Want to organize the perfect trip? We have prepared detailed instructions on how to search for hotels and flights, where to take last minute tours for what’s worth, what to download on the road and which gadgets will become ideal companions in distant countries. And besides, we share our own travel planning experience and suggest where it is possible to drive away cool and cheap for the weekend. Read, bookmark and share the article with friends.
MAIN PREPARATION
Breaking into the sands of Namibia, rental cars 24h gives you a ride on the ring road of Iceland, or imposingly drinking pina colada on Cuban beaches, few people can do without thorough preparation. Large trips and visits to the most remote corners of the world are best planned in advance. Ideally, at least six months before the trip. With measured preparation of any surprises: it is best to rely on the largest search services for tickets, hotels, and tours.
Looking for a hotel
Most often, the search for hotels begins with the Booking service, which offers a huge selection of accommodation options. Its base has more than 28 million offers in 228 countries. Booking is not only hotels; among the accommodation options, you can find modest apartments, large family-friendly houses, and even camps, loggias, an igloo, tree houses. And do not forget to ensure that you always log into your account before booking. After a few trips, get Genius status with access to discounts and great deals.
Life hacking (here and hereafter, travel tips are shared by the editor-in-chief Arthur Sotnikov ) : the browser and mobile versions of Booking differ slightly in functionality. For example, a map with favorites is available only in the mobile version. Unlike the usual list, in the browser version on the computer, the map in the application will help you to visually see the difference in the location of hotels, compare the selected options and determine where it is more convenient to spend the night.
Airbnb
Online platform for finding short-term rental housing. The main difference from Booking is that the database contains offers only from homeowners, that is, there are no hotels in it. And Airbnb is available in fewer countries due to the nature of local legislation. The service acts as an ad aggregator and helps to establish communication between owners and owners, as well as ensures rental security. Airbnb should be chosen in two cases: when you are going on a trip with a large company, or if you want to live as a local, and at the same time cook at home to save on restaurants. However, this option carries a bit more risks compared to hotels – the owner of the apartment may have force majeure circumstances and you will not be settled.
Life hacking: if you suddenly left without a hotel or bought a very profitable flight for the next few days and are now urgently looking for a hotel – try the HotelTonight application ( iOS , Android ). There are last minute deals on accommodation. Hotels at the last moment emit unclaimed rooms with good discounts on the principle: it is better to sell cheap than not to earn anything at all.
Agoda.com
This system of online hotel booking and search for short-term rental housing and rental cars 24h in case the place is far. In fact, the same Booking, but the service is “sharpened” for Asian countries and offers there more options for living. Going to Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and other countries in this region – look for hotels best on Agoda.
We buy tickets and not only
The airline search engine, which compares all possible options for your request, and then redirects for purchase on the official websites of airlines. Aviasales indicates the final cost of the flight without hidden services and other checkmarks. Ticket search is carried out on 728 airlines, 200 ticket offices, and 5 reservation systems. If you do not like the price – try to see the calendar, the easiest way to get to it is from the browser on your computer, and compare the cost of the flight on different days. At the same time, do not forget about the new function – the forecast increase in the cost of the flight. Aviasales experts ate the dog on BigData and analyzed the prices, so it’s clear what time to buy tickets it’s time to hurry.
Life hacking: sometimes moving the dates of the trip just a day, you can get substantial savings on the flight, or find convenient flights that do not fly every day. In general, do not forget to watch the calendar of prices. And if you don’t know where to go, a low price map will help with information on the most accessible destinations for the dates you need.
Skyscanner
This search engine tickets appeared a little earlier than Aviasales. Its algorithm uses a special data indexing technology that allows you to quickly and accurately display search results. However, we can not say that Skyscanner wins in price and efficiency with Aviasales. You should choose it in those cases if you have been using it for a long time and are used to looking for tickets there. Or, if you don’t like Aviasales (for example, because of the style of social networks). It sounds strange, but yes – it happens.