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The 10 best online travel agencies in 2024

The top 10 online travel agencies.

• Booking.com
• Lastminute.com

Best online travel agencies for business travel

1. travelperk.

Main offerings and features:

• Industry-leading travel inventory
• Flexible booking with FlexiPerk
• Safety alerts with TravelCare
• Integrated travel policy & approval flows
• Centralized invoicing
• Easy & real-time expense reports
• Carbon offsetting with GreenPerk
• 24/7 fast customer support in target 15s
• VAT reclaim
• Integration with 3rd party tools , such as expense management or HR software like Expensify and BambooHR

Save time and money on your business travel with TravelPerk

2. sap concur.

• Works with some of the biggest brands
• Easy tracking and reporting of expenses for expense reports
• Many connected apps, such as Uber and Airbnb for cars and hotels
• One solution for a variety of business travel spending

Click below to compare both platforms’ features and benefits

• Ample integrations
• Award-winning mobile app
• Employee-centric travel management

Click below for a more detailed comparison between both platforms:

Best online travel agencies for leisure travel, 1. booking.com.

• Intuitive booking tool and website
• Flight + Hotel booking for easily planning trips with no cross-referencing travel websites
• Simple car rental options and taxi hire
• Available in over 40 different languages and offers over half a million properties across 207 countries
• You can book experiences in your destination city to entertain you on your travels
• Genius rewards program

• Simple interface and booking tool
• Deals when making more than one booking
• 38 different languages and offers a 24-hour, multilingual customer support service
• Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking
• Millions of reviews to help make your decision

3. Lastminute.com

• Filter hotels according to budgets, star ratings, guest ratings, board types, and more
• ATOL protection on flight + hotel bundles
• Flash sales for last-minute deals
• Payment plans to spread out the cost of travel
• Extra entertainment booking for your trips, like theatrical productions and day trips
• Gift cards for gifting travel

• Expedia rewards for hotels, cars, and more
• Experienced support
• Compare cruise lines
• Big savings when booking flights, hotels, and car rentals
• Operates in nearly 70 countries and in over 35 different languages
• Luxury travel options

• Book hotels, flights, cars, and bundles
• 24/7 support
• Lower prices on the app
• Great last-minute deals for spontaneous travel

6. Bookmundi

Best online travel agencies for flights

1. skyscanner.

• Super flexible booking filters
• Cheaper flights and hotels than other OTAs
• Price alerts for travel routes of interest
• Easy-to-use booking tool and UI
• Hundreds of location and currency options
• One-way, return, and multi-city travel options

2. Kiwi.com

• Simple flight booking tool
• Partnerships with Booking.com and Rentalcars.com
• Discover deals anywhere with the option to open up your search
• Easy-to-use app

How do online travel agencies work?

What are the advantages of booking through an online travel agency.

• Access to comparison tools
• Peer reviews to help you with your decisions
• Flexible cancellation policies
• All your travel in one place
• Local flights and deals

Rewards programs

Comparison tools, peer reviews, flexible cancellation.

Flexiperk: Cancel anytime, anywhere. Get a minimum of 80% of your money back.

One account for all of your travel needs, a local approach to global travel, wrapping up.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
• Never miss another update. Stay in touch with us on social for the latest product releases, upcoming events, and articles fresh off the press.

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Best Online Travel Agencies

Booking.com is our top choice for making your trip arrangements

Ligaya Malones is an editor, blogger, and freelance writer specializing in food and travel. Ligaya's work has appeared in publications including Lonely Planet and BRIDES.

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more .

Planning a trip can be easier through an online travel agency than if you handle each aspect of the planning separately. You can book hotels, air travel, rental cars, and more through a single site, and booking everything together sometimes results in discounts. By inputting a destination, a range of dates, and other preferences, you will see a list of options for each aspect of travel.

The best online travel agencies offer options from the largest number of airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, and more. Look for sites that offer discounts for combining reservations for different aspects of your trip. For example, the best sites will have lower rates if you book both plane tickets and a hotel through their services. The best sites also provide reviews from customers who actually have booked through the service. These are our top picks.

• Best Overall: Booking.com
• Best Budget: Skyscanner
• Best Price Predictor: Hopper
• Most Innovative: Kiwi.com
• Best for Eco-Conscious: Kind Traveler
• Best for Social Impact: I Like Local
• Best for Design-Forward Homestays: Plum Guide
• Our Top Picks
• Booking.com

Kind Traveler

I Like Local

• See More (4)

Final Verdict

Frequently asked questions, methodology, best overall : booking.com.

 Booking.com

This industry leader offers one of the most comprehensive trip planning platforms on the Internet.

Lots of options to choose from

Interface is easy to use

Numerous filters to customize your search

Tricky to tell whether changes/cancellations can be made with Booking.com or the vendor directly

Booking.com was founded in 1996 and has grown into an industry leader that stands out for being one of the most comprehensive trip planning platforms out there. From one website, you can compare and book accommodations, flights (including one-way and multi-city flights), sightseeing activities, and even airport taxis. The website lists more than 28 million accommodation options, from hotels, hostels, and B&Bs to vacation homes and luxury resorts—you can browse more choices per destination on Booking.com than other online travel agencies. The website also performs well on cost and typically returns lower-than-average prices for flights and hotels. 

Booking.com's interface is also easy to use. On the home page, search for a hotel by entering your chosen destination and dates. Then, use the extensive list of filters—such as price range and distance from the city center—to narrow the results down and find the best fit. You can also search for a specific hotel, or seek inspiration by clicking through options grouped by destination or property type or by topic such as the country’s best Michelin-starred hotel restaurants or the top cities for vegan travelers. The flights, car rental, and other tabs are just as intuitive. 

Best Budget : Skyscanner

 Skyscanner

You can compare prices across airlines, hotels, and car rentals.

Simple interface

Option to toggle searches between specific dates or by monthly calendars

Search Everywhere button is great for spontaneous planners

Extra clicks are required to make a final purchase

Must read fine print for changes/cancellations—may need to deal directly with the vendor

Ads on the sidebar can be distracting

Find deals on airfare, hotels, and car rentals with an aggregator site like Skyscanner , which uses a metasearch engine to compare prices from all online travel agencies and the airline, hotel, or car rental company in question. Run searches with fixed dates, opt to compare airfare prices month to month, or click “Cheapest Month.” Searches also include options for nearby airports or non-stop flights only. With hotel searches, you can choose to select only from properties with free cancellation, a cleanliness rating of 4.5/5 or higher, or 3- or 4-starred hotels only. Car rental searches include an option to select “return car to different location.”

Once you’ve found the best rate, click on the link to be redirected to the third-party site to make your booking. Feeling spontaneous? The Search Everywhere button on the homepage offers a list of the cheapest flight deals for destinations both locally and across the world—just plug in your departure airport first.

Best Price Predictor : Hopper

The company claims a 95 percent accuracy rate at predicting when flights and hotel rates will be cheapest.

Color-coded system makes it easy to determine cheapest days to buy

App is easy to use

Option to track flights and receive alerts when the best time to buy arises

Some have mentioned the app functions better as a research tool than a booking tool

Unclear whether Hopper will price match if you find a cheaper flight elsewhere

Hopper is a travel app available on iOS and Android that aims to help travelers save on airfare by usng historical data and their own algorithm to predict when flights will be cheapest. Just type in where and when you’d like to fly and Hopper will present you with a color-coded pricing calendar indicating how much tickets are likely to cost. (Green is the least expensive, then yellow, orange, and red for most expensive.) Hopper will also recommend you either buy now or wait, or you can choose to watch a trip and receive notifications on the best time to buy. In addition, the app has expanded to offer hotel and car rental price predictions, too.

Some newer features since the app’s inception in 2009 include an option to freeze a price for a limited time—for an extra fee—as well as exclusive app-only discounts. Hopper is free to download, and you can choose to book directly through the app, though some users mentioned they use Hopper as more of a research tool before booking directly with the airline or hotel. The company claims a 95 percent accuracy rate at predicting flight rates up to a year ahead.

Most Innovative : Kiwi.com

This metasearch engine scours the web to piece together the ideal itinerary using planes, trains, buses, and more.

Creative itineraries get you where you need to go, especially if you’ve got a multi-stop trip

Kiwi Guarantee offers rebooking or cancellation protections

Nomad option appeals to travelers with a lot of flexibility

Creative itineraries mean you may not fly out of the same airport you flew into

Kiwi Guarantee has an additional fee

Charges all-in-one fee for booking flights, trains, buses (though you can always purchase a la carte)

Travelers planning multi-city destinations and seeking a bargain, as well as those looking to take planes, trains, and automobiles to get there, might consider Kiwi . Kiwi is a metasearch engine that scours and pieces together itineraries from various airlines (even if they don’t have a codeshare agreement), considers multiple airports (even if your arrival airport is different from departure), and offers booking options, whether you’re looking at very specific dates or more general ones (up to 60 nights).

Some will find the ability to make multiple bookings for a particular trip more convenient than going at it manually several different times, though note that you must opt into the Kiwi Guarantee program to access rebooking and refund protections should your reservation change or be canceled. Kiwi’s Nomad option allows you to plug in a bunch of destinations you’d like to visit and the length of your intended stay, and the website will churn out the most affordable itineraries for review.

Best for Eco-Conscious : Kind Traveler

A give-and-get business model means booking accommodations with exclusive perks, a donation to environmental organizations, and more.

All participating hotels include a local give-back component

Exclusive savings and perks

Participating hotels are located in some of the most beautiful places in the world

Inventory is much smaller compared to other booking platforms

Some of the amenities mentioned are based on availability only

In 2022, Kind Traveler (an online trave agency focused on hotel bookings) announced an increase in environmentally and socially conscious hotels, charity donations, voluntourism opportunities, and additional perks like waived resort fees or a welcome amenity.

Unlock exclusive hotel rates and perks from participating Kind Traveler hotels with a minimum $10/night minimum donation to a local charity. For example, stay at the Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives and receive up to $33 off the nightly rate and perks such as a food and beverage credit and an Earth Lab or Alchemy Bar workshop when you make a donation to Manta Trust. The organization funds coastal research to protect the island nation’s large yet fragile population of reef mantas.

Select from more than 140 participating hotels from the Hawaiian Islands to Bozeman, Montana, and the Maldives. Charities include wildlife, human rights, arts, education, and environmental preservation organizations.

Best for Social Impact : I Like Local

Choose from a host of travel experiences with the peace of mind that 100 percent of the cost goes directly to local partners.

Social impact mission woven into organization’s business model

Immersive experiences led by local guides

Range of experiences offered

May not be best fit for those seeking upscale, luxury experiences and stays

Can’t sort experiences by a list of countries (though an interactive map is available)

No experiences outside of Africa and Asia

For an online travel agency with a booking platform designed to route dollars spent directly to the communities travelers intend to visit, consider I Like Local . Visit the website to browse a host of travel experiences in countries including Indonesia, Kenya, and Cambodia. Experiences include homestays and farmstays as well as wellness and culturally oriented experiences—from cooking and cycling tours to weaving classes.

To search for an experience, select from drop-down items like travel dates and experience categories, or view a global map and click on a country to view experiences that way.

The platform got its start in 2014 and has grown to 4,000 local hosts across nearly 20 countries. As a social impact organization, 100 percent of each booking fee goes to local hosts. To date, 16,000 travelers have booked with I Like Local.

