It is a fact that for many people, traveling has been considered a great way of spending their vacation time — this, despite the fact that a large number of these people also travel extensively for work. Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you should be sure to investigate the variety of online travel deals available at your fingertips. If you don’t, you’re missing a great opportunity for saving money on your travel expenses.
Of course, there are some travelers who have plenty of money and don’t worry about finding the best travel deals; however, if you’re reading this article, we assume you’re not in this camp!
Far and away the most popular place to find online deals these days is through the online travel aggregators such as Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak, and Priceline. Though many of them initially focused solely on one segment of travel (such as flights or hotels only), these sites now offer price comparison shopping for flights, hotels, car rentals, and even package deals combining multiple components. These types of sites scour the internet to try to provide the best deals for any imaginable itinerary — Priceline even offers a ‘name your own price’ option to possibly get even better deals. These
Although the travel aggregators outlined above offer some great deals, don’t overlook the possibility of travel agencies. Many travel agencies advertise their offers online, enabling potential travelers to find their holiday destinations with discount packages. The travel agencies often have deals available that aren’t publicized on the large websites. Sometimes this is due to the agencies finding last minute deals; other times, it is due to the fact that only a limited number of discounted packages are available, and the packages never even get published online.
In addition to the travel aggregators and travel agencies, also consider the possibility of looking for discount travel through vendors directly. For example, if I see a United flight for $300 on Expedia, I sometimes check the same flight on United.com, and find a slightly better fare. The same can be true for hotels and car rentals.
Keep in mind while you’re looking for your travel deals that booking early often times leads to greater discounts. Sure, there is the occasional great last minute deal, but a) those are not the norm, and b) you need to have an extremely flexible travel schedule to take advantage of these deals — that’s not too easy when you’re trying to get your family away during your children’s school spring break!