How to plan vacations on the Internet?

The Internet has revolutionized traveling. Nowadays you don’t need to use a travel agent if you want to visit another state or country - you can find hundreds of options for your trip online! By doing all of the work yourself, you can customize your route and significantly reduce the travel expenses. 

There are many travel websites that can help you plan the dream vacation online. Whether you want a weekend getaway or a month-long trip to another continent, you can make all necessary reservations on the Internet. How to start? Here's our step-by-step guide. 

Choose your destination

First of all, decide where you want to go. Some people prefer lying on the beach and getting a golden tan, while others enjoy visiting well-known museums and art galleries. Or maybe you want to visit a popular ski resort in the Alps? 

Keep in mind that the best advice often comes from ordinary people rather than from travel agents. There are many websites and forums where you can find users’ vacation pictures and unbiased travel reviews on destinations. They are an excellent way to learn about places off the beaten track that you would never discover in a travel brochure.

Another approach is to browse websites with travel publications. For example, Fodors includes articles about nearly all countries and continents, restaurant and hotel reviews and a forum. You just need to choose the country you want to visit to get necessary information.
The next step is to understand what you are looking for and expect on your vacations. It will make your search much easier. Otherwise, you can get lost in thousands of travel ideas. For example, decide that you want to go to Paris by plane and stay in a 3-star hotel in the heart of the city. Your main task is to visit museums. 

Travel Sites
Travel sites can be divided into two main groups. The first one includes travel resources where you can plan your entire trip - from car rentals to vacation packages. It is very convenient because you can find everything that you need in one place. 

If you prefer this variant, take advantage of Travelocity, Expedia or Orbitz. They offer similar services and pricing structures. You can book flight only, flight + hotel, flight + hotel +car, hotel + car, cruises, etc. 

The second group includes sites focused on a particular aspect or traveling: hotel accommodation, airfare comparison or railway tickets. However, nowadays most travel sites tend to offer several travel options to their visitors rather than only one.

Transportation
Transportation is definitely the first point that you need to consider. In the extremely competitive world of air travel, you can often find some very good deals online. Browsing official airlines sites to compare prices can take a lot of times, so it’s better to take advantage of airfare search engines, for example WhichBudget. 

Such broker sites have a similar principle of work. You need to enter your flight details: destination, date, number of people, etc. After that you will get a list of available airline tickets. If you are making last-minute plans in a non-peak season, you can find some really amazing deals. 

If you are going to visit several countries in Europe, it is a good idea to travel by train. This way you can see a lot of the countryside! As you know, the distances between European cities are rather short, so traveling by train won’t take a lot of time.

Railway tickets are usually cheaper if you book them a couple of months before you trip. Some companies offer discounts for students. If you are going to be on the train more than eight hours, it makes sense to take the sleeper car. 

Another budget way to travel is by bus, especially if you are going to visit the U.S. One of the main American bus lines is Greyhound. Generally, the further you need to go, the more expensive it gets. 

If you are going to travel by train or by bus, decide how you will entertain yourself during the trip. You can take books, magazines, or ipod to listen to music. And take at least some snacks and soft drinks, because sometimes you won’t have an opportunity to buy food. 

Accommodation
The next point to consider is hotel accommodation. Many travelers pay attention only to the cost of flights. Trying to find discount airline tickets, they forget that they actually spend more money on hotel stays. 

There are many websites like Hotels.com, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, etc. where you can find both reservation services and honest hotel reviews. Some of these websites offer their own hotel ratings and “Top Hotel” lists based on their customers’ assessments. 

It is not recommended to book the cheapest hotel online – there is always a reason why it is so cheap. Your hotel should be clean and comfortable, even if you are not going to spend there a lot of time. Torn bedclothes or excessive traffic noise are not worth the savings.

 A hotels situated in the center of the city can be more expensive than a hotel situated in a remote part of the city. However, it allows you to save money on transport charges – for example, on taxi or metro. Plus, you can go out for a walk or buy food in the evening and don’t worry that everything is closed. 

If you know which hotel you want to stay at, you can go directly to their website. They often offer package deals, for example “Book 30 days in advance and pay less!” or “Book 7 nights and pay for 5!” In this case your accommodation will cost less than the same deals booked through online travel websites.

If hotels are out of the price range, consider booking a hostel. For example, HostelWorld offers quality hostels all over the world. You can compare prices for single rooms or dorms and read visitors’ reviews describing the general conditions of the hostel. It will help you choose the most suitable variant. 

Another way to cut down your travel expenses is couch-surfing. There are several websites where people offer travelers to spend 1-10 days in their apartment or house. It is an excellent way to save a bit of money and communicate with local people. But be careful: choose a host without any negative reviews.

What to do?
A vacation package from a travel agent means that you will know in advance what cities or museums you will visit. When you are planning your vacation on the Internet, it can be difficult to decide where to go and what to do. Browse travel forums – it will give you some interesting ideas how to spend your time. 

Pay attention to such websites as Lonelyplanet or Frommers. There you can find travel advice, guide books, tips and destination information. You can also connect with other travelers through their forums or blogs and ask for advice. 

Getting around an unknown city may be a difficult task, especially if it is your first trip abroad. Study Google Maps or Mapquest to plan routs or to see what is situated near your hotel. You can get maps, driving directions and even addresses or phone numbers of restaurants and attractions nearby.

As you see, planning a vacation online is not difficult if you know what to look for and where to look. Of course, there are some other aspects that you need to keep in mind – for example, currency exchange rates or foreign entry requirements. However, your dream vacation will be an excellent reward for your efforts!