Best for Design-Forward Homestays : Plum Guide

Browse and book seriously vetted, design-forward vacation homes.

Highly curated inventory of vacation rentals across the world

Design-forward

Thorough vetting process

Does not publish guest reviews

Other platforms have homes available across more destinations

When it comes to booking a vacation home, serviced apartment, or condo, travelers are spoiled for choice. Plum Guide is an online travel agency that specializes in accommodations—though not just any home makes its directory. The company claims that each potential home listed on its site must jump through 150 hoops to be included, from internet speed and mattress and pillow quality to the showers’ water pressure and the home’s proximity to dining, shopping, and attractions.

Search by a featured collection on the website such as “ pet-friendly homes ” or “one-of-a-kind homes in Palm Springs.” Scroll to the bottom of its homepage to view its top destinations, as well as a list of all destinations where Plum Guide homes are available, including Barbados, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, the U.S., and Turkey. Note: From the top right-hand corner of the site, use the dropdown menu to select currency of choice.

As long as you know what you value most out of your travel experience—such as affordability, social impact, or luxe accommodations—there’s an online travel agency to help plan your next trip. Be sure to read the fine print, as some agencies are third-party websites and not direct vendors. If you're not sure where to start, Booking.com is your best bet for a smooth user experience and hard-to-beat offers on flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements.

What Is the Biggest Travel Agency?

Our choice for best overall, Booking.com, is known as an industry leader with listings for all major hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and more. It boasts more choices for accommodations per destination than any other site, and we found its interface to be user-friendly.

Are Online Travel Agencies Worth It?

This depends on your needs and priorities. The best online travel agencies certainly can save time by booking everything all at once. However, if you're someone who is good at haggling and enjoys the details of planning a trip, you might be able to find better deals by reaching out to hotels or other destinations and speaking to someone personally.

Is It Cheaper to Book Online Than With a Travel Agent?

Not always. A travel agent you know and trust should have the experience and connections to find deals that can match or surpass what you'll find online. Additionally, if something goes wrong, travel agents provide you with an actual person you can use as an advocate to correct the problem . But if you don't have access to a good travel agent, online sites still provide plenty of ways to streamline planning and save money .

We considered dozens of online travel agencies and narrowed down the options based on user experience, volume and quality of inventory, unique offerings and specials, and customer reviews. We also assessed travel companies’ environmentally and socially conscious policies.

Catherine Falls Commercial / Getty Images

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The Pros and Cons of Booking Through Online Travel Agencies

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You’re likely already familiar with online travel agencies, even if you don’t travel often. These companies — such as Priceline , Expedia and Orbitz — act as intermediaries between you and a travel provider.

Booking your travel through an OTA can be a good idea in some circumstances, but you’ll want to be wary of its pitfalls. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of online travel agencies, so you’ll know what to use to book your next vacation.

Pros of booking through online travel agencies

There are certainly advantages booking through online travel agencies, though you’ll find different experiences whether you’re using public OTAs — such as Kayak — or private ones like those offered by your card issuer, such as the Chase's travel portal .

✅ It may be cheaper

When searching for flights online, you may see different prices for the same routes that vary across websites. Although it may be a result of fare type — for example, some search results may not clarify that a fare is basic economy rather than main cabin or economy — other times, the difference comes down to competition for your business.

Online travel services will often offer slightly lower prices on flights in an effort to entice you as a customer. This is true for both hotels and airlines.

» Learn more: Best credit cards for online travel-booking websites

✅ It can earn you more rewards

Have you ever heard of shopping portals ? By logging into a shopping portal, you can earn rewards for purchases made with many online merchants. Some hotel chains, such as Hilton , Marriott and IHG , can be accessed through shopping portals while still booking directly on the hotel website. In this way, you can earn rewards with the hotel directly as well as with the shopping portal.

The same isn’t true for shopping portals and most airline sites. However, many public online travel agencies are accessible through shopping portals, which can then earn you rewards for airfare bookings. By opting to book in this way, you’ll be able to earn points or cash-back rewards through the shopping portal that you’d otherwise miss.

Some card issuers will also reward you heavily when using their online travel services. Clear examples of this can be seen with Capital One and Chase. With the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card , for example, you’ll get 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel .

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is similar. With this card, you can get 10 Ultimate Rewards® points per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Chase's portal.

While these numbers are high, it’s important to remember that there are trade-offs when booking through an OTA rather than directly with a hotel or airline. We’ll get into that a little later.

Online travel agencies offered by your card issuer may not feature the same prices as booking directly; you’ll want to compare these before committing to a purchase.

Some card issuers will go so far as to give your points more value when redeeming through their online travel agencies.

This is true with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card . When redeeming points on Chase's travel portal, you’ll get 1.25 cents in value per point rather than 1 cent elsewhere.

» Learn more: How much are your airline miles and hotel points worth this year?

Cons of booking through online travel agencies

There are several downsides when it comes to using online travel services for booking travel. It mainly comes down to the fact that travel providers prefer that you book directly with them — and offer more perks to woo your business.

❌ It can be harder to change a booking

Ever needed to change a flight after it's booked? No matter the reason, attempting to alter or otherwise cancel a flight can be a hassle — especially if you’ve booked through a third party.

Generally speaking, rather than offering you direct assistance, both hotels and airlines will recommend you contact the online travel agency you’ve booked with in order to make any changes.

While you may be able to make changes or get refunds with the travel agency, airlines and hotels can — and will — offer much more flexibility when you’ve booked with them directly. You may also be subject to additional fees charged by the online travel agency, which can erase any savings you’ve received.

❌ You may not receive elite benefits

This is the real kicker for anyone wanting elite status. Although airlines will almost always recognize your elite status and allow you to earn miles even for bookings made through an online travel agency, hotels and rental car companies will not.

This is especially important for hotel chains. Earning elite status with hotels generally relies on elite night credits. Although these can be earned in a variety of ways — including having complimentary status by holding certain credit cards — the main method of acquiring elite night credits is by spending nights in hotels. Rooms booked through an online travel agency do not count toward elite status as elite night credits.

Additionally, you will not receive any of the benefits of your existing elite status if your booking is through a third party. This can mean the loss of perks such as room upgrades, complimentary breakfast and even free Wi-Fi.

» Learn more: The best airline and hotel rewards loyalty programs this year

❌ It may be more expensive

Did you know that many hotel chains have best price guarantees? Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and IHG all have a guarantee that’ll give you either points or a discount if you find a better rate elsewhere.

These guarantees are generous; Hilton, for example, will match the rate and then discount it by a further 25%.

Although you’ll need to file claims for these guarantees and they face limitations — such as a 24-hour window from when you made the booking — you can save a lot of money on your stay if your request is approved.

Online travel agencies can be hit or miss

There are two sides to every coin and this is no different, as there are several benefits and limitations of online travel services. Depending on your needs and loyalty program status, you’ll want to choose whether to book directly with a travel provider or rely on OTAs to do the job for you.

Booking travel through credit card portals from issuers like Chase and Capital One can earn you big rewards. But if you anticipate altering your travel plans or aim to earn elite status instead, booking directly is the way to go.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-6.5% Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

$300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

75,000 Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

The Complete Guide to Booking Travel Online

What is an online travel agency, and what are the best sites and apps to use to search for hotels and flights we break it all down for you..

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There’s a lot to navigate when researching and booking travel online.

Photo by Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

My first travel adventure was to Venezuela. I booked the ticket with a travel agent over a pay phone. The agent searched a dozen flight itineraries over a few days, all so I could save $15.

Times have changed. Today, flight searches start online , often on your mobile device. Passengers book either directly with the airline or hotel or with online travel agencies. Rarely do we get on the phone. In fact, American Airlines and United Airlines charge $25 to make a domestic flight booking by phone. And pay phones hardly exist anymore.

So, what is the best way to book online? Here is our complete guide to online travel agencies, search tools, and the variety of booking options available on both mobile devices and desktops.

What is an OTA?

An online travel agency, or OTA, is a website or mobile app that allows users to search for and book travel services such as flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and activities. The booking is made directly with the online travel agency but confirmed by the service provider, such as an airline or a hotel. As a customer, your relationship is with the OTA.

What are the main OTAs?

Many online travel agencies nowadays are owned by two main companies: Expedia and Priceline. The Expedia Group is the largest online travel agency in the United States with 70 percent market share, according to travel data firm Phocuswright. Expedia Group operates Expedia.com , Orbitz, Hotels.com , Trivago, CheapTickets , Hotwire , Vrbo , and Travelocity .

Priceline is a major competitor to Expedia, with global revenues larger than the Expedia Group. The company owns Priceline.com, Booking.com, Cheapflights, Momondo, and Kayak—the latter two being metasearch engines (more on that below).

There are also independent newcomers such as Hopper (a mobile-only booking tool) and Kiwi.com (which allows you to book flights on air carriers that don’t normally have a commercial relationship).

Are OTA fares lower than booking directly?

Generally, no. The fares that are displayed by an OTA will be similar if not slightly more expensive when compared to an airline’s website. They’re usually only a few dollars higher or lower. The OTAs charge a booking fee to the airlines, and often that fee is passed directly to consumers. For example, Lufthansa tacks on an additional $18 to any booking made through an OTA for Lufthansa flights. The same flights are exactly $18 cheaper on the airline’s website.

Where you can score a good travel deal through an OTA is when booking a last-minute hotel and flight package. Many OTAs have cut agreements with airlines allowing last-minute travelers to access lower rates than are typically available when passengers book a flight alone.

Are all airlines available to be booked through OTAs?

No. Many OTAs do not display flights from some of the low-fare leaders. For example, Southwest and Allegiant flights are not available through OTAs; the same goes for Ryanair in Europe. And, earlier this year United Airlines threatened to pull out of Expedia altogether, only recently signing a multi-year agreement to stay in. The airlines would rather not lose any margin to online travel agencies in an already low-margin industry and would rather maintain a direct relationship with the customer.

Are smaller OTAs safe to use?

Expedia and Priceline are the two largest players in the online booking space, but there are dozens of independent OTAs, such as CheapOAir, OneTravel, JustFly, and SmartFares. Confusingly, you might actually stumble on ads for these OTAs while using Expedia or Priceline sites. That’s because the larger OTAs earn revenue through advertising, sending passengers to smaller OTAs and charging those OTAs for the favor.

Buyer beware: some of these lesser-known OTAs are masters at hidden fees. For example, a flight search on JetBlue allows for free seat selection in many instances. If you perform the same search on FlightNetwork, an independent OTA, and select a seat, you will be charged an additional $25—despite the fact that JetBlue doesn’t charge a seat selection fee if you book directly.

What if you need to change your itinerary?

Itinerary changes are often a pain. If your plans change, it won’t matter whether you’ve booked directly with an airline or with an OTA—you’re going to pay fees for the privilege, if you can even change your ticket at all.

For example, CheapTickets.com, which is part of the Expedia Group, charges $25 to change or cancel a ticket if that change is requested after 24 hours of making the booking—it is free if you do so within 24 hours of booking. However, the fees go up from there. JustFly, an independent OTA, charges a $75 fee for changes to domestic flights in addition to airline change fees, plus the difference in fare, for tickets that can be changed. For an international trip, the fee rises to $200. That means to change an international flight with Delta (which charges a $100 change fee) booked through JustFly, you’ll be assessed $300 in fees, plus the difference in fare. At that rate, you may as well book a new flight. FlightNetwork indicates in its terms of service that changes may incur a change fee but doesn’t specify what those fees are. That hardly makes the few dollars you saved by booking with the OTA in the first place worth it.

