Shopping tips for holiday travel gifts

Michelle Deal-Zimmerman Whats The Deal

Nov. 30, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- This is the weekend when just about everybody is looking for a good deal. Black Friday launched the holiday gift-buying season a few days ago, and tomorrow is what's become known as Cyber Monday, a day when online retailers kick off their own selling season.

But what if you want to give the gift of travel instead of a sweater or an iPod -- where can you find the best deals?

Online travel shopping is certainly easy and definitely packed with a plethora of deals. But you have to be careful where you look. A few online travel sites offered their own Black Friday deals last week, among them Orbitz.com, which is offering a $50 discount on vacation packages and 15 percent on hotel stays.

When I'm shopping for travel deals, holiday or otherwise, I often use these Web sites:

BudgetTravel.com -- Good deals and travel information from the editors of the magazine by the same name.

BestFares.com -- Great deals and even better insight about travel trends.

ShermansTravel.com -- Offers a weekly list of the 25 best deals.

TravelTickr.com -- Hotwire.com's (NASDAQ:IACI) new sister site has bargains galore.

CruisesOnly.com -- If you're a cruise fan, this site caters to your interests.

Travelzoo. (NASDAQ:TZOO) com -- Join this site's mailing list to receive weekly updates of its best travel offers.

There are many others to peruse -- too many to name here -- but the key, as with any shopping, is to do your research before you seal the deal.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0034-29998203