1. Skyscanner
Looking to save time by visiting a flights-hotels-car hire website? Skyscanner is my favourite, because of the fantastic deals! Highly interactive – Searches for flights can easily be sorted by number of stops, departure and arrival times, airlines and whether you want to travel to and back through the same airport. (Useful if you are planning to travel around once in the destination country). And searches for hotels can be customized by hotel star rating, district location, cancellation policy, meal plans, and accommodation type. SkyScanner is for leisure travels. If you are looking for deals on business travel, check out the TravelPro version of SkyScanner below.
- Dazzling Tip: Since the website is quite dynamic, you may want to decide on where you want to go well in advance, so check the website frequently before making your final choice. For me, this is the BEST one for locating package deals, especially those which are not-so-common choices.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: there is not much feedback from other users, so if you normally rely on these feedback to make your choices, you will not be able to find those.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.7 / 10
2. Travel pro
This one’s an extension of SkyScanner, so I won’t be long on it. It has all the advantages of the SkyScanner, and additionally since we all look to save time and costs while on business travel, it’s a good option to organize all your booking and to provide simplified reporting and accounting of all travel expenses for refunds.
https://www.skyscanner.net/travelpro/home
- Dazzling Tip: same tip as for SkyScanner PLUS it’s worth using for business travel.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: again, there is not much feedback from other users.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.8 / 10
3. Lonelyplanet
One of the first travel websites I’ve known. At that time, there was only the guide part, while you can now do the bookings for hotels, flights, car rentals, as well as adventure tours and sightseeing tours. Although these reservations are powered by other websites, like Booking.com and SkyScanner.
- Dazzling Tip: the adventure and sightseeing tours are an interesting feature, which I haven’t seen on the other websites. Thus, if you are on the adventurous side, this one would appeal to you.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: don’t have much to say on this side J the lack of user reviews will probably discourage you if this is what you are looking for before booking.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.7 / 10
4. Booking.com
This one’s also a favourite, with promotional deals constantly updated, deals going up to 78% off, and a book-now-and-pay-when-you-stay feature. Most of the reservations come with free cancellations, for both leisure and business travel, with great informational content from other users, and a highly interactive interface. The searches can be easily sorted by your own requirements, e.g.: must-see landmark guides!
- Dazzling Tip: it’s worth signing up, as you get more hidden deals and you log in.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: you need to be super quick to book as it’s a very popular website and the deals sell out fast. And it only gives you the possibility to book accommodations, unlike some other websites below. Also, there is no option to book for flights on the site.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.5 / 10
5. Hotels.com
How excited would you be if you knew that there would be secret prices on selected hotels? Or that you can get 1 night free if you collect 10 nights? Well, just check out Hotels.com and you would know.
Per user reviews, it’s the best site to reward customer loyalty. It’s a highly interactive one as you can filter your choices by star rating, distance from your landmarks (very useful for both business and leisure travel), as well as by themes (adventure, business, luxury, shopping, family, and much more!)
- Dazzling Tip: sign up for fabulous rewards and prices. And I just LOVE the “deals of the day”, “last minute deals”, and “great deals in fabulous destinations” features on the site.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: does not have options for car hires or flights or cruises. This means that you can have better deals on other websites offering these as package deals, if you are travelling in from another country.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.3 / 10
6. GoEuro
“Find a better way to travel” with GoEuro. Options are vaster with this one since it offers booking for flights, trains, buses or blabla cars. Also, the search results come right up with the fare comparison for trains, flights and buses. You can therefore instantly make your choice through smartest (optimal combination of price, journey duration, and time of departure), cheapest, fastest, and departure and arrival times.
- Dazzling Tip: comparing prices and making choices has never been easier than here!
- What’s not so dazzling about it: the site offers only transportation option, so if you’re looking for accommodation and/or car rentals, you may want to budget for those as well from other websites.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.2 / 10
7. Hotwire
We all want to “make time for fun”, right? If your idea of fun is travelling and discovering new places, people and activities, then visit Hotwire. The bundle and save option is a cool one to select your flight, hotel and car rental in one place.
