Our Vacation Adventures

Booking Vacations Online. The Good and Bad.

Let’s face it, the internet has changed the way we vacation. A traveler could spend (literally) hours online searching for the perfect vacation.

Places like Tripadvisor.com and Yahoo Travel are popular spots for people to visit when they are doing research on a getaway. You’ll easily find user submitted pictures and reviews from fellow travelers to give you an idea of what to expect. Don’t be surprised to find both glowing and gloomy reviews at any given hotel or resort. Usually the truth lies somewhere in between.

Tripadvisor has the means to query a number of online travel booking sites (such as Hotels.com, Expedia.com and Travelocity.com) to shop for the most competitive rates available.

One thing I’ve noticed from booking travel online is that quoted rates have a tendancy “to change” when you continue to checkout. This is aggravating to me because even an attractive
rate that goes up as you continue seems like bull. This has happened on both air and hotel bookings on more than one occasion, and prompted me to contact a local travel agent just to see if they could offer a better price.

What I like about online booking is the fact that you can do it from the privacy of your own home, and a quick decision isn’t necessary unless you want to lock in a rate or travel date. In that case you’ll need to have a payment method ready to go.

I hope that your next online booking goes swimmingly for you and that you get a great rate
for your next vacation.