It’s been a long time since I used the services of a travel agent. These days, with so many fantastic tools available online, I prefer to handle all the bookings myself. I have occasionally asked an agent to price airfares and hotels but not since 2008 was I able to get a better deal by booking through an agent. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great travel agents out there, and if you are time poor they can take all the work of travel research and bookings off your schedule but I just get too much pleasure out of my travel research to hand all that fun to someone else.
It does take time though, HOURS and HOURS of time. In the months leading up to a holiday I sit on the lounge every night with my laptop looking for the ideal location…the ideal flight…the ideal hotel…the ideal tour. However, it’s so rewarding when you get it right! ( and I’ll openly admit I haven’t ALWAYS got it right, there was a memorable hotel in Hobart that my family refuse to let me forget….)
Like most of us I have some favourite websites that I return to over and over again so I thought I’d devote this post to those tools. Many of these (listed first) won’t be news to anyone – you’d have to live with your head in the sand not to have heard of Tripadvisor; but in the interests of thoroughness I’ll include ALL of the sites that I have used for my travel planning. There are also many other travel-related websites out there, but these are just the ones that I use regularly and can recommend . At the end of each section I’ve also included a link to the mobile App ( if one exists)
Google – as the title says… Is there anything we do these days without running a Google search first? Google is the place I start to look for anything and everything to do with my travels. Depending on where you’re going you may find need to look at websites in a language other than English – that’s where Google Translate is your friend… (App)
Tripadvisor – the ultimate go-to site for detailed warts-and-all reviews of hotels, restaurants and activities all over the world. I don’t book a hotel ANYWHERE without checking it on Tripadvisor first. The one downside of Tripadvisor’s fame is that in recent years I’ve started to see a number of clearly non-genuine reviews. There have been many stories in the news about business doing extremely positive paid-writeups of hotels and even poor reviews of competitors. I still think the vast majority of reviews are genuine, but when trawling through the reviews of a hotel I tend to discard the comments of anyone who has only 1 or 2 reviews to their name, particularly if they see overly positive or negative. (Apps)
Expedia – If I’m faced with finding accommodation in a new town I’ll often make Expedia my first step in the research process, particularly if the town is in the USA. A quick search will provide a rapid rundown of the vast majority of hotels in a town so that I can quickly get a feel for the places that are likely to be within my budget. They sometimes have some great deals too. I’d always check the reviews on Expedia as well. I have made several bookings on Expedia and have never had any problems. I’ve found Expedia less useful for things like car hire though, they rarely seem to have good prices compared to other sites. I’ve not used Expedia for booking airfares but I have friends that have booked some amazing airline deals on Expedia.ie ( the Irish site) Just one to keep an eye on there… (Apps)
Booking.com – If I’m looking for accommodation in Europe I’ve often found that Booking.com tends to have the edge over Expedia. They frequently seem to offer more room types and usually have a bit more information about crucial details like parking costs and internet access. Great reviews too! (Apps)
Skyscanner.com, Hipmunk.com, Kayak.com, – when hunting for a good airfare these sites are where I start. They draw in data from many individual travel agent sites ( like Expedia) as well as individual airline websites to find the best deal on any one route. I use them as a starting point only though, more often than not, once they’ve sent me towards a particular flight I’ll end up booking direct with the airline. I particularly like Hipmunk as their visual display of available flights is brilliant – so easy to see the overall duration of the flight and the length of layovers etc. However, I have one IMPORTANT tip when booking domestic flights in the USA – not ALL airlines feed into the search engines, so it’s always worth doing a separate individual check of Southwest Airlines, Jetblue and Virgin America – they often have amazing deals and fly direct routes that the others don’t. (Apps)
insidetrip.com – OK, so you have a few options for your route – how to choose the best flight? Inside Trip is a fantastic site that will rank your flight options according to 12 factors like on-time performance, layover time, legroom, aircraft age, etc etc. You can modify the ranking by indicating which factors are most important to you too!
www.airlinequality.com – So, Skyscanner has suggested a flight with Pegasus Airlines…but you’ve never heard of them? A quick check with the Skytrax website will let you know if you want to risk it. In this case..I’d say no!
