Best Travel Sites
Read our guide to research and choose the best travel site for you. Travel sites offer discounts, price guarantees and guides that help travelers book with confidence. You may find that you can get a great deal by visiting multiple sites, or you might find one that has all the options you need.
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| Provides domestic and international booking services for affordable and budget-friendly travel. Matches competitor pricing. Rewards members with points for every $1 purchased on flights, hotels, rental cars and travel packages. |  | ||||
Priceline is a website that helps people find travel deals offered by other travel companies, including hotels, airlines and cruise lines. Priceline users can create their own vacation packages by combining services. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Founded in 2008, Airbnb helps travelers find affordable, unique accommodations around the world. You can book or list a stay online or through the Airbnb mobile app. You can also book experiences like tours and activities. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Booking.com is a website that helps travelers find discounted rooms in hotels, villas and apartments around the world. Members can place and cancel reservations through the site instead of contacting hotels directly. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Vacation Rentals by Owner, or VRBO, offers a large online database of homes that are available for either short or long-term rental. The VRBO.com website tools focus on connecting homeowners with potentially tenants. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Expedia is an online travel agency founded by Microsoft in 2001. The site helps people find and schedule diverse travel services, including car rentals, flights and hotels. It also recommends activities in destination cities. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Hotels.com is an online travel agency that specializes in helping people find and book reservations at hotels, condos, bed and breakfasts and more. The company was founded in 1991 and joined Expedia Inc. in 2002. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Travelocity is a website that lets travelers search for discounted prices on hotels, flights, cars and cruises. It was the first website to let people search and book reservations without going through travel agents. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Jetsetter is a high-class site that provides inside information on deals and unique experiences. Jetsetter uses over 200 journalists from the world's best publications, who then give their stamp of approval on hotels. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
With a focus on interface design, BookIt.com strives to offer travelers the most intuitive online travel services available. Their easy-to-navigate website makes booking hotels, airfare and rental cars quick and easy. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
What features should you look for in a travel site?
Travel discounts
Travel sites often offer discounts to attract more customers. Investigate these common options to make travel services affordable.
- Bundled discounts: Take advantage of bundled discounts if you need flight, car rental and hotel reservation services.
- Mobile app discounts: Using a travel site's mobile app may give you access to exclusive discounts on hotels, air travel, car rentals and other services.
- Membership discounts: Use membership discounts to save money on travel services and reservations.
- Loyalty rewards: Look for loyalty programs that will reward you when you book travel services through that website.
Booking services
Many travel sites partner with airlines, hotels, rental car agencies and other companies so customers can book all the services they need in one place.
- Flights: Search flights from hundreds of domestic and international airlines.
- Accommodations: Find accommodations at hotels and resorts or even private short-term rentals.
- Rental cars: Compare rental car options to get the car you want at a reasonable price.
- Vacation packages: Vacation packages bundle several services together to make booking a trip convenient and affordable.
Travel guides
Guides published by travel sites can help you choose destinations and activities that will make your trip more enjoyable. Some travel guides may match your needs more than others.
- City guides: With city guides, you can get an overview of destination cities. They usually focus on urban areas like New York City, London and Paris, but some include smaller places, too.
- Hotel reviews: Use hotel reviews to learn about what other people encountered during their travels. Some reviews are written by experts, but others are written by travelers who want to share their experiences.
- Restaurant reviews: Restaurant reviews will help you choose eateries that offer good services as well as excellent foods.
- Activities and events: Reading about activities and events can help you decide when you want to visit a city and what you will do once you reach your destination.
Price guarantees
It can be hard to commit to one website when you know how many deals are out there and how often they change. That's why many travel sites offer price guarantees.
- Price matches: Price match guarantees ensure that you will get the lowest possible price even if another company has a cheaper offer. For instance, a site may lower its price if members find cheaper options from other companies.
- Refunds: If you have already paid for your travel services, then many sites will issue refunds to match another company's price.
- Rebates: Some travel websites will give you rebates that you can use on future services.
- Payments: When you find a lower offer, some travel sites will pay you a small fee in addition to matching the competitor's price.
Convenience
Convenience is one of the most important features that a travel site can offer. The specific features that you get, however, will vary among companies.
- Travel planning: Planning a trip is often easier when travel sites give you tools to review multiple offers and coordinate travel times.
- Hotel comparisons: Tools to help you compare your options will make it easier for you to choose accommodations that are right for you.
- Payments: Some sites provide travel information and offers, but you have to visit another company's website to pay for services. Others will let you make payments directly through their site.
- Meta searches: By offering meta searches, a website can show you offers from a wider range of companies. That makes it more convenient for you to compare offers to get the best possible price.
- Convenience fees: Some travel sites earn money by charging convenience fees when visitors book or pay for services online. Others collect money from service providers like airlines, hotels and rental agencies.
Mobile apps
Many travel sites have developed mobile apps that give travelers secure access to their online accounts. Look for companies that offer these and download the apps before going on your trip.
- Planning: Mobile apps make it easy for travelers to make new plans even while they are on their trips.
- Itineraries: Using a mobile app to review your travel itinerary will help ensure that you experience everything you wanted during your trip.
- Payments: Mobile apps are often the most secure way to pay for services while traveling.
- Guides: When you have spare time, use mobile travel guides to find interesting destinations near you.
What are the different types of travel sites?
Discount travel sites
Discount travel sites gather deals from other companies to help travelers find lower prices on flights, car rentals, hotel rooms and other travel necessities. In many cases, customers cannot make reservations through the travel site.
Booking travel sites
Booking travel sites do more than just help people find travel services online. They also let them book services directly through the websites.
