Invaluable tool for planning and researching holidays (tripadvisor.co.uk)

Member Name: cawatkins10

Product:	tripadvisor.co.uk
Date:	19/06/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Everything in one place from flights to advice

Disadvantages: Can't think of any

I use trip advisor every time I go away on holiday and have done for the last three years.

It's a great tool to use either before you go away, for research purposes, or when you have come back, to let others know about your own personal experiences and any tips/suggestions that you might have.

I really like the feel of the community spirit on this website and everyone is out to help others as much as they can. No question is too small and there is always someone on hand who has the experience or relevant knowledge to answer your query.

Tripadvisor reviews various holiday destinations. All you have to do is search for your particular destination and it gives you a list of options to look at. Sometimes these options vary but typically they tend to be, hotels, flights, things to do, restaurants, deals, forums and before you go.

Hotels
In here you can find hotels within your particular destination by city. This has changed slightly recently and you can now search more specifically within this catergory for hotels, B&Bs, Speciality loding and vacation rentals. You can also use their website to book hotels and search for your holiday dates, price etc.
Each hotel has been reviewed by tripadvisor members and you can search for hotels based on the best reviews and look at hotels you might be considering to see other peoples reports and experiences with them. You can also see pictures that reviewers have uploaded.

Flights
You can use the search engine in this section to find out the cheapest flights for your destination.

Things to Do
Here you can find articles that tripadvisor have added, again by city, and reviews on each from tripadvisor members. This is a good tool to use if you have already booked your holiday and are not sure what to find or where to go while you are there. Again you can search for the most popular activity based on the reviews.

Restaurants
Again by city and reviewed by various tripadvisor members. This is a great tool and one I have used many times before as when visiting a foreign city it is often hard to know which restaurants are good and which are bad and you don't always want to spend time trying to find out yourself.

Deals
A list of websites offering specific deals on hotels, flights, car hire etc. Check this before you book.

Forums
My favourite part of tripadvisor. Each destination has a forum and you can either post queries/messages/tips etc within that forum or post on specific city forums. In most destinations you will find the 'experts' who have been chosen by tripadvisor to give advice because they either live in the destination or have visited so many times that they may as well live there. You can ask anything you like and can comment/help anyone you like as long as you are a member. Alot of these forums are like little communities and everyone is usually really friendly and helpful. You can also search the forums for something specific that you are looking for to see if it has already been answered before. People also use this to write 'trip reports' to help others when they are planning the same kind of holiday, these can include what you did, where you visited, any problems you incurred and hints and tips whatever you like really.

Before you go
Invaluable articles from tripadvisor concerning everything from banks & money to tipping and etiquette for each destination. Here you can also add an article of your own if you have something to share with everyone.

Becoming a member
Membership is free and all you need is an email address in order to sign up. As soon as you do you get an account which holds all your travel details. You can fill in how many places you have been on your own personal 'travel map' to so that people can ask your advice about places you have been, create folders and save certain articles/forum messages that you might use for an upcoming trip, keep track of how many contributions you have made in forum messages, hotel/restaurant reviews etc. People can also message you privately here without you having to give out your personal email address.

All in all I would say this website is an invaluable tool for researching and planning your upcoming and booked holidays. I honestly don't know how I used to manage without it.

Summary: Everyone should use this website, it's just brilliant!