Kayak – A Website for Travel Planning

Free!

Kayak is a travel website that lets users book airplane flights, make hotel accommodations, and reserve car rentals. Kayak also provides a “Packages” option that lets users bundle flights, hotels, an/or car rentals together, and the website is dynamic in that it searches multiple websites for the best deal.

To begin, users will need to select if they want to search for airplane tickets, hotel rooms, or car rentals from the homepage by clicking the corresponding option. Next, Kayak will prompt users to enter the information that includes the destination, dates, and number of people for the reservation. Users will also need to select the websites they wish to compare against Kayak’s prices. (Depending on the type of search, different options will appear.) Once the information is entered, users can click the “Red Arrow” button on the right of the screen to see the results, which includes prices, additional options, and maps. At this point, users can conduct a new search using the menu buttons at the top of the screen.

Instructional Ideas for Using Kayak

1. Teachers can create a word problem about a person who wants to plan travel and let students find the best deal for the person using Kayak. For example, if Todd and his wife wish to travel to Germany to celebrate their 4^th anniversary for two weeks in October on a budget of $3,000, students could find airplane ticket prices and hotel accommodations using this website. In addition, they could search Kayak for any packages that may provide additional savings. When finished, students could share their responses using Realtime Board, NotebookCast, or Padlet.
2. Teachers can could give students a budget of $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000 and let them use Kayak to plan their dream vacation. To help them plan, students can use an app like All Search Engines in One to locate destinations, tourist spots, and other points of interest. When finished, students can orally present their trip using FlipGrid or making a class presentation.
3. Teachers can present this website to students and provide them a budget of a certain amount of money (e.g., $500, $750, $1000). Teachers can then challenge students to see who can travel the furthest on that amount of money and return home without going over. The student who can travel the furthest can win a prize, such as extra credit or a homework pass.
4. To familiarize students with travel, teachers can have students select a point of interest and then plan a trip to that area. Teachers can have students check the flight and hotels prices on different days to record any price variances, and students can record those variances. After a period of time, students can write a report where they explain the best time and day to make purchases.

Screenshots of Kayak

Kayak Website