What websites do you use in order to book your travel plans? Smart travelers will shop around online to try to get the best rates for their trips, of course. However, you usually end up finding one or two travel booking sites that you like best. You then use those sites as your go-to sites when doing travel planning.

What you’ve likely noticed recently (or at least what I’ve noticed) is that these travel booking websites are changing. Some of them are starting to aggregate information from more locations. Others are providing more information and options than in the past. Still others are offering new user interface options.

I spend a lot of time planning imaginary trips using travel booking websites. What can I say – I enjoy the planning as much as the trips themselves sometimes! What I’ve found to be the best features of today’s most up-to-date travel booking sites are:

1. Great mobile version of the site. These days you want to be able to access, review and update your travel plans from your mobile phone. The best travel booking sites have great websites that are also good in their mobile versions. The inclusion of free helpful travel apps is an extra plus.
2. Total pricing information. One of the most important things for me is that the website have true and accurate pricing information. I want to get the best price for my trips. This includes knowing about baggage fees, taxes and any other extras that I may be charged. Sites that don’t provide this complete information just aren’t up to par these days.
3. Based on search engines. There are two types of travel booking sites today. First are those that are more like travel agencies that aggregate information from a select set of service providers and book the trip for you. Then there are those that function more like search engines to find the best current deals for you from around the web and allow you to then book the flight yourself. I tend to prefer the sites that are based on search engines. They usually provide more information and lower rates.
4. Excellent filtering options. I want to be able to choose the exact type of travel that I’m looking for and get only information that suits my needs. The best travel booking sites have great options for filtering out everything from too-early flights to flights that won’t take my credit card rewards miles.
5. Images, videos, tips and reviews. Today’s travel booking websites provide a lot of information for the traveler who wants to make a smart choice. I want to be able to see pictures of budget hotels, read reviews about the experiences people have had on different airlines and pick up some tips for my type of travel.

What do you look for in a good travel booking website?

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There are a few reasons why I don’t like hotel alternatives:

• Some are more expensive than hotels. Renting out an apartment can end up being pricier than staying in a hotel, for example. I don’t want to spend more money than I have to on accommodations. I want to spend that money on enjoying attractions at my destination!
• The cheaper ones aren’t as comfortable. Staying in a youth hostel or on someone’s fold out couch in their extra room or at a campsite might save you a little bit of money when you are traveling. However, it usually equates to a lot less comfort in terms of sleeping arrangements. I’d rather pay the price of a cheap hotel and be comfortable during my trip.
• The experience isn’t as familiar. I admit it; I like a little bit of familiarity when I travel. I don’t like the idea of showing up to a stranger’s house in the middle of the day and having to make small talk while learning their home and finding out where my room is within it. I do think that this can be a neat experience. However I generally prefer the standard issue format of just renting a hotel room.
• It doesn’t seem as safe as a hotel. Some of the hotel alternatives just don’t seem as safe as cheap hotels are. They require shared rooms so your stuff isn’t necessarily locked up. And you’re staying with people you don’t know in rooms that aren’t locked. This is something I’ve gotten more concerned about since having kids.

What do you think about hotel alternatives when compared to budget hotels?

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Some tips for single travelers that come from smart parents include:

• Always be prepared for injury or illness. Parents know that it would be awful to be stuck in a new city trying to hunt down a 24-hour pharmacy to get medication for a sick child. That’s why they pack the basics including a first aid kit. It’s a smart thing for single travelers to consider doing as well.
• Pack clothes that layer. Kids complain that they’re too hot and then too cold. That’s why we dress them in layers when traveling. Single travelers would find all destinations more comfortable if they got used to doing this.
• Leave yourself a lot of time. Parents traveling with small children know that everything takes longer than they expect it to. They leave a lot of room between flights to make sure that they catch the second flight even if the kids are cranky, hungry and need to stop at the bathroom. They assume the road trip will take longer than it probably does. Single travelers would save themselves a lot of stress if they, too, gave themselves this type of time cushion.
• Don’t pack your days too full. Kids need time to sleep, rest, relax. It isn’t good to rush from sight to sight without a break. Adults who learn this lesson can enjoy their solo trips a lot more too.
• Budget hotels may give you more for your money. Parents know that good economy hotels will give you great service, good amenities and a full breakfast. Why pay more for less?
• Go with the flow. It’s great to plan out the perfect vacation but things inevitably go wrong. Parents learn to go with the flow. Single travelers will enjoy their trips more if they can do this too.

