Make your reservations now for spring training

Baseball's spring training is fast approaching, and that's a perfect excuse to head for Florida or Arizona for a weekend or a week.

Start at the beginning with Major League Baseball -- mlb.mlb.com/ -- and look for "Spring Training" on the right side of the page. Then look under "Visitor's Guides" for your league and team to get a rundown of where and when they practice, how you get there and how you get tickets.

If you want a visual guide to plan visits to more than one team, a travel site called Johnny Roadtrip -- www.johnnyroadtrip.com/events/springtraining.htm -- has maps for the Grapefruit League in Florida and the Cactus League in Arizona, with locations of their fields. You can zoom in for more details in the major metro areas. Back on the main page, they provide schedules, extra info on the biggest cities and links for getting tickets and room reservations.

Johnny Roadtrip also has one really important tip: This is a busy tourist season, so make your reservations early.

Want to learn a little about the teams' spring homes? Look at Spring Training Online -- www.springtrainingonline.com/ -- and click on your team. For example, the Detroit Tigers' Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla., seats 8,000 people and general admission is $9, or you can take your friends and rent a box for less than 20 bucks.

Focus on the Cactus League -- www.cactusleague.com/ -- for details on the action in the Tucson and Phoenix metropolitan areas. They use a "Trip Planner," where you pick the dates of your visit and check the teams you want to see, and then click "Display Results" for a schedule. They supply maps of the stadiums, but you might also look at a separate Web site -- www.cactus-league.com/ -- (pay attention to that hyphen) which provides directories of motels close to each venue.

For more details, the Phoenix Vacation Center -- www.visitphoenix.com/visitor/index.cfm -- can show you around the city, and the Tucson Convention & Visitors Center -- www.visittucson.org/ -- has the details on that city.

If you're drawn to Grapefruit League teams such as the Yankees, Pirates or Phillies, the Tampa Bay CVB -- www.visittampabay.com/ -- offers to help you find places to stay and eat in the general area, or to buy a hand-rolled cigar. Can't make it? They'll sell you Tampa Bay souvenirs online.

If you're going to see the Indians, try Winter Haven -- www.winterhavenfl.com/ -- which is also convenient both the Orlando and Tampa areas.

Along Florida's East Coast, consider Fort Lauderdale -- www.welcometoftlauderdale.com/ -- to be close to the Orioles, or the Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie area -- www.visitstluciefla.com/ -- for the Mets.