Expedia

Who is Expedia?

Expedia is a well-known online booking site that allows you to take a self-assembly approach to planning your holiday. From UK staycations to European city and beach breaks, as well as escapes to exotic shores, its website boasts thousands of properties in destinations worldwide.

Which? verdict

DIY holiday booking site Expedia generally performs its function well, but look elsewhere if you require more tailored support.

Expedia customer ratings

If you want to see how Expedia measures up to its rivals, read more on our best and worst package holiday provider and city break provider pages.

What’s Expedia like?

Online service provider Expedia allows you to mix and match, so you can choose hotels, self-catered accommodation and flights to get the ideal holiday for your needs. And because there’s no set airline or hotel brand to pick from, your choice feels unlimited: you won’t be forced into accepting inconvenient flight times, as there’ll usually be an alternative. It’s certainly a popular model for customers. One told us: ‘It was easy to book with great choice and great service’. Another added: ‘It was easy to find an appropriate holiday on the website’.

Expedia is a no-frills holiday provider though, so the company won’t be rolling out the red carpet for you or going that extra mile, but it does offer value for money on beach/resort package holidays. In our survey of package holiday companies, customers scored Expedia four out of five stars for value, despite it not being the cheapest online travel agent in our results table. For city breaks, however, Expedia gained a more average three stars for value for money. That said, no competitor scored higher than three stars in this category.

In general, Expedia performed well and sits in the top half of our results table for package holiday companies. Customers gave it an impressive four stars out of five for its accommodation, customer service and even holiday reps – only four companies achieved this latter score.

Did Expedia refund customers during the coronavirus crisis?

Expedia didn't seem to offer full cash refunds to everyone. Problems mostly occurred when airlines delayed refunds to Expedia. This meant that despite Package Travel Regulations, customers received their refund in two parts and it took much longer for flight money to be returned.

Should I book with Expedia?

Expedia’s package bookings are easy to assemble and allow for flexibility. However, also consider On the Beach holidays. This online company is also flexible, but it ring-fences customer money. Plus, holidays with On the Beach are cheaper by £23 a day, on average.