How do you book your trip?

[elismom]

Last time I went I booked through a travel agent we went with the package deal...flight ,hotel,car passes that was with canada 3000.

This time I booked the hotel my self
We got 77(Amer.) for the all stars sports.
Dec 18 to the 26
And I bought us plane ticjkets on american airlines for about 460 each.
Now when I looked on the expedia web site I saw something called the dremmaker package for 59 a night
and a fligh for about 50 dollars less.
I thought that I had got a great deal ?
Maybe not/
How does evey one else plan their trips.

 

[SandraC]

I have used TA's and self-booked. I like self-booking. I know what I am willing to pay and when the price I like comes up I jump on it. S

 

[DCinNs]

I like to self book. First time we booked a package through Canada3000. The last two times I did it myself....It was a lot cheaper. Just start early & keep checking!!! Booking the trip is half the fun!

 

[Dolphin_Girl008]

I like self book too. I booked my flight through the airlines' website and the hotel through Expedia.

 

[dsneygirl]

We always book ourselves. I usually book air on-line and hotel through CRO or priceline.com. We also book our car ourselves (when needed).

 

[bunnyfoo]

I think self-booking is fun because you get to plan a lot of the trip yourself Well, at least I think it's fun ... *lol* If you don't have the time to do it yourself, I think it would be better to get a TA ... they can help you make your reservations and apply the different codes when they come out. I also think they have access to a 1-800 number which can help to save on LD charges.

 

[PhotobearSam]

Booked my flights on Travelocity myself for $310.00 CND return...

Booked my 3 weeks of rental car online through National with the help of Mousesavers and got a rate of $146.97 a week US...

Booked (won auctions) for 2 weeks at Orange Lake Country Club and 5 nights at St.Pete Beach...all on skyauction.com (Got great rates....I'm dancing )

Then booked the internet rate at my standby, Magic Castle Inn and suites for the night of my arrival and the night before we cheek in to Orange Lake.

I love the internet for booking travel. I feel like such a pro... Blushing. My Hudsband thinks I'm a genius. Now my Mom & Dad think I'm their own personal Travel Agent... They want to pass me around to their friends...Go figure.

None of this would be possible if it were not for this board. Thank you DIS!!!

 

[wee-haggis]

DIY is the way to go.
For us everything was booked online .
I would suggest that within a couple of years TA's will be a thing of the past.
Unfortunately they cannot compete with online prices (cutting out the middle man more or less).
You'll notice that many of the TA's have their own online websites and the TA representatives are changing their duties to accomodate this.
It defintely pays to be patient and look around.
Before I booked our flights I tried 12 different Canadian websites.
For the exact same flights the price varied by almost $80 each !
Some offer child discounts some don't.
For vehicle and hotel booking codes are a must .
The variety of codes to be found is amazing .
Our minivan for example price ended up about $200 US cheaper in the Alamo site than not using a code.
Here are acouple of sites for those who are not familiar with them.
http://www.mousesavers.com/groundtrans.html
http://www.rentalcodes.com/

 

[PhotobearSam]

Thanks wee-haggis

I did not know about that last one...

Gotta love the DIS

 

[bmt337]

We're flying out of Bangor, Maine on October 11th/03 to Orlando flying home on October 20/03. We need a rental car for eight days, does anyone know of any codes I can use? Any help would be greatly appreciated. In Canadian dollars, where did you book your car rental through and how much is it costing? Please and thankyou.

 

[PhotobearSam]

Go to Mousesavers.com

They have codes for all the car companies...National even tells you how much it would be in Canadian dollars.

I used contract ID 5760339 and coupon # 10008198 at www.nationalcar.com
I joined their Emerald Aisle with info on mousesavers and now my husband won't cost extra so he can drive the car.

But I tried all the codes for all the companies and waited till I got the lowest one. It takes time but it works...

Email me and I can tell you more. Or I could call you tonight (since we are neighbours) and give you some tips...