Travel Site Countdown-Hotels

Hey everyone! I apologize for not posting anything for a while. However, I am back with a great post that you don't want to miss out on. Over the past few weeks I have been planning a road trip down to Nashville for my friends and I. We are staying in a hotel while we are there so while doing my research I used a few travel sites. They can be helpful but some are difficult to navigate and don't provide the information needed. Here is my breakdown and rating of the top travel sites for booking hotels.

7. Hotwire
I put Hotwire last on my list because you do not book a specific hotel, rather an area in which you want to stay in. You can end up in any of a number of hotels. They do give you a list of the hotel companies that are in the area, but again not the specific hotel until after you book. For me this was not something I could use. When I was booking my trip to Nashville I was looking for a specific hotel. On top of the their rates were extremely high. The rate per night in the area I would be staying in was $138.00 average a night. The total came to $663.84. That was just out of the question. I do like how Hotwire does give you a total with taxes and fees before you put your credit card in. I prefer knowing exactly how much I will be paying before the last second.

6. Priceline
Priceline does have competitive rates with the other travel sites, however you have to put in all of your information before you see the total cost. It was only a few cents more for the subtotal than most of the other sites, but again it does not show you taxes and fees until the very end. I do not like this concept because it takes up some time to fill everything out to have to find out how much you will be charged.

5. Hotels.com
Hotels.com had the second highest rates of all of the sites I visited. For one night that Travelocity was charging me $159.99, Hotels.com was going to charge me $207.99. The total was going to come to $633.53. That price was just unacceptable.

4. Expedia
The same problem I had with Hotels.com was the exact same problem I had with Expedia, the prices were the same. I do not understand how these sites can market themselves as discount travel sites that offer you the best deals, when some of them have outrageous rates.

3. The Hotel's Website (I used Best Western)
I plan on staying in a certain Best Western while in Nashville so I decided to check out the rates they have posted on their website. I was surprised with just how competitive their rates were. The total price came to $551.63 which was around $13 difference from the cheapest rates I found. I was especially surprised by this because of how much lower it was compared to Expedia and Hotels.com. Best Western's rates were $112.21 cheaper than these two sites.

2. Kayak
This was my first time using Kayak so I was not sure what to expect. I had seen their commercials all of the time and they truly hone in on the fact of their prices and how you can compare all of the sites. They did have the lowest rates along with Travelocity. I used the comparing rates tool they feature so much on their commercials. I did not like this feature at all. When you do the search with the comparing rates tool all of the sites you are comparing pop up in different windows. This drove me nuts. In order to compare them all you have to keep clicking back and forth to and from different windows. If they ever want to adjust their site they should have all of the prices listed side by side when you click on the hotel you want so you can compare it all in one window.

1. Travelocity
Travelocity for my list gets number 1, not just because it had the lowest rates, but it was also the easiest to navigate. Travelocity shows you a break down of each night, the subtotal, and final total once you click on the hotel you want. I love this feature. Everything is on one page. Travelocity also had the lowest rates along with Kayak. From my experience Travelocity is the best travel site out there for booking hotels.

Not so SUPER SHUTTLE

Now normally i would not use this space to complain, however I believe it benefits you. Over the past week I went to Houston for a convention. When the group arrived we of course got our bags and waited for the Shuttle. We had previously booked the shuttle to ensure I speedy pick up to get us to the hotel in a timely manner. We waited at the baggage claim for around 2 hours! They claimed to do conventions all of the time, but were not prepared for this one. Some of our group were late to an event because of their lack of preparedness. As our trip was coming to a close we were weary of Super Shuttle and their capability of getting us to our flight on time. We sat and waited for the shuttle in the hotel lobby. A half an hour after the time in which the shuttle was supposed to pick us up we find out they cannot pick us up because they did not have enough shuttles for us. We had to find another form of transportation and we were running late. We needed four taxis all costing of $45 one costing over $60. I would have to say that Super Shuttle is not so "super" after all.