flightstats.com – You’re flying from Los Angeles to Boston via Cleveland, and your layover in Cleveland is only 50 minutes. Is that enough time? If you go to flightstats.com you can plug in your flight numbers and the site will tell you the percentage of flights that have been a little late, a LOT late or dead in the water… Flightstats can also give you up to date information about any airport delays affecting US airports. Fog at JFK anyone? (Apps)
Flyertalk.com, www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au – Do you want to use your Frequent flyer points? Or thinking of swapping to a new program, Or do you want to know if that layover in Dallas is too short, or what you can do to pass the time at Atlanta with a 6 hour layover? The guys on these sites can answer almost ANY travel or flying related question you can come up with. (App)
Seatguru.com – you’re about to book your flight and you have a choice of seats…which one do you book? My advice is to check it out on Seatguru first. Enter the airline and flight number and you’ll be forewarned about the seats that don’t recline, or are too close to the toilet or don’t have a window etc.(IOS app Android App)
www.seat61.com – Do you prefer the train? If you are planning to travel almost anywhere in the world on a train then Seat61 should be your first stop. Mark Smith is a self-confessed train nut who has put together an extraordinary wealth of information about train travel, particularly in Europe. He has written a book too, but the website has the advantage of always being up to date.
Tripit.com – so you’ve started making bookings and now you have to keep track of your itinerary somehow. Of course you print all those confirmation emails but, at the same time, make sure you forward that email to plans@tripit.com (AFTER you set up your tripit account, of course) Tripit will receive your confirmation emails and neatly file the information away for you online, building a detailed itinerary for you that you can print or share with family and friends. Occasionally Tripit doesn’t understand a confirmation email but it will let you know and you can log in and file that information manually, but I’ve had very few occasions where I had to do that. (Apps)
holidayautos.com.au – Some of us prefer to drive… Given a choice, Neil and I would always prefer to hire a car and hit the road. Well, actually, Neil does the driving and I navigate. When I go looking for a rental car I’ll always check Holidayautos as I’ve found their prices to be HIGHLY competitive and the service is totally reliable. They can offer amazing deals because your payment is made up-front, whereas most rental car companies only bill you when you show up at the counter to collect the car. The other advantage of booking with Holiday autos is that, usually, any insurance etc is part of the deal so that you don’t get pestered at the counter by staff trying to sell you additional insurance.
maps.google.com, viamichelin.com, mapquest.com, www.theaa.com/route-planner – You’ve got your car organised and now you need to plan a route. I’ve used all of these sites when looking for routes from A to B . Via Michelin is particularly good for European driving and the AA site is excellent in the UK. In Google maps, you even have the option of doing a sample drive along your route using the 3D option within the Satellite view – brilliant! (App)
rometorio.com – Rome to Rio is another route planning site that will tell you how to get anywhere via public transport or by road. If flights are involved it will suggest alternative airlines and will provide costings for flights when you plug in your dates. (App)
roadtrippers.com – Are you planning a road trip in the USA? Then you’re going to love Roadtrippers! The site allows you to plan, map and save trips across the continent. When you enter your planned route, Roadtrippers will advise you of sights, accommodation and eats within a specified distance of your route. There is a HUGE volume of information on the site that will give you hours of planning pleasure. (App)
www.mappedometer.com – you’re in Berlin and you want to get from the Reichstag to the Berliner Dom. Should you walk, or catch the tram? Plug your walking route into Map Pedometer and it will tell you just how far it is.
roadsideamerica.com – Do you enjoy visiting quirky, queer and offbeat tourist attractions? If you do AND you’re planning a trip to the USA then Roadside America is full of sights you must add to your itinerary such as the Nuclear Waste Adventure Trail in Weldon Missouri or the International UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico. (Apps)
www.wunderground.com – Should you pack an umbrella or sunscreen? Parka or swimming Costume? Weather Underground has historical climate data for almost anywhere in the world and their Travel Planner will give you the rainfall and temperature averages for your holiday destination at the dates of your trip. (Apps)
forums.whirlpool.net.au – Whirlpool is an Australian internet and technology discussion forum and may not be an obvious site for travel planning. However, if you want to use your iPhone in Spain or your iPad in the USA this is the best place to find out how to get hold of the right sim card.
viator.com – You have 1 day in New York City and you want to book a sightseeing tour. Viator is a great place to start, they act as a re-seller for day tours or short multi-day tours for major cities all over the world. I use Viator to give me a feel for the kinds of tours that are available in my destination city, but I usually refer to Tripadvisor as well and will book my tours direct with the specific tour company if I can. (App)
Well, that’s all I can think of at present. If I remember any more I’ll let you know…