Expedia

"A lot more choices" in comparison to what? You should compare the same hotels with other third-party sites like booking.com, hotels.com, hotwire.com (not sure if it's available in Ireland) as well as the hotel websites. I've found Expedia to typically have higher quotes than say booking.com, but that's for US hotels (and I get breaks for using booking.com as frequently as I do). The point is - check many sites and be sure to compare apples to apples (same room type, same date, same hotel, total cost including all fees/ taxes, etc.). There is always a risk in dealing with third parties when you face issues, but I've been lucky enough not to have any complications and I've booked probably 75+ times on third party sites for work and leisure trips - I'm happy to save money for a certain degree of risk. I use whatever site gives me the best deal (for me it's worked out to be booking.com most of the time, but I always check the hotel's website as well. If all is equal, I'd rather deal with the hotel directly on their own site).

Jim,

I prefer to book directly on the hotel's website.
I've read of people booking through various booking sites then having issues with their reservations.

Ok that being said, I was planning on getting our Airline tickets through Expedia. What else are others doing?

We prefer to always book airline tickets directly with airline. If there are any problems,a third party may not always be as helpful as the airline itself.

What's the cost differential between Expedia ticket vs. same route on the airline's own site? I would have no problem booking a hotel room with a third-party but airline tickets are much more costly. If you can recreate the same ticket on the airline site, I would go with that option. Sometimes you can't because third-party site algorithms pull together some combinations that are frankly hard to recreate mostly due to code-sharing and such. I don't think you'll find too many people on this forum cheerleading third-party airline ticket sales. I'd be ok with some scenarios but it really depends on the cost savings and risk involved (e.g. impossible connections, complicated code sharing, etc).

I prefer to book directly on the hotel's website.

I occasionally find a better price on the hotel's own website, but so much of the time I find better prices on places not shown on booking websites, like Expedia. The problem with booking websites is that they take a fee, generally about 15% of the rate, so there is a whole set of places, usually more than on the booking website, that don't want to pay the fee so are not on any site, and these places tend to be less expensive. If you can find them, you can save money.

I book both my air and hotel directly with the business. I want someone directly involved in the transaction to turn to if something goes wrong.

Jim,

I always book our flights directly with the airline. If there are any issues, I'd rather deal with the airline than a third party.

I have. I don't usually stay at hotels, where booking directly might be a better option; I stay at apartments, and I frequently book them through Expedia or TripAdvisor. (I prefer these sites to Air BnB.)

I've had very good experiences with both.

After hearing horror story after horror story about Expedia, Travelocity and Hotels.com from hotel and airline employees, I make it my business to only book directly with either a hotel or airline. I have used booking.com but they are different than the others because they let you pay the hotel upon checkout and not up front.

If everything goes well, then it doesn't matter. But if there is a problem, the hotel or airline will tell you to deal with that third party to make changes.

I hav never booked airline tickets with Expedia but have used them for hotel rooms and car rentals, including in Ireland and have never had a problem. I do check prices on multiple sites.

For our Ireland trip this summer, I used a combination of expedia, booking.com, and hotel sites.

While it never hurts to comparison shop, these days the best deals are often found on the website of the hotel, airline, etc itself. As Lee says, they are very aware of losing money to the third party sites and so will often give a better price, throw in free breakfast, have a better cancellation policy, etc, if you book direct. Furthermore, if there's any problem, you know who you are dealing with.

Once, though, the itinerary I wanted could only be ticketed through Expedia. I never did figure out why, but it was Austrian Air JFK to Vienna and Lufthansa Berlin Tegel via Frankfurt to JFK, and even though these are partners, neither airline would sell me this as an open jaw ticket - but Expedia would. So, I used them with no problems. And I've definitely used Hotels dot com and Booking dot com when I could get a better deal.

I have used booking.com but they are different than the others
because they let you pay the hotel upon checkout and not up front.

Booking is my preferred site as well, but they also offer prepaid rates just like Expedia does. Conversely Expedia also offers rates that don't need to be prepaid for some properties.

Thank you all for the many replies. This has made me do my homework. I have actually booked directly with the hotels and made reservations in Dublin and Portrush. We are going to probably use booking.com for Belfast and Sligo. We are using Airbnb for two of our other stays because we are staying a week in each place and want to rent a house.
I have been trying to deal directly with the airlines so that when the time comes I will buy our tickets directly through them. Also have contacted two car rental companies in Dublin even though it seems more expensive than using Expedia. Still haven't got that worked out.

Is a learning expierence but enjoying it anyway.

" Also have contacted two car rental companies in Dublin even though it seems more expensive than using Expedia. Still haven't got that worked out. "

The difference may be due to mandatory insurance. I've read that sometimes the out-of-country websites don't show the insurance, while the in-country websites do; when you finalize the booking on the out-of country websites (thinking you've gotten a deal), the mandatory insurance shows up. I have never booked a car in Ireland, so I have no personal experience, but do make sure you are comparing apples to apples when looking at prices on different websites.

I will never book through Expedia or Travelocity again (both owned by same company) after having had a horrible experience in attempting to get a refund from them within their guidelines. Best to book with the airline or hotel directly.

I always book directly. I do use third party sites to shop around, but never to book.

After two separate trips where my husband booked with Expedia and then had to extend his trip for two days because of flight cancellations and that was the best Expedia could do, he no longer books with them. Night flight cancellation out of Chicago, the airlines had us out first flight of the day.

Thanks everyone. I know Rick Steves recommends using Kiyak but we are going to book directly with American Airlines. It's the same price I just want to make sure we can get flight insurance in case we need to cancel.
We've learned a lot and have just about booked everything directly with the hotel or B and B. We did use Airbnb for a couple of houses we rented, time will tell if that was a mistake. Otherwise our boat rides, car rental has all been directly with the source.

My wife and I are currently planning our European summer vacation for next summer. I used Expedia to book our flights and have had to contact the customer service once with no issues so far. I usually use a a website like Hotels dot com to book hotels due to the awards that come with booking different hotels through one website. I also use the same credit card that gives me the best points for booking flights/hotels. I have used points in the past from hotels dot com to book a whole vacation and credit card points to book flights at no cost to me.

I have used Skyscanner.com for booking flights or just to look at flight costs and same for hotels and car rentals in Europe. Never hurts to check all options before spending cash.

jimanddiana, I think you are mixing up flight insurance and travel insurance. Flight insurance is usually insurance in case of an accident while en route. Travel insurance can cover trip cancellation. If you want cancellation insurance, look at www.insuremytrip.com to compare various travel policies.

I've saved thousands of dollars over the years with expedia and priceline. I NEVER book directly on hotels, it always ends up being significantly more expensive that way in my experience (in America for sure). I've only been to Europe once thus far, but going next month again (London/Dublin) but used both expedia and priceline for Italy without a problem.

I can always tie the reservations to any loyalty programs upon check-in, never been an issue.