If you had to ask me which city was my favourite – out of all those that I’ve travelled to, so far – it would be a bit of a toss up between Paris and New York. Both vibrant cities, entrenched in their own very rich histories, with a combination of grimy, gritty back streets, and lush city-centric parks.
2016 is shaping up to be a pretty big year for us; aside from planning our own wedding (and hopefully a brief honeymoon to follow…), we’ve just recently booked a three and a half week trip to Italy and the US, which of course wouldn’t be complete without a pit stop in the ‘Big Apple’. While the main purpose of our trip is to celebrate the wedding of Luke’s brother, it seemed as good an excuse as any to tick a few things off that ever-growing bucket list. Without a shadow of a doubt, we’ll be wandering the winding trails of Cinque Terre (for those iconically beautiful seaside views), sipping wine in the rolling hills of Tuscany, and across the Atlantic, riding bikes at breakneck speed through Central Park and drinking our way through Napa Valley.
I’m definitely your typical type-A planner; not only is there usually an itinerary (virtually mapped out to the minute), but also a back-up itinerary, just-in-case.
Booking a holiday is time-consuming enough as it is; deciding on the itinerary is the easy part; picking a hotel, however, is not so easy. To try and save a bit of time (and hopefully money, given the terrible exchange rate at the moment), I’ve been checking out Webjet‘s new app. It’s a little bit of a one-stop-shop for flights, accommodation and car hire, which at first glance has the makings of a great all-rounder for those planning their next trip overseas (myself included!).
So far, I’ve found the interface clean and simple to use; the filters and sorting options make finding a hotel in the right location and within budget a breeze (the map display has to be one of my favourite features). When booking flights, you aren’t limited to just one group of airlines (even for a simple AU/NZ return trip) – which opens up so. many. options, and car hire is just as effortless to navigate and book. Given I tend to spend hours upon hours browsing online for the best deal, it’s comforting in a way to know that you can expect to receive a good (if not the cheapest) deal available out there, and from recent experience, the app mirrors the daily and weekly deals that Webject regularly shoots out to your inbox (and who isn’t a fan of getting a good deal?).
If there’s one thing I do question, it’s the $40 servicing and booking charges added to your total as you enter the check out; it’s not a major if you’re spending big bucks, but if you’re booking a night’s accommodation which clocks in at $150 for example, you’re getting copped with a 30% additional charge – so do keep this in mind. If you’re planning your own trip and want to try out the app for curiosity’s sake, it’s a short click away (or available on Android here).
As for me, I’ll be immersing myself right back into my hotel search for Cinque Terre – recommendations are welcome!
