Vacation and Travel Deal Sites
I have come up with a small list of travel sites that I check on a regular basis. Since I have moved to the west coast away from my fiancee and my family, I've unfortunately had to buy several plane tickets. I could probably devote an entire blog to finding deals and exposing the tips and tricks of finding travel deals. However, I'm too lazy to do that. Instead I'll give you 3 key points to searching for a great travel deal. Feel free to come up with your own. This is not an exhaustive list of tips, nor is the list of travel deal sites. I just wanted to alert some of you about some sites you may not know about.
First, the sites:
Travelocity: The loveable gnome site. I generally look here first. They seem to have the most current travel deal prices and the fee is $5 for plane tickets.
CheapTickets: Another great site that I check. Very similiar to Travelocity as far as travel deals and I have a very high success rate in finding the lowest cost.
Sidestep: Multiple travel site search engine. I haven't purchased anything from them, but the site comes highly recommended.
Kayak: Same as Sidestep. I think the UI is a little bit better though. They also have a new "buzz" feature which will allow you to see the best deals among the 25 most popular destinations.
Site59: Great vacation travel deal site that offers incredible deals on last minute getaways. Huge selection of vacation packages available.
Sites I do not use:
Expedia: These guys are horrible. Everytime I search there, it appears I have found the best travel deal. Then it goes to the "processing" page and Wham! I get hit with a 'I'm sorry, this deal has been updated' which usually means a couple hundred bucks tacked onto the price. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
Priceline: Yeah, I know they changed their model some but I don't believe in buying plane tickets blindly.
Orbitz: I've never seen a ticket on here I would consider a deal.
Now for some tips to getting great travel deals.
Start Early! If you are looking for your Thanksgiving flight today, you're screwed. Start your normal vacation searching early to find the best travel deal.
Be Flexible! Being able to leave on a Thursday instead of a friday can save you hundreds. Red eye flights are also great (especially for west coast folks) so don't let time affect your search.
Shop Around! Even though most of these travel sites get their tickets from the same place, you can still find discrepancies. Don't forget to check the airline sites as well. Most of the time you can find the ticket for the same price minus the "processing" fee which truely makes it a travel deal. Don't give the gnome money if you don't have to! you can also check out deals from your credit card companies (such as Amex) or other membership places like Sam's Club or BJ's.
So there you go. Some nice tips and sites for you to check out this holiday traveling season. Good luck booking your vacation!
First, the sites:
Travelocity: The loveable gnome site. I generally look here first. They seem to have the most current travel deal prices and the fee is $5 for plane tickets.
CheapTickets: Another great site that I check. Very similiar to Travelocity as far as travel deals and I have a very high success rate in finding the lowest cost.
Sidestep: Multiple travel site search engine. I haven't purchased anything from them, but the site comes highly recommended.
Kayak: Same as Sidestep. I think the UI is a little bit better though. They also have a new "buzz" feature which will allow you to see the best deals among the 25 most popular destinations.
Site59: Great vacation travel deal site that offers incredible deals on last minute getaways. Huge selection of vacation packages available.
Sites I do not use:
Expedia: These guys are horrible. Everytime I search there, it appears I have found the best travel deal. Then it goes to the "processing" page and Wham! I get hit with a 'I'm sorry, this deal has been updated' which usually means a couple hundred bucks tacked onto the price. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
Priceline: Yeah, I know they changed their model some but I don't believe in buying plane tickets blindly.
Orbitz: I've never seen a ticket on here I would consider a deal.
Now for some tips to getting great travel deals.
Start Early! If you are looking for your Thanksgiving flight today, you're screwed. Start your normal vacation searching early to find the best travel deal.
Be Flexible! Being able to leave on a Thursday instead of a friday can save you hundreds. Red eye flights are also great (especially for west coast folks) so don't let time affect your search.
Shop Around! Even though most of these travel sites get their tickets from the same place, you can still find discrepancies. Don't forget to check the airline sites as well. Most of the time you can find the ticket for the same price minus the "processing" fee which truely makes it a travel deal. Don't give the gnome money if you don't have to! you can also check out deals from your credit card companies (such as Amex) or other membership places like Sam's Club or BJ's.
So there you go. Some nice tips and sites for you to check out this holiday traveling season. Good luck booking your vacation!
posted by Thomas at 2:48 PM
2 Comments:
I love kayak.com, but you write that they only do air. Not so. They have hotels and cars and have a catalog of current travel deals. And if you have not looked at their new Buzz feature, you just have to see it.
Kayak is also way ahead of the game with their developer API. Other sites can use their search engine. I like SportsGroupie.com - travel search (and tickets) for sports fans. Very cool stuff from kayak
my apologies! How cruel of me to snub Kayak like that! I'll fix it.
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