A hundred years ago, around the world travel was best undertaken by a combination of hot air balloon, steam train, and ocean liner. Thanks to The Brothers Wright, those days have long since past. However, with airline prices on the rise and cancellations becoming more commonplace, it might seem like a traveler is undertaking something just as substantial as Phileas Fogg did.

The advent of internet travel sites like Travelocity and Expedia has made it easier to organize your own trip around the globe. However, these sites are not likely to uncover the best deals.

Some travel agencies specialize in around the world airfares. Though prices may fluctuate depending on where travelers decide to stop, an around the world package is, in general, cheaper than anything you could piece together yourself. If you let the company choose your destinations, prices can get even cheaper. (As of this writing, a set itinerary from Air Brokers International was $1099 from New York to LA the long way around, with stops in London, Berlin, Bangkok, and Hong Kong). For $2000, travelers can stop over on each continent (save Antarctica).

The catch?

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I was requested to do a sponsored review by EuroBookings.com, and since their site is relevant to the topic of this blog I agreed. (Somebody’s got to fund the Travel Globetrotting Network).

Eurobookings is a homey online European hotel booking site. I say homey because it offers the features of the online travel giants (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocty, etc) while still feeling personal and committed to their unique niche. Using their site feels a little more secure because you know that they cater to your specific need, which in this case happens to be booking European hotels.

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You are probably not aware, but the online travel agency giants (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc.) are in a bit of a struggle with, really, the hand that feeds them. San Jose’s MercuryNews.com has an article about the quiet struggle for market share that online travel agencies are having with (more…)

The following is a paid review:

Eurobookings.com is a European hotel reservations site that includes hotels over most of Europe, including the major destinations like Paris, France, Amsterdam, and London.

They seem like a pretty solid online booking service, with a plethora of European hotel options. The site is very clean, not overloaded with graphics, and simple to navigate. It’s also got every feature needed to book a hotel room: Reviews, ratings, popularity, hotels near by, map, photos, descriptions, currency converter and language options. Like I said, everything.

But now for what you really want to know about: Price. Eurobookings prides themselves on being cheaper than hotels.co.uk. Well, I put that to a quick test by comparing prices for Hotel Concorde La Fayette in Paris, France. After a few conversions, Eurobookings definitely was cheaper. Here are links to the prices compared:

• Hotels.com Concorde La Fayette
• Eurobookings Concorde La Fayette

One notable aspect, unlike booking hotels online at Expedia or Hotels.com, is that Eurobookings does not require you to pay for your hotel room upfront at your checkout. Instead, you pay once you stay there, so you keep your money in pocket. Definitely cool. Here’s the text from the website:

Flexible payment
We request no payments in advance and will not charge your credit card. Your credit card is only required to guarantee your booking. Therefore you can keep your money in your pocket until you pay for your stay at the hotel by all the usual forms of payment.

No surprises
The reservation service of Eurobookings is free of charge. So therefore no additional fees are added to the room price, nor will we be charging you a cancellation fee.

So drawbacks? Well, when simply booking hotels, there are none. If you’re looking to book travel packages, however, you will need to use other booking services, since Eurobookings doesn’t offer flights or car hires. Also, if they offered hostel bookings, the service would be that much better.

But Eurobookings is a solid online booking website that caters to any travelers looking to get a good hotel rate across the pond.

The following is a paid review:

OTBeach.com is an authoritative British travel agency serving travelers who are looking to get On the Beach during the holidays. OTBeach has earned its status as a trusted online travel agency by being around over ten years, as it was founded in 1995. The agency is also part of the ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents)

OTbeach.com has all the travel features necessary to book a cheap holiday online. It offers hotels, flights, and car hires all for competitive rates, and offers a low price guarantee with online travel purchases. I will cover the prices later in the post.

Online Travel Booking Alternatives

If you don\’t have the time or desire to shop online for a vacation, OTbeach offers several alternatives. The first is their toll free number (0870 6 06 07 08) for customers to call to book a trip. Secondly, if you would prefer that OTbeach calls you, you can enter your own phone number for Otbeach to call you back at. Another alternative is to fill out an online form of the requirements you have for your trip, and they will contact you with trips that meet your needs.

Price Comparison

After a quick comparison to Expedia.co.uk, I found that OTbeach offered a better price on a week long getaway to Majorca, Spain. I spot checked one specific hotel, and I found that OTbeach had a rate 20% below the Expedia rate. I wouldn’t expect this disparity among all the rates, but this little experiment proves that otbeach is very competitive with its pricing.

OTbeach.com has proved itself to be a great online travel booking website, and if I happened to live across the pond in the UK, I’d be sure to use it myself while booking my own cheap holidays on the beach.

The following is a paid review:

HotelReservations.com is a online travel booking website which prides itself, like most travel sites, on low rates and helpful travel tools to help customers plan their trips.

First, and most importantly, I tested their claim to offer the cheapest prices. After a quick comparison with Expedia regarding hotel prices in Amsterdam, I found Hotel Reservations to have low nightly rates that are very comparable to Expedia.com.

Hotel Reservations also returned a large number of results, which is always good to allow customers to have a wide selection.In addition to their obvious offering of hotel reservations, Hotel Reservations.com also offers affordable flights, car rentals, vacation rentals, and vacation packages on par with the standard industry budget travel rates.

Another feature of Hotel Reservations is its toll free booking over the phone. If you are old school, hate the internet, and/or prefer “actually talking to someone,” Hotel Reservations can accommodate you.

I tested their toll free calling system by telling the agent I was looking for a hotel in Miami. He handled my call in a very standard fashion, and was able to answer my questions correctly (I checked his answers online myself during the call).

The only drawback of Hotel Reservations is its design, which could be simply described as bland. Its older design is also a little harder to navigate than more modern travel booking sites. One example is choosing departure and arrival dates. It tends to be a little more of a hassle with Hotel Reservations compared to the big travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz. Those larger sites have the nifty “interactive” pop up calendar that makes dates a breeze.

So if you are looking to book a hotel, vacation rental, flight, or car for your travels, HotelReservations.com seems like a reliable online or phone booking agent to satisfy your needs.