A few hours of searching the Web just to save $20 doesn’t make a whole lot of sense–unless you have all the time in the world. Here are a few shortcuts that can shave a lot of time and hassle.
Meta-search engines
These types of sites have been around for a while on the hotel side, but are just getting off the ground on the airfare side. Good news is they save some time, but bad news is there are still holes in the results–don’t assume that the results include every airline or hotel. In general, they don’t work all that well for international flights, even on popular routes. They’re most useful for checking seasonal differences or seeing if a date change impacts the price. If you find a deal you’re happy with, take it. Otherwise keep looking.
Mobissimo returns results for airfares and hotels. Lots of variety, but misses some cheaper options.
Kayak returns a smaller quantity of choices, but has more low-fare air choices.
Breezenet specializes in rental car searches and I’ve found it to consistently deliver the best deals. Just keep in mind that if you have a discount coupon, it may be better to go direct to that specific rental company.
Kick back and let the deals find you
With the following sites, you can just wait for the best deal to show up in your inbox.
Smarter Travel provides a weekly e-mail detailing airfare sales from your home airport. VERY useful!
At Travelocity you can set up a “fare watcher” that will alert you each time a specific route goes under a price you have specified.
I’ve used Hotwire and Priceline a zillion times in the US for hotels and have scored some fantastic deals. If you’re not all that picky about which hotel you end up in, this is your best option for scoring a bargain.
The best international deals
If you really want to find the best deal on a flight from London to Frankfurt, or want to find the best hotel value in Cusco, you need to go to the source. The Web is a wonderful thing, but a lot of the big travel booking sites are based in the US and they only scratch the surface for overseas options. Use the search engines to find sites based where you are going, then search from there. You should support independent properties in your destination anyway–they have more character and you’ll usually get a better deal.
