by Carlo Rossini

Created on: November 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 01, 2010

These days it is not only possible to save both time and money on your travels by using the internet, you could even possibly argue it is actually foolish to consider doing anything else (in most cases).  No really, I know it is hard to believe, but it really was not so long ago that the only way to get a trip or vacation planned was to head into town and visit a local Tour Operator or Travel Agent, and trawl through a mountain of glossy brochures and paperwork to try and find that perfect vacation.

All the time knowing that you were most likely paying inflated premiums, and be subject to hidden costs, inflexible schedules, and a heap of complicated forms to complete. Oh and almost forget to mention the often inpolite, unhelpful staff.

Thankfully with the emergence of the internet, just a few clicks of the mouse can mean there are limitless possibilities and resources available to find your dream destination. An with a little effort you can compile and prepare a trip down to the finite detail, tailored to your particular budget and requirements, and most importantly, one which will fit in to your busy schedule and not the schedule of the Tour Operator. Choice now really has become the name of the game. When it comes to planning a trip, the consumer really is king.

To reinforce this fact, a recent survey found that 65% of US families use the internet to plan their summer vacations, with slightly over half of that number, using dedicated online Tour Operators and most of the remainder using search engines and direct booking from airlines and hotel chains. The figure of 65% really comes as no surprise when you consider that the average savings over the high street prices can vary from between 30-40% which is quite a considerable amount of money on a family vacation. If you travel during peak times such as Thanksgiving or Christmas this figure can be even greater.

So where to begin? We all hear about using the internet to get a great deal, you can hardly open a newspaper or turn on the tv without being confronted with advertisments, but to the uninitiated its a real big job to know where to start. In this article we will look at a few simple, practical ways, you can both plan and organize your trip, an save yourself a bunch of time and money too. Sounds good huh. Well please do read on.

A great place to start, is by visiting one of the many travel destination websites, these are really useful because they are

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