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In the world of the World Wide Web, more and more Americans are clicking away before flying away or checking into a hotel.

More than 42 million people booked travel online last year, up 8 percent from 2002, according to a recent report from the Travel Industry Association of America. And 30 percent of people who booked travel online use the Internet for all their travel needs, up from 23 percent in 2002, according to the report released last month.

The Internet allows travelers to access information once exclusively in the realm of travel agents and airline personnel, said David LaBar, spokesman for SBI Razorfish, which resdesigned Travelocity's Web site. "Before, users crossed their fingers and hoped they were getting the best deal," LaBar said. "Now, they can quickly amass a set of travel options to compare and contrast and make a more informed decision."

Consumers are comparison shopping like never before. Even though Expedia ranks No. 1, nearly half of its visitors also checked out Travelocity and Orbitz, according to Nielsen / NetRatings which monitors Web- surfing habits. Visitors to Travelocity and Orbitz are also jumping to the other sites at roughly the same rate. "It's standard practice to comparison shop," said Charles Buchwalter, vice president of analytics for Nielsen/ NetRatings.

Booking Buddy, www.bookingbuddy.com, makes the search easier by allowing users to enter the travel dates once and click buttons to search for flights on Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz and more without re-entering the dates. (Though a recent search for a US Airways flight on Booking Buddy didn't work correctly.)

Comparison shopping makes sense, given the nature of online travel sites, experts said. For instance, many sites are now buying hotel rooms in bulk and selling them to consumers at discount. But one site might have discounts not available on another site.

Consumers should be aware, however, that the discounts available when travel sites prepay for hotels also require travelers to pay up front. The travel sites may charge cancellation fees in addition to the fees the hotels themselves charge. And travelers should call the hotel directly to make sure the room has been booked.

In addition to booking hotels that sites have pre-purchased, travelers can also save money on combination deals by making their own package vacation from a list of selected airlines and hotels for a given destination. These combo deals can save travelers from 15 percent to 50 percent, executives of travel sites said.

But travelers should examine the offerings closely. A four-star hotel might be cheaper than a three-star hotel because the package deal might offer a smaller room at the four-star hotel.

Sites have moved beyond hotel-airline combinations to activities as well. Some are offering transfers to hotels and tickets to ski resorts and amusement parks. Some sites are even offering travel insurance.

And people who don't mind finding out specifics in advance, such as the name of the airline or hotel, are booking on Priceline or Hotwire, which allow consumers to choose their own price. If the bid is accepted, the buyer cannot cancel, and booking fees can be substantial. Those sites usually don't offer frequent flier mileage or frequent guest points.

But savings can be more than 20 percent, according to Consumer Reports. Consumers who want to know the name of their hotel or airline when they book the trip can still save money by getting last-minute deals on some sites. The availability of such discounts has changed travel patterns, encouraging more people to book later, according to the recent Travel Industry Association of America report.

Travelers planning ahead, on the other hand, can sign up for e-mail updates and wait until a good deal reaches their inbox -- and hope it's still available when they go online. More than 35 million Americans have signed up for travel e-mail offers, the travel association reported.

Travelers can also cut costs by choosing flexible travel dates. Many travel sites allow users to enter dates with the option of arriving or departing within a day or so of those dates. Or travelers can view a calendar with prices listed for each day. Either way, travelers can then see which dates offer the best deals.

Many sites charge a small fee for booking hotels, airlines or both, usually about $5. Sometimes, the fee is hidden, as it's included in the price.

Though the surcharges are small, more and more travelers are avoiding them by going directly to the airlines' Web sites, which generally don't charge fees, said Edward Hasbrouck, author of "The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace."

But in the online world, cutting out the middleman might not bring the best deal. Fares might be significantly lower on the travel sites because they buy in advance, Hasbrouck said. "So the real question isn't, 'Is there a fee,' but, 'What is the total price, including any fee?' " he said.

Fees have also been a sticking point for car rentals, as online travel sites traditionally haven't fully disclosed them. But now, many travel sites are offering total pricing, which lists the rental price including taxes and surcharges. "Consumers have responded to this," said Mike Sands, chief marketing officer of Orbitz. Last month, Orbitz added a grid that shows the total price of various car rental agencies all on one screen.

Despite the savings, some sites can be difficult to navigate, according to a recent study by Shelley, Taylor & Associates, a management consulting and research firm. But the three most popular sites received top rankings in the report. Still, consumers make mistakes that can be difficult or impossible to fix.

Aimee Ricca, a travel agent with both Bonne Amie Travel and Dreamtime Journeys in Rockport, Me., whose agencies don't offer online booking, said consumers have mistakenly booked flights to Portland in Maine when they wanted to go to Oregon, or they've booked Sydney in Nova Scotia instead of Australia.

"I can't tell you how many times we receive calls and e-mails from consumers who have booked their trip with an online agency and made a mistake on the dates or destination," she said.