Your Money_ The Missing Manual - J. D. Roth [96]
Kayak.com, Momondo.com, Mobissimo.com, and Skyscanner.net are all good fare aggregators (though Kayak is by far the most popular). You can't book anything through them, but they help you search for the cheapest flights, hotel rooms, and rental cars, and then point you to the places where you can make reservations.
The problem with big aggregation sites like the ones listed above is that they don't include many small, budget airlines. For that, you need a site like WhichBudget.com, a favorite among international travelers. WhichBudget can tell you which budget airlines fly specific routes. This is especially useful if you can't find a larger airline to get you where you want to go. Budget Flight Finder (www.budgetflightfinder.com) offers a similar service.
The web is filled with other tools you can use to get better deals on travel, including:
Travelzoo.com, which bills itself as the largest publisher of travel deals on the Internet. At the site, you can sign up for a weekly email list of the top 20 travel deals on the web.
Tip
My wife swears by TripAdvisor.com. This site won't help you find the best deals, but it can help you find the best values. TripAdvisor members rate and review hotels, restaurants, and destinations. Using this feedback, you can find out which places are overpriced—and which offer the best bang for your buck.
Airfare Watchdog (www.airfarewatchdog.com) sends you daily or weekly email updates about travel between destinations you choose. If, for example, you want to travel from Pittsburgh to visit your cousins in Phoenix, you can ask Airfare Watchdog to keep you updated on ticket prices. The site also features its top 50 fares of the day.
If you're in school, Student Universe (www.studentuniverse.com) often has the best deals on airfare. (These offers apply to college students and faculty.) The site also helps you research hotels, rental cars, and more. EF College Break (www.efcollegebreak.com) is another great resource for students, providing affordable tours of other countries.
If you want to take a cruise, VacationsToGo.com is a must-visit site. When the cruise lines can't fill their ships, they discount the unsold cabins and sell them through this website. You'll find the best bargains during a cruise's slow season—and usually in the last 90 days before departure. You may also want to take a look at CruiseCompete.com, which lets travel agencies blindly bid for your business.
Tired of getting stuck in the worst seat on the plane? SeatGuru.com contains a library of layouts for over 700 different planes, as well as info on where to find power outlets, overhead TVs, and bathrooms. SeatGuru won't save you money, but it can certainly make your trips more comfortable.
Yapta.com (short for Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant) can help you find flights, track fares, and get alerts when a fare drops into your price range. Yapta also acts as a sort of PriceProtectr.com (The Tyranny of Stuff) for travel: Enter your flight confirmation number, and Yapta tracks ticket prices. If the price drops below what you paid for it, Yapta sends you an alert so you can take advantage of the better price.
Savvy travelers suggest using these web-based tools to find the flights and hotels you want—but then purchasing tickets or accommodations directly from the source. The tools will help you find the best deal, but you'll usually save even more by booking directly with the hotel or airline.
Hometown Vacations
When was the last time you vacationed in your city? I've lived in and around Portland, Oregon all my life, but never really viewed it through the eyes of a tourist. A couple of years ago, I spent a day doing touristy stuff with a friend from L.A. I had a great time, and learned more about my city in those few hours than ever before.
A hometown vacation—a staycation—can be both frugal and fun. As the site