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The most important thing is to actually read what's displayed before you pay - check carefully if taxes and service fees are already included in the listed price or if they're gonna be added at the end. Personally I always compare a few different sites because some are more transparent than others. Also watch out for options that are checked by default like cancellation insurance or add-ons, you can uncheck them before confirming your order. Honestly if a site doesn't show you the final price before you click "pay", I'd just skip it altogether.
The best tactic is to read the terms and conditions before you confirm. Check the service fees, taxes and payment fees that get added at the end - they hide that stuff on purpose so you don't notice. Personally I always compare a couple of sites and I'll call the hotel or restaurant directly if I can, saved me from some nasty surprises. Also use recent reviews where people complain about bogus fees, that gives you a good idea of what you're gonna deal with.
It's true you gotta read the terms and conditions, but honestly I think that's not enough. Me, when I book something - whether it's for a ski weekend or a restaurant - I do something dumb but it works: I write down the price they show in big letters at the start, then I compare it with what they tell me at the end before I click "confirm". Like seriously, you go on the homepage, you see "99€" written everywhere, but by checkout it becomes 130€ easy. Once you see the difference you can check the fine print to figure out where it's coming from. Most sites hide taxes and "processing" fees or whatever just to show you an attractive number. It's weird honestly.
Something that helps too: use a different browser or clear your cookies before searching. I don't know if it's actually effective but sometimes sites bump up prices if they see you looking at the same thing multiple times. And before you validate, check if there's not something like "optional fees" ticked by default - often you've got insurance or a warranty they basically force you to take. Uncheck that if you really want the base price. And honestly, if the site hides too much stuff from you or it seems weirdly complicated at the end, set it aside and try a competitor. It's not like there's only one platform.
You're right about reading the terms, but honestly what helps me the most is comparing directly on the establishment's own website before going through booking platforms. Hotels and restaurants often add fewer fees when you book direct, so it's worth checking out. And I always keep a screenshot of the total price displayed before confirming, it's saved me a few times to dispute afterwards if there's weird stuff that gets added on.
Oh I totally agree with what people say about reading the terms and conditions, it's really crucial! What's saved me dozens of times honestly is comparing prices between the platform and the hotel or restaurant's direct website - often it's cheaper and you see exactly what you're paying without any surprises! And I also do something simple: before confirming, I take a screenshot of the final price displayed, because I've already had last-minute fees pop up like right at payment time and honestly it's really annoying.
What really works well is taking a screenshot of the total price before you confirm, because sometimes fees get added like at the very last step and then you can't go back. A weird thing I noticed when booking hotels for my photo trips is that websites show you a price but forget to mention whether it's per person or per night - so you really gotta check what's written in the fine print. But yeah like I said earlier, checking directly on the hotel/restaurant/whatever's website usually saves you a few euros.
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