How do you book your vacations?

Travel agent, travel wensites like Travelocity? Or do you book hotel and air seperate?

My family is planning a vaca in mexico or DR during Spring break. It would be all inclusive with kids. There are so many hotels!! Not sure where to begin!

How do you book your vacations?

I was a travel agent 15 years. I'd do some research online to read reviews on tripadvisor to see what is recommended and fits the type of vacation you want to have (all inclusive vs. Hotel vs. villa rental etc)
Then visit a travel agent. You won't pay any more than the internet, which is a common misconception, and often they have deals and packages the internet doesn't offer. Nothing is like having a human being with experience book your vacation.

How do you book your vacations?

Depends on the type of trip. For what you are talking about, I usually do a lot of online research to narrow it down to a few resorts and then check prices on a few different sites. For our most recent caribbean vacations I have booked them all through Cheapcaribbean.com - but I usually wind up calling them to get a more "customized" package if I can't find exactly what I want online. They have always been incredibly helpful

Message edited 11/12/2014 10:12:53 AM.

Re: How do you book your vacations?

Most of our vacations are with our timeshare, so I book on their website. Then I usually purchase the air direct from JetBlue. DH and I gave been to Aruba alone the last to years and we booked with Jet Getaways. It was cheaper then any of the other travel sites.

Re: How do you book your vacations?

I always book through travel websites.

Cheapcarribean.com is awesome. I've used their site twice and my cousin just used it to book her honeymoon, they have the best prices.

I used travelocity when we went to Paris and we didn't have any problems.

Re: How do you book your vacations?

I start with researching the areas we want to visit and what attractions we want to see.

Then I go on to Trip Advisor to look up hotels in those areas and read reviews. I book hotels whichever way is the best value...sometimes it's the hotel's own website, sometimes through hotels.com or orbitz.com.

I use Kayak to search for flights (and if airlines that we can use to get to our destination are not on Kayak, I look up those as well)

I like doing the research

Re: How do you book your vacations?

I usually price everything on kayak, expedia, orbitz, hotels.com, priceline, etc. I also always book with a link through ebates. I have free time at work that allows me to really plan and research, so for someone like me an agent has not been necessary for most trips. We did use an agent for our honeymoon to brazil.

Re: How do you book your vacations?

Posted by PearlJamChick

I start with researching the areas we want to visit and what attractions we want to see.

Then I go on to Trip Advisor to look up hotels in those areas and read reviews. I book hotels whichever way is the best value...sometimes it's the hotel's own website, sometimes through hotels.com or orbitz.com.

I use Kayak to search for flights (and if airlines that we can use to get to our destination are not on Kayak, I look up those as well)

I like doing the research

Re: How do you book your vacations?

Posted by PearlJamChick

I start with researching the areas we want to visit and what attractions we want to see.

Then I go on to Trip Advisor to look up hotels in those areas and read reviews. I book hotels whichever way is the best value...sometimes it's the hotel's own website, sometimes through hotels.com or orbitz.com.

I use Kayak to search for flights (and if airlines that we can use to get to our destination are not on Kayak, I look up those as well)

I like doing the research

Re: How do you book your vacations?

I book them myself, but that's because I am a travel agent.
I always suggest booking with an experienced travel agent so that you can have someone in your corner if something goes wrong.

While some travel agents charge fees, some (like myself) do no not. It does not cost you more to book a trip with an agent like myself and in fact you might save money.

I have a client now who was looking at an online travel site and I was able to save her $700 off of that price.

9 times out of 10 I am also able to price match the packages you could book on your own so it might not save you money but you'll be supporting a small business and have someone in your corner.

Kerri
[email protected]
facebook.com/travelkerri

Re: How do you book your vacations?

Posted by PearlJamChick

I start with researching the areas we want to visit and what attractions we want to see.

Then I go on to Trip Advisor to look up hotels in those areas and read reviews. I book hotels whichever way is the best value...sometimes it's the hotel's own website, sometimes through hotels.com or orbitz.com.

I use Kayak to search for flights (and if airlines that we can use to get to our destination are not on Kayak, I look up those as well)

I like doing the research

Re: How do you book your vacations?

I usually book flights via kayak and normally book hotels directly through the hotel website.

I used to book hotels via Travelocity or similar but I found it is much less flexible if you have to make a change. I have lost the full hotel price booking via orbitz recently when our travel plans changed and decided never again. If you book through the hotel, you can at minimum get a credit that you can use at a later date.

I enjoy doing my own research.

Message edited 12/8/2014 12:37:23 PM.

How do you book your vacations?

Depends. US and Caribbean, I book directly myself through the resort website or our timeshare. Someplace I'm not familiar with, I'll go through a TA.