Fat Mama’s Top 5 Trip Planning Websites
I’ve always felt that the hardest part of going on a vacation was everything that happens before you actually go on vacation. By the time you figure out your plans, book your travel, arrange your accommodations, research activities, pick out a new vacation outfit … you practically need a vacation from your vacation planning.
So how do I stay stress-free while planning our amazing family adventures? Well, I don’t do it on my own. I do it with the help of 5 amazing travel websites that make vacation planning a breeze. And I promise, none of them require a special membership. This summer, make your vacation plans easily with Fat Mama’s Top 5 Trip Planning Websites.
There’s No Place Like Home Away From Home
VRBO – I know everyone has their favorite short-term rental site, but for me, it’s VRBO or nothing. I’ve always been able to find great homes, in amazing locations, at fantastic rates using this service. When Fat Papa and I travel with our Lucky Duckies, be it the Rakhardts, MoHos, or Gigi and Pappy, we really enjoy staying all together in one big house. VRBO provides me with all the tools, filtered searches, and amazing photos that I need to not only find the right place for our trip but to book with confidence knowing that everything is going to be AMAZING.
In all the years we have been booking through VRBO, I don’t think we have ever had a problem with a property. All the information we need about a location is always easy to find, owners are quick to respond to questions, and our vacation is always exactly what we are expecting or better. And there is no shortage of properties. No matter where we want to go, VRBO has incredible and inspiring properties available.
Fat Mama Tip: I really like following VRBO on Facebook, because now their listings pop-up in my feed and I have a whole trip board dedicated to properties I want to stay at on future vacations. In fact, we have started choosing vacation destinations based on crazy cool houses I find on VRBO. Choosing the destination based on mind-blowing lodging, rather than choosing your lodging based on your destination, has opened up a whole new way to plan vacations for me. All thanks to VRBO.
My Magic Wand for Air Travel
Business Class Air – I don’t know anyone who LOVES to search for the absolute best flights. Comparing prices, layovers, flight times, seat type, what points can I use … it all gives me a headache and I always feel like I have missed something. Until I discovered Business Class Air. I love this company, they make booking flights, any kind of flight, so easy and affordable!
But you have to know what you are getting with Business Class Air before you book. What do I mean? Read some of the reviews about them on Tripadvisor. They have a low rating which almost caused me to not book through Business Class Air until I actually read the reviews. All the nasty things people said were because they didn’t understand that Business Class Air is a corporate reseller and not a direct retailer of airline tickets.
What is a corporate reseller? In the case of Business Class Air, it means that corporations that have TONS of travel and credit card points that will never get used are resold to the public at a discount. So, my March flight to Poland … the 11 hours I spent in the air from SFO to my 4-hour layover in Amsterdam … I spent in first-class because I found tickets for under $3,500 through Business Class Air while those same tickets were offered through Kayak for $18,000. What was even better was that the 2 free checked bags I brought were full of donations and would have cost more than the difference between the economy and first-class ticket to ship! Win-Win.
So why does Business Class Air get a bad rap? People don’t read the not-so-fine print. You are purchasing corporate points, not airlines tickets. Yes, you get airlines tickets with those points, but the corporate account that owns the points is being used to do the booking. What does this mean? It means that your tickets take 48-72 hours to get approved. YOUR name is still on the ticket, but YOU DON’T get airline points and any changes or adjustments need to go through Business Class Air, NOT the airlines. But I found these to be very minor inconveniences that in the end didn’t matter one quack.
