Does anyone book hotels through Trivago?

I booked quite a few places for our 6 week holiday in Italy, in 2014, through a site starting with booking (not allowed to use a link as I haven't posted enough comments yet. Even though I booked about 8 or 9 months ahead, we had absolutely no problems. Price was as we were told, accommodation was as per photos, could not complain at all. And they were pay when you get there, and free cancellation up to about 4 days prior to staying.

 

Hi Mark.
Thanks for the upgrade. Yes, we saved a lot of money doing the booking ourselves. Went to Flight Centre first, as we had never travelled to Europe before, but were a bit daunted by the $300/night hotels, all the add-ons such as airport transfers, the cost of the 10 day tour (only doing cities), and the insurance in case it was cancelled, etc, etc. ($10,000, which included airfares, and only up to first 12 days, but we wanted to go for 6 weeks). Opted out of that and asked a seasoned traveler, and hence on to TripAdvisor and Booking.com. The amount of info on these sites is great. Companies such as Booking.com, Expedia.com, etc. have deals with the hotels, and they are often cheaper than going through the hotels themselves, but you can easily check that. They also have specials, and show the cost in Aust dollars. Many are pay when you arrive, and allow free cancellation up to about 4 days prior to your stay. Our accommodation in Italy for 6 weeks came to around $4000, and that was a combination of hotels (with breaky) - 3 weeks, and self-catering apartments for up to a week at at time - 3 weeks.
We travelled by train all over Italy (no problems) and local buses (a bit trickier - not very helpful!). There are trains to everywhere in Europe (see also The Man in Seat 61). We booked the trains from Aust (can do this 3 mths ahead, but we found that Rail Plus charges a lot more than the actual ticket price, plus fees. Once in the country, we discovered how easy it is to get tickets on the stations with the automatic machines - good cheap travel. Only book ahead if you want First Class, as there are early bird discounts. Rail Italia was a good site. There is even an app which shows which station you are passing through while you are on the train! So much now on the internet!!
We are now booking for a 6 week trip to Ireland and UK in May. Will do mainly self-catering as you can save a lot of money not having to eat out, and if the weather turns nasty you have a whole house to relax in. We are paying an average nightly cost of $100 -$130 Aust, but there are cheaper places. As an example of our accom, check out Riverfield Lodge, at Athboy, on Booking.com (our first 4 nights in Ireland, sharing with another couple - another way to save). We have also booked a canal boat (self-drive Penichette, with a couple of bicycles) on the Irish canals through Boatingholidays.com. for a week, again sharing the cost with another couple. These are set up like a caravan inside, with separate cabins and bathrooms, and a kitchen.
Travel light, especially if using trains, and also take a smallish backpack for walks and to carry your extras. We bought smaller security bags before we went, which can't be cut or scanned, to carry our valuables and Samsung tablet. Bought a cheap phone overseas and got a local sim card, with a bit of data, for when travelling (most accommodation have free WiFi) - cheaper than overseas roaming! Sorry to be long winded, but hope this helps.
Pam