BC27

My first post on this forum. I'm planning a trip to Oahu and Maui, for Feb. 2017, finding it hard to book on the popular sites like expedia and travelocity, etc unless I, do it piece by piece, but I keep seeing this site called Tripmasters, I have priced out my trip on the site and it very reasonably priced compared to the other sites and way cheaper than using a travel agent. I have asked several people if they have ever heard of the site and no one has, I have checked for reviews of the site, all I see is 3+ years old review and they are mixed at best. Just wonder if anyone has used this site before or has other recommendation on a site to use instead. Thanks

Kathie

I will admit I have never heard of Trip Masters. Nor do you need to book on expedia or travelocity unless you can get a great price. You can easily book your flights and hotels and car on each company's website and you'll usually get better prices this way. If you really want to book a package, you might look at Costco, which often has good prices on packages.

socaltraveler

Never heard of them, and I think you probably already have that sense from your research. I would be booking directly with the airlines and hotels myself for Hawaii but Costco is a good idea if you really want a package.

nytraveler

If no on here has heard of it, there are few reviews and those not great - why in the world would you even consider this.

Yes, doing each piece and getting exactly what you want makes a lot more sense.

suze

Never heard of them.

No need for a travel agent either. But I don't use Expedia or Travelocity either.

I just plan out my trip, buy plane tickets, and make reservations with the hotel or condo rental.

jamie99

I do the same, book my air, then hotel or condo, and rental car. February is whale season in Maui so don't wait too long to book lodging once you have your air.

sf7307

Same as jamie99 - air first, hotel second, car third, but not much space between the bookings. I never use a travel agent, and only use booking sites on-line if they're well-known and the discount is worth it.

suze

There's quite a bit of discussion over on Trip Advisor about this company. Reviews mixed but more recent (2015).

ElendilPickle

If you give us some ideas about your lodging budget, there are plenty of people here who can give you great suggestions.

Lee Ann

FaceInTheCrowd

I've not heard of Tripmasters either, but that's because I book our travel myself piece-meal as suggested here, which allows us to schedule our itinerary and lodgings exactly as we want. If you'd rather go the package route, I doubt you can beat Costco's price.

I'm gathering this is your first trip to Hawaii, so suggest that before you book anything, you run your plans past folks on this or another travel site like TripAdvisor. You'll get much better advice than from a travel agency or tour operator, either of which is trying to sell its own agenda.

suze

Pleasant Hawaiian thru AAA is what my family uses (who are not self-planners).

I'm on the Trip Advisor Waikiki/Honolulu/Oahu form. Very helpful group there. Between here on Fordor's and TA, you can easily put this together yourself.

BC27

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.