Influential Travel Sites For Booking Not Always The Big Players

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travel sitesI’ve been heavily entrenched in the travel & tourism industry for years-formal education, 1000s of books, reports, market research, etc. Editor’s note: If you’re headed to the Caribbean, Central or South America, Hawaii, or Mexico, try your search on Funjet’s sister site, Apple Vacations The destinations it covers are more limited than Funjet’s, but I found that the prices were often a little better.travel sites

Add to that its decent filters, a flexible dates whole month” calendar and graph on every search, the ability to search for destinations in an entire country rather than just one city (you can even type Everywhere” in the destination field for a list of cheap fares from any departure airport), and our verdict is made clear: We suggest never booking a ticket without checking Skyscanner first.

For most travel planning, the best overall strategy is to compare prices from multiple sources including the hotel’s own website, as it will sometimes offer deals not shared with third-party sites, or offer the same rates as third-party sites minus pesky booking fees.

There is much mindless mirth and musing online, but when it comes to taking actual travel decisions that will directly affect your wallet, wedding, wife, babes, boss and promotion prospects, the choice for feedback really falls into two broad categories – sites with professional reviews (think drab bespectacled editors and reporters trawling hotel rooms, beaches and business centres and reporting back to their readers, much like a CNET for laptops and cameras), or sites with user-generated reviews serving up feisty opinions in a no-holds-barred format.

Charlie Leocha, president of the consumer group Travelers United , says if it’s a refundable room — and make sure it’s a reservation that allows cancellation without penalty — it’s OK to book it and then look around for a better deal through the hotel itself or another travel site.