kfbanta

While trying to plan my honeymoon, I am finding some of the places I thought were too expensive are actually within our budget, but only when I book flight plus hotel through Expedia.com. I have heard both good and bad things about Expedia. I am a little nervous to book hotel and flight through expedia, because this is our honeymoon and we hope to have everything perfect (or as close as it can be).

That being said, what are peoples thoughts regarding booking flight+hotel through Expedia? If I do book through them it will be to either Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua or Mexico. I am more nervous booking in Belize or Nicaragua because I know there can be a huge language barrier and I don't want to be in trouble while in a 3rd world country.

thursdaysd

Welcome to Fodors. You might want to post this same question on the Caribbean board, as experiences may differ depending on where you are. I prefer to book my hotels direct, or through booking.com but I have used Expedia a couple of times with no ill effect.

I would be surprised if you ran into much of a language barrier in a hotel in Belize.

Tabernash2

There are pros and cons to having a 'middleman' between you and your air carrier and your hotel. Personally, I don't feel comfortable using anyone for flights, except the carrier itself. If there's a problem, you're SOL unless you're a direct client of the airline. Been there. Done that.

On the other hand, there can be very good savings. It's a toss-up. If your flight plan is complicated, and if you're going to another country, I think I'd skip the middleman, though.

Tabernash2

Contact the hotel directly and see if they will match the price that Expedia is quoting. A lot of times they will.

jacketwatch

First of all the official language of Belize is English. It used to be British Honduras so don't worry.

I have used Expedia multiple times before for air and hotel and have had no problems.

The poster above suggests calling the hotel directly to check rates and the advantage to this is you don't have to pay ahead of time like you would if you booked through Expedia and yes they may honor the rate you get. Once we booked a hotel in Manhattan with the hotel after I asked them to match a hotels.com rate and they were fine with that and another time the Hyall in Tokyo actually had a better price through their website vs. Expedia so yes it's worth a call.

Congratulations on your honeymoon!

Larry. .

suze

I never use a middleman website. I always book airfare with the airlines, and hotels or apartment directly.

Southam

In my experience, airline websites almost always are as cheap and often a little cheaper than agency websites. For hotels, however, I often find much cheaper rates through agencies than the hotel posts on its site. Long before the Internet, the rule of thumb in travel was never to pay the hotel official "rack rate" because discounts could be negotiated. Still true, electronically.
But there's a new twist. On-line dealers like Expedia and Booking.com have become such big operators that they have access to blocks of rooms at their own rates. However, it is common to see the warning "only two rooms left." That may mean their allotment is nearly sold but doesn't apply to the actual vacancies for that date. So shop around.

kfbanta

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the good advice. This will be my first time booking international travel so I am a little nervous.