6 Websites that Make Booking a Vacation a Breeze

Should you book your plane ticket on Tuesday at 3:00PM, Wednesday at 1:00AM or wait until a Sunday? Is purchasing a hotel through the hotel’s booking service cheaper than using a third party? There are so many different tips and so-called equations to finding the best price when researching your vacation, it can quickly become overwhelming. The next time you plan a trip, try using some of the websites below to avoid spending your entire lunch break scouring the web, or waking up your entire household while you fumble to find your laptop in the middle of the night. The following six websites should make booking a winter (or summer!) vacation as relaxing as your getaway will be.

1.    TripTuner

Can’t narrow down where in the world you would like to jet set to? TripTuner is a simple tool that helps you identify destinations that align with your travel style – some of which you may not have even thought of previously! You can even start a travel wish list on the site where you start to curate your travel bucket list.

Just like there’s no exact science to when and how to buy your plane tickets, there’s no end-all-be-all fare booking service – although that really would simplify things. To keep you from scouring every site out there, we’ve compiled three websites we’ve discovered recently (all of which have mobile apps as well).

2.    Kayak

Kayak not only aggregates flights from various carriers to find you the best deal, they also have a price alert function that allows you to enter the trips you want to take and it then sends you notifications as prices fluctuate. Since it’s difficult to know if a certain ticket price is a “good” one, they also have a Buzz section that details out historical fare prices based on past searches for the trip you want to take.

3.    Airfare Watchdog

Similarly, Airfare Watchdog also aggregates various airline carriers, as well as additional third party ticketing sites, but its true worth lies in its “Today’s Top Fares” list, where the site lists the best deals for various fares each day. Since prices of these flights may fluctuate based on the date of departure, this feature is perfect for travelers without a solid plan in place already.

4.    Skyscanner

This tool has slightly more flexibility when choosing your flight option, allowing you to choose your desired outbound and returning flight separately instead of packaging them together. The site also has a watching feature that tracks ticket prices over time.

5.    Yapta

Still worried after booking your plane ticket that the best [price] is yet to come? Yapta is here for that! Simply enter your flight information into their site (you can also book tickets through Yapta) and they’ll let you know if prices drop and you can claim an airline refund. Not sure how to claim a refund? No worries, Yapta will help you through that process as well if it is an airline that gives price refunds.
 

6.    Booking.com

Booking.com offers great deals on hotels throughout the world and is helpful in sorting hotels out by neighborhood location, amenities or proximity to popular attractions.

If you’re looking for a little different flair, try websites that specialize in finding Bed & Breakfasts or even give a home-sharing or home rental service like Airbnb or Flipkey a try.

Now that you’re basically a one-man (or woman) travel agency, get to planning your next vacation! Make sure to bookmark or pin this page so you can come back to reference these sites. What destination is next on your bucket list? Tell us in the comments below and let us know if there are any additional sites we should add to this list.

Going on vacation to a different city is a great way to see what living would be like in that area.  If you're interested in finding a new home in a different city, come see what Shea Homes has to offer at these locations:

California
Bay Area, CA
Central Coast, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Orange County, CA
Palm Springs, CA
Sacramento, CA
San Diego, CA

West
Seattle, WA
Las Vegas, NV
Phoenix, AZ
Houston TX
Denver, CO

East
Central Florida
Northern Virginia
Charlotte, NC
Greensboro, NC
York-Lancaster, SC