GoCompare is worst travel comparison site, says Which?

When planning a holiday, many of us rely on price comparison websites in order to bag ourselves bargain flights or accommodation, but according to Which? Travel, not all comparison websites give the same deals.

The Consumers’ Association has revealed its list of comparison websites to avoid, as well as the ones that gained their stamp of approval.

The worst sites

Which? surveyed the experience of over 2,200 holidaymakers using holiday comparison sites over the last two years in a range of categories, and asked them about user-friendliness, price and market coverage.

Make sure you're using the best sites to find holiday deals (Photo: Shutterstock)

Coming in at the bottom of the list was GoCompare which was rated as the worst website, with users slamming it for “poor functionality and high prices”, according to the survey. The comparison site, which uses third parties for its flight and hotel searches, only bagged a customer rating score of 45 per cent.

“As well as raising issues with functionality and high prices, users also criticised the site for its poor market coverage and whether users were shown prices for all major booking sites,” the report explained.

The best sites

While GoCompare did not score well with customers, at the top of the list was SkyScanner which came in with a score of 69 per cent from users. It was the only site to score four stars for its value for money.

In a separate investigation conducted by Which? Travel, they found that SkyScanner found the cheapest flight price six out of ten times. By comparison, Google Flights found the cheapest fare just once.

Coming in second overall was TripAdvisor, which actually came first in the list for hotel comparisons. Customers said “they liked being able to compare prices for a hotel and read customer reviews side by side”.

How to get the best holiday deals

MoneySavingExpert offers this guide to help you find the best ways to save money when going on holiday.

“The first thing to decide is whether a ‘traditional’ package holiday - where you book a ready-made package through a tour operator - is right for you, or if you’d get a better deal with a DIY package, where you book a flight and hotel separately through the same travel site,” the guide explains.

As a general rule of thumb, traditional packages are apparently usually the cheapest option for seven, 10 or 14 days away in traditional holiday destinations.