I’m a big fan of finding travel deals on the web.  In fact, whenever I take a vacation with my family, I will always make sure that I’m getting a deal and this is why I will use websites online such as Travelzoo, Clark Howard, and more.

Now, the question today is, “Are the Clark Howard travel deals worth it?”  In the long run, they aren’t going to hurt you, as they don’t charge you for the information, but lets compare some deals on many major deal sites and see how they match up.

These deals are going to be accurate of July 2010.  Regardless of the date, it should give you a good idea on what kind of “deal” you’re truly getting.  Some websites truly do want to give you a deal, while others are in it for their own pocketbook.

The Vacation Destination: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

CLARK HOWARD: I was able to find an airline ticket where I could travel any day via Delta airlines for $55 each way.  This was for a one way ticket and was valid from August to November.  This was the only deal I could find.

TRAVELZOO: I found a 4 diamond beach resort over in Ft. Lauderdale for $99.  This hotel would generally run you around $220 for the night alone.  I also found another deal for $89.

BOOKIT: They had a 99 hour sale going on where I could get a 4 star hotel resort for $69 a night, making them by far the cheapest so far.  By looking at the pictures, they had some great pictures.

EXPEDIA: Generally your bigger named sites don’t have the deals that you’re looking for, since the viewer base is massive.  What you’re going to find out is that when a good deal hits, it’s going to go like cash in the street.  I did manage to find deals ranging from $70 – $155 but the pictures just didn’t do justice to the rest mentioned above.

Overall, Clark Howard does have some decent deals and yes, they will vary.  At the time, I picked a completely random hot spot and scoured a few websites that I love to check out.  Even though they had a deal, the thing I didn’t like was that it was in the far future and wasn’t really for a “last minute” deal.

If you’re looking for last minute deals, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you’re like most people and plan for the future, then it will be a wise choice to just scour for some deals.  In the end, its a great site and you should be able to find plenty of deals around the globe.