The year's top travel sites: Check out the 2009 Luckie Fifty: The Social Path

We live in a time when Americans simply can't afford to risk a bad vacation

Far fewer Americans are planning leisure trips this summer than in years past. And those who are vacationing are being tremendously careful to plan and budget their journeys more doggedly than ever before.

To help travelers and marketers alike keep tabs on the most effective tools out there, I'm excited to introduce the 2009 Luckie Fifty. This is the second year my colleague David Stutts, Luckie & Company's director of brand planning, has compiled a list of the most useful, innovative and fun travel sites on the Web.

Click here to download the full PDF of The Luckie Fifty.

And don't miss this handy one-sheeter, which you can print out and pin on your office wall next to that picture of a Saint Martin cabana.

There's just a ton of great stuff in the report, so I won't inundate you with all of it here. But after the jump, you'll find David Stutts' summary of 10 social networks that are redefining how travelers connect and share.

Social networks for today's travelers:

Iloho.com
• Flight reviews, travel news, videos, networking and more. Content is 100% user-generated. Users can blog and post pictures

TravelTogether.com
• Travel-based social networking service enabling users to share travel plans/ideas, travel deals and experiences with others

FlyerTalk.com
• Community geared toward frequent flyers. Part of the WebFlyer Network, features discussions and chat boards that cover the most up-to-date traveler information. An interactive community dedicated to travel – users can converse about programs, how to make the most of their miles and points, general travel, airports, destination and dining information

RealTravel.com
• Social network that allows real people to provide travel information that is about more than price and star ratings – it is about the whole experience. Users can create their own travel blog
• Provides information on what it is really like there – information on the people, the culture, how to get around, and how to avoid problems, as well as suggestions for itineraries, accommodations, dining and things to do

TripConnect.com
• Social networking site that allows people to get travel advice from people they know, others who share similar interests, and also from established and relevant information sources

VirtualTourist.com
•    A worldwide travel community where real travelers and locals share real travel advice and experiences
•    Offers a forum where members are able to post any question they wish regarding vacationing and travel. Answers are then posted by other members
•    Travel deals and guides are also available on this site

TravBuddy.com
• An online community for meeting travelers and sharing travel reviews, photos and blogs

Gusto.com
• Travel planning with travel reviews, hotel reviews, hotel reservations, travel photos, travel blogs and travel guides all easily shared with friends and family
• Find out what other real travelers think about destinations by viewing member reviews, photos, favorite Web sites and blog posts

Dopplr.com
• Dopplr helps users make the most of their travels by sharing their future trips privately with friends and colleagues. The service then highlights coincidences; for example, telling users that three people they know will be in Tokyo when they will be there too. Dopplr can be used on a personal computer or mobile phone. It links with many popular online calendars and social networks

Tripwolf.com
•    Tripwolf is a social travel guide that combines professional editorial travel tips with traveler-generated content – a collection of travel experiences and travel help from a worldwide community of thousands of travelers who can customize and download three free PDF travel guides
•    Users can browse through 400,000 locations, city guides, recommendations and travel reports using the Tripwolf travel map to find out which tourist attractions are really worth visiting and which hidden places they might miss. Users can upload and share travel pictures, completely free, with no upload limit
•    Currently has a community of 16,000 travelers

Don't forget, you can download a PDF of the entire Luckie Fifty by clicking here.

The Luckie Fifty is compiled by David Stutts, director of brand planning for Luckie & Company, a full-service marketing agency whose clients include the Alabama Department of Tourism, the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau.