is it ok to book in websites like expedia.com?

Hi Amirreza -

Those are what you call "third party booking agents" - so instead of booking directly with the hotel or airline you book through these companies. Because they do lots of business with certain hotel chains they can often offer discounts, and because they combine legs of flights together from different airlines you can often get cheaper round trip tickets. It's rather like a travel agency.

Some other online sites might be scams - there are dozens out there - but I can tell you that Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Hotwire, Priceline are fine and legitimate. I've used each in the past. I imagine Yahoo! Travel is fine too although I've never used it.

I always prefer to book directly with the hotel or airline when I can, because if for whatever reason a flight gets overbooked or you want to change a hotel room you have less bargaining power. What I often do is look up the cheapest deals on these sites and then see if I can find the same price dealing straight with whatever company it is - this is easier to do with flights than with hotels. Also keep in mind that with flights booked on multiple airlines on different legs I've run into the problem of having to switch terminals and get re-ticketed which is a pain.

But sometimes you can't argue with price 😊 Reply to this

If this your first time traveling out of the country you may want to book your flight directly with an airline. I've gone to Expedia, Priceline, etc. and found that I have done just as well on my own. Since you only have 9 days for your trip I would book the most direct flight. When you arrive during the morning hours everything is open for business and that includes the public transportation. To illustrate this point I give this example. I chose to fly to Malaga, Spain via London and use Easyjet from London to Malaga. I took the cheapest flight which got me into Malaga late at night. The train that takes you from the airport to the city center stopped operating. Instead of a very cheap train ride I paid for an expensive taxi ride which ended up being more than the amount I saved on the cheap flight. Also when you fly the flag carrier to a country you can usually get good hotel prices through the airline.

You may want to go online and find the Vienna Tourist Office and see if you can get any hotel deals through them. I'm going to Toulouse, France in a few weeks and you can buy a tourist car for 10 euros that gives you anywhere between 10% to 30% off hotels. Check in Vienna to see what they offer such as reduced prices on public transportation for foreign tourists. I would expext the youth hostels in Austria to be very good. You may however need an IYH card, so you should go on their website and check if you plan to go that way.

With the internet you should be able to find answers to any questions you may have. After you have booked your hotel go on google maps and take a walking tour down the street to see what the neighborhood is like (not really a concern in Vienna) and what kind of busineses are close by.

You will be traveling during high season and the advice you received from Stephanie is good. If you book through a third party and run into something like the fallout from the volcano in Iceland it may take a long time to find an alternate empty seat on an aircraft.

Traveling to Vienna is a place where you will have little to worry about other than the language and that should not be a problem. But it would help to know some German before you go. To that end go to www.bbc.co.uk/languages for some basic German language instruction. Gute Reisse! You are on your way to becoming a savvy traveler. Jack Reply to this

Hi John, Hi Cindy,

I really appreciate your detailed answers.

I booked my tickets through expedia.com, they have such nice deals if you book ticket and hotel together!
They also have a good support, cause first I booked my tickets and hotels to stay 5 days in Vienna with Austrian Airways, and then 4 days in Paris (I called them and was on the phone around 45 minutes with their agent), then after 3-4 days I found a better hotel in Paris, so I called them again, and again an hour on the phone, and easy, they changed my hotel to the new one that was a better hotel and lucky me for the same dates was even cheaper (13 dolors :D) and for the refund it just took me 2-3 days to get the refund credited in my credit card.

So, I'm pretty much happy with their service and awesome prices. I'll put another review after I come back from my vacation, that is gonna be in the first week of August.

BTW, from Vienna to Paris, I got another flight but this one directly myself through Air Berlin website.

Cheers Reply to this

I have found that expedia.com and other sites are a great way to find information on what you want, but I always prefer to go straight with the airline. They usually can give you the same price as expedia and more support. Also if you need to change for any reason it is easier to do with the airline then the agent, but all in all they work fine. Reply to this