Get Ready to Plan Your Next Vacation
Planning your vacation can be a daunting task. You may not know what trip planning websites to trust or how to get the most out of your getaway. This article will guide you on the best and most straightforward websites to plan your trip, making planning your dream destination a fast and easy experience.
1. Airbnb
Maybe you want to experience a tiny home or feel like a royal living in a castle? Airbnb can accommodate you in ways that traditional vacation locations can't.
Airbnb has over six million active listings worldwide, with 100,000 cities actively listed. You can find any vacation home that is usually cheaper, more homely, and a unique experience. Airbnb hosts can also do tours of their local areas or cultural activities, enriching your holiday with unforgettable experiences.
Pros
Airbnb is more than just a real estate website — many Airbnb listings show the property's location, offering nearby local restaurants and sightseeing. These perks can make planning for your vacation more straightforward and quicker.
Cons
One of the downsides of using this trip planning website is that you may pay for a home to stay in, but when you arrive at the location, it may not look like the listing or the facilities/amenities aren't functioning. Looking at the ratings and reviews of the listing before booking your holiday with the host is essential.
2. Priceline
Priceline is a safe, reputable company that aims to provide the best affordable deals. They only work with well-established accommodations in the tourism industry. Priceline offers discounts that can save you money by booking discounted hotel rooms and deals on your flights, allowing you to save on your vacation for other activities.
Priceline has different programs that each have a unique way of saving you money. Their programs are Priceline Express Deals, Pricebreakers and the Priceline VIP Program.
Pros
Some of the pros of using this trip planning website are that there is a program for last-minute joiners or spontaneous travelers planning to depart 15 days after booking their vacation. The Pricebreaker listings will give you three options of hotels from your search filters. This program won't tell you what hotel you have booked until you have completed the payments. However, with a bit of investigating online, you can figure out what hotel you will stay in, as Priceline generally picks the cheapest offer.
The Priceline VIP is a loyalty program that offers you the best deals for your vacation. Signing up for this program is entirely free. There are two ways to sign up: the Priceline Rewards Visa Card or creating an account with Priceline. The first option is the better way to sign up, as you immediately earn gold status. The gold status allows you to save up to 50% on the price when booking with exclusive hotel savings.
Cons
The downside to using this website is that the Pricebreaker program does refund canceled reservations.
3. Marriott Bonvoy
With Marriott Bonvoy, you can find hotels in 131 countries plus activities to make your vacation a unique experience. There are over 1,000 locations and around 120,000 activities for you to enjoy from this company.
Pros
The Marriott Bonvoy Moments loyalty program uses loyalty points to experience non-purchasable "Moments" that can be a dinner in the Sky Floating Meal in Athens or a Grand Prix experience with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team.
Cons
Unfortunately, your reward points can expire if you don’t use them fast enough, and sometimes it can be challenging to find a hotel or resort that will have a room available to be used with points.
4. TripIt
TripIt is the ultimate holiday planner! It combines all the information about your vacation in a simple to view way. It keeps all your hotel bookings, flights, reservations, and other activities in your personally created hub. Tripit also sets reminders when it's time to leave for the airport and keeps you on track with your travel plans.
Pros
TripIt Pro provides a seat tracker, check-in reminder, points tracker, international travel tools, and air flight fare tracker. It can also suggest available alternative flights, how long it takes to get to your boarding gate, interactive maps of airports, and what you can do if your plans need to change.
Cons
TripIt, however, won't suggest reservations or tourist attractions, so you have to do your research when planning your trip.
5. Touristlink
Touristlink is a holiday trip planning website that acts as a giant social network. The website aims to connect you with other travelers and hosts around the world. Currently, they have over 150,000 travelers that use their website. Travelink provides thousands of tourist destinations, accommodations, tours, and activities to choose from.
Pros
What’s great about this website is that it allows users to review different attractions and tours so that you know if it is worth your time.
Cons
While the website has many excellent reviews, there are several issues with a lack of customer support. So just keep this in mind when planning your next trip.