Vacation package sites
Vacation package sites let customers bundle travel services so they can qualify for bigger discounts.
Travel sites FAQ
How do travel sites work?
How do travel booking sites make money?
How can I save money on a hotel?
- Book your trip dates for the offseason or the middle of the week.
- Be flexible with your hotel's location. Often, a downtown hotel is more expensive than a location farther from the city center.
- When using a travel site, consider bundling your airfare, hotel and car rental to get discounts.
- Join hotel rewards programs.
- Book using special rates (e.g., AAA, AARP, senior, government)
Is it better to book directly with an airline?
How far ahead should you book international flights?
Is it better to book directly with a hotel?
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Author reviews for travel sites
BookIt.com is an online travel agency based in Panama City Beach, Florida. The company focuses on helping travelers find deals in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean.
CheapOair was founded in New York City in 2005 to help travelers book flights, hotel rooms and rental cars. About 20 million people visit the website each month.
- Exclusive deals: CheapOair can offer exclusive deals because it has agreements with over 450 airlines around the world.
- Customer services: CheapOair has strong customer services and an extensive FAQ section to help users find the services they need.
- Vacation packages: CheapOair bundles flights, hotels and car rentals to help travelers save money.
- Price guarantee: The company offers a best price guarantee that will match lower prices offered by other travel sites.
- Customer care: CheapOair's 24/7 customer service won the 2014 International Service Excellence Award.
- IATAN and ASTA certified: Industry certifications tell consumers that CheapOair has met industry standards for quality and customer service.
TripAdvisor is one of the world's largest travel websites. It primarily relies on user-generated content to help travelers choose destinations and activities that interest them.
Booking.com is an Amsterdam-based company founded in 1996. Unlike most travel companies, it focuses exclusively on helping travelers reserve rooms.
Orbitz is an online travel website owned by Expedia Inc. It was founded in 2001 and acquired by Expedia in 2015.
Hotwire is a San Francisco-based company that helps travelers find discounted rates on a wide range of services, including flights, car rentals and hotel rooms.
Travelocity is a Dallas-based travel company owned by Sabre Corporation, a travel technology company that has been in business since 1960.
Hotels.com is a website dedicated to helping travelers find lodging at hotels, motels and resorts. It lists deals from over 325,000 hotels around the world.
Priceline is a Connecticut-based company that helps travelers find discounted rates offered by a wide range of travel businesses, including hotels and airlines.
OneTravel is a Pennsylvania-based travel website that was started in the mid-1990s.
- Newsletter: OneTravel uses a daily newsletter to keep its members updated on the latest deals.
- Hotels: Travelers can find discounts at over 84,000 hotels.
- International travel: OneTravel books hotels in and flights to countries all over the world.
- Business class flights: Travelers can specify that they want business class flights so they can focus on options that match their needs.
- Rewards: OneTravel members earn points that they can use to lower the prices of flights, hotel rooms and rental cars.
CheapTickets is an online travel company owned by Orbitz Worldwide Inc. Its focus is helping leisure travelers find rental cars, cruises, accommodations and airline tickets.
Founded in 1996, Expedia is one of the oldest online travel companies. It was created by a team at Microsoft.
KAYAK is a search engine that connects travelers to services offered by travel agencies all over the world. It was founded in 2004 and acquired by the Priceline Group in 2013.
Jetsetter is a members-only travel community that offers exclusive deals and insider guides to destinations all over the world. It was purchased by TripAdvisor in 2013.
trivago is a metasearch engine that helps people browse deals from over 900,000 hotels around the world.
Travelzoo has connections to more than 2,000 travel and entertainment companies to give tourists access to fun activities as well as travel services.
Airbnb is a marketplace for people to list or find accommodations around the world. People list their homes or apartment online, and people rent them for a listed rate and time. The company was founded in 2008 in San Francisco, California, and now Airbnb has users and listings in over 65,000 cities in more than 190 countries.
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Cheaptickets.com is a travel service website founded in 1986. The site offers members discounts on car rentals, flights, cruises, hotels and other travel-related services. As of 2006, Orbitz is Cheaptickets.com's parent company. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
With more than 250 million reviews about over 5.2 million restaurants, attractions and accommodations worldwide, TripAdvisor.com combines information from hundreds of websites to offer the best hotel prices available. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Travel website offering deals and discounts for car rentals, hotels and vacation packages. Sells available inventory from leading travel companies at reduced rates. Offers a low price guarantee. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
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| Helps travelers book and manage their vacations to domestic and international destinations. Offers booking services for hotels, cars, flights and vacation packages. | | ||||
Orbitz gives travelers a direct way to research and book travel services. Available services include flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises and activities. Members can also bundle services to save up to $775 on travel plans. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
As the largest hotel search engine with over 120 million world travelers and counting, Trivago gives users a chance to compare hotel prices from more than 250 booking sites and over one million worldwide hotels. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
People trust that all travel sites are listing the best deals available. With Travelzoo.com, vacationers can rest assured that they are getting a true deal thanks to travel experts who confirm each and every deal. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
With Tours4Fun, you can search any destination in the Americas, Europe or Australia and find a complete list of travel tours that include your chosen city. Fine-tune your search with preferences like walking or biking. |  | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
An independent subsidiary of The Priceline Group, Kayak.com processes over 1 billion travel queries each year. Available in over 30 countries and 18 languages, they offer discounts on hotels, airfare and car rentals. | | Chat with a ConsumerAffairs decision guide Live agent | ||||
Information in this guide is general in nature and is intended for informational purposes only; it is not legal, health, investment or tax advice. ConsumerAffairs.com makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from its use.
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