Travel Website Reviews:

One of the best things about the internet is all the travel information you can find online for free. Travel agents have pretty much been put out of business with the online travel sites. You no longer have to call an 800 # or check with travel agent for hotels, flights, rental cars, etc. Just log on to the top travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotwire and Orbitz to check on your dates to see what is available. There are even specific sites that function like search engines, except they are related to travel (Kayak.com, Sidestep.com). Booking a hotel is as simple as clicking on your specific dates and choosing a room. There are still individual company sites for United Airlines, Delta, American Airlines, Marriott Hotels, Hilton, Hertz and dozens of others where you can go and book whatever you need. Most airlines are going ticketless which means you print out a reservation online and use that to get through security and check-in. All the paper products associated with travel bookings are almost gone as confirmation codes dominate. Which travel site is the best? We review several websites for travel down below with consumer picks in each category.

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For a pure travel search engine, Kayak.com is a really find for saavy discount travelers. Kayak searches over 100 travel sites to pull up results that are "right on" say most people who use their service. Their online travel forums allow users to give travel tips and online booking secrets for the best fares available. Sidestep.com is another top rated travel website and gets excellent reviews from travel experts. Sidestep lets you search for the cheapest airfares, discount hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages. The travel guides section on Sidestep is getting better, but we still prefer sites like TripAdvisor.com or Travel.about.com for a comprehensive listing of consumer feedback in discussion forums. The real key to finding the best travel deals online is using different websites for different bookings. You may find that Hotwire gives you the lowest hotel prices consistently while Expedia might be better for cruise packages. Most travel experts say start with sites like Kayak.com and search 100's of travel sites at once to get an idea on airfare prices, hotel rates, and rental car deals. In order to compete, many airline and rental car websites will offer perks to get you to book directly on their site with deals for bonus miles and freebies. One of the biggest low fare carriers in the airline industry is Southwest Airlines. They don't allow travel sites to post their offerings and therefore are left out on their own. Southwest has still managed to drive traffic to their own website and they are one of the few major airlines to report a profit every year. If you are a frequent flyer member of an airline or a reward member at a rental car company, you are still best in booking directly from their main website. Otherwise, use the plethora of travel websites to get the best travel bargains online. If you are flexible on travel dates, sites like Hotwire and Priceline give you a chance at some great travel deals since they don't promise which airline, rental car company, or hotel you will be using in your travels.

Best Travel Site:

Part of travel is preparing your schedule, researching hotels, finding out about tours, and getting feedback from others you can trust. One of the biggest concerns all of us have when traveling is that we will waste time in lines, get a hotel that bad, or do touristy activities that are not worth it. A comprehensive website on travel planning is at Tripadvisor.com with actual traveler reviews and opinions for you to read. Get the latest on hotels including which ones are the best location, have the nicest rooms, and the best value for the price. If you just want to book the cheapest flight to San Francisco, then by all means just use a site like Travelocity. but if you are a real trip planner, give TripAdvisor a try. I have found basic information like which days are easiest to visit museums in Florence and detailed travel plans through the French countryside from other travelers who have already done it. Instead of getting sucked into the marketing and glitz of other websites, we feel that TripAdvisor cuts through the stuff travel companies want you to hear and see and offers straight forward reviews and opinions. It's also a great site to ask travel questions, no matter how stupid they may seem. The user forums will respond to your inquiry within a day or so and get you on your way. It's a real online travel community where others have done all the research and hard work and you can quickly find the information you need. You can search their reviews for the best hotel in almost any city worldwide and book hotels or flights right from the site.

Best Discount Travel Site:

Many of us travel only when we need to and want the cheapest airfare or the best hotel for the money. There are travel websites designed to meat the budget travelers needs. If you are flexible on travel dates and don't care about the hotel name or departure time on flights, book with Hotwire.com for the best discount travel prices. J.D. Powers and Associates did a recent customer satisfaction survey for travel websites and Hotwire beat out top players in the field like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity. Hotwire is a recognized brand name for online travel bookings and users like the site for last minute travel and discounted airfares. Hotwire handles flight reservations, hotel bookings, rental cars, and cruises. I used the site a few times to book airplane tickets and feel like I saved money based on a last minute purchase. Priceline.com is the clear winner when it comes to getting good hotels at reasonable prices. Priceline allows you to bid on hotel rooms by choosing location, dates, price and level of hotel (3 stars, 4 stars, 5 stars, etc). When traveling to a city you are familiar with and don't care which hotel brand you stay in (such as a 4 star hotel), give Priceline a try to see how it works.

Travel/Vacation Packages:

If you are planning that yearly family vacation to Orlando, travel experts say you should consider using Expedia to book your airfare, hotel, and rental car. Expedia.com offers excellent vacation package deals that other sites don't. You can customize the trip to fit your needs such as a cheap hotel with non-stop flight, and oversize rental car. More often than not, by combining your purchase of hotel room, airline tickets, and rental car you will save money compared to booking it all separately. There are times where booking a travel vacation works out better on the main site of a company like SWAvacations.com - the vacation website for SouthWest Airlines. Southwest continually offers discounted airfares and they have become even more competitive by partnering with hotels and rental car companies when it comes to package deals.

Student Travel Site:

Students looking to travel should consider sites catered to their age group and needs. College students do a lot of traveling, but they are more inclined to go the budget route instead of first class. There are student travel sites designed to give you decent accommodations or flights like STATravel.com. Get deals on domestic flights, international hotel rooms in places like London or Paris, and discounted rail and bus passes in Europe. Most young adults will travel on a budget and don't expect the finest facilities to keep them happy. STA Travel sponsors shows on MTV like the Real World and The Duel which caters to college age crowds. One of the cheapest ways for students to travel is by staying in youth hostels where nightly fees can be as low as $5 around the world. Hostels.com is a great travel site for those seeking hostel accommodations worldwide. Choose from over 10,000 hostels in cities like Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, NYC, SF, Madrid, Paris, and many more.

Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.

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