STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

member · Hermes

Where to find good vacation deals?

brazilian · Dooney & Bourke

I'm not sure where to find the best deals, but its typically more expensive to book through a travel agent. I would just research on websites.

Vanessa · Kate Spade

Over the years I've gotten a lot of leads and ideas from Budget Travel magazine (both online & in print). I recommend you check it out.
I also subscribe to smartertravel.com's online newsletter. Websites I'd check out are travelzoo, go-today, travelocity, expedia, hotwire, etc.
I think you'd find the best deal shopping around on the internet. HTH!

Kitty · Hermes

We usually buy plane tickets through sites like cheaptickets.com and expedia.com. Then, we buy a guidebook for wherever we are going and read hotel reviews - then pick a hotel based on that. We also do a lot of google research about places to stay. The worst is when you aren't in a good hotel or a good location.

jj · Kate Spade

We have booked one trip a few years ago to Punta Cana through a travel agent. It was a lot less expensive to do it through her because she had access to packages and charter trips (like Apple and Go Go Travel) that you must book through an agent. Some packages require a Saturday - Saturday stay and you fly on a "no name" flight (totally safe - just not a major carrier). It was also easier for us to go through a TA because there were 6 couples on the trip and she made sure we had rooms in the same part of the hotel, we all paid on time, etc etc...

When the DH and I go on vacation by ourselves, we usually book flights and hotel ourselves. Usually it's because we want to stay at a particular place or we use frequent flyer miles.

Check out the fodors.com forums - they're a really good source for package info and charter trip feedback.

sorry - accidently put in the wrong forum name!!

-- Edited by jj at 17:55, 2007-01-02

travelgirl · Kate Spade

Here are my tips:

-Look for low-cost airlines that fly out of your city. For example, out of my city, you can fly to Punta Cana, Ft. Myers or Cancun on an airline called USA3000 for dirt cheap (we flew to Ft. Myers last year for $79 each way). Also, check to see if there are any new routes out of your area or new airlines. Jetblue just started flying out of Columbus and they are doing $59 one ways to NYC and this price is because they are new to town and the route is a new route.

-Check out www.biddingfortravel.com. This site is basically a "cheat sheet" for bidding through Priceline. I have gotten hotel rooms for as low as $28 (Crowne Plaza in Pittsburgh) and $41 (a brand-new Marriott in DC). This is a great site (although the moderator/site owner is kinda bitchy).

-Use www.tripadvisor.com to check out hotel reviews to make sure you know what you are getting.

-Read through the tips on www.flyertalk.com. It is a site for frequent travelers. Lots of good ideas on this site!

jacks435 · Kenneth Cole

This is some great advice. I travel a lot and always book/plan the trips myself. In addition to what the other girls have mentioned, I also like the Lonelyplanet.com forums, especially for foreign travel. There are tons of helpful posters in there.

For plane tickets, you might also want to try kayak.com, which searches tons of major airline sites. They also have a section where you can type in your city and see where the cheapest fares are in the world -- helpful if you're relatively flexible about your departure dates and still deciding on a destination.

avalon21 · BCBG

How about the Bahamas? It is beautiful there! http://www.bahamavention.com/bahamavention/

kealoha · Kate Spade

We just scored a air/car package to Hawaii on nwa.com. Granted, we're staying w/family, but R/T for 2 + 7 days of car cost us only $1000.

uesgirl · BCBG

I typically do my research on expedia, orbitz, travelocity etc. but then I ALWAY check out the hotels'/airlines' website after I have found hotels with good prices. The hotels'/airlines' websites mostly seem to have best rate guarantees so they have the same prices as the travel sites-- but without the fees that the travel sites charge.

Kayak.com is good because it searches all types of sites.

Libertytravel.com has a somewhat more limited hotel selection (although if you call them up they have more hotels and different packages) but I have gotten some great deals with them. They're a travel agency but do enough business that they get great negotiated rates. Last year I went to Miami and for the three nights every travel site was quoting about $400 a night before taxes and fees. Liberty Travel got us the same hotel for $706 for the three nights-- taxes and fees included

Sevilla · BCBG

shopchicago-

I'm a travel advisor and I specialize in working with students and younger people... (I'm 23 myself) doing international trips. If you want to PM me with more details, feel free!

littlebean · Kate Spade

jacks435 wrote:

This is some great advice. I travel a lot and always book/plan the trips myself. In addition to what the other girls have mentioned, I also like the Lonelyplanet.com forums, especially for foreign travel. There are tons of helpful posters in there.

For plane tickets, you might also want to try kayak.com, which searches tons of major airline sites. They also have a section where you can type in your city and see where the cheapest fares are in the world -- helpful if you're relatively flexible about your departure dates and still deciding on a destination.

Just wanted to second jacks435's recommendation of using www.kayak.com -- I find it always has the best deals for international travel! Once the airfare is taken care of, you can usually do some good research at a bookstore/library/fodors.com/lonelyplanet.com to figure out some budget-friendly places to stay.

avalon21 · BCBG

There are some awesome deals on flights to Europe on Lufthansa right now! You can fly to London out of San Francisco for $206. Dont know if you were looking to travel overseas but if you are, there are some great deals that could save you lots!