- Making the Important Decisions
- Using Your Devices to Conduct Pre-Trip Research
- Using AARP Travel to Conduct Research
- Using the Travelzoo Website and Mobile App
- Getting Advice from Fellow Travelers
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Getting Advice from Fellow Travelers
Through its website or app, TripAdvisor offers the world’s largest database (containing more than 350 million entries) of travel-related reviews and opinions that have been written by consumers like you. These reviews cover more than 6.5 million accommodations, attractions, and restaurants around the world.
More than 340 million unique users access TripAdvisor each month. The service can be a powerful tool for making intelligent decisions about where to stay, what to do, and where to eat when you’re planning or experiencing a trip.
In general, the reviews published on TripAdvisor are unbiased and based on customers’ actual experiences. However, never put too much emphasis on one single review. Instead, when looking up a particular hotel, attraction, or restaurant, read a handful of reviews to get a more realistic idea about what you should expect.
You can access TripAdvisor from any Internet-enabled computer by pointing your web browser to www.TripAdvisor.com. If you want to access the same content from your smartphone or tablet, download and install the official TripAdvisor mobile app.
Use TripAdvisor on Your Computer
Launch your favorite web browser on your computer.
Type www.tripadvisor.com in the address field.
Type a city, state, and/or country in the Where Are You Going? field. Click the Search button to continue.
Alternatively click the What Are You Looking For? field. From the menu that appears, click what you’re looking for, including options such as Overview of [location], Hotels in [location], and Vacation rentals in [location]. You can also type something specific, such as Sheraton Hotel.
You see a listing of what’s available in the category you selected. From here, you can enter your desired check in and check out dates.
Sort the listing by various criteria by clicking on the appropriate tab.
Click a specific listing to read customer reviews of that location. In the listing title, you can also see its average rating. Click the Show Prices button to display rates for that hotel.
Find reviews about a specific hotel, attraction, or restaurant by entering the name and location, such as Sheraton Universal, Universal City, California in the What Are You Looking For? field. Click the Search button to continue.
You see the average TripAdvisor rating as well as details about the hotel.
Click the Overview tab to learn more about the specific hotel, or click the Reviews tab to see how many reviews have been posted about that hotel by travelers, and then read those reviews. Click the Photos option to view photos taken and published by TripAdvisor users.
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Use the TripAdvisor App
- Launch the App Store app, and in the Search field, type TripAdvisor. Download and install the free TripAdvisor mobile app onto your smartphone or tablet. (Not shown.)
- From the Home screen, launch the TripAdvisor mobile app and sign in or create an account. (Not shown.)
- Enter the name of a hotel, attraction, or restaurant followed by a comma and the city and state (or city, state, and country) in the Search field displayed. For example, type Sheraton, New York Times Square.
- You see an overview of that hotel, attraction, or restaurant, which includes its average TripAdvisor rating. Tap the Map icon to see a detailed map of the location where you requested is located. Tap the Call icon (if you’re using a smartphone) to call the hotel, attraction, or restaurant. Tap the Been button to indicate you’ve been to that location, or tap the Save icon to save that listing.
- Swipe up to see more details about a location’s TripAdvisor ratings and, when applicable, sort the ratings and reviews by relevant criteria.
- Keep swiping up to read individual text-based reviews and see ratings created by TripAdvisor users. Tap any review to open and read it.
- From the app’s main screen, tap the Hotel, Dining, Attraction, or Flight Search icon to locate specific information relating to a destination you select, or tap the Near Me Now option to view a listing of reviews for hotels, attractions, and restaurants that are located near your current location (which is determined using your smartphone or tablet’s built-in GPS).
- If you’ll be traveling abroad and won’t have Internet access from your smartphone or tablet, tap the Download Cities option. (Not shown.)
- Tap the Download a City button and select the city where you’ll be traveling. Doing this before you leave will allow you to access location-specific content within TripAdvisor without requiring Internet access.
- Once you set up a free TripAdvisor account, you’re encouraged to write and publish your own ratings, reviews, opinions, and travel photos. To do this from the mobile app, tap on the Write a Review option, and follow the on-screen prompts.
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