Checking it Out

The other day I was talking about comparing before you travel – not just hotels, but activities, flights, and the like. Not only is this the best way to make sure you’re getting a good deal, it alleviates a lot of stress from your holiday. You won’t have to worry about where you’ll find a vacancy or how to arrange a flight in Chinese, because it’ll all be taken care of!

So how do you go about it? Of course, you can always go to a travel agent, but some people prefer to plan their own holidays. Never fear – for those people, there is the marvelous resource called the internet! Before you head off, check travel blogs and places that review, contrast, and compare activities and accommodations from around the world (such as Lonely Planet).

You can also view individual hotel websites or check out the tourism resources for various countries online, but this isn’t my preferred method. Checking individual websites takes forever, and tourist resources often have deals with pricey hotels – you’ll never even hear about a discount.

No, my favorite method of comparing websites is through online travel agents and holiday sales such as http://www.directline-hotels.co.uk/. These companies often get special deals from hotels, and best of all, you can view side-by-side comparisons of different accommodations. These sites are great ways to compare before you travel!