Airline fare secrets revealed

Posted by Staff in Wed. Travel Web

For the frequent flyer I have found a website that is a must, ExpertFlyer.com. 

The website was created with the intention of helping flyers find award seats, upgrades, cheap tickets and to overall facilitate the process of finding the correct flight for your needs.  Much of the information found on the website used to only be available to travel agents but now is available to prying eyes.

A perfect example of a once hidden flight search feature is “fare buckets.” Perhaps you have come across the situation where you find out the guy next to you paid twice as much as you did for the same flight…or the opposite scenario if you are unlucky!  How this works is that airlines can sometimes offer up to 20 different fares for the same flight.  ExpertFlyer shows you how many different fare buckets a flight has available and approximately how many seats each bucket has.  This feature helps you decide on if you really have a good deal or if you should hold out for a lower fare.  

Other great features found on ExpertFlyer include: the ability to search for a flight based on the availability of reward tickets or upgrades, airplane seat maps and flight alerts to let you know when the fare you are looking for becomes available.

ExpertFlyer does not sell flights. In order to buy a ticket you need to call the airlines directly and book based on the information found through the site…but it is fun stumping the sales agents and getting questions like “how did you know about that fare?”

I found that using ExpertFlyer I was able to find much cheaper fares for upcoming trips, without having to go to ten different travel search engines. Of course a fabulous service like this does not come free, the monthly subscription ranges from $4.99 to $9.99 per month depending on what features you want access to…but if you do fly often I say it is worth the expense.

Tripadvisor

Posted by Staff in Wed. Travel Web

Most travelers know about Tripadvisor.  But just in case some of you don’t, I decided to make it the Travel Website of the Week.

Ever book a hotel and wonder….I wish I could find out what the rooms really look like and not rely on the hotels photoshopped, fresh flower filled version of what a room is?

Well Tripadvisor is the answer…the website is filled with tons of frank reviews of hotels including candid pictures that tourist take of the property.  With this website you can make an educated guess on where to stay.

The other great feature is that the website allows you to search several of the big travel search engines at once to get the best rate when booking.

And the fun does not end at hotels….there are reviews of restaurants, tourist attractions and much more.

Next time you book a trip check out tripadvisor.co

Teen travel guru

Posted by Staff in Wed. Travel Web

Today I had the pleasure of snowboarding with the guru behind the popular teen website TeenSceneMag.com, Chad Kennedy.

Chad started Teen Scene when he was only 13 years old, and has grown it into one of the leading online magazines for teens by teens. The website recently added a travel section, Hot Spots, aimed at inspiring teens to travel. 

So if you know of any teens looking for travel advice tell them to check it out.

Write your own guide

Posted by Staff in Wed. Travel Web

Although guidebooks are extremely helpful, they can be heavy to lug around on a trip.  Part of that added weight is the “accommodations” section of the book…which is usually only useful in the planning phase of a trip, by the time you arrive at your hotel you have no use for info on others.

NileGuide.com provides a solution to the “guidebook weigh-down” with their “build your own guidebook” service….and the best part (drumroll please)…it’s free!  

After logging in all you do is choose your destination and check off the activities, restaurants, hotels, etc. you want your guide to include….and voila a printable PDF copy of your guide is emailed to you as well as the other travelers on the trip. If starting with a clean slate is daunting, NileGuide has pre-planned trips that you can add and subtract parts from. All the information on NileGuide is written by local experts, as are the pre-planned trips…so you have the added advantage of getting the local inside scoop.  

Another great feature offered is that you can book your hotel directly through the system…and the prices offered are on par with most travel search engines. 

So go ahead and pretend you are the next Hemingway and “write” your own guidebook today at NileGuide.com