What is an OTA price match policy?

To assure travelers that they are getting the lowest fare possible, many OTAs have a price match policy. The rules vary and so do the benefits.

For example, if you book with Orbitz and find a less expensive flight, car rental, or activity on any U.S.-based website within 24 hours of your booking, Orbitz will refund you the difference you paid. And it works: I have personally found a flight in the same class, on the same airline, for the same origin and destination cities, and requested Orbitz to refund the difference of around $35. Within a few weeks, I received a check in the mail. A similar program applies for CheapOAir, but there’s a catch—the price difference must be found on a major OTA such as Expedia or Travelocity.

Expedia has a particularly good price match policy, but you have to pay extra for it at the time of booking. Expedia offers the price match option as an add-on that costs between $5 and $30 when you book. With the price match applied, if the airfare on Expedia drops between 120 days of the flight and up to six hours before the flight, Expedia will automatically refund you the difference in fare. Unfortunately, fares generally do not drop substantially as the travel date approaches, so while this might give you peace of mind, it’s probably not worth the expense.

How do Google Flights and other travel metasearch engines work?

Frequent fliers are likely familiar with websites such as Google Flights, Kayak, Momondo, or Skyscanner. On these websites, passengers search on the site but are redirected to the service provider to complete the booking, such as an airline, rental car company, or hotel.

Metasearch started with a product called ITA Matrix, which is a tool for searching airfares online but not for actually booking online. ITA Matrix allows for multi-city searching, such as setting two different departure or arrival airports, and for offering a calendar view of fares for easier comparison. That company was acquired by Google in 2011, and savvy travelers swear by it to help find the least expensive fares online. Most consumers are more familiar with Google Flights, which has gained traction more recently not least because it has the benefit of being displayed first in search results on Google.

Metasearch engines receive distribution fees from the airlines for sending traffic to the supplier websites. There are no additional hidden fees for using a metasearch engine because you’re booking directly with the airline or hotel.

A major benefit of the metasearch engines is their price tracking tool, which lets users know whether the displayed fares are low, average, or high for the flight, allowing travelers to make a more informed decision on whether to book a flight or not . Google Flights and Kayak, for instance, both have price tracking tools.

Why not just book directly?

The airlines would definitely much rather you book directly with them. Over the past five years, they have gotten much better at marketing and selling their product directly to consumers online and through mobile sites and apps. But in the past, they weren’t so good at it. In fact, Delta, Northwest, United, American, and Continental got together to invest $145 million to launch Orbitz in 1999 to counter the threat from Expedia. Now Orbitz is owned by Expedia.

The airlines also try to encourage customers to book directly so that they can maintain a closer relationship with them. It allows carriers to connect bookings with loyalty programs and create special offers and discounts catered to individual passengers.

There is another benefit to booking directly. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires carriers to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment or allow a reservation to be cancelled within 24 hours without penalty, so long as the booking is made at least seven days before travel. The law applies, however, only to U.S. and foreign air carriers that have websites marketed to U.S. consumers. This means that, in theory, an online travel agency does not have to offer such a policy, although most OTAs do.

What are the options for booking on your mobile device?

Airlines and the major OTAs all have apps to help you book and manage your trip on your mobile device, but their functionality is lacking compared to these websites’ desktop editions. For example, Expedia’s app doesn’t allow you to view flights on a month-view calendar. Kayak has an app with more bells and whistles and a better user interface, including a month-view calendar with color-coded pricing. It also has a handy “augmented reality” function to help you see if your carry-on bag will fit in the overhead bin (a feature originally developed by KLM). Point your phone’s camera at the luggage, and it’ll give you the dimensions.

While apps are improving and gaining in popularity, you still might find it easier to locate the best deals on flights and hotels by using your desktop, where you can have multiple tabs open and have all the available search tools at your disposal. Apps are fine for booking directly with an airline once you know which flights you want to book.

If you’re determined to use your mobile device, you may want to look into Hopper. Hopper is a mobile-first flight booking tool that has a solid price prediction tool. You can research travel options and book directly on the app. Another benefit of Hopper: Of its team of 300 employees, nearly half are dedicated to customer support and are based in Canada versus some OTAs and airlines that outsource much of their customer service further afield.

The bottom line?

Like many travelers, I enjoy a flight deal as much as the next person, but I also don’t like any added hassle. I typically start my travel searches using the ITA Matrix or Google Flights to get a general sense of the fares. It helps to know what is a good deal and what is expensive for a particular route. I do my research, typically on a desktop computer. When I’m ready to book, I’ll book directly with the airline. I’ve found that customer service is better when booking directly with the service provider. But I’ve also saved money by using OTAs and have booked with them, too. Whichever way you choose to book, you can be safe in the knowledge that finding and purchasing travel online is a lot easier today than searching for a deal with a travel agent on a pay phone.

>> Next: How to Get the Best Last-Minute Travel Deals

Are Online Travel Agencies Safe To Use? 👨🏻‍💻 17 Best Online Travel Agencies For Seamless Journeys: Travel Like A Pro ✈️

Are Online Travel Agencies Safe To Use? Online travel agencies are generally safe to use, but it’s essential to choose reputable and well-established platforms with positive customer reviews.

The rise of online travel agencies (OTAs) has made travel planning and booking extremely easy in today’s world.

By providing passengers from all over the world with a variety of services, offers, and packages, these platforms have changed the travel business.

Online travel agents can help you with your search for flights, hotels, holiday packages, or tours.

🤔 What are online travel agencies?

4. travelocity, 5. skyscanner, 6. lastminute.com, 8. trip.com, 10. booking.com, 11. expedia, 12. tripadvisor, 14. priceline, 15. cheapoair.

• 🧐 Things To Consider While Making Reservation Through OTA's

⭐ Advantages & Disadvantages of Online Travel Agencies

Q. is it cheaper to book online or through a travel agent, q. do online travel agencies offer better deals than airlines and hotels directly, q. can i trust user-generated reviews on online travel agency platforms, q. do online travel agencies provide customer support, q. are there any hidden fees when booking through online travel agencies.

• Q. Are the Online Travel Agencies Reliable?

Q. Do Online Travel Agencies offer personalized itineraries?

Q. are online travel agencies more expensive than booking directly, q. can i book international trips through online travel agencies, 😇 conclusion, 🗨️ tell us in the comments as per you which one is the best online travel agencies.

Online Travel Agency (OTA) is the name for a website that sells travel services. It lets customers book flights, hotels, and other trips all from one place. They are like a travel agent in the digital world.

📃 List of 17 Best Online Travel Agencies at Your Fingertips

After a lot of research and considering travelers’ reviews we have shortlisted some of the best online travel companies that are operational nowadays.

• Travelocity
• Lastminute.com
• Booking.com
• TripAdvisor

A US-based internet travel company called VRBO focuses on vacation rentals. Landlords and managers can directly register their houses on VRBO, similar to Airbnb.

When booking through Vrbo, visitors may also get travel insurance. In addition to being a part of one of the largest travel companies in the world, VRBO has a reputation for being a trustworthy lodging option.

A website called Parkos.com makes airport parking stress-free. Thanks to the company’s new online platform, potential consumers can now compare various airport parking and facilities, make a reservation, and pay for it in advance of their trip day.

Both locals and visitors have provided overwhelmingly good feedback since Parkos entered the parking sector in 2014.

All technologically aided services revolve around giving automobile owners confidence that their vehicles are safe when they are away from them.

The majority of people may gain more from this comparison, but those who drive pricey high-end cars may find it interesting.

Also Read: 10 Best Places For New Year Celebration

Hotel reservations are the focus of Agoda , a multinational online travel firm located in Singapore.

Along with many other comparable OTAs on this list, it is owned by Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com.

The Agoda network, which offers more than a million hotels and vacation rentals, is primarily focused on the Asian economy but has now grown into Europe and the United States.

The company’s marketing strategy is centered on giving customers affordable or reduced housing.

In 1996, Travelocity was established as an online travel agency with several services for customers. It is owned and operated by the international travel service provider The Expedia Group.

You can check for airfare and hotel bundles, choices for a rental vehicle, cruises, and more using Travelocity’s website.

Additionally, you can read travel-related articles, order tickets for well-liked attractions, and communicate your journey arrangements with loved ones.

A well-known company with a big customer base is Travelocity. They provide a huge selection of vacation packages, many of which are aimed at families.

Skyscanner is a metasearch aggregator that gathers prices for flights, hotels, and rental cars from all online travel agents (OTAs) in one location. Booking flights and hotels with Skyscanner typically results in the most affordable options.

After making your choice, you will be sent to a third-party booking form on the Skyscanner website where you can complete the transaction and reserve your flight.

Skyscanner is used by millions of people to compare rates and options for their travel arrangements. Simply said, it compiles and presents to customers all of the offers from all online travel agencies (OTAs).

Also Read: 15 Best Countries For Solo Travel 

City hopping is a popular pastime in Europe because of how close together the cities are. Among the top three booking sites is lastminute.com .

In this OTA, flight bookings are made through an aggregator website, and hotel reservations are made through an OTA, both of which we have seen before.

Finding last-minute discounts on hotels, flights, and all-inclusive holiday packages is the specialty of the website lastminute.com.

If you’re brave enough to play the chicken, Last Minute has the best travel deals. For tourists looking for a dealer who isn’t scared to wait until the last minute, there are a couple of better OTAs. We’re certain to have the flight or hotel bargain you’re looking for.

Members of Airbnb are allowed to advertise their available lodging and accept overnight reservations. However, the business has added hotels and homestays to its list of offerings.

However, Air b nb is extremely particular about the standards it must uphold when it comes to hotels that can be offered on its platform.

The majority of hotels must demonstrate their distinctive design, how the neighborhood affects their rooms, and how guests can access communal areas.

The most economical choice may be an Airbnb vacation rental. Additionally, compared to hotels, you are more likely to locate more beds in the same property on Airbnb.

Many Airbnbs provide sofas or futons to accommodate larger groups. For longer visits, many of these hotels provide kitchens and washing machines, enabling visitors to save money by preparing their meals.

The largest OTA in China, Trip.com , a Chinese firm, created Trip.com, an international OTA. Trip.com’s marketing initiatives are primarily aimed at domestic and international travelers to China.

Contrarily, Trip.com has a partnership with Booking.com that enables it to broaden its global reach.

Today, Trip.com has hundreds of millions of users worldwide. The organization wants to give both domestic and foreign travelers the best travel experiences possible.

Wotif also owns LastMinute, a website that offers last-minute discounts on lodging, transportation, and other travel essentials to Australians and New Zealanders.

This local internet travel business mostly caters to travelers from the UK and Europe. On this website, tourists can search for and buy flights, lodging, auto rentals, excursions, and package deals.

Also Read: 11 Best Ways To Become A Travel Enthusiast

The biggest hotel booking website in the world, Booking.com , also lets you book travel and a rental car. It can be used by travelers to learn about different types of lodging, locations, and offers.

