Budget Airlines, Hotels, Etc

As I am planning an upcoming trip to Europe I am finding more budget airlines than ever.  When we first started traveling to Europe 15 years ago they were just starting airlines such as Ryan and Easy Jet.  Now it seems like everyone wants a piece of the pie.  I just found another great one called Vueling Air.  They are a Spanish based low cost airline that offer quite a few route options.

http://www.vueling.com/es
  

 When booking these types of airlines the majority of the time you will have to go directly to their web site.  They are not usually part of Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity, or Orbitz. 

I like to use http://www.kayak.com/ for international flights.  I see the best prices and then go directly to the airline's website to book.  I think I wrote in an earlier post - the airlines are nicer to you when you buy your ticket direct from them.  In the long run the prices are usually similar and it is worth even a couple extra dollars in the event of a delay or cancelation. 

I also use http://www.kayak.com/ for car rental and then go to the car rental site to book.  However if I cannot get the same price through the car rental web site then I complete the booking through Kayak.

I like to use http://www.booking.com/ for hotels and B&Bs.  I get the best prices.  My backup is http://www.booking.com/.  However I don't book anything without checking out the ratings and reviews on http://www.tripadvisor.com/.

Also worth noting:  https://www.airbnb.com/  - however not always the best prices.

I always use http://www.veniceapartment.com/ for Venice - they have always been wonderful.

Each person will have a different experience going to the same place.  My husband's favorite quote:  If you look for the bad you will find the bad and if you look for the good then you will find the good.  The moral of the quote is that it is what you make of it.  If you want your trip to be fabulous you have the power to make it that way!

Now for an Italian Blessing