I just bought tickets for two trips in November, and I'm now $880 lighter. :( I checked travelocity, expedia, and orbitz. Anyone have any other travel websites you recommend?

Southwest.com
One Way fares ~$99

goto kayak.com they search a ton of other sites to get you the best price. Also probably has the best search ability. Not the best interface but once you get a hold of it it makes life easier.

Before searching the big three (expedia, orbitz, travelocity), try some of the smaller, no frills companies like southwest (as mentioned above) and jetblue. They don't fly to all locations, but they have much better prices.

It is also worth the 5 minutes to register at StudentUniverse.com as they sometimes have some better deals for students.

Definitely check out Southwest Airlines- they are my personal favorite and if you book early you can get awesome deals--- and very easy to change/cancel too. Our entire family has flown on SW and I have had only positive experiences. Cost is our biggest issue and I hate holding our under 2 yr old on our laps to save $ on a cross country flight...so with SW we can buy a cheap ticket for her! I love it. They always let us board early and help keep us comfy on the plane.


Anyway also try other low cost airlines like Jet Blue (www.jetblue.com), Independence Air (www.flyi.com), Frontier Airlines (www.frontierairlines.com), Spirit Air (www.spiritair.com), AirTran (www.airtran.com), America West (www.americawest.com)

One problem with those though- limited cities.

I have also found that booking directly on the company's website (or via phone) rather than an Orbitz or Travelocity is cheaper.

Find a good travel agent. Typically, I just call mine, tell her where I'm going, how much I want to spend, and she takes care of the rest! I use AAA; however, there are many good agents out there--ask around the hospital for good references. What's more, the agent can do ALL the planning for you: hotels, rental cars, etc.... BTW, for those who have never used an agent, their services are free to you, they are paid by the companies. This can scare some folks who assume that they will be misled by the agent; but, I assure you that I have saved BIG TIME. So far I have 10 interviews scheduled. Seven hotel rooms, six flights, and six days of car rentals have run me ~ $1200.

Find a good travel agent. Typically, I just call mine, tell her where I'm going, how much I want to spend, and she takes care of the rest! I use AAA; however, there are many good agents out there--ask around the hospital for good references. What's more, the agent can do ALL the planning for you: hotels, rental cars, etc.... BTW, for those who have never used an agent, their services are free to you, they are paid by the companies. This can scare some folks who assume that they will be misled by the agent; but, I assure you that I have saved BIG TIME. So far I have 10 interviews scheduled. Seven hotel rooms, six flights, and six days of car rentals have run me ~ $1200.

You have me curious and interested. I'll check this out, thanks! It does take alot of time searching for good deals.

Thanks for all the travel advice. Hopefully I'll do better with my next trip!

First I say find out what airlines fly out of your airport. ALL OF THEM. Then check each airline individually only after you checked the price from the big three ticket outlets. Some airlines will not sell through ticket outlets and some may reserve seats only for sale on their website. Also check nearby airports and balance cost benefit of flying one stop or more vs. no stops. Personally I fly nonstops if at all possible, firstly b/c I have a new found uneasiness w/ flying which is easily resovled w/ Xanax and secondly b/c planes are more likely to crash on take off and landing so I like to minimize both of them.

flyi and southwest and a couple of the other budget carriers don't go through the big websites like expedia or travelocity.

Be sure to check out their route network. Often they fly into some smaller county airport outside of the big city (e.g. Westchester instead of NYC, Burbank instead of LAX)

www.sidestep.com

Find a good travel agent. Typically, I just call mine, tell her where I'm going, how much I want to spend, and she takes care of the rest! I use AAA; however, there are many good agents out there--ask around the hospital for good references. What's more, the agent can do ALL the planning for you: hotels, rental cars, etc.... BTW, for those who have never used an agent, their services are free to you, they are paid by the companies. This can scare some folks who assume that they will be misled by the agent; but, I assure you that I have saved BIG TIME. So far I have 10 interviews scheduled. Seven hotel rooms, six flights, and six days of car rentals have run me ~ $1200.

GEEEEEEZ - THAT IS AN AMAZINGLY LOW COST!!! I'M IMPRESSED.
WHO'S YOUR AGENT??

GEEEEEEZ - THAT IS AN AMAZINGLY LOW COST!!! I'M IMPRESSED.
WHO'S YOUR AGENT??

I went through triple A. I did have two flights that were only around 400 miles total--round trip; however, I am still very happy with the results. FYI, the airlines are Southwest, Frontier, and American. My hotels are Microtel, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn (Marriott), and Days Inn. All car rentals are Alamo--I requested them because they have unlimited mileage! You might try calling them--the businesses--direct to see if you can get equivalent discounts.

It is also worth the 5 minutes to register at StudentUniverse.com as they sometimes have some better deals for students.

I agree. It's completely worth it if you qualify. I saved so much using them during my early med school days. Unfortunately, once you are 26 years old, you are booted from the program. At least that was the policy when I was a member. I don't know if it has changed.