Here are 8 best websites to book your trip. It can be overwhelming not knowing which websites to use. I’ve used Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Hostelworld.com, Vrbo.com, TripAdvisor, Viator and Manawa and know these are excellent websites to book your trip. We have reserved through Booking.com several times; one of my favourite spots that we found was Long Lake Waterfront Bed and Breakfast in Nanaimo. It was a gorgeous place to visit. The Hi Lake Louise Hostel is a perfect place to stay after a long day of downhill skiing. It’s cheaper than the other accommodations in town and has a kitchen in case you want to cook, and a restaurant on-site for your needs. We stayed at Baldy Mountain Lodge Nordegg, Mountain Views with Vrbo. It accommodated my entire family for a weekend stay together.
I had an awesome experience canyoning in Educador with TripAdvisor. Hiking Mount Batur with Bali Sunrise Trekking and Tours through Viator was another exceptional trip.
Table of Contents
1. Expedia
We book many flights through Expedia especially all-inclusive packages to Majestic Mirage Resort. The flights and hotels are all taken care of when purchasing through Expedia. They offer sales and cheaper deals compared to going through the airlines themselves saving us a lot of money. They offer opportunities to travel to multiple destinations worldwide making it easy to travel with one company. When we’ve had to cancel or change our plans, Expedia was very accommodating to refund us our money.
2. Booking.com
After finishing backpacking the West Coast Trail, we wanted a quiet place to relax. Staying at Long Lake Waterfront Bed and Breakfast did the trick. The B&B is located just north of Nanaimo on Long Lake. We had outdoor access from our room which was convenient. The room had a private bathroom just for us. We were served a delicious breakfast both mornings during our stay. They offered free access to kayaks, a canoe and a paddle board. We ventured down the lake to relax. Across the way, there was a public beach which made it a bit noisier but we stayed away and went to the side where it was quiet. The water is quite nice for swimming in the summer but note that some weeds grow in this area.
Tip: Stay floating on top of the water to avoid touching the weeds below.
It costs $250/night plus fees but it was totally worth the price as it included breakfast, kayaks, a paddleboat, and private access to the water. Booking.com is one of the 8 Best Websites to Book Your Trip. You never know what you’ll find and where you could end up relaxing.
3. Hotels.com
We booked through Hotels.com when we stayed at Baker Creek near Lake Louise. It’s a gorgeous place to stay offering rooms, and cabins near the wilderness in the mountains. If you’re lucky enough, you might get a jacuzzi in your room. It’s a nice and cozy spot to stay in the winter after skating at Lake Louise. Hotels.com compares different hotel prices and tells you how many rooms are left on the site when booking. They offer different places to stay compared to Booking.com allowing you to compare and get the best location and accommodation for your needs.
4. Hostelworld.com
We like to stay at Hi Lake Louise Hostel when having the Best Downhill Ski Day in Lake Louise. It’s expensive to ski for the day and eat at a restaurant on the hill so it’s nice to save on accommodations and stay at the hostel. The Hi Lake Louise hostel offers dorms and private rooms available for your convenience. Private rooms start at $145 and dorms start at $55. Some private rooms have a shared washroom or you can get a private room with an ensuite washroom if you book early enough. It’s $10 extra but well worth the extra cost to have your own space.
They have a kitchen with amenities making it easy in the morning to grab a quick bite to eat before heading up the hill downhill skiing. After the day, you can head to Bill Peyto’s Cafe, the on-site restaurant for an evening meal. They feature a wonderful lounging area with a fireplace if you want to chill after an awesome day of skiing. It’s a wonderful place to meet travellers from around the world if you’re up for some awesome conversations. I’ve enjoyed my stay here in the past and would recommend it. One of the 8 best websites to book your trip is Hostelword.com, offering cheaper prices.
5. Vrbo
Vrbo provides vacation rentals in one hundred and ninety countries. Baldy Mountain Lodge Nordegg, Mountain Views is the house with the green roof on the right where we stayed near Nordegg. It was a gorgeous house that fit all seven of us. It had three bedrooms and bathrooms. There was a large kitchen to cook and eat food and a living room to sit and relax. There was plenty of parking for three vehicles. It was situated in a great location near Nordegg, close to the Coliseum parking lot. Many trails are available to explore around the vacation rental. We walked the Baldy Canyon trail, which was a nice hike to discover. The area, as you can, see is gorgeous. It was nice to wake up to beautiful views in the morning.
This rental has lots of room in the backyard for playing outdoor games like bocce. Vrbo allowed us to all stay together in a house with a kitchen, as opposed to different rooms in a hotel without one. This option is more convenient for families who want to stay together during the entire stay. Kris and I like to have different options available to us depending on the city or town we stay in and who is accompanying us.
