How do I know sites are legit?

frivolous_fay

Long story short, not a seasoned traveller and I'm finding all the travel sites very confusing and frustrating, especially the myriad ones that want me to ring them up to book. (Join the online revolution, fgs)

Hoping for a split centre two week honeymoon featuring Hawaii, but not Vegas.

Anyway I found a site that had a promising deal and showed the price pp. THEN I noticed all the holidays were only for 2010... sigh.

THEN I found an almost identical site with similar holidays, and 2011 dates. The banner showed the same (parent?) company name but the sites had completely different addresses. They both show ABTA and ATOL.

Am I being overly paranoid in detecting a smell of fish about the whole thing?

moonrakerz

If they claim to be ABTA/ATOL/CAA protected go to the ABTA (etc) site and check that they are telling the truth !

Pay on a credit card too !

Beaver991

Don't confuse poor website design and maintenance with con men. However always use a credit card to book if you are unsure and try google searching things like. "don't use [company name]" or "[company name] ripped me off" etc.

Also Google claims this problem is now fixed but remember this cautionary tale.
www. nytimes. com/2010/11/28/business/28borker.html

Edit: I can't post links as i am a new user but i'm sure you can get to the article using what is above.

kittykarate

I've got to admit when I booked my honeymoon to Hawaii I did it all mix and match via Expedia, as I wasn't impressed with some of the tour companies.

It is possible to get to Hawaii not via Vegas, but you will have to stop somewhere to change planes in the US, mine was via LA. We just toughed it out and got straight on the next plane, but I was a drooling imbecile by the time I got to Big Island.

Have you thought about which bits of Hawaii you want to see?

frivolous_fay

Thanks for the pointers all.
Having popped in to the Flight Centre yesterday I'm not sure anymore that Hawaii is going to 'fly' - did I mention our two weeks off are in the first half of August? We might be able to get two weeks there for under 5k (!) but splitting it up with a city break for a week will significantly increase the price. It's not that we couldn't stretch to that, just that it seems insane money!

A friend suggested it as a great place to go but I was told to get the best deals, book 11 months ahead!

Think it's going to have to be Europe... or UK!

Vikki_74

I agree, £5k is a lot to spend on a holiday, even if it is your honeymoon! Ideally what were you hoping to spend?

If you give a few pointers about what you're looking for, I'm sure the helpful folks on this forum might be able to suggest some alternatives. Is it just somewhere beachy you were after to relax in or is it something in particular about Hawaii e.g. are there particular activities you were looking to do or places you wanted to see?

frivolous_fay

We don't really have a budget in mind, but it would be nice not to think we're being screwed!!

Wanted to do a but of beach plus a bit of culture and/or action, ie. the option to do mountain biking or walking. I'm happy to sit on a beach a bit, but not for two weeks! Hence the idea of split location - we looked at the US as HTB is keen. Would have liked San Fran + Hawaii or some other fun city.

Failing that... I love Sardinia. But apparently it's horrendous in August so we've sort of given up on that.

Otherwise - we're back to looking at Europe - Italy maybe. Don't like naff resorts or trashy beach high rises. (went to Mallorca once, hated it)

Alternatively... we started looking at Scotland (city plus a week somewhere more tranquil?) but didn't really get very far.

kittykarate

I think my honeymoon cost $5K when I add it all up (Hawaii and New York). Would I trade it? Naah it was fantastic.

How about the Rocky Mountains in Canada? No beach but LOADS of great walking country. Fly to Calgary, drive to Banff, follow your nose from there :rotfl:

frivolous_fay

Thank you, Canada does sound fab. I don't drive though and holiday hire cars aren't HTB's strong point (the last one got trashed ) Although I do like the option of walking we won't be doing long stretches daily, as I have a painful and boring foot condition.

JayCtraveller

i get what you are talking about.....there are sooo many sites with competing offers - cheapest flight, hotel etc then you come to book and it whacks on an additional £200 or so.

i always start my search by checking a comparison site like directflights.com then you can see which the cheapest airlines and travel agents and you dont get this rubbish sites trying to sell you old deals.

:beer:

browneyedbazzi

If you like the idea of the Rocky Mountains but not driving there's the option of going by train...the Rocky Mountaineer is supposed to be great and you can fly into Calgary, train through the mountains then finish in Vancouver (or reverse the route). There's usually quite a lot going on in Vancouver in early August, including the Symphony of Fire on English Bay which I'd highly recommend...it's an international fireworks competition where the fireworks are timed to music and set off from a barge on the water, perfect evening out for a honeymoon! The weather should be decent (20C or more) and there are even some beaches to be found not far away (if you don't mind a cool Pacific!).

I grew up in the area and always drove through the Rockies so I don't have personal experience of the train, but I know a few people from the UK who have done the train and absolutely raved about it.

In terms of avoiding being ripped off...there's a website called Canadian Affair (I can't post links but I'm sure google will find it) that offers the best prices I've been able to find for travel to Canada.

Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have a fab time!

If you do choose Canada and want tips from a local let me know x