- Dazzling Tip: in addition to the bundle and save option, you can also pre-book your transportation to and from the hotel, as well as things to do, while still getting interestingly-priced deals packages.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: for some places or dates, it’s difficult to book for the car rentals, so you might have to do that separately.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9.1 / 10
8. eDreams
“Great trips start with great prices”, right? eDreams gives you hotels, flights and cars options (excluding the cruise), like Kayak. Unlike Booking.com and Kayak though, eDreams is mainly focused on flights deals. The website does not advertise promotional deals, but it does show you the best deals directly in a flight + hotel package format, which I think is very cool. Guest ratings are powered by Trip Advisor, so you will have a fair share of accurate reviews. And most of the reservations come with free cancellations (in case you have last minute constraints).
- Dazzling Tip: I personally like eDreams for this feature, especially when having to travel around Europe. Become a registered member to save all your trip details in one place, and check-in online through the “My Trips” area.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: this would be in line with the tip above, if you are short on time, and are looking for discounts or deals-of-the-day, this site might be or not be of help.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9 / 10
9. TripAdvisor
Isn’t TripAdvisor the first travel app you know of? Maybe because of the ease of downloading it on your mobile. I find it very useful thanks to the immense repertoire of reviews from other travel adepts. There are so many destinations, down to the tiniest town or village, and the search results are very nicely sorted. If you need restaurants, choose that feature. If you only want to go for sight-seeing, choose that. The sorting options are endless !
- Dazzling Tip: if you know exactly which activities you want, or which cuisine you want to taste, or simply love ticking things off your life goals, then TripAdvisor is made for you.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: I am personally not a great fan of the booking portion on this website. But the feature is there, so you might as well use it. I only use it as a roadmap.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9 / 10
10. Priceline.com
Want to discover new deals every day? Visit priceline.com for hotels, cars, flights, vacation packages, cruises deals and more. Themed vacations are also suggested on this one.
https://www.priceline.com/home/
- Dazzling Tip: The Priceline rewards visa card lets you earn 5,000 bonus points after your first purchase, rewards points on purchases anywhere over the site and 5 times the rewards points on eligible purchases (T&C apply of course).
- What’s not so dazzling about it: take your time around this one, as the results returned are not displayed in cheapest deal order, hence, don’t go for the first result you see but scroll down and search around a bit.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9 / 10
11. Jetsetter.com
You’ve worked really hard for a while, and just want to splurge on a luxury vacation? Check out Jetsetter.com! Fabulous deals on high-end hotels and destinations. I won’t any word on “cheap” deals here since it offers premium luxury packages. The deals are so dreamy and exotic, I’m already getting distracted from anything else…take me to Belize, Punta Cana, or Montego Bay…faraway vacations…
- Dazzling Tip: go ahead, treat yourself because you deserve it!
- What’s not so dazzling about it: simply put: not for those looking for cheap deals.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 9 / 10 (for the love of travel)
12. Easyjet
In Europe for a few months? You would definitely want to travel around Europe then. Easyjet offers some pretty cheap deals to travel anywhere you want in Europe, from London to Marrakech or from Luxembourg to Prague. Quite reliable ratings as well from my experience.
- Dazzling Tip: the flight prices are low and great as part of the deal. Also in partnership with Booking.com regarding the “places to stay”, PLUS the option to select car rentals (partnering with Europcar), hence very convenient and low priced.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: easyjet is a low-cost airline, so you get the basic options only, i.e.: the transportation. Be sure to respect the hand luggage allowance, and have a good meal before flying or bring some snacks with you, if you don’t want to spend more than you already did.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.9 / 10
13. Opodo
Opodo scans through over 1.25million flights to find the cheapest flight options, so we can tick off the cheap prices and worldwide destination part. Free cancellation on most flights and airlines.
- Dazzling Tip: Super fast and easy booking, if you have an account. And be sure to look out for and use your promo codes.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: no user reviews on this one, so if you normally rely on this, you might prefer other websites.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.8 / 10
14. Expedia
Expedia offers a lot of search options: flights, hotels, cars, cruises, things to do, just like Travelocity, as well as vacation rentals. With the plethora of user reviews to help you make an informed choice, and searches can be easily sorted by your own must-have requirements, e.g.: neighborhood, amenities, property type and vacation rentals: you increase your chances to earn and redeem Expedia points.
