| Author |
Message |
    
E
Citizen
Username: Scubadiver
Post Number: 73
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 15, 2005 - 10:33 pm: |     |
I'm looking at prices for hotel/airfare and I've searched: AAA, Apple vacations, Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, Liberty travel and a local travel agent. Depending on the day I look, the same agency is not the cheapest and prices vary by about 20% ($3700 - $4500).
Can any experienced travelers recommend a method or website to ensure getting the best rate? |
LilLB
Citizen
Username: Lillb
Post Number: 1126
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 3:26 am: | |
I pretty much take the same route you do -- tripadvisor.com does a nice comparison all at once of various places. When I recently booked a trip to Dominican Republic, they were all pretty much the same. In the end, I went with Liberty because their package included travel to and from the airport there and a $50 spa certificate. The other thing I liked booking with them was that I had a specific contact person (I booked over the phone), so I could just give him a call with questions or request and I felt that if there was something I needed while I was there, I had someone to call. |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 414
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 8:19 am: | |
One very good site for last minute getaways ie. for travel departures within the next fortnight or even as close as within the next three hours is this site:
http://www.site59.com (the counterpart of the UK's famed Lastminute.com).
I had an extremely inexpensive trip to Aruba last year with them and you get a choice of departure airports, flights and hotels according to your preference and budget.
The flight and hotel on my trip to Aruba was cheaper when I booked with Site59 than just booking the flight alone on the airline's websites - I couldn't resist checking to see what the cost would be if I'd booked the hotel and flights seperately by myself.
For cruises the American Express travel office in Summit is very good. |
Mergele
Citizen
Username: Mergele
Post Number: 354
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 9:41 am: | |
E,
The blessing and the curse of internet travel is an overwhelming abundance of alternatives. I've spent my entire career in the travel industry and still spent weeks clicking on things while planning a recent Caribbean trip.
That said, there are basically 2 ways to tackle this, depending on how you look at planning:
1. Pick your specific property (hotel, resort, etc), then shop for the best price.
2. Pick your general destination, then look for the best deals.
For number 1, tripadvisor is a great place to start. I also like the message boards at fodors.com and frommers.com
If the trip specifics are governed by price, sign up for the fare alerts or similar that expedia / travelocity / orbitz all offer - they'll give you a heads-up when the specific destination you're looking for goes on sale.
I'd also highly recommend signing up for travelzoo's weekly Top 20 newletter.
But at the end of the day, when it comes down to making the arrangements, you probably won't do any better actually booking through an online agency (expedia, et al) than booking through a real live travel agent. And in many cases that agent can save you money in the long run.
|
User58
Citizen
Username: User58
Post Number: 380
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 10:16 am: | |
I find that the best rate is often by booking it yourself.
Start by finding a destination. Then call the airlines that service that destination. Once you find a good fare then call the hotel directly and negotiate the room rate. I find that when I do this I get as good of a rate and usually a nicer room. |
User58
Citizen
Username: User58
Post Number: 381
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 10:18 am: | |
What is your destination? |
E
Citizen
Username: Scubadiver
Post Number: 74
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2005 - 12:00 pm: | |
User58,
We're going to Turks & Caicos (provo section).
E |
Shawna
Citizen
Username: Lucies_mom
Post Number: 43
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, December 17, 2005 - 1:59 am: | |
You may want to try cheaptickets.com |
User58
Citizen
Username: User58
Post Number: 383
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 12:27 pm: | |
You have a few choices there for price. One option you might try is Costco.com they always offer under travel several choices on the island.
T&C has a beaches which is all included family. I would called the resorts/hotels directly to see if I could get a good rate. |
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