However, making reservations for different types of lodging is where its true power lies. For the typical person, it serves as an all-inclusive travel agency.

Hotels and other accommodation facilities are only billed by Booking.com after a reservation is made.

There isn’t a monthly cost that must be paid. An all-inclusive internet travel firm called Bookin.com provides lodging and travel options all around the world.

Online travel agencies (OTAs) are a business model used by many E x pedia Group businesses, notably Expedia, the largest OTA.

The company was founded in 2001 and was based in Bellevue, Washington, in the US.

It is one of the most prosperous travel companies in the world, having localized websites in more than 40 nations.

Expedia has provided access to flights, hotels, and rental cars for more than ten years. They are the largest travel company in the world.

Its marketing plan places a strong emphasis on the value of providing affordable lodging options.

Expedia is an excellent option if you want to pay for your airfare, hotel, and car hire all at once.

One of the most well-known travel platforms, TripAdvisor provides a variety of user-generated information in addition to booking services.

Travelers get access to reviews, images, and ratings posted by other travelers, allowing them to plan their trips with greater knowledge.

The website also offers the ability to compare flights and book excursions and other activities, making it a complete online travel agency (OTA).

A meta-search engine called Kayak searches the internet for the finest travel offers on several platforms.

It provides full results on a single page by comparing costs for airfare, accommodation, rental cars, and other services.

Users of its “Explore” feature can find new places to go and the most cost-effective times to travel.

Budget-conscious travelers choose Kayak because of its simple UI and time-saving features.

The “Name Your Own Price” option on Priceline is known for allowing customers to place bids on hotel rooms and rental vehicles at the prices they like.

Priceline provides regular booking choices like flights, hotels, and rental cars in addition to the bidding system, which may not appeal to everyone.

Travelers who are flexible with their travel plans can take advantage of their Express Deals feature, which offers big reductions on unpublished rates.

Travelers seeking low-cost airline options without sacrificing quality are catered to by CheapOair .

The network appeals to people who are concerned about their spending because it offers exclusive deals and discounts on hotels, flights, and car rentals.

CheapOair makes arranging travel reservations simple with its user-friendly interface and round-the-clock customer service.

Flights, hotels, holiday packages, and activities are just a few of the travel options that Orbitz provides.

Orbitz Rewards, the platform’s loyalty program, enables customers to earn rewards and take advantage of special member advantages.

If customers discover lower rates elsewhere, Orbitz guarantees they will be refunded the difference with its price guarantee promise.

Hotwire is known for providing significantly lower rates for accommodation, travel, and transportation.

Partner hotels can offer lower rates without publicly undercutting their usual pricing because the platform hides the identity of specific hotels until after booking.

For tourists eager to take advantage of this method of surprise booking, Hotwire’s “Hot Rates” provide huge savings.

🧐 Things To Consider While Making Reservation Through OTA’s

When making reservations through an Online Travel Agency (OTA), consider the following:

• Price and Deals: Compare prices and look for exclusive deals and discounts offered by the OTA.
• Cancellation Policies: Understand the OTA’s cancellation and refund policies to avoid any inconvenience in case of changes in your plans.
• User Reviews: Check user reviews and ratings to gauge the reliability and quality of the service.
• Customer Support: Ensure the OTA provides accessible and responsive customer support for assistance during and after booking.
• Hidden Fees: Be wary of hidden fees or additional charges that may not be clearly stated upfront.
• Booking Security: Verify the OTA’s security measures to protect your personal and financial information.
• Travel Insurance: Consider purchasing travel insurance for added protection against unexpected events.
• Flexibility: Choose an OTA that offers flexible booking options to accommodate any last-minute changes.
• Available Services: Confirm that the OTA offers the services you need, such as flights, hotels, car rentals, and activities.
• User-Friendly Interface: Opt for an OTA with an intuitive and easy-to-navigate website or app for a seamless booking experience.

Advantages of Online Travel Agencies

• Convenience: Users can book flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements from the comfort of their homes, saving time and effort.
• Wide Selection: Online travel agencies offer a vast inventory of travel options, providing a variety of choices for different budgets and preferences.
• Price Comparison: Users can compare prices across multiple airlines, hotels, and car rental companies to find the best deals.
• User Reviews: Travelers can read reviews and ratings from other users to make informed decisions about their bookings.
• Exclusive Deals: Many online travel agencies offer exclusive discounts and promotions for their customers.
• 24/7 Access: Online travel agencies are available round the clock, allowing users to make bookings at any time.

Disadvantages of Online Travel Agencies

• Hidden Fees : Some online travel agencies may have hidden fees or additional charges that are not disclosed upfront.
• Lack of Personalized Service: Unlike traditional travel agents, online platforms may lack personalized recommendations and support.
• Technical Issues: Technical glitches or website outages can cause inconvenience and delay in making bookings.
• Limited Flexibility: Some online travel agencies have strict cancellation and refund policies, limiting flexibility for travelers.
• Scams and Fraud: There is a risk of encountering fraudulent websites or services when booking through unknown or unverified platforms.
• Overwhelming Options: The abundance of choices on online travel agency websites can sometimes lead to decision paralysis for users.

🙋🏻‍♀️ FAQs For Online Travel Agencies

There are a lot of questions that come to our mind while making reservations through online travel agencies some of the commonly asked questions are answered below.

A. Booking online often offers better deals and discounts compared to traditional travel agents.

A. Yes, online travel agencies often negotiate special deals and discounts with airlines and hotels, which can result in more cost-effective options for travelers.

A. While most user-generated reviews are genuine and helpful, it’s essential to consider multiple sources and exercise discernment when making decisions based on reviews.

A. Yes, reputable online travel agencies offer customer support via phone, email, or live chat to assist with booking inquiries and travel-related issues.

A. While some online travel agencies may charge service fees or have specific booking terms, reputable platforms are transparent about any additional costs during the booking process.

Q. Are the Online Travel Agencies Reliable ?

A. Absolutely! Online Travel Agencies are reputable and reliable. They work with established partners and have a track record of excellent customer service.

A. Yes, they do! Online Travel Agencies take your preferences and interests into account to craft personalized itineraries tailored to your needs.

A. Not necessarily. Online Travel Agencies often secure exclusive deals and discounts, making them competitive with direct bookings.

A. Yes, you can! Best Online Travel Agencies offer a wide range of international travel options and guide visa requirements.

In conclusion, online travel companies have completely changed how we organize and book our journeys.

These OTAs have evolved into crucial tools for modern travelers thanks to their user-friendly interfaces, vast inventory, and affordable prices.

The top online travel agencies included in this article can assist you in organizing an enjoyable trip, regardless of whether you are an experienced traveler or preparing for your first excursion.

Also, don’t forget to book your personalized holiday package with  Fiery Trippers . Let us make your vacation a romantic as well as a dreamy getaway.

How far in advance should I book my flight? ✈️ 19 Best Website To Book Flights For Cheap Airfare

Unlock Your Adventure: 💡 Mastering the 23+ Best International Travel Tips for Seamless Journeys! 🌍✈️ Exclusive Offer Inside!

13 Things Not to Forget When Traveling Internationally: Essential Tips for International Travel

Rahul Siddharth

He is a dedicated travel writer with a wealth of 10 Years + experience that enriches his narratives. He holds a degree in Hospitality and Hotel Administration from IHM Dehradun, which he couples with hands-on expertise in the field. Drawing from his diverse experiences, Rahul's writings offer readers a captivating glimpse into the world of travel. Embark on a journey of exploration and inspiration with Rahul as your guide. Read More

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What are online travel agencies? The ultimate guide to OTAs

Love them or not, online travel agencies (OTAs) play a critical role in every property’s distribution strategy. According to Expedia Group’s 2023 Path to Purchase report, OTAs captured 51% of online hotel & lodging bookings and possess the visibility and marketing power that most individual properties cannot achieve on their own. 

Working with OTAs isn’t just a matter of signing up and hoping for the best. To take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls, you need to actively manage your listings, pricing, and inventory and take a strategic approach to online distribution. 

If done correctly, adopting the right OTAs as part of your distribution strategy can actually help drive direct bookings through the “billboard effect.” Building a comprehensive channel mix incorporating different types of OTAs will ensure you reach your target audience and secure a steady stream of reservations. 

See which OTAs dominate globally, regionally, and across property types based on Cloudbeds customer data and how properties like yours use OTAs as part of their distribution strategy. 

At Cloudbeds, we know the world of OTAs and distribution channels can be complex. We’ve created the Big Book of OTAs to help demystify this process and explain how to create a recipe for success when working with third-party distribution channels.  

What is an online travel agency (OTA)?

An online travel agency (OTA) is a website that acts as a search engine for travel. They connect providers across the travel industry to help travelers easily plan their trips. On OTA sites, travelers can often access package deals with accommodations, airfare, cruises, rental cars, and more .

On average, travelers view 141 pages of travel content in the 45 days before booking a trip, with OTAs making up 67 of those pages. Therefore, properties must be active on as many channels as possible to increase brand awareness and drive bookings — both OTA bookings and direct bookings (more on this later). With the increased popularity of OTAs around the world, hoteliers now have access to markets once unattainable.

How do OTAs work?

Online travel agencies emerged in the 1990s, using the internet’s extensive reach to aggregate global travel supply into a single place so consumers could book their own travel online. These self-service tools reshaped the hotel industry and the way travel was researched and booked, as the general public could now easily plan their trips and reserve their airfare, accommodations, and tours on their own rather than rely on a physical travel agent.

Sites such as Expedia.com, Booking.com, Airbnb, Orbitz, Hotels.com, and TripAdvisor are often consumers’ first stop when researching and booking their next trip. These sites offer a seamless user experience at all stages of the buying process: problem/need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior.

Properties of all types and sizes can connect to multiple OTAs through an integrated channel manager . A distribution system, like a channel manager, shares room inventory and rates from your property management system (PMS) to your booking engine and OTAs. Properties that use a channel manager can streamline hotel operations, increase hotel revenue via revenue management best practices , and increase occupancy across channels (all without the fear of overbookings). 

OTA business models

Hotels form partnerships with OTAs by basically outsourcing marketing to OTAs, who then make money through two business models: the merchant model (guest pays the OTA  in advance) and the commission model (guest pays the hotel at check-in or check-out). Most OTAs offer a blended model so that hotels can let guests choose which option they’d prefer. 

The merchant model

In this model, the online travel agency acts as the merchant of record and collects payments from guests at the time of booking. Once the guest has checked out, the OTA pays the hotel. Contracts exist between hotels and OTAs to provide a set number of rooms to the OTA at a favorable rate. The OTA then makes a profit off each room sold but must meet its contractual thresholds.

The agency (commission) model

In this model, the consumer books via the OTA but pays the hotel directly at the time of checkout. The hotel then pays the OTA a commission on the total value of the booking after checkout. There are no contracts, and rates are set by hotel management. 

The advertising model

This model has increased in popularity and exists on metasearch sites such as Google Hotel Ads, Tripadvisor, Trivago, and KAYAK. Metasearch engines work primarily on a cost-per-click basis where hotels can promote their rooms with links to their direct booking engine, and pay a fee based on the number of clicks they receive. Some of these sites, such as Google, also offer a cost-per-acquisition model (also known as “pay per stay”) where the property pays a percentage of the total reservation cost upon completion of the stay.