- Dazzling Tip: take advantage of the Deals of the Day, and you may get 1 night free when booking the flight and the hotel together.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: if free cancellation is an important factor to help you decide, this website might not tempt you as the free cancellation option is only for 24 hours.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.5 / 10
15. Flixbus
Are you as excited as me for a bus trip? I’m sure you would if you love admiring the scenery! Flixbus’s only available for bus travel, and only within the Schengen region. A very useful website. You wouldn’t have the frequent ratings or reviews, but options like “travel tips”, “cancel and change”, “lost and found”, and on-board services such as Wi-Fi, snacks and drinks, plug sockets and toilet are available on al flixbuses – essential when you are in for long bus trips.
- Dazzling Tip: do consult the travel tips on the website, you’ll find the best ski resorts, the best carnivals around Europe and the best shopping destinations. PLUS use the Interflix option for discovering 5 cities over Europe for EUR 99!
- What’s not so dazzling about it: if you search harder or if do not find any trouble in travelling by train, you might get better prices to reach the same destinations by train.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.5 / 10
16. Orbitz
Another hotels-flights-cars-cruise worldwide website, with lots of interesting options. Remarkably, Orbitz has most of the features Expedia has: from the travel options, the rewards program, and Deals of the Day. Comes with great user reviews, and additionally displays TripAdvisor reviews along. My assessment will therefore be around the same as for Expedia.
- Dazzling Tip: take advantage of the Deals of the Day, and you may get 1 night free when booking the flight and the hotel together.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: (again) if free cancellation is an important factor to help you decide, this website might not tempt you as the free cancellation option is only for 24 hours.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.5 / 10
17. Momondo
Have you ever visited a travel website, and got to select “Just take me anywhere”? Well this is what you can get from Momondo. If you just want to pack your bags and go just A.N.Y.W.H.E.R.E around the world, I’ll strongly urge you to try this site. You might just be tempted to visit Denmark, Sweden, or Vietnam this time! And I just discovered there is a country named Eritrea.
- Dazzling Tip: definitely use the “take me anywhere” feature.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: Momondo only provides flight booking options, and not accommodation or other rentals.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.3 / 10
18. Cruisecompete.com
Don’t want to take a flight? How about boarding a cruise ship? You’ve dreamed all your life of going on a cruise trip, then Cruisecompete.com brings all cruise offers on one spot. Gives the possibility to compare offers from multiple travel agencies, as well as discount specials. The destinations are worldwide, so there is surely something for all tastes. And there are lots of user reviews.
- Dazzling Tip: bookings can be made 2 years in advance. It’s a great way to start saving up to that long-awaited trip.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: you will have to find a way to get to the departing port, since this is not included in the whole package.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8.2 / 10
19. Airfare watchdog
Want to save time by comparing several websites on one spot? Then, visit Airfare Watchdog. It doesn’t offer its own booking, but is more of a comparison tool. There are a lot of prices for both flights and hotels from a lot of other sites on this page displayed for you to compare.
http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/
- Dazzling Tip: this is a real time-saver if you don’t want to visit several websites to compare prices; sign up for the money-saving alerts
- What’s not so dazzling about it: Airfare Watchdog does not provide its own bookings and offers, and you can compare only flight prices.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 8 / 10
20. Travelocity
“Wander Wisely” is your motto? Travelocity offers a lot of search options: flights, hotels, cars, cruises, AND … things to do ! Coolest feature on this one. Find promotional deals, around 20% off, and some of the reservations come with free cancellations. The site itself is moderately interactive and customizable.
- Dazzling Tip: if you want to book everything on a one-stop website, this is the one for you.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: it’s not very easy to navigate through the website, and sometimes well-reputed airports are not recognized (and have to be changed on the search prompt). This one also cannot be customized for leisure or travel. No reviews by other users.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7.7 / 10
21. Jetcost
Looking for highly interactive worldwide hotel searches, and very good deals on the best hotels? The deals on Jetcost are cheapest as compared to the above websites for travel within Europe. However, for other countries, Jetcost returns higher costs than SkyScanner, and Kayak. You can still use the informational reviews by other users though.
- Dazzling Tip: if travelling within Europe, I recommend you use this website. Even if you are booking for a week after, the deals are very good.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: a bit lengthy to navigate through unlike the above websites.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7.6 / 10
22. Seat61
Love travelling by train? Seat61 gives train travel options for wherever you are in the world. Advices are not only for train routes but for the timing and prices as well. Great website for planning trips at the last minute.
