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Booking travel – where do you start?! I get a lot of questions about what resources I use to plan and book trips for our personal travels. Fact: there’s no right or wrong answer for what to use – everyone has a different preference! There are hundreds of travel booking resources out there, but I’ve found a few things that work really well for me that I wanted to share with all of you! If you have some awesome suggestions that are different than what I use, I am always learning and open to new strategies. Just drop me a comment below if you have some ideas to pass along!
Flights
Research
The three main websites/apps I use for researching flights are:
Kayak: Whether you use the website or the app, Kayak is a great resource to compare flights on most airlines (some require you check pricing directly through them, like Southwest Air).
Skyscanner: I like to use the Skyscanner app to check flights to anywhere in the world when I’m not sure where I want to go. Seriously, just type in “Everywhere” in the Destination box! This way, I can see what destinations have the cheapest or best direct flights around the times I want to travel and choose from that list. *Note: Kayak also has this feature.
Southwest Air: Southwest is one of our favorite airlines to fly within the U.S. so I’m often checking their pricing for our U.S.-based trips. Because they don’t show up on search results with Kayak, I go to them directly.
Bonus: They also now have service to Hawaii and a few select Caribbean and Central American destinations!
Booking
In terms of booking, once I’ve done my research on the above sites/apps, I go directly to the airline websites and book through them. I like to eliminate third-party OTAs (online travel agencies) if I can, even if I have to pay a few bucks more. Why? Less of a customer service hassle if anything goes wrong. The only instance where I don’t do this is when I book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal (more on this coming to another page soon). I’ve never run into any issues with flights booked through Chase, so I can’t speak on the customer service level, but they are great at sending updates when flight times get changed (via email).
Hotels/Accommodations
Hotels.com
We primarily prefer to book hotels with Hotels.com (if not directly with the hotel), so I spend a lot of time on their site researching and planning. The main reason why I love Hotels.com is that after you stay 10 nights, you get a free reward night that is worth the average cost of your 10-nights of bookings.
They also have preferred hotels that will give you extra benefits if you book one of them (for example, a free bottle of wine for your stay or a % discount on food items). These benefits are available to you depending upon the level of your rewards membership (meaning, the more nights you book, the higher you go – Silver, Gold, etc.)
They also have really good rates most of the time, and you even get discounts when booking with their mobile app.
Note: If you use any type of coupon code to book your nights on Hotels.com, you do not get credit for your rewards nights. This is a very important detail!
Google Maps
Once I narrow down some hotel choices on Hotels.com, I switch over to Google Maps to check hotel locations in comparison to sites and restaurants I want to visit (they also have a feature that compares pricing across multiple sites).
Airbnb or VRBO
I typically only use Airbnb or VRBO when traveling with a group or if I’m looking at staying at a place in a more relaxing setting and plan on cooking (like Hawaii). Otherwise, we primarily prefer to stay in hotels at most locations.
Other Options
Book Direct: Many hotels can give you better rates or even special packages that include breakfast or treats like wine, chocolate, etc. It never hurts to double check!
OTAs: I’ve also used other booking sites like Priceline or Booking.com, but tend to stick with Hotels.com for the reward nights. However, if a price you find is going to save you more than the cost of your average Hotels.com free night, by all means, go for the best-priced option!
Rental Cars
Our go-to rental car company is Avis. We’ve never had any issues with them, and they are one of three agencies (I know of) that allow your spouse to drive for free (others are Enterprise and Budget).
Avis also has a loyalty program called Avis Preferred which gets you in the expedited check-in line and free upgrades (when available). And, if you book directly with them on their website, there are multiple ways to get discounts (i.e. if you are an Amazon Member, you can connect your Amazon account to your Avis account in order to get a “gift card” code after you complete your travel. More info on that here). Pre-paying for your reservation online through Avis.com also saves you money!
Of course, I always check pricing on Kayak before I book just to compare costs. However, Avis generally has some of the best pricing out there. We’ve used them in Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, and Italy thus far with no issues!
Note: I always book rental cars using the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card as it provides primary rental car insurance, which allows us to decline the pricey insurance options offered by the rental company.
Tours & Activities
My favorite resources for tours and activities are:
- Viator for research and booking (also Get Your Guide)
- Google Reviews for research
- Trip Advisor for research
- Direct booking with tour companies
Viator
Viator (a Trip Advisor-owned company) is a great resource for researching different tours out there for any category you are looking for (food tours, history, boozy tours), and in any city around the world (another similar site is Get Your Guide). I’ve used Viator for some of my personal tour bookings (like our Stonehenge & Bath day trip in England and our Niagara Falls Tour from Toronto), as well as some of my travel clients, without issue, but still prefer to book directly with tour companies if I can.
Note: Viator is not an actual tour company; rather, they are an OTA (online travel agency) that provides a booking service for actual tour companies. In most instances, Viator does not tell you the name of the company that is providing the tour until you get your vouchers. Sometimes, I read through reviews and people mention the company name, or I find the exact tour companies by simply doing a little research and comparing the activity/tour descriptions.
Google & Trip Advisor Reviews
Always, always read through reviews on a tour company before you book with them. You don’t want to spend a whole day miserable in a foreign country! Obviously, “the bus left me because I was five minutes late” kind of reviews can be ignored. It’s your responsibility to be on time, and in fact, at least 15 minutes early for all tours! Reading through reviews can give you a good feeling for the culture of the tour company and whether it would be a right fit or not for you.
Booking Direct
Keeping with my theme of eliminating the “middle man,” booking with tour companies direct can be beneficial for customer service purposes, and also for pricing at times – some have web specials that won’t be captured by third-parties like Viator. For instance, I booked tours for Ireland directly with Wild Rover who was not only running a special winter promo, but also offered an extra discount for booking multiple tours at once.
Airport Parking
If you don’t have friends or family who will give you a ride to the airport, or if a shuttle or ride-sharing service like Uber is not cost-effective for you, there’s generally always parking available at airports onsite or nearby with parking services.
Other than paying for airport parking onsite at the actual airports, my go-to booking site is Airport Parking Reservations, where you can find a list of available places to park that fit your budget, and view them on a map in relation to your desired airport.
Travel Insurance
This is something I need to be more diligent about myself, but we do generally book travel on credit cards that have some form of travel insurance included. This, however, does not include medical care overseas. In that case, it would be prudent to book through companies like World Nomads or Allianz, which both come highly recommended from people I know and trust. If you travel extensively, you can pay for a yearly plan and have peace of mind to be covered no matter where you travel to!
And that’s primarily what I use to book travel!
What are some travel booking resources that you like to use?
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