For hotels, it can be frustrating to watch distribution costs rise without getting more in return, but there are costs associated with direct bookings too. Demand doesn’t appear without at least some sort of distribution or marketing strategy in place, and those marketing campaigns, loyalty offers, special deals, and direct booking tools have a cost to the hotel. That’s why it’s important to use OTAs wisely and in conjunction with your own direct marketing strategy. 

Online travel agencies vs. online travel agents

Before the rise of OTAs, it was the role of a travel agent to book leisure and business travel. This is because travelers back then did not have access to hotel availability and rates the way we do today. While the internet has made it easier for travelers to book their own trips online, some segments like luxury, corporate, and group travelers still prefer to utilize a person, or online travel agent, to help plan and book a trip.

Travel agents are beneficial when planning complex trips such as a destination wedding, honeymoon, or corporate trip. They have the expertise and connections to find unique accommodations at better rates than most people can find themselves.

Travel agents such as Kuoni have a team of destination experts who work behind the scenes to curate tailor-made accommodations, experiences, and itineraries. Their in-person stores allow travelers to enjoy a glass of champagne while meeting with a travel expert to plan their dream vacation.

Travel agents usually have a portfolio of properties they recommend to travelers and take a commission fee, similar to OTAs. Strong relationships with travel agents can help properties drive more bookings in alternative segments than the OTA market.

Difference between OTAs and metasearch

With so many online booking channels available today, it can be challenging to understand the difference between certain channels.

Metasearch websites like Skyscanner act as aggregators and display hotel information and room rates from a variety of online channels, including OTAs like Agoda, Trip.com, Travelocity, or Priceline.com and a hotel’s website. It enables travelers to compare all of their hotel booking options in real time across the web so that they can book the best deal.

OTAs provide room rates and booking capabilities for only one channel — their own. Meanwhile, metasearch sites can display up to twenty or more results.

Properties can invest in hotel marketing efforts through metasearch engines. Metasearch sites rank listings and it pays off to be near the top. Paying to have your listing higher in the ranks to drive more direct bookings can drive serious results. 

Is Google an OTA?

Google is often a traveler’s first stop when looking for a hotel room. In recent years, Google has changed the hospitality industry with its products. Google offers Google Hotel Search, which acts as a hotel metasearch platform. When a traveler enters a property’s name into Google, it will show all of the rates and listing information from across the web.

Google also has free booking links , a game-changer for independent hotels as they can list their direct rates and links to their own website within the Google Hotel Search box. This option encourages potential guests to book direct.

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Best online travel sites 2022

Use the best online travel sites to plan your trip ahead of time so you can enjoy your time away.

• Buying advice
• Testing process

The best online travel sites are wonderful not only plan your next trip for peace of mind, they're also a fun way to get excited ahead of your next adventure. You can simply go to one site and plan most of your trip's main parts from flights and hotels to rental cars and excursions. If what you're after is just hotel bookings, check out our list of the best hotel booking sites .

While what many of these sites offer is similar, it's the way in which they do it which is important. The last thing you need is a stress-inducing website when planning to go away to relax and unwind. So we've reviewed the best sites based on their price, of course, but also on the way they work, with the ease of use and clarity as important features. We also checked to make sure you won't suffer any extra charges added on top at the last minute. Plus, we took rewards schemes into account, which could help you save money upfront or in the longer term if you use some sites more than once.

With all that in mind, these are the very best online travel sites out there right now.

The best online travel sites

1. expedia.com: best online travel site overall .

Why you can trust Top Ten Reviews Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

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Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

Expedia is a big name in online travel sites and hotel booking services and owns many popular sites like Hotels.com and Hotwire.com. We're fans of the original, though, thanks to its clean and straightforward to use interface. Hit the packages section of the site, and you can add up to five connecting flights, choose to add accommodation for all of or only part of your trip, and tag on car rentals too. 

It's all suitably well laid out, and it only takes a few seconds to start putting together your itinerary. However, we do wish there were a few more options for filtering out accessibility issues. Still, for most people, Expedia.com has everything they'll need, and there's even the option of a cruise too if you fancy it. It's as aspirational to look at as it is useful to, well, use and there are extra discounts for booking multiple parts of your vacation with the site. A Things To Do section rounds off the site's bid to help you plan your entire trip in one place.

2. Booking.com: Best for ease of use

Booking.com

Booking.com is a giant in the world of holiday bookings and not only offers over half a million properties in more than 207 countries but also offers flights and car rental services too. As such you can do it all from this one spot which makes it a very easy-to-use option. That said, there is a lot going on, and the user interface can be a little overwhelming at times. 

But with a superb rewards program, it is a great option that encourages you to keep coming back, making it easier to use as you become accustomed. You can even sort your taxi hire from this site meaning there is very little to think about when you get traveling as it's all been planned ahead of time. You also don't have to pay a booking fee on lots of hotels, allowing you to remain flexible – ideal if you're traveling about a lot on your journey.

3. CheapTickets.com: Best for finding things to do 

CheapTickets.com

CheapTickets is another site acquired by Expedia, but it does things a little differently. You can easily add on flight, hotel, and car or any combination of the three for package deals, although multiple flights are under a different option. So far, so Expedia (if less intuitive), but you can also clearly purchase event tickets from the site, which is far more useful if you want a one-stop-shop place to buy your trip. It's something other sites provide, but CheapTickets is that bit keener to entice you into the process, even if the site itself is a little cheesier looking than others. 

There's also the site's Vacation Value Finder, which lets you tweak how much you're willing to spend and what you're looking for from a vacation before making some fun suggestions. It's perfect for finding a last-minute deal if you don't have your heart set on one place. Students will also appreciate a section dedicated to them with extra discounts once you verify you're a student. All in all, it's a great varied site for numerous different needs. 

4. Priceline.com: Best for user reviews 

Priceline.com

Priceline is a big deal in the online travel site world for a good reason. It's effortless to use with options available for flights, cars, hotels, or any combination of the three. It's mildly annoying that Priceline's super cheap Pricebreaker deals don't extend to bundles, so you won't get an incredible bargain like you would if you booked separately. However, combining the set is still a worthwhile deal with discounts offered for the more you bundle together. 

One thing we really appreciated is that every hotel we looked at had dozens of reviews, and they're all from verified customers. It takes seconds to gain a reasonably accurate picture of what to expect from wherever you're considering booking. That's the perfect peace of mind when you're booking online, and you can't be sure of what you're getting without user reviews backing hotel statements up. Clearly laid out, you can focus on enjoying rather than worrying. Finally, Priceline is keen to make its VIP scheme easily accessible with straightforward discounts offered to you over time -- something that not all sites so clearly highlight. 

5. Kayak.com: Best for aggregated results 

If you're short on time, Kayak is pretty useful. That's because you simply enter where you want to go, and it aggregates results from multiple different sources. While it means you never book directly with Kayak, it does mean you get results quickly and without having to search around yourself, even if you will feel a bit overwhelmed with adverts while you search. 

The site itself looks a little basic, but under the hood is a surprising number of different filters (although no accessibility ones to speak of) and all the critical information you could require, although obviously you'll be sent to another site for the full details. The site also has a deals section, which has some great bargains for things you can do once you reach your destination, along with cheap car rental deals. It might not be pretty, but if you simply don't want to do the groundwork yourself, Kayak has you covered. It can be a real time-saver, and we reckon it's particularly useful if you're mostly researching possible trips in the future and want rough price estimates. Just watch out for the fact you can’t bundle in car rental deals. 

6. Hotwire.com: Best for renting properties 

Hotwire keeps things straightforward. All you need to do is enter what you're looking for, and a somewhat dated interface tells you what's available. It's not as pretty as some sites, but we really liked the extensive property type filters available. Want to stay on a houseboat or in a chalet at your destination? Hit the relevant filter, and you can find out if that's an option in the locale. That might not matter if your heart is set on a hotel, but it's a nice bonus even amongst the awkward site layout. 

Elsewhere, it's mostly business as usual, but that's no bad thing. Well laid out discounts are available to compare reasonably quickly, and most locations have plenty of reviews. If you feel like tracking down specific deals, you can do that too, with the site keen to offer up discounts to central locations if you're not quite sure where you'd like to visit next. It feels like the site needs updating when you compare it to its rivals, but it works well and speedily enough.

7. Agoda: Best for private home rental in Asia 

Agoda is a great option if you want to look for accommodation that isn't a hotel as this specializes in offering apartments and private rentals. In fact, there are dedicated market managers that work on finding properties, especially in Asia. As such you can find unique destination rentals at decent rates and should you change your mind there is a helpful 24-hour free cancellation policy in place. 

Everything is very easy to use and if you want to make more than one booking you can make great savings. Customer support is also a plus, as there is a 24-hour multilingual customer support service available when booking. With millions of reviews, Agoda makes finding a property very easy with a feeling of trust that can offer great peace of mind.

What to look for in an online travel site

Booking Travel Packages Travel packages can let you combine flights, hotel reservations and car rentals together for a better deal than booking separately. Some companies, like Priceline, pick hotels and flights for you, to get you to your destination for the lowest price. Other companies let you mix and match flights, hotels and car rentals to fit your schedule.

Booking Airfare One of the biggest reasons for searching on a travel site is to find cheap airfare. While there are dozens of airfare-specific websites, travel sites also give you the option to add hotel stays and car rentals. The best travel sites combine flight information from over nine different airlines and let you sort flights by price, number of stops, duration and flight class.

Booking International Travel Finding airfare for international travel is the easiest part of booking an overseas trip. AirGorilla helps you find accommodations and rent GPS units with your rental car, so you can find your way around. Often, sites will recommend hotels that are far from your actual destination or event. Searching for reservations on a site that gives accommodation recommendations will help you schedule an international trip with less stress.

How we tested the best online travel sites

We looked at how easy each site is to use during our testing, such as how quickly the site loaded and how easy it was to find what we were looking for. We considered whether the site felt cluttered with adverts or seemed like a dated interface. We also looked at how easy it was to find Contact Us pages, price guarantee information, and any kind of special deals section. 

We also considered how easily bundle deals could be arranged and how extensive they were and any potential discounts tied to them. We checked filter options to see how flexible and easy it was to look up different needs along the way.

We looked at trips between Los Angeles and Miami, Paris to Lisbon, and New York City to Los Angeles during testing. We also looked at lesser-known routes to see if they were also catered for appropriately.

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Jennifer has been freelancing for over 10 years. In the past, she's written about all things tech and gaming wise for outlets as varied as The Independent, Playboy, Eurogamer, and TechRadar. In her spare time, she spends far too much time watching films, attempting to train her pet guinea pigs, and mastering making the perfect burrito.  She's a full time freelancer, but a regular tech news contributor to Top Ten Reviews.

