Travel Sites Reviews

We found lots of useful information about travel websites and travel search engines for this update. Research firm J.D. Power and Associates has published results of its survey of 5,414 people on customer satisfaction among travel websites, including Orbitz, Travelocity and Hotwire. Kiplinger and Travel + Leisure magazines name top sites based on the experiences of its authors and editors. Wired goes one step better by conducting identical searches on each site for specific scenarios. That's a testing tactic that many experts say you should try at home, since identical searches on multiple sites better your odds of finding the best airfare, car rental, cruise and hotel deals. Newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times give good ongoing coverage of travel websites and travel search engines.

Increasingly, hotels are undercutting travel websites by offering better deals on their own sites (as well as better cancellation policies and loyalty program awards). The same holds true for airfares. As a result, reviews often recommend checking the hotel's website directly, before booking through a travel site.

In reviews, experts say you should bypass sites such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, at least at first. Instead, start with a meta-search site like the top-rated Kayak.com or Yahoo! FareChase. Meta search sites scour airline and hotel websites, smaller databases and other travel sites to find low fares. According to reviews, Kayak.com is usually more likely to come up with an abundant list of lower fares and rates, especially for hotels. That's because search engines are more comprehensive in seeking the best price. Since they also check airline and hotel websites, you can book directly, skirting around the service fees usually charged by the large travel sites. In reviews, Kayak is easily the most well-rounded travel search engine, searching at least 140 different travel sites to come up with the best fares and hotel deals, so you’ll be sure not to miss a potential bargain. Kayak also has comprehensive fare comparison tools for checking prices at other sites and those paid by other travellers.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks	Model (With Retailer Links)
6	Kayak
4	Hotwire
2	Priceline
2	Mobissimo
2	Yahoo! FareChase
2	SideStep
2	Expedia
2	Travelocity
2	Orbitz
2	FareCompare
1 each	CruiseCompete, SkyAuction, TripAdvisor, RealTravel, Gusto, LowesTravel, AirFare Watchdog, LuxuryLink, Vayama, Cruisemates, Cruisecritic

Most reviewers mention Kayak as the best option for beginning online searches for both air and hotel. But experts also like the Yahoo! FareChase and many suggest trying a search engine in conjunction with online travel sites such as Travelocity, Expedia or Orbitz. The reason: No single online search can turn up all the best fares. However, among the major travel sites, Hotwire gets the best reviews from travelers for overall customer satisfaction. Priceline gets the nod for hotel deals, particularly for deals on luxury hotels in major cities, but is a blind site so you won't actually know where you are staying until after you book a non-cancelable reservation. Priceline also has a standard search tool that doesn’t get as much attention in reviews. Mobissimo is recommended for international travel because of its relationships with overseas partners, but Vayama is a new up-and-comer for international travel that can book travel to 190 countries -- more than Mobissimo -- and it includes helpful information on visas and health advisories.