How to Book Vacations on Expedia
By Corbin HartwickUpdated on March 14, 2022
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Looking to book a complete getaway from the daily grind? Expedia.com lets you book all of your travel accommodations at once! Expedia considers a “Vacation Package” to be two or more of any of these services booked together: flight, hotel, or rental car. Cruises are a bit of a different animal; see our tutorial on how to book Expedia cruises for more information.
Even though you’re booking more than one travel service at once, you can still micro-manage each of them. That means:
- For flights, you can pick where you want to depart and arrive, what airline you want to use, what class of seat you want, what date and time you want your flights to be at, and so on.
- For hotels, you can select the general location that you want to be in, the type of lodging it is, and what features it has. You can also sort by star rating, guest rating, price, and so on.
- For car rentals, you can select the time, date, and location that you want to pick up and drop off your car. You can also pick what class of car you want and what rental car company you want to get it from.
How to book a vacation package through Expedia
1. Go to www.expedia.com in your web browser and click Bundle Deals in the menu across the top.
2. You’ll set things up using the window on the left side of the screen. First, click one of the buttons near the top to select which accommodations you’ll need to book for your trip. Then, click in the boxes below that and type in your departure point and date, followed by your arrival point and return date. Then, click the drop-down menus below that to select the number of hotel rooms you need, as well as the number of people of each age group that will be staying in each room. Click Search when you’re ready to move on.
3. If Expedia can’t find certain departure points or destinations (or there is more than one place with the same name), it will make suggestions for you on this page. You can click an option to select it, or accept Expedia’s suggestion, and then click Search.
4. Expedia will come up with a whole bunch of custom travel packages that you can choose from. This page has a lot of information on it, so refer to the numbered captions below the screenshot to understand what everything does.
- Hotel Amenities – You can click here to narrow your search by specifying features that you want your hotel to have.
- Hotel Area – Click this drop-down menu to select a specific area of your destination that you want your hotel to be in. Then click Go to filter your search.
- Package Sort – Click the buttons here to sort your vacation packages based on:
– Expedia’s value-versus-quality recommendations
– The total price of the package
– How much money you’re saving off the regular price
– Hotel names, in alphabetical order
– What city the hotel is in
– The star rating of the hotel - Change Flight – If you want to look for a flight that better meets your needs or budget, click here.
- Change Car – If you want to look for a rental car that better meets your needs or budget, click here.
- Select and Continue – Click here once you see a package you like and have made any changes to it that you want.
5. Once you select a package, you’ll review the details. First is your flight(s). If you want to look for a flight that better meets your needs or budget, Choose a Different Flight for this Package.
6. Next is your hotel. Some hotels may have different rates for different classes of rooms; click the button beside the one you want. You can also click Choose a Different Hotel for this Package if what you have doesn’t meet your needs or budget. See our Expedia Hotels tutorial for more information on choosing hotels.
7. Last is your rental car. You can click the buttons highlighted here to decide whether or not you want a rental car after all. You can also click Need a Different Car? to select a different class of car, or click Choose a Different Car Class or Vendor for this Package if you want to change not only your class of car, but also the company lending it to you.
8. If you’ve made any changes, click Reprice at the bottom of the screen to get a new total cost for your trip. You might also want to click Review Full Rules and Restrictions just so you’re prepared for anything. When you’re ready, click Continue.
9. You can now add local attractions to your package. Click the check box labelled “Add Item” to add an attraction to your package. If there is a drop-down menu immediately beside this box, click it and select the date that you want to participate in this attraction. Then click the drop-down menus to the far right to select how many people of each age group will be participating in this attraction.If you’ve made any changes, click Reprice at the bottom of the screen to get a new total cost for your trip. When you’re ready, click Continue Booking this Trip.
10. You will now have to enter your traveler information. Click in the boxes shown in the screenshot below and type in or select your first name, middle name, last name, email address, phone country code, and phone number. You can click Add an Alternate Number if you wish to add another contact number. Finish by selection your gender and the month, day, and year of your birth.
11. If you’d like, you can use the second half of the window to enter special flight requests or emergency contact information. When you’re done, click Continue Checkout.
12. You can now enter your travel preferences, or change them if you’ve already made them. If you’re okay with what you have, just make sure to click the drop-down menus marked with an asterisk (*) and select the name of the primary traveler or travelers (presumably, you and perhaps your spouse or adult children).
13. When you’re done, click Continue Booking at the bottom of the screen.
14. There are two other main things you need to do to finish booking your trip. The first is decide if you want extra travel insurance — in case you need to cancel your trip or have some other mishap — or car insurance from Expedia. Click the button beside the plan(s) that you want, or click the buttons beside “No, I don’t need travel protection” and/or “No, I don’t need car rental insurance” if you want to rely on your regular insurance to cover things.
15. The other thing you need to do is fill in your billing information, starting with your credit card information. Click in the boxes marked with an asterisk (*) and type in or select your credit card number, type, expiration date (month and year), ID number (click What’s This? for help finding it), and your first and last name as they appear on your card.
Next, you will need to fill in your billing address. Start by clicking one of the buttons below that heading to indicate if your billing address is inside the US or not. Then click in the boxes below the buttons and type in or select your street address, city, region, mailing code, country (if outside the US) phone country code, and phone number.
16. When you’re done, you might want to read the rules and regulations of Expedia, just so that you’re prepared for anything. Then click Complete This Booking. You will receive a confirmation email from Expedia.
Congratulations on booking a complete vacation package from Expedia! Enjoy your getaway!