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• Hi New York City Hostel $56+
• West Side Ymca $112+
• Central Park West Hostel $163+
• Radio Hotel $170+
• Pod 51 $180+
• OYO Times Square $192+
• The Washington by LuxUrban, Trademark Collection by Wyndham $192+
• Pod Times Square $192+
• Pod 39 $197+
• The Gallivant Times Square $198+
• The Manhattan At Times Square $202+
• Paramount Times Square $203+
• DoubleTree by Hilton New York Downtown $212+
• The New Yorker A Wyndham Hotel $220+
• YOTEL New York $222+
• Flight Atlanta - Newark (ATL - EWR) $37+
• Flight Chicago - New York (ORD - LGA) $49+
• Flight Atlanta - New York (ATL - LGA) $51+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - New York (FLL - LGA) $56+
• Flight Miami - New York (MIA - LGA) $56+
• Flight Dallas - New York (DFW - LGA) $57+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Newark (FLL - EWR) $60+
• Flight Houston - Newark (HOU - EWR) $60+
• Flight Houston - New York (HOU - LGA) $63+
• Flight Orlando - New York (MCO - LGA) $63+
• Flight Orlando - Newark (MCO - EWR) $65+
• Flight Chicago - Newark (ORD - EWR) $79+
• Flight Dallas - Newark (DFW - EWR) $87+
• Flight Los Angeles - New York (LAX - LGA) $95+
• Flight Los Angeles - Newark (LAX - EWR) $108+
• Monumental Movieland Hotel $49+
• Grand Hotel Kissimmee At Celebration $53+
• Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Orlando Resort & Suites Intl Drive $64+
• Flight Atlanta - Orlando (ATL - MCO) $33+
• Flight Philadelphia - Orlando (PHL - MCO) $37+
• Flight Baltimore - Orlando (BWI - MCO) $39+
• Book A Bed Hostels $25+
• Generator London $37+
• Ramada London North M1 $66+
• Corbigoe Hotel $71+
• Flight New York - London (JFK - LGW) $371+
• Flight New Windsor - London (SWF - STN) $374+
• Flight Boston - London (BOS - LGW) $381+
• Flight Los Angeles - London (LAX - LGW) $408+

Fort Lauderdale

• Red Carpet Inn Airport Fort Lauderdale $66+
• HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof Fort Lauderdale $68+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Fort Lauderdale Airport Cruise Port $68+
• Flight Atlanta - Fort Lauderdale (ATL - FLL) $33+
• Flight Dallas - Fort Lauderdale (DFW - FLL) $37+
• Flight Houston - Fort Lauderdale (HOU - FLL) $37+
• Green Tortoise Hostel Seattle $60+
• Travelodge by Wyndham Seattle By The Space Needle $127+
• Coast Gateway Hotel $140+
• Flight Ontario - Seattle (ONT - SEA) $73+
• Flight Phoenix - Seattle (PHX - SEA) $74+
• Flight Burbank - Seattle (BUR - SEA) $80+
• Fabhotel Royal Residency Lakdikapul $18+
• Katriya Hotel & Towers $29+
• The Altruist Business Hotel Hitech $33+
• Flight Chicago - Hyderabad (ORD - HYD) $496+
• Flight New York - New Delhi (JFK - DEL) $506+
• Flight New York - Mumbai (JFK - BOM) $536+
• Best Western Sapporo Odori Koen $30+
• Smile Hotel Premium Sapporo Susukino $32+
• Comfort Hotel Sapporo Susukino $35+
• Flight Los Angeles - Tokyo (LAX - NRT) $628+
• Flight San Francisco - Tokyo (SFO - NRT) $640+
• Flight Seattle - Tokyo (SEA - NRT) $754+
• Royal Grove Waikiki $118+
• Kuhio Banyan Club $121+
• Pacific Marina Inn $134+
• Flight San Francisco - Honolulu (SFO - HNL) $259+
• Flight Los Angeles - Honolulu (LAX - HNL) $260+
• Flight Oakland - Honolulu (OAK - HNL) $277+
• Super 8 by Wyndham Dallas Love Field Airport $52+
• Dallas Love Field Inn $58+
• Wyndham Garden Dallas North $63+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Dallas (FLL - DFW) $37+
• Flight Atlanta - Dallas (ATL - DFW) $39+
• Flight Chicago - Dallas (ORD - DFW) $39+
• OYO Hotel And Casino Las Vegas $27+
• The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower $32+
• Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino $40+
• Four Queens Hotel and Casino $44+
• Flight Los Angeles - Las Vegas (LAX - LAS) $25+
• Flight Burbank - Las Vegas (BUR - LAS) $26+
• Flight Dallas - Las Vegas (DFW - LAS) $38+
• Flight Oakland - Las Vegas (OAK - LAS) $39+
• Freehand Chicago $41+
• Chicago Getaway Hostel $54+
• Travelodge by Wyndham Downtown Chicago $106+
• Flight Atlanta - Chicago (ATL - ORD) $47+
• Flight Atlanta - Chicago (ATL - MDW) $48+
• Flight New York - Chicago (LGA - ORD) $59+

San Francisco

• Hi San Francisco Downtown Hostel $48+
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• Flight San Diego - San Francisco (SAN - SFO) $64+
• Flight Los Angeles - San Francisco (LAX - SFO) $65+

Washington, D.C.

• Generator Hotel Washington DC $61+
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• Hotel Harrington $164+
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• Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters $173+
• Arc Hotel Washington DC, Georgetown $174+
• Morrison Clark Historic Inn $182+
• The Churchill Hotel Near Embassy Row $183+
• Washington Plaza Hotel $185+
• Flight Atlanta - Baltimore (ATL - BWI) $39+
• Flight Orlando - Baltimore (MCO - BWI) $39+
• Flight Boston - Baltimore (BOS - BWI) $40+
• Flight Dallas - Baltimore (DFW - BWI) $57+
• Flight Houston - Baltimore (IAH - BWI) $57+
• Flight Houston - Baltimore (HOU - BWI) $60+
• Flight Chicago - Baltimore (ORD - BWI) $67+
• Flight Los Angeles - Baltimore (LAX - BWI) $80+
• Flight Boston - Washington, D.C. (BOS - DCA) $123+
• Flight Boston - Washington, D.C. (BOS - IAD) $129+
• Flight Dallas - Washington, D.C. (DFW - DCA) $148+
• Flight San Francisco - Baltimore (SFO - BWI) $159+
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• Suites Malecon Cancun $72+
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United States

• Flight Newark - Miami (EWR - MIA) $39+
• Flight Seattle - Las Vegas (SEA - LAS) $49+
• Flight Newark - Fort Lauderdale (EWR - FLL) $51+
• Kauai Palms Hotel $189+
• Tip Top Motel $194+
• Kauai Inn $247+
• Flight Los Angeles - Hawaii (LAX - USHI) $213+
• Flight San Francisco - Hawaii (SFO - USHI) $223+
• Flight Ontario - Hawaii (ONT - USHI) $281+
• Super 8 by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle $91+
• California Suites Hotel $96+
• Best Western Seven Seas $105+
• Flight Houston - San Diego (HOU - SAN) $39+
• Flight San Jose - San Diego (SJC - SAN) $39+
• Flight Sacramento - San Diego (SMF - SAN) $48+
• Shared Living Not A Hotel $37+
• Super 8 by Wyndham Phoenix West $54+
• Rodeway Inn Phoenix North I-17 $56+
• Flight Dallas - Phoenix (DFW - PHX) $39+
• Flight Ontario - Phoenix (ONT - PHX) $48+
• Flight Los Angeles - Phoenix (LAX - PHX) $55+

Los Angeles

• Boutique Hostel $34+
• Freehand Los Angeles $41+
• City Center Hotel $104+
• Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles International Airport $108+
• Rotex Western Inn $108+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites LAX $112+
• USC Hotel $131+
• Flight Oakland - Los Angeles (OAK - LAX) $39+
• Flight San Francisco - Los Angeles (SFO - LAX) $48+
• Flight Dallas - Los Angeles (DFW - LAX) $56+
• Flight Houston - Los Angeles (HOU - LAX) $58+
• Flight Houston - Los Angeles (IAH - LAX) $58+
• Flight San Jose - Los Angeles (SJC - LAX) $68+
• Flight New York - Los Angeles (LGA - LAX) $77+
• Selina Gold Dust $59+
• La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Miami Airport North $76+
• Motel 6 Miami. Fl $78+
• Miami Gardens Inn & Suites $82+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miami Airport East $92+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Miami International Airport $92+
• Holiday Inn Miami West - Airport Area $106+
• The Palms Inn & Suites Miami, Kendall, Fl $108+
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Miami-Kendall $110+
• Radisson Red Miami Airport $113+
• Courtyard by Marriott Miami West/FL Turnpike $116+
• Flight Houston - Miami (HOU - MIA) $37+
• Flight Houston - Miami (IAH - MIA) $37+
• Flight Chicago - Miami (ORD - MIA) $38+
• Flight Atlanta - Miami (ATL - MIA) $39+
• Flight Baltimore - Miami (BWI - MIA) $39+
• Flight Philadelphia - Miami (PHL - MIA) $39+
• Flight Charlotte - Miami (CLT - MIA) $47+
• Flight Dallas - Miami (DFW - MIA) $51+
• Flight New York - Miami (LGA - MIA) $56+
• Flight Detroit - Miami (DTW - MIA) $65+
• Hometowne Studios by Red Roof Denver - Glendale/Cherry Creek $59+
• Super 8 by Wyndham Denver Stapleton $83+
• Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Denver Airport $97+
• Baymont by Wyndham Denver International Airport $100+
• Quality Inn & Suites Denver International Airport $102+
• Days Inn & Suites by Wyndham Denver International Airport $105+
• Hyatt Place Pena Station Denver Airport $106+
• Flight Minneapolis - Denver (MSP - DEN) $38+
• Flight Dallas - Denver (DFW - DEN) $49+
• Flight Houston - Denver (HOU - DEN) $68+
• Flight Ontario - Denver (ONT - DEN) $68+
• Flight Detroit - Denver (DTW - DEN) $78+
• Flight Houston - Denver (IAH - DEN) $78+
• Flight Atlanta - Denver (ATL - DEN) $80+
• Hi Boston Hostel $66+
• Found Hotel Boston Common $93+
• Temple Place Suites $164+
• Flight Newark - Boston (EWR - BOS) $38+
• Flight Baltimore - Boston (BWI - BOS) $40+
• Flight Philadelphia - Boston (PHL - BOS) $48+
• Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Atlanta Airport $61+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Atlanta Airport North $98+
• Sonesta Select Atlanta Cumberland Galleria $101+
• Flight Miami - Atlanta (MIA - ATL) $34+
• Flight Detroit - Atlanta (DTW - ATL) $36+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - Atlanta (FLL - ATL) $38+
• Generator Madrid $32+
• C&h Aravaca Garden $40+
• Toc Hostel And Suites Madrid $46+
• Flight Newark - Barcelona (EWR - BCN) $333+
• Flight New York - Madrid (JFK - MAD) $394+
• Rodeway Inn Fairgrounds-Casino $64+
• Tampa Inn - Near Busch Gardens $68+
• Econo Lodge Airport at RJ Stadium $69+
• Flight Philadelphia - Florida (PHL - USFL) $37+
• Flight Chicago - Florida (ORD - USFL) $38+
• Flight Baltimore - Florida (BWI - USFL) $39+
• Flight Atlanta - Tampa (ATL - TPA) $33+
• Flight Baltimore - Tampa (BWI - TPA) $45+
• Flight Dallas - Tampa (DFW - TPA) $53+

New Orleans

• Ramada by Wyndham New Orleans $68+
• Wyndham Garden Hotel Baronne Plaza $95+
• Maison Saint Charles by Hotel RL $99+
• Flight Dallas - New Orleans (DFW - MSY) $38+
• Flight Fort Lauderdale - New Orleans (FLL - MSY) $39+
• Flight Atlanta - New Orleans (ATL - MSY) $42+

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KAYAK Trips creates a travel itinerary for you that will give you flight status alerts, can be shared with friends and more. Simply forward your booking confirmations to [email protected] or use the KAYAK app and sync your email account to keep all your travel plans organized in one app, even if you didn’t book with KAYAK. You can share your holiday plans with friends and family and also check out your travel stats for past vacations, like how far you’ve traveled, your most popular cities and how many times you’ve traveled around the world. Even if you don’t have signal, don’t worry, as you can access Trips to check out your itineraries whilst on the road. Your data is safe and secure with us and you won’t have to re-enter credit card info when booking future trips. If you want to make changes or cancel bookings, then you should contact the travel provider, which is provided on the booking confirmation.

