Tips To Save Money & Time While Traveling This Summer

DENVER (CBS4) - If your bags are packed but your wallet is empty, we've got some tips that could help you with your summer travel plans.

Most of us know all the frequently used travel websites -- priceline.com , kayak.com, Travelocity and expedia.com

But we found two relative newcomers that offer some good deals and some great information.

www.gogobot.com is part Facebook, part travel agent. I put out a sample question -- "Where are fun, cheap places to take children in San Francisco?"

Within minutes I was getting e-mails from locals in San Francisco and travelers from around the world. I purposely asked about San Francisco because that's where I grew up, so I was curious how creative and interesting the ideas coming in would be. I learned about all sorts of new places that I knew nothing about.

The second website I found was www.hipmunk.com. This site is less than 1 year old. It's incredibly simple to use and includes a section called "The Agony Factor." This ranks potential flights on their level of discomfort, early hours, long layovers and price.

While researching the story, I must confess I bought an airline ticket for my daughter, Kelley. The ticket was $154 cheaper than I found on any other website and it saved her 4 hours of travel time. Hipmunk's CEO, Adam Goldstein, says The Agony Factor is one of the most popular aspects of the site.

Travel is one of the researched areas of consumer spending with more than half of travelers going online to look for discounts.