Tips for Seniors: Travel Planning Online

I often recall my days working part-time at a travel agency. It was seventeen years ago and back then only trained agents were privy to airline schedules and the full range of fares. As anyone with a computer can tell you, those days are over.

Retirement is the time many of us put our travel plans into high gear. If the consumer is willing to put in the research time they certainly won't run out of information from the cyber world.

But not all travel websites are created equal, some are better than others.

www.kayak.com

It was a happy day when a friend told me about Kayak.com. For research, planning and comparing prices for travel, Kayak is a winner. They've been called the "google" of travel.

It's commonly referred to as a travel search engine or metasearch site. Kayak.com is not a travel agency, in fact you can't book anything. The company doesn't sell airline tickets or hotel rooms or rental car reservations. Instead, it directs consumers to other travel sites where they can make these purchases directly.

What it does however, is allow some serious comparison shopping. Thanks to the magic of computers, you can make a well-informed decision before pulling out your credit card.

There are no fees to use Kayak.com. As a method for a comprehensive and comparative search, Kayak can show airfare for hundreds of airlines.

Let's say you're thinking about a trip to Switzerland. You search Kayak for a flight from Indianapolis to Zurich in mid-March. A recent search on Kayak brought up 479 options! Sorting options let you mix and match to your heart's content.

www.orbitz.com

Of the websites mentioned here, Orbitz probably has the best name recognition and made its debut in June 2001.

Orbitz stands out for its high level of service. They attempt to make your journey as easy as possible, providing the latest information on flight delays, weather conditions, gate changes, airport congestion or anything else that might impact your travel arrangements.