6. TripAdvisor
Canyoning in Ecuador with TripAdvisor was awesome! We had to wear a wetsuit, waterproof jacket, water shoes and a helmet for our safety. We had three different sections of the waterfall to tackle. The last section is the highest at one hundred and fifty feet tall. The first two waterfalls were smaller and allowed us to brace ourselves against the rock and rappel down gently to the bottom. That was fun. It felt safe being attached by three different ropes in case we fell.
The last section was scarier and more challenging because of the huge drop once we let go of the rock and there wasn’t anything to brace ourselves against. We rappelled slowly, gradually descending while we focused on the rock ahead of us instead of looking down. Once we started to go down a bit further, it was fun to be hanging up so high, in the middle of an Ecuadorian waterfall feeling like free birds. I would recommend this activity if you’re looking for an adventure. It was a really cool experience.
For more awesome adventures, check out Crazy Outdoor Activities for a Thrill of a Lifetime.
7. Viator
The 8 best websites to book your trip include Viator. We booked Mount Batur through Bali Sunrise Trekking & Tours on Viator. It was an amazing trip. Our transportation was arranged and we were picked up by a driver from our hotel and brought to the restaurant at the base of Mount Batur. We started to hike up the volcano at 3:45 A.M. It definitely felt early, after very little sleep. We took our time gradually climbing up to the top. Our guide Good Di let us break every so often to catch our breath. We couldn’t take too many breaks as we needed to beat the sunrise to be able to take pictures.
It’s a weird feeling climbing in the middle of the night without seeing your surroundings. I felt slower than usual feeling tired with the lack of sleep. Our guide was very encouraging to keep going to arrive on time.
Tip: Bring a headlamp to see in front of you while hiking.
Motorcycles
Motorcycles offered rides up the mountain for 300,000 IDR ($26 CAD) in case walkers were tired of hiking up. We had to move out of the motorcycle’s way to give them access to drive up the volcano. That made it a bit more difficult to get into a groove and keep a steady pace. The fumes we breathed in weren’t the best for our progress.
Breakfast
Once we reached the summit, we ate Chips Ahoy cookies that we brought to snack on while waiting for breakfast to be prepared.
Tip: Bring a few snacks to eat along the way or at the top so you don’t end up starving while waiting for breakfast.
Breakfast included banana sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs and chocolate bars. I bought myself tea for 30,000 IDR ($3 CAD) to warm up; which helped. It was cold waiting for the sunrise.
Sunrise
The sunrise was very beautiful once we got to see it. All the hard work hiking up the volcano and getting up early ended up being worthwhile. I would highly recommend trying out this adventure. It’s a good memory to have and you’ll end up with gorgeous pictures.
Here’s a complete Mount Batur Sunrise Hiking Guide to find all the details necessary for the day.
8. Manawa
Manawa offers group tours that aren’t available on TripAdvisor or Viator. This tour is going on a Lake Louise & Moraine Lake Discovery Tour, in Banff National Park. They pick you up in Banff and drive you to Lake Louise to explore the lake (seen in the picture above). Leave Lake Louise and head to Moraine Lake to explore the lakeshore followed by going on a six-kilometre hike to Consolation Lakes with a picnic lunch provided. They offer many opportunities to take pictures and then head back to Banff. Vehicles are no longer permitted to Moraine Lake, you can only get there by shuttle. This trip might offer exactly what you need. A visit to both lakes and a hike with driving included. It’s also a fantastic way to see everything if you’re limited on time while exploring Banff National Park.
Final Thoughts
Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, Hostelworld.com, Vrbo.com, TripAdvisor, Viator and Manwa, are the 8 best websites to book your trip. I had amazing experiences when I booked with these eight companies. It’s nice to have different options available depending on what suits you and your partner when looking at accommodations and experiences. They always offer unique places to stay that I wouldn’t have considered myself. It’s good to have different price ranges to look at too depending on what city you’re planning to stay. I’m no longer interested in staying in dorm rooms and sharing with multiple people. Having a private room with an en suite in a hostel allows couples to have their own space, and cook a meal in the kitchen while saving money. It’s awesome to have options for everyone. Time to plan a trip with one of these eight companies!
Additional Links
- Ultimate Majestic Mirage Guide
- Nice Weekend Getaway Near Me
- Unforgettable Hiking Holiday in Bolzano
- Unexpected Hike to Nocelle: Wonderful Outcome
- 4 Spectacular Drumheller Hikes
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