LOVE AT FIRST SITE?

OPPOSITES attract goes the old saying, but that might not be the case for travelholics looking for love.

After all, how are you going to maintain a relationship when your idea of a relaxing weekend is running with the bulls in Pamplona, while your other half considers a bus trip to IKEAabout all the adventure they can handle?

A wave of networking sites -a la MySpace and Friendster -appear to be good news for those who can’t sit still.

Ilogged on to five free sites to test the waters, with very mixed results.

GUSTO.COM

In a nutshell

Travel scrapbooking. “It’s an easier way of researching, collecting and sharing experiences,” says CEO Jeff Wasson.

Site launched

June 2006

The back story

Used to be known as Travelnow.com, sold to Hotels.com for a cool $47.4 million six years ago.

Number of members

16,000, approx. 80 percent of them U.S.-based

Messages received

Mostly site-generated newsletters.

Ease of joining

Moderate. Site is intuitive to use and refreshingly straightforward.

Best feature

Gusto Grabber, a “browser extension tool,” which allows you to “clip and save” external sites that are then stored for later viewing.

Love-o-meter

Cold as ice.

TRIPUP.COM (FORMERLY TRIPMATES.COM)

In a nutshell

Match.com with a passport. Founder Sam Rogoway: “We’re the most social network-y of the travel communities out there.”

Site launched

August 2006

The back story

Rogoway was an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles before turning to travel. “I went on trips, some by myself, and thought ‘God, wouldn’t this have been a much greater experience if I’ve been able to grab a drink with someone on the way rather than bumble through the city?'”

Number of members

8,000, approx. 75 percent of them U.S.-based

Messages received

2 (in last 8 weeks)

Best features

Trip Guru: If you think you’re an expert in, say, New York nightlife, you can designate yourself as a guru for that topic, so you’ll be bombarded with questions.

Love-o-meter.

A guru has a good chance, but the vibe is a bit “singles bar.”

TRIPCONNECT.COM

In a nutshell

Google groups with a jazzier interface. “We’re not a dating site, we’re about travel advice,” says founder Carter Nicholas, “A lot of the sites are really about hooking up under the excuse of travel.”

Site launched

April 2005

The back story

Ex-Doubleclick exec Nicholas saw this as a natural extension of business networking site LinkedIn, of which he was a well-traveled member.

Number of members

15,000

Messages received

13 (since October 2006)

Ease of joining

Very easy. You can sift for reviews under the Destinations tab and the menu of places to choose from is inspiringly large.

Best feature

The listserv-style user groups which you can join according to niche interest – luxury travel, spas, family vacations. Great. If only there were more actual postings.

Love-o-meter

This ain’t no disco.

WHERE ARE YOU NOW? (WAYN.COM)

In a nutshell

“We are a social network, which always has a dating element, but anyone can go on WAYN without feeling like it’s a dating site,” according to founder Jerome Touze, “The key thing is the ability of meeting people from where you’ve been, where you are and where you’re going.”

Site launched

May 2003

The back story

Management consultant Touze set up the firm with a friend and backing from a UK class reunion web site.

Number of members

7.5 million, 25 percent of from North America

Messages received

8 (since October 2006)

Ease of joining

Difficult. The site wasn’t functioning properly the first time I tried to register. Once it was working (albeit sluggishly), it took an hour or so to fully fill out the detailed, and rather inflexible, forms.

Best feature

The SMS feature on the site, where you can send international texts for 20 cents or less is handy and innovative. It’s also strictly 18-plus, which is a bonus.

Love-o-meter

Up for it.

IGOUGO

In a nutshell

TripAdvisor.com without the fake reviews from hotel managers

Site launched

April 2000; bought by Travelocity.com in 2005

The back story

Onetime banker Tony Cheng co-founded the site just as the Internet bubble burst. It was built largely through grass-roots input and now manages travel communities for multiple providers.

Number of members

350,000 (plus 250,000 more via corporate sites)

Messages received

N/A

Best features

Go Points, which incentivise contributions like frequent-flyer miles. The 5-strong moderating team that assesses, oversees and rates contributions and keeps the content here at the highest level of all the sites.

Love-o-meter

Geek love.