Top 5 Ranked Travel Websites
by Karen
(Florida USA)
Best Travel Sites on the Web!
Top 5 Ranked Travel Websites Reviews...
I have asked others in the industry to offer their rankings for top travel websites to give you an overview of the ones that consistently come up.
You can agree or disagree with this list, but this will help you in your search for Florida travel deals and discounts.
If you have one that is not on this list, then please send us a note regarding the travel websites you love when it comes to finding vacation deals to Florida!
With the ease of making travel plans on the internet, travel websites have exploded. In 2008, according to the Travel
Industry Association, more than 79 million Americans used the Internet to make travel plans. So with all the sites out there, how do you narrow down the best so you’re not off wasting your time and money in cyber world?
Here we’ll list some of the five best ranked travel websites for finding a Florida travel deal.
First note, this is not a knock on travel agent services. We're still fans of the personal service and contact you can receive from travel agents.
Travelocity, founded in 1996, has seen revenues of $830 million in 2005 alone. It’s one of the top places to book all of your travel needs.
There are package deals for combining flights, hotels and car rentals in three different combinations as well as last minute travel deals.
There are flight deals to select travel destinations, deals of the week and deals of the month. You can also do research and explore where your next adventure may take you.
There is even a section where you can create a personal account, save your itineraries and have fares tracked for you with alerts sent to your e-mail.
Travelocity offers a “Price Guardian Service Guarantee” which offers a refund if the exact trip is booked cheaper by another company. As of July 2009, there were no fees for booking a flight on Travelocity.
Visit Travelocity for Orlando Deals
Orbitz, founded in 2001, is another of the big travel planning sites. Like others, Orbitz has package deals when combining flights, hotels and car rentals in various combinations.
Orbitz allows one more combination option than Travelocity and you can search for a vacation based on the type of activities you’re looking for.
There are last minute deals and you can also create a personal account where you can get travel alerts and updates for your booked itineraries. As of July 2009, there were no fees for booking a flight and reduced fees for booking a hotel on Orbitz.
More Florida Vacation Deals
Expedia was founded in 1995 and the only difference between Expedia and its top two contenders is the inability to make rail reservations.
Like Orbitz, it gives package deals based upon four different options. When making package deal reservations, Orbitz allows you to book your hotel for only a portion of your trip if you’d like; an option not available on contenders sites.
Expedia has a link from the home page where you can search for maps and get driving directions. Expedia also has a “best price guarantee”, if you find a better price within 24 hours of booking your trip, a refund will be given along with a travel deal coupon valued at $50.
As of July 2009, there were no fees for booking a flight.
Top Travel Deals at Expedia.com
Priceline.com claims that “no one deals like we do”. Priceline brings deals to customers with no booking fees and no change or cancellation fees.
They help hotels, airlines and car rental companies get rid of inventory at deep discounts. Like its contenders, Priceline has combination deals but they’re limited at only two combinations.
A different twist with Priceline is the “name your own price” in order to get better deals. Basically you bid against your low price and the retail price. Like the contenders, Priceline offers a “best price guarantee” within 24 hours of booking.
Kayak, while its website is not as aesthetically pleasing as its contenders, is on the list because it has been gaining a reputation for the cheapest plane tickets in the United States.
Kayak is also different from its contenders because when you’ve found a good deal on their site, you’re not directed to another page where you see one crummy flight at the great rate and the better flights at higher rates.
On Kayak, your directed to the airline’s website and the price that appears is…….the same, ah, simplicity at last.
If I may step in I want to add two of my favorite travel sites and the one we recommend more than others here at Discount Florida Vacations...
TripAdvisor. The beauty about this travel site is that they aren't exactly a booking site as much as a review site.
I love review sites and if you can weed through to find honest reviews, then you can find great places to stay as well as good deals.
The first step in finding a Florida vacation deal is to know when and where you're going. Then you have to determine if the place your going to stay and travel means will be smooth sailing or a complete headache. TripAdvisor offers up this information all in one site.
Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor
The second one that we have come upon is Florida Vacation Rentals!
They focus on one aspect of travel and that's finding a good home or condo to rent on your vacation to Florida. I have heard folks finding great deals that they would've not found otherwise or for those who needed more space. Great alternative than renting a hotel.
Honestly, it’s hard to narrow down just a few good travel websites. Hopefully this information will help you make a decision about your travel plans and leave more change in your pocket, not theirs.
That way you can waste the rest of your cyber time doing fun things, like planning what you’re going to do on your up and coming
Florida vacation – safe travels.
