GENERIC:
WHEN & HOW I USE THEM:
I find that these sites don’t generally, offer the best prices on hotels and flights: for that I use BOOKING.COM and CHEAPFLIGHTS.COM or a Regional Airline.
Trip Advisor:
However, I find Trip Advisor useful for checking Hotel Reviews when I am booking my first 1-2 nights in a hotel before arrival. And, of course, there is no harm in booking hotels and flights through Trip Advisor if you find that they have the best deal.
I find, though, that you need to ‘read between the lines’ a little bit with these reviews as they tend to be written by young backpackers who (1) don’t have much experience and / or (2) are happy with something below GRANDPAcker standard and / or (3) are influenced by things of no interest to GRANDPAckers (such as being near the best all-night nightlife.
That said, Trip Advisor is a very useful source for checking out hotel information using such reviews.
Trip Advisor is also very good for giving you ideas about where to go and what to see.
You may also find their Forum useful – here you can ask questions and get answers from people that have actually been there.
If I am finding the cost of Hotels too expensive, TRIPADVISOR is the first place that I go to if I’m looking for a Vacation Rental.
Lonely Planet:
Everyone has heard of Lonely Planet. Their travel books are famous.
It is always worth checking out their eBooks which can be an invaluable guide whilst in a destination.
However, again, I find that you need to be careful with such guides… they a not a ‘bible’. By the time that you get to some of the places in the eBook, things can change. A hotel can be given a rave review in the eBook so you go there only to find that everyone else has read the eBook and the place is full.
Also, hotels that get poor write-ups in the eBook can make amazing efforts to change management and / or staff to fix their problems… often you find that these, now, are the best places to stay.
Likewise, the reputation of bars and clubs can change with the wind.
Where Lonely Planet eBooks perform best is in their more general information about a location such as what to do and what to see.
ALSO WORTH A LOOK:
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