Vacations packaged the way you like them. Editor’s note: If you’re headed to the Caribbean, Central or South America, Hawaii, or Mexico, try your search on Funjet’s sister site, Apple Vacations The destinations it covers are more limited than Funjet’s, but I found that the prices were often a little better.

Experience Italy with this lovely vacation package, leading you through Rome (Italy’s treasure with two millennia of artistic achievement);Cinque Terre (five miles of rocky coast with five small villages overlooking the sea, in the midst of two capes with hundreds of miles of beautiful paths); Florence (Michelangelo’s David, Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, and Raphael’s La Velata) and Venice (Sumptuous palaces and romantic waterways).

For one itinerary, a nonstop flight that the other sites offered was not available when booking a Hotwire package (though it was available when booking a separate flight on Hotwire), and the pricing on some searches was a little higher than on the other sites.

Sites such as Airbnb , Vrbo, and HomeAway permit homeowners to put their own properties up for rent whenever they won’t be using it. This is a good way to experience life as a local, because you’ll be staying in a residential area instead of one that caters to tourists.

You can purchase simple packages that include the basic essentials of a successful vacation, or you can select a custom made vacation that will include the main sights that you want to see, events that you want to take part in, and attractions that you want to visit.