Travel Search Engines Find Lowest Fare For Bargain Hunters

April 06, 2005    dial up broadband

Searching for an online travel deal, but don't want to jump from site to site for the lowest fare? Travel search engines will do the legwork for you.

Think of them as "Google" for travel ? websites that act as search engines for the best travel deals. Sidestep was one of the pioneers, allowing you to download a program that sits side by side on your desktop and automatically compares prices when you pull up any travel website like Expedia or Travelocity. If there is a better fare to be had, Side Step will take you to it, but it only downloads to windows-based computers.

Now Side Step has refined its functionality and now no matter what computer you use, you can go directly to the site to make a reservation at www.sidestep.com. It searches for lowest prices on hotels, packages, cars, and cruises.

Another comparison site for travel deals is the new www.kayak.com, which was created by the co-founders of Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity and searches more than 100 travel websites at once including hotels and cars.

A third aggregator of airfares and other travel deals is the newest entry on the market Portals2TheWorld at www.P2World.com, which is still in a demo mode. Once fully operational, P2World.com says it will be a "one-click" encyclopedia of travel that gives destination information, including visa requirements, weather, exchange rates, and even subway maps.

Another search engine is specifically for accommodations is www.rentalo.com, offers quick access to 100,000 rentals in 15,000 destinations worldwide. Whether it's vacation homes and condos, hotels, or B&B's, Rentalo hooks you up with the property owners so you can make the booking directly.

? Valarie D'Elia