There are three months remaining till the winter break, Christmas, New Year, and the school mid-year vacation, and frankly, a break is direly needed from this bustling life. Though comprehensive trip offers may be convenient, you may want to customise your experience, pick from a variety of hotels to tailor your own trip inside Egypt or abroad. Ahram Online has put together five booking websites you can use for your next holiday. Booking.com The well-known website booking.com proves efficient for booking your hotel. This hotel search engine, which encompasses 1,054,340 hotels in 96,000 destinations around the world, has a user-friendly and clear layout for hotel booking. The website also rates hotels according to user reviews, and can provide you with prices in your local currency. Type in the destination along with check-in and checkout dates, as well as the number of travellers in your party. You can also specify searches for houses or hotels. Filter your search through budget, popularity, star rating, 24-hour reception, reservation policy, beach access, meals, property type, bed preference, guest rating, facility, room facility, district, chain, among other options. After filtering, you will find a list of hotels and their prices tailored to your preferences. Once you select a hotel, you can view pictures of it, customer reviews as well as hotel facilities and rooms available, then you can select the rooms desired and fill in your personal and banking information. While selecting the room, it is often mentioned if the entire payment is upon arrival or if a deposit will be withdrawn using your banking card prior to your arrival. The site also states whether there is free cancellation until a certain date. Afterwards, you receive a confirmation email with details of your booking. You can also subscribe for email updates or download its mobile application for their deals. Hotels.com Hotels.com comprises a wide range of options for selecting your hotel, from the price per night, star and guest ratings, to city landmarks, accommodation types and accessibility features. It includes a variety of hotel themes or types to narrow your search down from beach, family-friendly, spa, to romantic, business and adventure. The site also has a specific section on group hotel rates; whether for weddings, business events, sports or any other group event. It has a simple and straight to the point interface. The site has been described as "one of the most comprehensive hotel booking websites" that gives localised information with great deals and reward programmes. According to the website, Hotels.com does not charge cancellation fees. Trivago.com The distinctive feature about Trivago is that it is a comprehensive website that provides deals from over 350 booking sites. It is a one-window solution for your booking needs with a variety of search filters for hotels. The search filters include star ratings, price per night, distance, or hotel services such as spas and free wireless internet connection. You can also search for apartments. The site also offers more categories with the extra filters feature: Hotel facilities varying from 24 room services to room and sports facilities; food and beverages; children's clubs; spa services; certain hotel chains; specific themes; suitable for business, honeymooners. You can select from a wide list in the currency of your choice. Once you select a hotel, the site transfers you to a booking site with all the details on the rooms available, though the prices are in US dollars. Once you select a room, you receive two options; pay online or pay at the hotel. In both cases, you will have to provide your bank card information. The website also informs you of any extra charges and cancellation policies. Trivago travel site deals from different booking sites after trying to search for hotels in Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh Expedia.com Unlike many others websites, Expedia.com is famous for its well-rounded services, as it offers booking for both hotels and plane tickets. When searching for hotels, you can select from its main page hotel rooms, flights and car services. Not only that, Expedia has an exceptional section for activities. You type in the city and set the date, and it lists numerous activities; from tours and sightseeing, daytrips and water activities, to food and drink, nightlife, shows and sporting events. I tried El-Gouna in Egypt's Red Sea as well as London, and the results were incredible, including snorkelling trips in Mahmya in El-Gouna and a hop-on-hop-off bus tour and the Mamma Mia musical show in London. The site has more details for each activity and provides maps for users. The site also states whether certain activities offer free cancellation, as booking for some events, such as the musical, is non-refundable. Expedia also has a section for cruises. As stated on the website, the service searches among one million flights, hotels and packages to secure a good value for user budgets. Expedia does not charge a cancellation fee for changing or cancelling almost any hotel reservation, and offers an extra 10 percent off or more on select hotels with member pricing. TripAdvisor.com In addition to being well-known for advice posted by travellers, TripAdvisor provides the "best travel deals" from different travel sites. The site offers reviews and advice on hotels, resorts, flights, vacation rentals, vacation packages, travel guides, and much more. Through the vacation rentals, you can book furnished apartments for short and medium term stays. It also gives annual awards for the best restaurants, beaches, destinations, landmarks, islands, all-inclusive resorts, and much more. Now you can find TripAdvisor's Best of 2016 on the site. One of the site's features that can come in handy is the filter that lets you sort the hotels by the services on offer. You can also find flights through the site and subscribe to their weekly TripWatch newsletter for the latest deals, articles and reviews for your chosen destinations. Almost all booking sites claim to offer the best deals, though you should compare prices and offers for yourself and make an informed decision about your trip. Would you recommend other websites? Share with Ahram Online your experiences and recommendations for booking sites.
