Of all the sites that are on the web, travel bears the crown, survey after survey reveals that people are happier booking travel than any other product around.
As a result, there is now a Klondike-like gold rush among entrepreneurs to provide a one-stop booking service that will cater for all your travel needs.
But are they any good? Some are little nuggets. Many more, of course, are complete tosh, with more nonsense about deals-of-a- lifetime than you can shake a cocktail swizzle stick at.
Slow sites, limited product and the need to eventually e-mail your request or physically telephone the company to check availability make many of them tiresome and aggravating.
A survey last month by Holiday Which also found that of 72 holidays advertised on websites, only 30 were available at the price advertised – and 31 were not available at all.
And it is important to remember that some holiday sites deal only with a limited number of tour operators, or promote to the top of the pile those firms that advertise with them.
However, for simple requests – such as a cheap flight, hotel room or car hire – the Internet is outstandingly useful. Small wonder that low-cost airlines including Ryanair, easyJet and Go report more than half their bookings are over the Web.
Even better is the wealth of information – visas, jabs, travel guides, weather reports and brochure request sites are all there. So are niche sites for disabled or budget travelers.
Progress has been rapid and will only accelerate. It is estimated that 94 per cent of sites will have the ability to book on-line, rather than by e-mail, within three years.
Flight and holiday prices will shortly be "transparent", that is, with all taxes included. Choice will grow hugely. And 24-hour helplines for complicated itineraries will become the norm.
In surveying what I consider to be the best 10 websites now available, the criteria has not been driven by which has the cheapest deal around. My rationale has been usefulness, speed, clarity of information and ease of use.
So here it is. The first authoritative guide to what The Times considers to be: The Top 10 Websites in Travel
As a result, there is now a Klondike-like gold rush among entrepreneurs to provide a one-stop booking service that will cater for all your travel needs.
But are they any good? Some are little nuggets. Many more, of course, are complete tosh, with more nonsense about deals-of-a- lifetime than you can shake a cocktail swizzle stick at.
Slow sites, limited product and the need to eventually e-mail your request or physically telephone the company to check availability make many of them tiresome and aggravating.
A survey last month by Holiday Which also found that of 72 holidays advertised on websites, only 30 were available at the price advertised – and 31 were not available at all.
And it is important to remember that some holiday sites deal only with a limited number of tour operators, or promote to the top of the pile those firms that advertise with them.
However, for simple requests – such as a cheap flight, hotel room or car hire – the Internet is outstandingly useful. Small wonder that low-cost airlines including Ryanair, easyJet and Go report more than half their bookings are over the Web.
Even better is the wealth of information – visas, jabs, travel guides, weather reports and brochure request sites are all there. So are niche sites for disabled or budget travelers.
Progress has been rapid and will only accelerate. It is estimated that 94 per cent of sites will have the ability to book on-line, rather than by e-mail, within three years.
Flight and holiday prices will shortly be "transparent", that is, with all taxes included. Choice will grow hugely. And 24-hour helplines for complicated itineraries will become the norm.
In surveying what I consider to be the best 10 websites now available, the criteria has not been driven by which has the cheapest deal around. My rationale has been usefulness, speed, clarity of information and ease of use.
So here it is. The first authoritative guide to what The Times considers to be: The Top 10 Websites in Travel
- travelstore.com
- lastminute.com
- laterooms.com
- teletext.co.uk
- 1ski.com
- wcities.com
- qxl.com
- holidaybank.co.uk
- lonelyplanet.com
- infotravel.co.uk