What makes KAYAK a great travel app?

On the KAYAK app for iOS and Android you’ll find all the great travel offers found on the website and much more. There are special mobile rates and app only deals that allow you to save even more money. Plus, you can get notifications straight to your phone letting you know when prices for your next trip have dropped. But the KAYAK app is much more than just a travel app. Use the Trips function to manage your travel itinerary and get up to date status alerts on flights, check-in changes and to store your boarding pass. Even if you’re in the middle of nowhere on your travels, you can still access your travel notes via Trips, as no internet connection is required.

What are KAYAK Price Alerts?

Instead of manually checking back in on the price of your next flight or stay, let KAYAK do the hard work for you with KAYAK Price Alerts. Once you’ve saved your search, our data will determine how the price will rise or fluctuate over the coming days. You’ll then get a push notification letting you know when’s the perfect time to book.

Search cheap flights with KAYAK. Search for the cheapest airline tickets for all the top airlines around the world and the top international flight routes . KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to help you find cheap airfare and book a flight that suits you best. Since KAYAK searches many plane ticket sites at once, you can find cheap tickets from cheap airlines and for trains and buses quickly.

KAYAK also helps you find the right hotels for your needs.

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The 9 Best Websites for European Vacation Packages and Deals [2024]

Katie Seemann

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1. Eurailing Packages

2. grand european travel, 3. costco travel, 4. delta vacations, 7. united vacations, 8. cheaptickets, 9. priceline, price comparisons, final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

A European vacation is a trip many of us dream about. Art, history, culture, architecture, food — there’s something for everyone in Europe. As you can imagine, that all comes with a hefty price tag.

While a trip to Europe can be expensive, there are ways to save money . One of those ways is to purchase a vacation package. When you purchase a package consisting of flights and hotels (and even rail tickets, in the case of Europe) there’s a good chance you’ll save money. While it’s not a guarantee, we’ve found the prices of packages are usually less expensive than purchasing flights and hotels separately.

Since there are lots of places to purchase vacation packages, we wanted to narrow it down for you. These 9 websites all offer European vacation packages and will be a great starting point for planning your vacation.

Eurailing Packages is a little different than the rest of our featured websites because instead of a traditional hotel and airfare package, it offers packages that bundle accommodations and train tickets . This will be handy for vacation packages within Europe, but not necessarily for getting to Europe.

Since train travel is very popular in Europe, we thought this was a great option to include in this list. You can choose from the site’s predesigned packages and current deals, or you can build your custom accommodation and rail package.

Something thing to keep in mind when using this website is that the price includes a hostel, not a hotel . You’ll have the option to pay extra for a hotel when you’re finalizing the details of your trip but you won’t know the specific hotel or room type until after your booking is complete.

Hot Tip: Use points and miles to fly to Europe when your vacation package only includes accommodations and rail tickets.

Grand European Travel might be a good place to search for a European vacation package if you’d like the planning done for you. This website offers lots of predesigned trips but doesn’t have the option to make your own. For someone who doesn’t want to do the legwork of planning a trip, that could be a welcome benefit.

If you decide to book a vacation package through Grand European Travel, keep in mind that solo travelers will default to a shared room. If you’d rather have private accommodations, you can select that during the checkout process for an additional charge.

Another nice thing about booking through Grand European Tours is that in addition to only needing to pay a deposit to reserve your trip, you can get a full refund if you need to cancel within 30 days . You can also change your departure date or destination free of charge until 60 days before your trip.

Costco Travel is another great site that can help you find the perfect European vacation. You can choose a curated package or design your own.

While you have to be a Costco member to purchase Costco Travel, you can search for a package without a membership. Often, packages purchased through Costco Travel will come with a Costco Shop Card or extra perks which can more than make up for the price of the membership. Plus, Executive members earn 2% back on purchases, including those from Costco Travel.

If you’re an Executive Member, be sure to keep an eye out for extra perks on your vacation package. These can often make up for the additional cost of an Executive Membership.

Take a look at some of the member benefits we found on a London and Paris vacation package:

• $400 London tour credit
• Daily breakfast
• £35 food and beverage credit at the London hotel (Executive Members)
• Fruit basket and chocolates at the Paris hotel (Executive Members)

Bottom Line: You have to be a Costco member to purchase a vacation package from Costco Travel, but you can check prices without being a member. Often, a package will come with perks or even a Costco Shop Card that can more than make up for the cost of a membership. For more information, check out our guide to using Costco Travel .

Booking a European trip through Delta Vacations can be a great way to earn lots of Delta SkyMiles .

You’ll also want to keep an eye out for deals that will award you extra bonus points. At the time of writing, you could get up to a $400 Delta gift card or up to 75,000 Delta SkyMiles for booking a flight and hotel package .

You can earn an additional 2 to 3 SkyMiles per $1 spent when you use a Delta co-branded credit card , too.

If you’d rather use Delta SkyMiles to pay for your vacation package, you can do that, too. You can pay for all or part of your vacation with your miles at 1 cent each in value . That’s just about what we value Delta SkyMiles at, so this can represent a good use of miles.

Bottom Line: You can either earn or use SkyMiles for a vacation package purchased through Delta Vacations.

Expedia is a tried-and-true website for booking travel because it’s easy to use and often has great deals. Your European vacation package can be customized to include flights, a hotel, and even a rental car.

The map feature is a great tool for finding a hotel in the perfect location , and there are lots of filtering options that will help narrow your search results even more.

Expedia participates in the One Key rewards program  which allows you to earn and use points on eligible trips and access special member pricing . This is a good way to earn rewards when you don’t participate in a hotel chain’s loyalty program or are booking a hotel that doesn’t have its own loyalty program.

For more information including how to use the One Key program, check out our guide to using Expedia to find great deals on travel .

Hot Tip: If you choose a hotel that has its own loyalty program (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, etc.) you won’t earn hotel points when you book through a third-party website, nor will your elite status be recognized. If hotel points and elite status are important to you, you may want to consider booking direct.

Kayak is a great tool for finding hotels, flights, and vacation packages. It’s a metasearch engine so the prices you’ll see will be from other websites most of the time (though you can occasionally book directly through Kayak). It’s a great way to compare prices from lots of other sites at the same time.

You can use the handy map feature to search for hotels by location or use the filtering options to find a hotel that offers a perk that’s important to you like free breakfast or free parking. There are also options to choose any property type — from apartments to hostels to resorts and everything in between.

Hot Tip: For more information, check out our guide to booking travel with Kayak .

United Vacations is a great website to use to search for European vacation packages, especially if you like flying United or live near a United hub that will have lots of flight options.

It can also be a great option for anyone who wants to earn more United MileagePlus miles — you’ll earn them on your vacation package if you provide your membership number at booking. Unfortunately, you can’t redeem United miles for your trip.

This site has many of the sorting and filtering options you’d find on other sites, and you can even add extras like trip insurance or airport transfers to your package.

Bottom Line: You’ll earn United MileagePlus miles when you book a package through United Vacations, but you can’t redeem miles for any part of your trip. Instead, check out these ideas when you’re ready to spend your miles.

CheapTickets is a popular online travel agency for hotels, flights, rental cars, and vacation packages. It’s owned by Expedia so it has the same functionality as that site, but it often has different pricing, so it’s worth checking them both out.

During the booking process, you’ll be able to add extras like airport transportation, a rental car, activities, and trip insurance .

Hot Tip: Before you add trip protection from an online travel agency like CheapTickets, be sure to read up on the policy for your credit card with travel insurance so you don’t end up buying something you may already have. You might also want to price out a policy with a few travel insurance companies to compare plans and prices before you book your trip.

Booking a European vacation package through Priceline is a straightforward and easy process. You can search for any combination of flights, hotels, and cars under the Bundle + Save search tab on the home page. The search results will quickly give you hotel information including the price and how much you can expect to save on the package.

Priceline has its own loyalty program called Priceline VIP that offers discounts, a best rate guarantee, and Express Deal coupons. While these perks are available as soon as you join, the discounts get bigger and better as you reach new status tiers within the program.

Hotel savings start at 10% for all members and go up to 50% on over 45,000 hotels for top-tier VIP Platinum members . Additionally, those with VIP Member or VIP Blue status will get a 5% Express Deal coupon after every trip, VIP Gold members get an 8% Express Deal coupon after every trip, and VIP Platinum members get a 10% Express Deal coupon after every trip.

Hot Tip: Make sure you’re earning lots of points by using a credit card that’s great for purchasing vacation packages .

Now let’s get to the important part — price comparisons. Since it’s hard to compare prices head-to-head for custom packages and ones that include rail tickets, we’ll only be looking at the sites where you can design your own.

Package #1: 6 nights in Paris at Sofitel Arc de Triomphe plus round-trip airfare from Atlanta (ATL) for 2 adults.

Package #2: 6 nights in London at St. Ermin’s Hotel, Autograph Collection plus round-trip airfare from Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) for 2 adults.

*Includes daily continental breakfast, airport transfers, and a guaranteed room upgrade.

For the first example, Expedia has the lowest price by far and the package even includes breakfast! Costco Travel was the most expensive. In the second example, Kayak and Priceline were the lowest-priced options with United Vacations coming in as the most expensive.

As you can see, there’s not a single website that always has the best prices, so it’s always a good idea to price out your vacation package on a few different websites to see where you can get the best deal.

Booking a vacation package for your trip to Europe can be a great way to save some money on a hotel, flights, and even train tickets. Since no single website will always have the best prices, it’s a good idea to price out your trip in a few different places to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i plan an affordable european vacation.

There are a few things you can do to keep costs down on your European vacation. First, focus on budget hotels since the prices for luxury accommodations can add up quickly. You can also focus on hotels you can book with points. Consider getting a rail pass or inexpensive economy flights to get around to different countries within Europe. To fly to Europe, you can book your flights with airline miles, or look for a vacation package that includes flights and hotels to keep your costs low.

Where can I find multi-country European vacation packages?

Many websites let you put together a European vacation package that includes stops in multiple countries. Check out Eurailing Packages, Grand European Travel, or Costco Travel for multi-country itineraries.

Where can I find the best Europe tour packages?

There are many websites that offer different options so you can customize a package that fits your needs. Try Eurailing Packages for packages that include rail tickets or Grand European Travel for multi-country itineraries. Expedia, Priceline, and Kayak are all good sites to find cheap European vacation packages.

Are vacation packages actually cheaper?

While vacation packages aren’t cheaper 100% of the time, they usually offer a savings over booking a hotel stay and airfare separately. That being said, you should always price out everything separately and as a package to ensure you’re getting a good deal.