Youtube-Get Up and Go Episode 2

Podcast

Here is my first Podcast! Enjoy! As of right now I am waiting for iTunes approval for the Podcast to be published onto iTunes.  I will let you know when it is posted!
Podcast

Make History FUN!

Many kids find history boring and do not understand the point in learning about it. However history does not have to be boring at all! Traveling can create the perfect mix of fun and history so that your kids and you and your kids learn in while having a great time! I would have to say my favorite historical spot that mixed fun and learning perfectly was Plimoth Plantation. If you haven't been there already I highly recommend it! It mixes a historical village with reenacting! As you walk through the village you can enter multiple buildings and houses that make you feel as if you went back in time. There are people all around in period outfits that reenact the life of the original settlers. You can talk to a woman cooking and cleaning food for her family as she tells you what she did yesterday living in Plymouth or to a man doing work on his house as he tells you about the harsh winter they just went through. It is like stepping back in time and submersing your self in all of the sites, smells, emotions, and noises of that era. I remember talking to a woman who told us of her journey over to Plymouth in the Mayflower, it was truly amazing. Walk down a path a little ways and enter the the Wampanoag Village. Enter the wetus and speak to Wampanoags and learn what life was like for the native people before and after European settlers came to Plymouth.

What is great about Plymouth is that you do not even realize you are learning! You feel like you are just having a normal conversation with the people who experienced Plymouth in the 17th century. To learn more about Plimouth Plantation visit there website www.plimoth.org.

Get Up and Go Teaser!

Also check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEdWUCqb-lI

Be A Happy Camper!

Who said camping was just for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts? Why not camp during your travels? Now I know what you're thinking, camping is gross, but it can be fun! Camping brings people together and creates memories that will last forever. On top of that, it is cheap! "The camping fee for state or national park campgrounds is from $5 to $10. For private campgrounds it varies from $10 to $40 " (rv-coach.com) A hotel in the Orlando area for the weekend of June 24th-26th, for two adults and two children, three stars, with a swimming pool, and free parking would range from $50-over $200.

Wekiwa Springs State Park, which is in the Orlando area has sites averaging $24.00 with an electric hookup. That is more than half of the price of a hotel room! Like I said before camping really brings everyone closer, more than staying in a hotel. So next time you are planning your vacation look at different options of places to stay! Even cabins can be cheaper than a hotel room, plus it's a bit more luxurious than sleeping in a tent.

Happy Travels!

Chelsea

On the Road Again

With the spike in gas prices airplane tickets have spiked as well. While this may turn people away from vacationing, it shouldn't. There is so much to see, all you need is a car and a bit of patience. Although it may seem costly to keep refilling your tank, it is much cheeper than flying. Many people are not fond of long driving trips, but I may have the solution. Leave the night before. Set a time in which you want to arrive at your destination, then find out the approximate travel time to find out when you should leave. Leaving at night allows the passengers to sleep, which means less bathroom breaks, which means you will arrive to your destination faster. Plus leaving at night will allow you to avoid daytime traffic. Avoiding daytime traffic helps conserve gas! Leaving at night gives you an extra full day at your destination rather than using that day driving. There are two options for the driver. Switching off drivers every few hours allows everyone to get some sleep. Another option is for the driver straight through, lucky for me on all of our trips our driver (aka my mom) loves driving and can stay up for long hours. Driving through the night has another benefit as well! Lets face it sitting in a cramped car for a few hours can cause tension between the occupants. Since you are driving at night everyone will be sleeping, so tensions are harder to be created. You can make these trips a weekend long to a few weeks long! Many people have the same problem of not being able to sleep in cars, I used to be one of them. The U-shaped neck pillows are an amazing invention that help car sleeping to be a bit more do-able. It is a manner of pros and cons. Yes, it may be a tad uncomfortable for one night, but the experience you will be obtaining on your trip will be memorable and exciting so it will out weigh the discomfort. Driving home is not limited to nighttime driving. It will probably take a bit longer to get home if you drive during the day between traffic and bathroom breaks. This summer I went on a week long road trip and hit Birmingham Alabama, Gulfport Mississippi, New Orleans Louisiana, and Gatlinburg Tennessee!