Booking a vacation used to be a stressful, never-ending task. You would have to find and then study pamphlets in order to research your vacation spot. Once you had your vacation all planned out, you would have to call and book every business you planned to engage with during your time away. If you could afford it, you would hire a travel agent instead, leaving all your plans in their hands while hoping they provide a vacation you truly enjoy.
Those times are over. There has been an explosion in popularity of online sites that allow you to book your entire vacation. These sites will plan your entire trip for you, from flights, to car rentals, to booking a place to stay. It has never been easier to plan and book a trip, but with all these new sites popping up, it may be hard to decide which site is the best at planning your trip. The Internet can seem like a wild place to some, but this list of the five best sites to book an online vacation weeds out the bad and will offer you a great place to start booking your trip.
1. Travelocity
Travelocity is one of the easiest online travel agencies to use. [1] Their website design is a tad cluttered, but it’s still easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. You can book a flight, hotel, car service, or even a cruise by simply clicking on the tab for whatever service you wish to book. Once you click on the service you want to book, you’re taken to a search portal where you can enter different types of information that will filter your search results. Each search result comes with a large amount of information, allowing you to get a full picture of whatever you wish to book, including an easily accessible rating system that will make sure you’re choosing to book something of the quality you desire.
Travelocity also has some unique features, such as vacation packages and custom trip recommendations that are designed just for you. You can also book a trip to pretty much anywhere in the world from this site, making it a great place to decide on a vacation destination and to book it all at the same time. Travelocity also has a mobile app, making it easy to book your vacation right from your mobile device.
There is no fee to use Travelocity, and you can often find deals that you’d never see without using the site. The service’s ability to match you with packages and cheap deals you likely wouldn’t find on your own means that using Travelocity will often allow you to book cheaper trips than you could book on your own.
2. Expedia
Expedia provides a comprehensive website that will allow you to find your perfect vacation and book it without ever leaving the site. [2] There are easily navigable pages where you can find the best places to stay in popular vacation destinations like Las Vegas or Rome. Any place in the world with an airport or hotel can be booked on Expedia, and they focus both on national and international vacations.
There are no extra fees when booking your trip with Expedia. They even offer a reward program where you can earn Expedia Rewards points by booking with the site. These points can then be used during any future bookings you may make with Expedia.
3. Hipmunk
Hipmunk is the perfect online booking site if you’re looking to compare deals and features. Their website is by far the cleanest of everyone on this list, and their app is equally easy to use. By utilizing Hipmunk’s search feature, you can compare different deals and prices for flights, hotels, and car rentals. [3] You can also compare prices of package deals that offer reduced rates when combining all your bookings into a single purchase.
There are no extra fees to book with Hipmunk. The site’s ability to connect you with the best deals on the market make it a great way to save money. If you’re looking for an easily navigable and clean website that will save you money on your online bookings, then Hipmunk is the perfect choice for you.
4. Kayak
If you’re looking for flexibility when it comes to booking your trip, then Kayak is likely the best place to look. The site is easy to navigate, and you can easily search hundreds of trip website right from Kayak’s search portal. Kayak’s Flexible Dates tool is a unique way to find the best price for your trip. [4] For instance, if you’re looking for a flight, you can enter the dates you’re looking for and then click on a drop-down menu where you can add up to three days to the start date or end date of your trip. Once you do so, you will see all the deals that you can receive by picking earlier or later dates for your vacation.
Kayak charges no extra fees for their service. They make their money from the trip providers, who pay Kayak to link to them and book through them. Kayak also has a recommended section where they provide you with the best vacations currently available for low prices, making Kayak a great place to save money on your online bookings.
5. Airfarewatchdog
Airfarewatchdog is a great site to use if you’re able to take your trip with very little notice. [5] The website has a regular search portal where you can find the best deals on flights, hotels, and travel credit cards. The user interface is clean and easily navigable, allowing you to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Where Airfarewatchdog really shines is with their alert system. By providing the site with your email address, you can have them alert you to the best deals on flights and hotels as those deals become available. These deals are found by actual people scouring travel websites and mostly involve last-minute cancellations, so if you’re looking for the best deal and are able to jump on it immediately, this is the perfect website for you.
There are no fees to use Airfarewatchdog, and you can book your trip to just about anywhere in the world. The truth of the matter is that if you’re able to leave for your trip with very little notice, then Airfarewatchdog is likely able to provide you the best prices of any website on this list.
Sources
- “Home Page.” Travelocity, Travelscape LLC, 2018, travelocity.com/.
- “Expedia Collections.” com, Expedia, Inc, 2017, www.expedia.com/collections.
- “Home Page.” Hipmunk, Hipmunk, Inc. and Concur Technologies, Inc., 2018, hipmunk.com/.
- “Home Page.” com, Kayak, 2018, www.kayak.com/news/flexible-dates-nearby-airports/.
- “Home Page.” Airfarewatchdog, Smarter Travel Media LLC, 2018, airfarewatchdog.com/.