Travelogger

Jun|14|2007

Tips On Booking Online

Posted by Camica as Tips, Transport, Travelogger

A lot of people are now starting to book their travel plans online. It’s more convenient, and it’s usually cheaper. But on the other hand, potentially, it can also cause a lot of problems, especially if you’re not a seasoned traveler. And even those who’ve done a lot of traveling will attest that booking yourself online is different from booking thru a travel agent. You’ll need to do a lot more research on your own, like passport requirements, flight details, etc. That’s why, I’ve decided to dedicate this post and the next few posts to giving you tips on how to book online with airlines, hotels, cars, as well as tell you about the usual problems that I’ve encountered.

* First suggestion to booking online is: you need an email address. Or, you need somebody with an email account you can access. Naturally, since this is an online booking, travel confirmations and bookings will be sent thru your email.

* Before finalizing your plans, find out first about the documents required if you’re going out of the country. For US citizens, for example, a passport is now required even just to travel to and from US territories like Canada, Mexico and the Carribean. Check out these websites, www.traveldocs.com or www.travel.state.gov for more information.

* Along with the document requirements, it would also be better if you could check the health requirements as well. Some countries, particularly in South America, need vaccination before they allow entry, like for yellow fever, etc.

* If you’re traveling with kids, check the requirements as well. In some countries, you’ll need to bring additional documents for particular cases. For example, if the kid will be traveling with just one parent, or with somebody else aside from the parents (like the grandparents), some countries require a notarized letter of permission to travel from the absent parent.

* Another frequent call we got from customers trying to book online was with regards to their credit cards. In some cases, their cards kept getting rejected. First of all, some websites don’t accept or are unable to process debit cards. Or, the information they have may not match with their bank’s. Another possibility they need to check is the credit card limit. Even if you say your card has no limit, believe it or not, some banks do impose a maximum daily charge limit, or a maximum number of purchases per day. The easiest way is to check with your bank.

In my next post, I’ll give you tips on booking flights online.

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