TravelByDrone.com

Here’s a website that’s taking armchair travel to new heights.

» What it does: It’s a collection of YouTube videos pinned to a map by location. The video footage must be taken by a drone (nonmilitary) and show, in good quality, the area where the drone flew. The public can submit their videos, which are reviewed by the website before posting.

» What’s hot: There are lots of drone videos from all over the world; a column on the home page lets you know about the most recently published ones. You can zoom in and out of the global map to find where the videos are from. It’s fun to view the aerial shots: My favorites were taken in the Serengeti in Kenya, the streets of London, off Dana Point, Calif., and Kilauea and Maui in Hawaii. Warning: Watching the videos might lead to a new hobby; several of the videographers mention the type of drone they used to take the shots.

» What’s not: You might want to hit the mute button; the music that accompanies some of the videos is not for all tastes. Also, it’d be great if there were features so you could save favorite videos or share them with friends.

Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times