In a four part series, I will review some of the popular online travel sites and give some pros and cons when booking travel through these sites. In this series, I will search for air travel, explore how user-friendly these sites are, and look at which sites offer the best deals. Part I will focus on the most popular travel sites. Please note - these are my own opinions based on my experiences and reviews of these sites. The rest of the series - Part II, Part III, and Part IV.
With holidays just around the corner, now is the time people will be finalizing their holiday plans and booking travel. Most people will choose an online travel site to make their travel plans. Reviewing all of the travel sites out there is nearly impossible. Each person is unique as different people will enjoy certain features and have different ideas for what appeals to them when looking for airline deals and searching the various airfare sites. One might like a decision engine. Another might want to track particular fares for certain routes. Others have preferred airlines that they must travel with. And others might even like particular layouts or formats of a search engine which makes it aesthetically pleasing and easier to read.
With that said, here is a review of the popular travel web sites.
The Popular - These are the tried and true search engines that have been around a long time. They are familiar and search most airlines. They will find a good deal, will even mix and match airlines to find the best price. These are the top 5 most popular.
- Expedia - Pros - Various options when searching for your flight. Good presentation. Summarizes prices by airline and price for non stop, one stop, and multiple stop flights at the top. Can modify your search on the results screen. No booking fees. Cons - Must select price for each leg of your flight and prices may vary drastically for original and return legs. Limited options to change your search. Only get total price for flight once all flights are selected. Can be enticed with a good price only to find the return leg is more expensive.
- Travelocity - Pros - Basic search criteria for flight with some options. Good presentation. Summarizes prices by airline and nonstop and all flights. No booking fees. Cons - May lists a low price but when you try to select the flight, the price of the flight changes. Hard to find the best deals. Must go to a different screen to modify search or change your options. Like Expedia, must search for both legs of your flight and prices may vary for each leg. Only get the total price for flight once all flights are selected.
- Orbitz - Pros - Basic search criteria for flights with expanded search options. Maybe the best presentation of the big three. Gives a nicely summarized table of flights by airline and non stop, 1 stop, and multiple stop prices. Can modify search and has expanded options on the results screen. Gives ticket price and detailed information based on round trip. Can see flight, airline, flight number, and times. No booking fees and price assurance offering refunds (see restrictions). Cons - none but be aware of your own dislikes or problems that you may find.
- Yahoo Travel - Pros - Very similar to another travel site, www.bestfares.com as both may use the same software. Expanded search criteria for flights. Good summary of lowest prices for non stop and all flights by airlines at the top. Gives some details about the flight and warnings if overnight or airport changes. Cons - Must select price for original flight and then taken to another screen to see prices for return flights which can alter the price from what was originally shown. Very basic presentation of search results but may not be most appealing to view. Must go through a few screens to see final price.
- Trip Advisor - Pros - The flight search is a recent feature added to Trip Advisor. One of the best features of the site are all the reviews of hotels and sights that it has. As for flights, it has a good search criteria with some limited options. Gives you a number of options that you can change to narrow your search. It displays the best fares in a table at the top by airline and with best prices for non stop, 1 stop, and 2 stops or more. Gives a lot of information on round trip flights including dates, times, flight duration, and layovers. Gives total price of flight including taxes and fees. Cons - You can't book directly with Trip Advisor. The essential to budget travel is to plan in front. When it occurs to family trips, globetrotting, well-deserved holidays and/or going to see new spots we have never been before, the actuality of expense and budgeting is always in the back of our minds. Preparation and expending our travel budget properly is a consideration for most families. Minimizing consuming and expenses, while still savoring your vacation to its fullest, is the key to guaranteed achievements and fiscal liability. Your pocketbook and family will thank you! The thought behind saving money while traveling is simple: Even if your personal budget is incredibly limited, you can still take a break and enjoy life! Simply put, life is just too short to never step out of the door or leaving the homestead! Also thinking about that while traveling, whether on a budget or not, even the smallest of things can all add op to a large vacation or travel bill!. Once you find your flight, it will direct you to one of the other websites to book your trip. However, the prices listed on their search is often not the price of the flight when you are re-directed to a site to purchase your flight. While the search process is fine, it's a little deceiving and shows that it doesn't quite stand on it's own.
The best deals?
In an attempt to see which has the best deal, I did a ample search for a flight for 2 from San Francisco to Boston leaving Tuesday, Nov 24th and returning Sunday Nov 29th. The prices listed are from the same or similar fligts and are the final price before purchase. While not a science, hopefully this example will give you an idea of which sites offer the best fares.
- Expedia - $568.40
- Orbitz - $568.40
- Yahoo Travel - $575.39
- Travelocity - $583.40
- Trip Advisor - $568.40 (book from Delta)
All 3 sites listed a lowest price of $338 but when selecting the price to book, the price was much higher. Selecting the same or similar flights as Orbitz and Expedia resulted in the prices listed above.
Go ahead and plan your next trip after getting some hands on with the sites. Go to Europe!
In Part II, we examine the travel web sites known as the aggregators.
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