vacation rentals: I would like to rent a condo, apartment or time share over the summer, so I need a good, reliable recommendation for where to start looking online. This will be out of State, and I am (of course) a little apprehensive about sending someone I've never met a few hundred dollars. Should I just go see a travel agent or do you know of a site with honest people??|||FlipKey (www.flipkey.com) has extremely low incidence of fraud due to an extensive owner verification process. It's also a good site to start looking for vacation rentals because all of the listings on the site include reviews from past guests, so you can read exactly what you're getting into. I wouldn't recommend going to a travel agent to book a vacation rental because their partnerships will most likely only be with larger rental networks (i.e. Wyndham, Disney, etc.), so you won't get a huge selection. You will also miss out on rent-by-owner properties, which have character and often more competitive pricing.|||During our vacation, we got help from a tour organizer, where they look for the resort and lodging option that suits our individual needs.|||I have used VRBO.com (vacation rental by owner) Homeaway.com Home away|||Many travel agents do not have access to the thousands of vacation rentals out there. Most VRs are operated by the individual owner, some are managed by a company. Travel agenst work on a percentage and most owners and management companies don't want to share :-). Or... if the owner or manager works with a travel agent, the agent typically increases the rental rate to the renter to cover their percentage. There are many VR web sites out there now, some big and some small. The best thing to do is to do a search for the area you're looking for. Something like "vacation condo rental in the Catskill Mountains." The bigger sites like Homeaway, VRBO, etc., are probably, but may not necessarily, the best source for a rental for the area you're searching. This search will reveal the bigger sites and probably some smaller sites dedicated to the area you're searching. The bigger sites, and typically - but not always - your best bets are: Homeaway and their sister sites Cyberrentals, A-1, and GreatRentals VRBO VacationRentals.com Most of these sites can, to some degree, verify that the owner of the property is legitimate. If you go through a VR management company, you are generally pretty safe. You can also try Craigslist but use caution if you book through them. Any site can contain scammers, but CL seems to have a higher percentage. Always pay with a credit card so at least your money will be protected. You might fiind it overwhelming at first because, depending on where you're going, you may have hundreds of choices. Try to keep good records regarding the property information and when you contacted the owner. It will make it easier once they reply. Not every owner will include a picture or property description in their reply. So good records on your end will make it less stressful for you.