I wish I had known all of this before I had kids! Don’t you?

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Unfortunately, though, the problem with online relationships is that they’re as easy to lose track of as they are to form. It’s easy to go a long time without answering someone’s email even though you don’t mean to put it off. That’s what’s happened with me and my Houston friend. I keep meaning to write to her and I keep putting it off for no good reason. It’s frustrating, too, because I do want to know what she’s been up to but I can’t seem to gather myself together to write to her to find out.

I thought maybe I’d write about that here because I figure it will motivate me to go ahead and write that email. After all, I know that she’s going to see this post and that she’s going to know that I have no good excuse for not writing. Sometimes we have to do little things to hold ourselves accountable to do the things that we want to do.

Anyway, none of this has much to do with why you read this blog but it did get me thinking about Houston travel again. In fact, because it’s nagging at the back of my mind that I need to write that email, I’ve been thinking about Houston travel quite a bit lately.

One of my favorite sites for travel daydreams is YouTube. You can use general searches on YouTube to find out lots of different travel information. You can get travel news from clips posted on YouTube. You can watch beautiful slideshows of other people’s trips to a destination. You can learn detailed information about an area’s budget hotels or best restaurants. These videos are a great place to explore the idea of traveling somewhere new.

So, yes, I’ve been watching Houston travel videos on YouTube and yes I wanted to share a few of them with you here:

Enjoy! Now I’ve got an email to go write!

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San Diego is a destination that I keep trying to learn more and more about. It just seems like such a great place for families and yet a place that’s hip and cool (as compared to, say, Disneyland). Right now I’m interested in the best hotels in San Diego for families that are interested in traveling on a budget.

Here are seven of the most family-friendly San Diego budget hotels that I have found so far:

1. Quality Inn Airport Seaworld Area. This isn’t the cheapest of the budget hotels on my list but it’s one of my favorites because it is located so close to Sea World. That’s an attraction I really love even though it’s kind of pricey. This is one of the most affordable hotels in the area so I think staying here would be a great choice.
2. Comfort Inn and Suites Zoo and SeaWorld. This is another one that I’d choose for the location.
3. Comfort Inn Airport at Old Town. Old Town San Diego provides so much entertainment and a lot of it is free. Staying at this affordable hotel would be good, too.
4. Quality Suites I-5 Miramar. What I love about this hotel is that there are a lot of deals offered by budget hotel sites for perks that can be added during your stay.
5. Comfort Inn at the Harbor. If you couldn’t tell, yet, I am a fan of the Comfort Inn. This is one of the most affordable locations of this chain if you’re traveling to San Diego.
6. Rodeway Inn and Suites Downtown. I don’t know for sure if I’d stay downtown with my family or not. It seems like more of a nightlife area. But people have told me that it’s family-friendly. This hotel is pricier than the rest because of the location but it looks like a good one if I did decide to stay downtown.
7. Porto Vista Hotel and Suites. I don’t get the chance to stay in boutique hotels too often but this is one that I think I could afford.

Do you have any experience with any of these hotels? Do you recommend them?

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The Thanksgiving spirit has grabbed me in spite of myself. I have been thinking about all of the things that I am thankful for this year. Most of them are related to my health, my family and my working life. However, there are some things that I can think of that are specifically related to travel that I have to admit that I’m thankful for.

Things related to travel that I am thankful for this year include:

• The fact that I can afford to travel at all. I definitely travel on the cheap. All of the hotels that I stay at are budget hotels. I need to get travel deals everywhere that I can. Nevertheless, I do have a little bit of extra money to travel during a time when so many other people don’t have that luxury. I’m thankful for that.
• That travel has improved so much in this era. I can’t imagine what it was like when there were no planes and you had to travel only on trains or ships. I think it’s great that we can still choose to travel on those modes of transportation if we want to but I also am thankful for the fact that I can jet off to see friends and family in just a few hours if I need to do so.
• Everyone in my family is comfortable with travel. Plus I really love that we all have the same travel style. It’s easy to take the kids on any trip. My husband and I have travel skills that compliment each other well. It makes traveling so much easier when this is the case.

I guess that’s all that I can think of right now that specifically relates to travel. I just feel really lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to do so much traveling in my life already and that the people I love support that and enjoy doing it with me! Are you thankful for any travel-related stuff this year?

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