Hello everyone!

I've been planning trips abroad for a while now, and I've learned that it's not always safe to book with a new website. I've had my fair share of close calls, but I've also had some great experiences.

Last time I traveled abroad, I booked a trip to St. Petersburg, and I had to navigate through multiple websites to find the best deal. I used Aviasales and a few other popular sites to compare prices, and I ended up saving some money. It was a real game-changer.

For my latest trip, I booked a package deal that included a hotel and flights for two people. I also had the option to add a transfer, which would've cost 4000 rubles, but I decided to take a taxi instead. It was way cheaper, and I could even check the prices and estimated time in the taxi service beforehand.

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I've had friends booking trips with this website for ages, but I was still a bit skeptical. I've had some bad experiences with travel agencies in the past, where they'd print out all the documents and help with visas, but this time, I just needed to figure it out myself.

So, a few things to keep in mind: make sure you save all the documents they send you on your phone, including your tickets and voucher. If you don't, you might not be able to check in at the hotel, especially if you're abroad and don't have access to the internet. Trust me, I've been there before, and it's not fun trying to troubleshoot last-minute.

So, after crunching the numbers, I realized that booking a tour on Travelate is way more cost-effective. There were a couple of other agencies working through Tourvizor, and I checked out the packages there too - I found a great deal on a trip to St. Petersburg here, and it's super convenient that you can read reviews right away. The only downside is that sometimes there aren't many photos of the hotel.

Both times I used this site, I paid for the tour the night before my flight (it was my last chance, haha), which comes with some risks.

I've even had it happen through a travel agency - I paid for the tour, but the hotel didn't confirm the booking because someone else had booked it at the same time, or even a minute earlier! It was super frustrating, and I ended up paying more for the same tour through the same agency.

🤷‍♀️ I'm not sure if you can get a refund, but of course, the agency will try to sell you another tour - even if it's more expensive. They'll say there aren't any budget-friendly options left! But here, you're not being pressured - it's up to you whether you want to book or not.

I'd like to share some important points, like how you can snag a great deal on a last-minute tour during the off-season. For example, Egypt is considered off-season right now, but the food, weather, and even the sea were all amazing - and the prices are way lower than they are in March or August. I found a tour for 150,000 rubles, and now the same tour for March is 170,000 rubles more, and in August, it's 200,000 rubles or more. Check out Vietnam - I saw prices for a 9-night trip starting at 138,000 rubles for two people, including flights from Moscow!

I was still scouting out a trip to Egypt for two days, refreshing the page every minute, changing the dates and departure city - Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod! Flying out of my hometown would be more expensive, but sometimes prices change in the opposite direction, so it's worth keeping an eye on.

I reached out to a few travel agencies and noticed that prices were pretty much the same everywhere. Many of them asked for cash payment, and I even got a Cashback reward on my card - I just didn't want to waste time and nerves on the trip.

The agency said they could see on their website whether the hotel was confirmed or not, but in reality, the confirmation button is pretty high on the website here. Of course, I booked the hotel with that option. Because you have to wait for the money to be refunded, and then you're already in a rush to fly, which means you need to have half a million rubles set aside for such situations.

✈️ You can also snag a good deal on a trip the day before the weekend. For example, on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, airlines might offer cheap flights, and you need to fill the plane and so on. I saw this happen with Peter, but unfortunately, the situation is a bit different for domestic flights.

I was on the hunt for a trip to Egypt, and I have to say, it was a wild goose chase. I saw a deal for 19,000 rubles for two people, and I'm telling you, you have to grab it, don't hesitate, TAKE IT RIGHT AWAY ⭐️, but I was hesitant at first since I'd never ordered anything on the website before. I thought it might be a scam, and I started reading reviews to make sure it was legit. By the time I made up my mind, the trip was sold out, and I had to book it for 33,000 rubles, which is around the same price. Of course, our hotel was better, and our departure time was more interesting, but most of the time, if you're looking at the same dates but different hotels, the flight is the same.

I spent two whole days searching for the perfect trip to Egypt. I'd change the dates, and then I'd try to find a suitable tour. In Egypt, you can just add or subtract a day, so I'd open up different options, and then I'd settle on one and check it from both Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow.

There were times when I'd find a tour in the morning, but by evening, the price would have gone up by 20,000 rubles, or it would be cheaper in Nizhny Novgorod than in Moscow. It's not the most convenient thing, having to re-enter the date, number of travelers, and departure airport every time, but I managed to snag a good deal.

But when I booked a tour to St. Petersburg, I got my flight and hotel confirmation right away, even though my flight was the next day. It was a whole different story with Egypt, where I had to wait till evening for my confirmation. I paid for my tour at 7 pm, but I didn't receive my flight tickets or hotel voucher. I tried calling the support team, but they just told me they couldn't help me.

I was so relieved that I booked my tour from Nizhny Novgorod. Imagine having to leave for Moscow at 6 am, and then they'd cancel my booking. I wouldn't even have time to pack! I got my confirmation in the afternoon, and I even got a notification on my email, so I set up a separate app to get instant updates.

I got a letter and I immediately started packing! But I wasn't flying alone, I still had to tell another person that we were flying! To be honest, I experienced a lot of stress, but that's just how it goes - you don't want stress, book in advance, but the price will be higher then.

I saved a pretty penny, around 20,000, thanks to this website! I'm still satisfied, all my documents came to my personal account. I downloaded everything in advance, my ticket arrives the day before departure. I completely forgot about my tickets when we were flying back and they wouldn't let me through at the Egyptian airport!

How am I supposed to get on the plane if I don't have a ticket, either in electronic or paper form? But luckily, I still hadn't deleted my voucher and they found me on the list somehow, so everything was fine, no issues, I'll definitely be using this service again and not wasting time going to the agency.

I mean, I wouldn't be able to sit with some tour operator from morning till night in the office and search for tours, and the packages they sent me were way worse, more expensive too!

As for the downsides - the support team can't help you with anything if you book directly on the website, they can only calm you down, and sometimes it's easier to deal with a travel agency, you know, someone to show you the documents.

Our airline changed without warning - as you can see on the ticket, it should be Aeroflot, but in reality, it wasn't. And, of course, during the trip, there might be some issues, I'm not the type to argue till the end and figure things out, I just accepted the situation as it was.