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About Katie Seemann

Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure, Forbes Advisor, and Fortune Recommends.

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6 reasons to avoid booking through an online travel agency

Editor's note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Online travel agencies and third-party booking sites are everywhere. You probably recognize names like Expedia, Booking.com, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotels.com, Kayak and many more. Even Walmart has a booking site now for Walmart+ members .

Most of us have probably browsed these sites at some point and perhaps used one or two to book a trip.

Online travel agencies, or OTAs, certainly can help you sift through prices and itineraries across many airlines, hotel chains, rental properties and car companies. In theory, they keep you from having to visit a host of different websites before booking a trip.

They also provide the added benefit (in the eyes of some, at least) of populating all of your travel details in one place, from your flight to your hotel stay and car rental.

But these sites also have glaring drawbacks to consider. It can be more complicated (and sometimes more expensive) to change and cancel flights after booking with an OTA. And in some cases, hotel loyalty members are unable to earn points or enjoy elite status benefits .

Through the years, we've heard from plenty of TPG readers who have run into headaches trying to change, cancel or otherwise get assistance after booking through an OTA.

Here are some reasons that booking through one of these sites might not be right for you.

Cancellation and change fees can be more punitive than booking directly

Emerging from the depths of the pandemic, one of the more positive enduring changes for air travel was that the largest U.S. airlines generally kept change fees away — at least when it comes to their full-fare economy tickets (in other words, not basic economy).

However, it's possible to still run into fees when changing or canceling tickets booked through an OTA.

In some cases, airlines may penalize customers who book through a third-party site and want to make ticket changes. For example, American Airlines' policy says: "An additional charge (per person) will be required for reservations made by travel agents or through another website that are changed by our Reservations, airport or Travel Center personnel."

Generally, you can expect these sorts of extra charges to be passed on from the OTA to customers.

Some of these third-party booking sites also impose their own fees for certain ticket changes or cancellations.

If you're flying with a budget airline or on a fare that does include airline-imposed fees for altering your itinerary, that could mean paying your booking site's fee on top of whatever the airline charges.

For instance, Priceline says it may impose its own fees even if the airline doesn't.

"If your flight's fare rules allow a change, a per ticket exchange processing fee may apply," the OTA's website cautions.

Though some OTAs never impose additional service charges, why would you complicate things and add a middleman to the process if you don't need to? Unless you find a fare you can't book directly with an airline or hotel, there's often little reason to use an OTA.

Getting a refund can be difficult

It can be challenging enough to get your hands on a refund for a canceled flight or hotel stay, even if you're entitled to one .

Airlines doled out billions of dollars in refunds during the worst of the pandemic but have since tightened up some of the ultra-flexible policies they had at the height of COVID-19's spread.

Even when you are owed a refund, though, requesting one from the airline isn't always the easiest process ... whether you choose to wait on hold with customer service by phone or send an email.

With an OTA, you're often injecting a middleman into the discussion since your booking site may need to check with the airline to see if it can process a refund on your behalf.

And if the travel provider is less than eager to refund you, do you trust the OTA to go to bat for you like you would yourself?

When these travel disruptions occur, you can end up stuck in a lot of back and forth with the airline or travel provider and the OTA before receiving the money you deserve .

You may not earn points or elite credit

This one's very simple: When you book hotels through OTAs, don't expect to earn points or elite-qualifying credit for your bookings. Most major chains consider these third-party bookings to be "ineligible rates," so you're usually out of luck if you're trying to earn points toward your next redemption.

Likewise, if you booked a hotel through an OTA, don't expect to receive any of your elite benefits.

So, if you hold The Platinum Card® from American Express , your complimentary Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status is meaningless if you decide to book through an OTA. Say goodbye to your free breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi .

Related: Can you earn airline miles booking through OTAs?

Now, there are a couple of caveats here. You typically can earn airline miles and elite-qualifying credit even when booking through an OTA.

And, travelers nowhere near elite status with a major hotel loyalty program might not care about earning hotel points — especially since some OTAs now have their own loyalty programs. Most notably, there's the new One Key program encompassing Expedia, Hotels.com and rental property site Vrbo.

That being said, you don't have to be a road warrior to earn points; the right credit card strategy can take care of that.

You can't count on prompt customer support

Reaching customer service when something goes wrong often isn't easy when you book via an OTA.

Some sites have made it difficult to speak to a human unless you're within a week of your scheduled trip.

And even if you do manage to get in touch with someone, finding an agent willing to work with your itinerary may be a challenge.

To reduce their costs as much as possible, OTAs have generally shied away from offering robust customer service.

Instead, you'll often be asked to complete all of your changes and ask any questions online; you'll only have the option to speak with a representative by phone when things go really wrong.

The deals aren't always as good as they look

By now, you're probably asking yourself why anyone would book through an OTA. It almost always comes down to the fact that it's cheaper to book through an OTA than directly with the travel provider. But, I'd argue that it may not be as good of a deal as it appears.

As I mentioned, you won't earn hotel points or receive elite benefits on OTA bookings.

If you have status that would otherwise give you free breakfast, parking, lounge access or late checkout, the value of these benefits can add up quickly. If you booked through an OTA, you're not entitled to any of them.

Furthermore, most hotel chains have a best-rate guarantee. If you find a lower rate on an OTA, you can often try to first match the rate with the hotel chain.

If you're successful, it's the best of both worlds: You get your loyalty benefits and the lowest price.

Now, you might argue that this logic doesn't apply to flights since you still earn miles when booking through an OTA, and airlines don't generally price match.

Nonetheless, you should always factor in the possibility of needing to change your itinerary.

In that case, as mentioned, you may end up paying an additional service charge on top of whatever the airline charges you. Not to mention, you'll spend a while navigating phone trees and waiting on hold.

So, even if it looks like a good deal on paper, be sure to factor in the additional costs — money and stress.

Good luck during blizzards and thunderstorms

What happens when your flight is significantly delayed or canceled , or you can't make it to your hotel due to weather or other issues?

Typically, during major weather events, flights are governed by airline waivers, which make it easier for travelers to make penalty-free itinerary changes.

However, if you book through an OTA, you'll likely still have to go through the process of calling that booking company's customer service to make changes. Suffice it to say, getting through can be a challenge during a large snowstorm.

What's more, OTAs will generally follow the airline waiver to the letter of the law, whereas an airline agent might be more flexible.

While airline customer service might find a way to get you on a flight a day early ahead of a blizzard without charging any cost difference, an OTA agent may not be able to offer you that same courtesy.

The same is true for hotels. I've needed to cancel hotels at the last minute when travel plans get derailed because of the weather. For the few times I've booked through an OTA, I've always been told that I need to follow the written cancellation policy of the OTA. But, when I booked directly, I almost never had an issue getting the cancellation fee waived.

Related reading:

• Key travel tips you need to know — whether you're a beginner or expert traveler
• The best travel credit cards
• The 18 best places to travel in 2023
• 6 real-life strategies you can use when your flight is canceled or delayed
• 13 must-have items the TPG team can't travel without

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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Welcome to visit moscow tours.

We provide authentic, informative and memorable tour packages and city tours, at very competitive prices. Visit Moscow Tours are available not only in Moscow, but also in other cities: Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Suzdal and Sergiev Posad.  We also organise customised individual programs tailored just for you.

Our guests come in large groups, small private groups, as couples or as single travellers. We take care of and treat our guests with respect in a friendly and warm family environment. We show people our beautiful cities with passion and deep knowledge of their history, culture and traditions.

Our guides are extremely hospitable, helpful and well-informed. They are simply the best because only by providing the best services can we make the world fall in love with Russia. And we are very happy when our guests say that they will definitely come back to Russia and that they will tell all their friends how great Russia is! That is what inspires us to put even more dedication and hard work into our tours, knowing that what we do is positive and meaningful.

Our classic tours include tours of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, two main Russian cities.

Moscow is a big and busy  megalopolis and Russia’s capital city, where more than 12 million people live and work. Our capital city is happening place; it is mysterious, elegant, luxurious, fashionable, clean and bright, with its unique legends, traditions and events. It is with great pride that we show the Red Square and the Kremlin, our Underground and Tretyakovskaya Gallery, among other stunning attractions.

Saint Petersburg is our second capital,  the second largest city in the Russian Federation. This wonderful city has a strong and lively aristocratic spirit, uniquely Russian royal architecture, magnificent museums and theatres. Saint Petersburg bears the royal heritage of Russia, which can be felt in its air, its streets, parks, monuments, museums and citizens.  In Saint Petersburg tours, we will take you to the Hermitage, Peter and Paul Fortress, Faberge Museum and Orthodox Cathedrals. We’re sure you will love it!

If you have a few more days to spare, venture into the dreamy Russian countryside in Suzdal or Sergiev Posad. Suzdal is a small town with a population of about ten thousand people, situated on less than 15 square kilometres. This tiny area is home to 53 historic cathedrals, five monasteries and a kremlin. Church domes are visible like mushrooms from anywhere and everywhere in the town like in a fairy tale. No wonder Suzdal is called the ‘Town Museum”.  It is definitely worth visiting!

Just try any of Visit Moscow Tours’ tour packages or any individual city tour, and we promise that you will want to come back to Russia again.  Russia is huge with countless amazing places to visit. There are so many unique experiences to be had and energies to be felt that one tour is definitely not enough to explore this vast land. It is also a very safe destination to travel, and we have a tradition of warm hospitality. Our people adore and take care of visitors as our own guests, and even if they do not know your language very well, they still try to be helpful and hospitable.

Our guides will show you the most interesting attractions and historical places, taking you on a journey to the past to enjoy stories of medieval times, the Romanov monarchy, the Soviet Era. And of course, we will show you the contemporary life of our country through authentic local experiences.

We look forward to meeting you soon!

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French strike forces Ryanair to cancel more than 300 flights across Europe

Ryanair urges European Commission to protect overflights and keep EU skies open

Ryanair has demanded that the EU reform its skies after the airline was forced to cancel more than 300 flights across Europe scheduled for Thursday because of a strike by French air traffic controllers.

The cancellations come in spite of the withdrawal of strike action by one of the biggest unions, the SNCTA, which came too late to avoid disruption after France’s civil aviation authority asked airlines to cut flights.

Ryanair said 50,000 of its passengers would be affected because of France’s failure to protect overflights – where planes fly over the country without landing there – during industrial action.

It said most of the disrupted passengers would be simply flying over French airspace en route to the likes of Greece or Spain.

The airline called on the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen , to take action to protect overflights by law during air traffic control strikes, to allow Europe’s other controllers to manage flights over France during the strikes, and limit the power of unions to call strikes immediately.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said: “French air traffic controllers are free to go on strike, that’s their right, but we should be cancelling French flights, not flights leaving Ireland, going to Italy, or flights from Germany to Spain or Scandinavia to Portugal.

“The European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has failed for five years to take any action to protect overflights and the single market for air travel. We’re again calling on her to take action to protect overflights which will eliminate over 90% of these flight cancellations.”

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Despite the French strike this week, O’Leary said he believed air travellers would see significantly less disruption over summer 2024 than during the past two years, when labour shortages and strikes limited capacity.

• Airline industry
• Michael O'Leary
• European Commission
• Ursula von der Leyen
• European Union

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