Travel Search Engines

By Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Watch, Sep 15, 2005

Below are search engines that help you locate travel and destination information. If you are a Search Engine Watch member, please see the Search Types: Travel section of Search Engine Watch's Search Topics area for the very latest on travel search engine news since this page was last updated, as well as some back archives and related material.

Allcheckin
Travel search engine especially aimed at the UK market. Short review

• Allcheckin Travel Search Engine Launched (May 2005)

AOL Pinpoint Travel
Searches a broad array of online travel agencies and travel provider sites. Includes major hotel chains, airlines and even some low-fare airlines. Review:

• AOL Launches Pinpoint Travel (March 2005)

Dohop
Allows you to find schedule and fares for more 300 European destinations. Short review:

• A New Travel Search Engine Takes Off (April 2005)

Expedia
Long-standing travel search site letting you find prices on flights, hotels, car rental, vacation packages and more.

IgoUgo
Online travel community and searchable vertical database of travel reviews owned by Sabre, parent of Travelocity. More info:

• Sabre Holdings Purchases IgoUgo Travel Info Community and Database (Apr. 2005)

Kayak
Allows comparison shopping for air fares, hotel rooms and car rentals from a wide-range of vendors.

• New Travel Search: Take a Trip with Kayak (Oct. 2004)

Mobissimo
Comparison travel shopping search service for airfares, hotels and cars. Short review:

• Mobissimo Officially Launches (Nov. 2004)

Orbitz
Helps you get and compare prices on flights, hotels, cars and more.

SideStep
Search across the web for prices on cars, hotels and airfares and more. Review:

• Travel Search Company SideStep Launches Site (Jan. 2005)

Travelazer
Says it identifies sites as travel-related, then spiders them to provide searches that are focused to travel-related content. Short review:

• Travellazer Crawls For Travel Content

Travelocity
Long-standing travel search site that helps you get prices on hotels, flights, hotels, rental cars and more.

TripAdvisor.com
Travel search engine that lets you locate reviews and information about destinations, hotels, resorts and vacations.

Yahoo Farechase
Search for flights, hotels or car rentals from this service that scans many travel sites offering these products. Review:

• Yahoo's FareChase Releases Hotel Search Beta (April 2005)
• FareChase Announces Enhancements (March 2005)

Yahoo Travel
Get both price information on flights, hotels and more or travel guides for various destinations.

Hotspot Finders

• Geektels: A directory to hotels offering high speed access. See also a review of it, Searching for High Speed Hotels (Nov. 2002).
   
• JiWire: Giant database of wifi hotspots around the world.
   
• WiFi Search Sites Offer Spring Freedom: Article from Search Engine Guide in April 2005 lists a variety of useful resource for finding hotspots while on the move.
   
• Cybercafe Search Engines: Article from SearchDay in Feb. 2003 about cybercafe search engines can help you find internet access in hundreds of cities around the world.

Related Articles

Available to Search Engine Watch members, the Search Types: Travel section of Search Engine Watch's Search Topics area has stories relating to travel search and travel search engines, including information on opportunities for advertising on these sites. Below are some recent or significant stories related to travel search:

Navigating London
SearchDay, May 31, 2005

London offers wonderful opportunities for rambling explorationbut it's also easy to lose your bearings if you're not careful. Fortunately, the web offers some terrific navigation tools and maps to help you find your way.

New Travel Search Engines Beat Old
Search Engine Watch Blog, Mar. 29, 2005

Venerable Consumer Reports pits new travel search engines Kayak, Mobissimo and SideStep against the established brands of Orbits, Expedia and Travelocity and finds the new kids do better on finding lower prices.

Testing Travel Search
Search Engine Watch Blog, Jan. 24, 2005

The Organized Shopping Blog puts some travel search engines to the test in Travel Search Engine Shootout - Las Vegas Strip Hotels. Conclusion? The results seemed virtually interchangeable from long-established players such as Expedia..

Searching for Happenings Around the Globe
SearchDay, Jan. 22, 2003

Discovering information about thousands of events and happenings taking place around the world can be difficult and time consuming. Whatsonwhen, a specialized searchable database, makes it easy and even fun.

Travel Web Sites Say Airline Deals Don't Affect Searches
Washington Post, April 3, 2002

Expedia hid United Airlines fares for about a day in a dispute over commissions, highlighting concerns over whether travel search sites are biased.