and find out if there are any travel warnings.
U.S. Department of State
http://travel.state.gov/
Here are some additional sites that are helpful for visiting foreign countries:
BabelFish
http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
This is a fun translating tool for visiting websites of foreign countries in the native language. Be careful, though. The translations are sometimes awkward.Universal Currency Converter
http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Students will need to find out the exchange rates for the countries they are visiting and simulate buying foreign currency.
Learning about life in other parts of the world through chats and e-pals (electronic pen pals) with other students is one way of connecting to diverse cultures.
ePALS Classroom Exchange
http://www.epals.com/
This website allows your classroom to obtain email and chat pen pals from all over the world at no cost.
Newspapers, national and international, can be a terrific source of information. Students can read what is happening in a city, state, or country before they "visit" it on their virtual field trip or even during their trip. These websites list online publications from around the world by region.
Newslink
http://www.newslink.org/Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org/reading/news/
Many radio stations around the world broadcast live on the Internet. You can incorporate music or news into your virtual field trip. Most radio stations require that you have RealPlayer or Windows Media Player in order to hear the streaming broadcast.
Radio Locator
http://www.radio-locator.com
If weather is an important issue for your field trip then you might find the following sites useful.
Intellicast
http://www.intellicast.com/Weather Channel
http://www.weather.com
Driving directions, the miles between locations, and maps can all be found on MapQuest
MapQuest
http://www.mapquest.comNote: If you are an AAA member, you can obtain free paper maps. They are often easier to read than the maps on MapQuest. MapQuest is best for obtaining the distances between locations and driving directions.
Museums can be a field trip in themselves or a "stop" along the way. To investigate further consider MUSÉE , "an interactive directory to museums' collections including art, science, history, zoos, archaeology and aquariums, etc. providing links to their educational, entertainment, archive and shopping features."
MUSEE
http://www.musee-online.org