Travel Search Engines

Start with a search engine travel site

Search engine travel sites -- including Kayak.com and SideStep.com (now owned by Kayak) -- search as many other sites as possible, including major travel sites, airline sites and hotel sites. Because they are more comprehensive, most experts recommend starting your research here.

SideStep.com and Kayak.com search the airline, cruise and hotel websites as well as some other travel sites. Once you choose a fare that looks good, the search engine site sends you to the provider's website or another site to actually make the purchase. In most cases, the search engine does not charge a fee for this service. They make their money by receiving a fee from provider sites and online travel agencies, as well as through paid advertising.

Kayak.com, which claims to search more than 400 travel sites, is cited by a significant majority of reviews as the best travel search engine. Kayak.com has some nifty features, including a tool that allows you to find the lowest fares from your closest airport -- this might be especially nice if you aren't sure where you'd like to go. Kayak.com scores points in reviews for turning up lots of good deals for hotels and flights, though you won't find some of the comprehensive travel-planning features found elsewhere. That said, there is a very useful fare-comparison tool that let you see the lowest fares that other passengers paid for similar routes or to compare search results against those found on Expedia, Hotwire and other travel websites. You can sign up for fare alerts, which are helpful because prices can change constantly. A spy feature lets you see in real time other users' Kayak.com searches.

SideStep.com, which was bought by Kayak in 2007, also lets you search from an extensive lineup of travel sites on its website, and since it was acquired, the site looks more and more like Kayak.com.

FareCompare.com gets good reviews not only for the depth of its search capabilities, but for associated features that analyze trends and changes within the airline industry. With over 500 airlines and 270,000 destinations included in FareCompare.com's search function, this site is one of the top choices for international travelers as well. Reviewers especially appreciate FareCompare.com's fare-alert system, which contacts subscribers via e-mail when the tickets prices for their selected destinations are about to drop.

Vayama.com is another search engine site worth considering for international travel. The site can book flights in about 190 countries. You can also find links information about visas and passports. One helpful feature is the Getting Around section, with taxi and public transportation information on getting from the airport to the city center or hotel. Vayama charges a booking fee of up to $20, depending on the destination.

Yapta.com also sends alerts on price drops and tracks deals on award seats for frequent-flier miles offered by five major airlines, but -- unlike most other search engines -- Yapta allows multi-seat searches and can track price changes for an entire itinerary. Yapta also assists users in obtaining refunds or credits on the price difference if their ticket prices drop after booking, though sources caution that users must book their tickets through each airline in order to be eligible for refunds. Some airlines may also charge change fees when you apply for a refund or credit, which can cut into your savings a bit.

Yapta.com started life as a browser add-on to track prices on specific flights, but has now become a full-fledged flight search engine. The company claims that as of this past March, nearly 600,000 travelers have been alerted to savings totaling $160 million.

Yapta.com covers nearly all major U.S. carriers and many international ones as well. On the downside, users need to do some legwork when using Yapta.com. The site won't handle bookings for you -- you must do that on your own directly through the airline -- and you must return to Yapta.com to inform them of your flight details if you want to take advantage of the fare-tracking system. In March, Yapta extended its search and tracking capabilities to include hotels also.

Standard sites: Expedia, Orbitz and more

Although reviews say that meta search engines -- particularly Kayak.com -- are the best places to start, standard travel sites have some additional features worth looking into. You can search for flights, rental cars, hotels, cruises and virtually any combination thereof, including complete vacations.

Travelocity allows you to modify your search parameters to include dates of one to three days around your preferred travel days. You can also look for best fares on all days within a given month or date range. Travelocity backs up its prices with 24-hour guarantees. Travelocity does typically charge an online booking fee of $5 to $15 per airline ticket and a $25 charge for telephone booking, though recent promotions may allow you to avoid some of those fees. To its credit, all charges are clearly listed clearly online.

Experts also like Travelocity's FareWatcher feature, which will send you an e-mail when fares to up to 10 selected destinations drop. The RSS fare alert service sends you messages when pre-selected destinations drop below 20 percent. In addition, Travelocity has tons of trip-planning help, including info on excursions, activities in various destinations and even a currency converter.

Expedia receives a middling grade for overall customer satisfaction according to the 2008 J.D. Power and Associates survey. However, reviewers at the Miami Herald note that Expedia has some benefits for frequent flyers, offering less-common foreign routes, such as within China, and an awards program with no blackout dates. Like Travelocity, Expedia usually charges a booking fee of $7 that can eat into price savings, but those have been suspended, at least temporarily, at press time. The site also offers a 24-hour price guarantee.

Though Orbitz doesn't receive high scores from reviewers and ranks well below top finisher Hotwire.com in the 2008 J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction surveys, it does serve niches like eco tourism. The Miami Herald notes that its customer-care program beats Travelocity and Expedia in its thoroughness. Orbitz recently added an innovative social-networking tool that gives travelers updates from airports all across the U.S. that are clearly marked on a map. Orbitz.com also puts its money where its mouth is and guarantees its hotel rates. If you find lower rates for the same reservation within 24 hours on another site, Orbitz will refund the difference. The site does get high marks from Kiplinger for its car rental rates because rates and service fees are displayed clearly in a descending matrix.

Hotels.com specializes in hotel bookings. It is named a top choice among sites for booking hotels by The Washington Post. Benefits cited include a 24-hour price match guarantee. However, the reviewer adds that he recommends confirming any reservations and preferences directly with your hotel. PracticalHacks.com likes the graphical interface, which makes it easy to filter hotels by price, rating and guest rating. Hotels.com draws a middling rating in the 2008 J.D. Power and Associates satisfaction survey, and an overall score puts it in the same league as other big travel agency sites. Like most standard travel sites, Hotels.com lets you search by city, landmark or airport. Hotels.com won't charge you to cancel or change your itinerary (although the hotel might).