- Dazzling Tip: at times train travel can be cheaper than even the lower-cost airline, and this is a good comparison website for train fares.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: there is so much information on the website, if you are pressed for time or not very patient, you will quickly get tired of the website and move somewhere else.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7.5 / 10
23. SNCB Europe
Another cool website for train travel, but only within Europe. The easy booking, comfortable travel, and extra services make it a very enjoyable travel mode.
- Dazzling Tip: use it for easy train booking and comparison, and detailed information on the travel routes you would be taking.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: the pricing details are only for travel lines served by SNCB Europe, which means other websites have to be used for price comparisons.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7.2 / 10
24. Kayak.com
The best thing about Kayak is that you can book hotels, as well as cruises, flights and cars from here. The promotional deals constantly updated, and the deals go up to 35% when signed in. Some of the reservations come with free cancellations (and some don’t). Kayak is available for both casual and business travel.
- Dazzling Tip: if you want to book everything on a one-stop website, this is the one for you.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: Not so interactive – Searches can only be sorted by review score, hotel star rating and freebies; and there are also not much information available from other users.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7 / 10
25. Airbnb
I think this is available for ALL countries over the world #beautifulworld
A heart-warming gesture from Airbnb has been to offer accommodation for Syrian refugees, which actually shows just how far-reaching it is. Airbnb is probably one of the cheapest accommodation method around, and you can login as both traveler and host.
- Dazzling Tip: wherever you may be, you’ll get an accommodation with Airbnb. There are also themed offers, such as food & drink experiences, styling & wrapping and much more!
- What’s not so dazzling about it: if you prefer the facilities provided by luxury hotels, then you won’t probably find what you want here.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7 / 10
26. Trivago
Looking for a comfortable online experience? A very user-friendly and happy site (love those little smiley faces and cute icons) all over the place, make it less boring and a very cool online experience. The deals are quite okay as well, around 20% off. Reliable reviews by other users.
- Dazzling Tip: visit this one if you want a comfortable online experience and reliable reviews.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: well, it might be a plus point as well) Trivago collates information from several websites, and sorts them in one place.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 7 / 10
27. Homeaway
Lets you rent everything from condos to beach houses, cabins, castles, or villas. The website is very informative as it provides lots of important details about the available accommodations, and lots of user reviews.
- Dazzling Tip: if you want more interaction with local people instead of hotel employees, then Homeaway would really be “Home away from home” for you.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: if you prefer the facilities provided by luxury hotels, then you won’t probably find what you want here.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 6.8 / 10
28. Whichbudget.com
Been dreaming of that expensive travel destination for a while? Available for most countries over the world, the novel option is to choose the cheapest flight “whenever” you want to flight, which means, you can keep a watch on your dream destination to fly at any point in the future.
- Dazzling Tip: use the “whenever” option to track your favorite destination flight prices and start saving.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: there are at times too many bugs which render booking on the site itself difficult. What you can do, is to note down the price and date displayed on the right while entering the search criteria, then search it on other websites.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 6.5 / 10
29. Yapta.com
Yapta.com is part of the Kayak group, as well as TripAdvisor reviews. It doesn’t have so great promotional deals, if compared to the other websites. It features both personal and corporate travel, and options for flights and cars.
- Dazzling Tip: the “track price drop” is a superb feature. If the price drops below what has already been paid, Yapta helps you get refund for the drop.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: not a very interactive website, it’s resembles more to a search engine.
- Mobile app available: Yes
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 6 / 10
30. Wanderlust and lipstick
Are you one of those travel junkies who make travel decisions based on blog posts and other people’s advice? Try Wanderlust and lipstick. Basically, a women-focused travel site, providing tips, reviews, information and inspiration, this site is quite resourceful. Beth, the owner of the site provides some really sound advice for travelling, and I think it would be interesting to follow her.
http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/
- Dazzling Tip: check this one out if you need travel tips and destination ideas.
- What’s not so dazzling about it: no booking options, hence this should be read in conjunction with other booking sites.
- Mobile app available: No
- Shall We Dazzle Rating : 6 / 10
I have visited a few other websites such as Voyaz (also available in app format) and Bravofly. But they didn’t really make the list for me, because Voyaz is a bit new and therefore not very resourceful, and Bravofly should be remedied so that the load of information can shine through.
Do you have any websites which you love and which i haven’t covered above? I’ll love to hear about them, and also don’t forget to post your pictures with views from atop ! Cheers, Dazzlers !
