Last time I talked a little about how to organise a trip, the important things to think about and what not to forget. What I didn’t cover, however, was how to actually choose where to sleep, where to eat, what to see, and most importantly how to buy your flights. I’m obviously starting from the assumption that you want to organise your trip entirely by yourself, or almost; otherwise, if you don’t want to think about absolutely anything, the only solution is to rely on a travel agency. Apart from a few rare exceptions such as Caesar Tour, I have always honestly preferred to avoid agencies and do everything myself. Once you have chosen your destination, the first thing to do is buy your ticket — ideally a few months in advance, so you can often save quite a lot of money. Ideally you would avoid peak seasons like July or August, but I understand that not everyone has the luxury of choosing when to go on holiday; so buying your ticket well in advance can prove very advantageous. In addition to the classic and better-known Expedia and eDreams, two other search engines I use constantly and find useful are Sky-Tours and Kayak. I often prefer these over the first two for their simplicity of use and their clean, navigable interface. It may seem trivial or of little importance, but a difficult-to-use and unclear website can leave the user bewildered and tempted to give up and head to a travel agency instead. Kayak also, once you register on the site, allows you to enter and create your trips, planning them by entering travel information and with the option of sharing them on social networks. Through the iPhone app it is also possible to always have them with you and consult them once you have departed.
At this point, once you have bought your ticket, all that remains is to choose where to sleep. What I use most, and which is perhaps also the most famous, is Booking.com. The quantity of detailed information it provides is fantastic. You can filter by type and by services, or choose based on the neighbourhood of your chosen city. For each result precise information is provided on the type of hotel, location, included services, booking methods, user reviews, how many rooms are still available, etc. There are often convenient offers such as free cancellation of the booking, or discounts on multi-night stays. With that done, all that remains is to identify and discover the areas most worth visiting and where to enjoy typical local cuisine. For the latter, the most widely used tool is certainly TripAdvisor, which I must say I have also come to appreciate more in not-so-distant times. Initially I didn’t use it much, then gradually, searching and searching, I began to get drawn in and I often pop in just to find new places to visit or to leave a review. The basic operation is always the same, of course; you can search for hotels, flights, restaurants and activities. I use it essentially for restaurants and occasionally for activities; though in the end it’s always my instinct that wins.
I always find it very useful to read reviews from those who have already visited a place, even if of course I don’t take them as gospel; but they can give some very useful basic pointers for those who genuinely don’t know where to begin. Finally, if you like communities and love sharing your travels or need to ask questions you haven’t found answers to elsewhere, there is TripShake. TripShake is a travel question-and-answer search engine that connects travellers of all levels and experience. The site is very easy to use, easily navigable, and has several sections: Questions & Answers, Travel Tips, and a dedicated section for Agencies where they can promote themselves and post their initiatives.