Has anyone used Expedia for booking a vacation? Do you have any pros or cons? Has anyone had any trouble using them?

I find that Expedia is a great shopping tool for possibilities, availability, idea of prices. Much depends upon where and when you're going.

For London, Priceline has had fabulous packages with more convenient flights and much lower prices.

For hotels only, you can almost always do better directly with the hotel, not have to prepay, and have cancellation privileges. For flights, you can almost always do better with times, connections, prices.

Every once in a while, Expedia has a really good deal, but you have to be able to recognize that.

Personally, unless I can book for significantly less through a third party, I much prefer to book directly with the airlines and hotels for lots of good reasons.

I used to use Expedia (and Travelocity) for booking flights and hotels and I have never had any problems with them. I still occassionally book with them, but I find that now, like djkbooks, I use them primarily for research, as I can many times get better rates and fares directly on the hotel or airline websites. But if they have the better deal, I'll use them.

We are leaving for Paris on July 28 on a trip we booked through Expedia, hotel and air. I will let you know after eight days how it all worked out!

We used Expedia for booking flights to Paris this past May. Everything went very smoothly. I did my own hotel and apartment booking though.

That said I have used Expedia's flights and hotels packages within US and found them to be a good deal as well. ~o)

Thank you all for the help!

I have never seen a good deal on Expedia, and I always check them..I always find a better deal directly with the airline or hotel..

We have used Expedia to book the Bucuti Beach Resort in Aruba and while it was cheaper than booking through the hotel (we stayed for 10 nights in the Tara Suites and saved $15 a night)but we only booked after checking other avenues.

I wouldn't use them or any other website without checking prices/opinions eg: Travelocity, Tripadvisor and Orbitz - which I personally like because you can check out which seats are available and how full the flights are.

If you are looking into hotel prices always check with the hotel first.

Where are you thinking of going?

We will use other websites like you suggested to veryify, thank you. We will be going to Paris May of 2006.

We used Expedia to book the Hotel la Bourdonnais in Paris, this past June. It worked out perfectly. I couldn't get availability through other sites, and going to the hotel directly we more expensive. The only downside is that you have to pay in full, in advance. Besides that time, I have used Expedia many, many times over the years. Once, when I wasn't happy with the hotel room I'd booked, I called them and they immediately contacted the hotel front desk for me and secured an upgrade to a suite at no extra charge.

Have fun in Paris! If you click on my screen name above, you will find my report of London-Paris-Amsterdam. It has specifics about our hotel, the neighborhood, and some restaurants and activities we liked.

P.S. If you first try TripAdvisor.com, you can research hotels, and then check all current rates. TripAdvisor will pull up three or four common travel sites, including Expedia, at the touch of a button. Very convenient. Also, read their customer reviews.

Before our first trip to Rome four years ago,my sister and I booked an airfare/hotel combo from Expedia. Upon closer scrutiny,we discovered that the hotel was no where NEAR where it was reported to be.We spent about an hour on the phone with customer service,and finally they agreed to refund our money for the hotel portion.

Did you visit the hotel website to discover the correct location and found the expedia map was incorrect?

I bought a Rome map,and tried to find the hotel and learned it was not at all where we thought it would be from the description.Now I know Rome quite well,so I have a better understanding of how the city's laid out, but before my first trip,I obviously didn't.

I am glad you figured it out before you got there and you were able to get your money back!