How to find the right trip at the right price ...
There are many different travel search engines on the Internet. Most, if not all, will lead you to a decent (if available) price. But some sites are more established than others and specialize in different results. The top search engines that'll provide you with the biggest bang for your travel buck are Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Mobissimo.com and Kayak.com.
Orbitz and Expedia are the best for formulating complete travel packages, with a combination of air and hotel. Both sites will guide you to similar financial results, usually within a few dollars of the other, and both give a good selection of flights to choose from, even though their lowest-priced packages sometimes include crazy flights with unreasonable layover periods. But the flight selections are constantly changing and updating, so you'll never know what you'll strike. But keep looking. It's not hard to get lucky with a keen eye.
But if you're looking for excellent customer service, Orbitz is your best bet. Telephone wait times are often very short, and the representatives are helpful. Sometimes, Expedia can be the opposite, but if you're good with this on-line travel stuff, there shouldn't be much of a need to pick up the phone.
Mobissimo and Kayak are different types of search engines and are best for those people looking for just a flight. While both offer great options for searching cheap hotels, neither allows you to book both together as one package. But when it comes to flights, Mobissimo and Kayak are virtually impeccable. While Orbitz and Expedia use their own individual search engines to scan fares from individual airlines, Mobissimo and Kayak scan the major discount Web sites, as well as individual airline carriers, and will tell you on which Web sites the best fares are available. Then, upon selection of your flight and fare of choice, both sites will redirect you to the Web site with the flight fare chosen.
When it comes to discount travel there are many quality choices. But when it comes to putting together the best Internet package, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Mobissimo.com and Kayak.com rank upon the best and most reliable for getting you where you want to go at the best price.