The Best Travel Resources and Websites for Travel Planning
To plan an unforgettable journey, you need the best travel resources that can support you in every aspect of the trip. In this section, you'll find dozens of services that can help you enjoy your holiday and adventures in full with the best deals, the right information, and perfect products.
You don't need to spend sleepless nights finding and analysing the most reliable and convenient services. I've already done that for you during years of travel and nomadic experiments.
So you’ll discover the best companies you can plan your trip with, the ideal websites to find and book the most comfortable flight, bus, car, train, accommodation or restaurant.
But a great journey is nothing without a safe and extraordinary experience. These resources will also help you purchase the best and cheapest travel insurance, plan a memorable excursion, get a job for a great nomadic life, find the best deals and products for your photography gear, mobile phone, and travel credit cards.
Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links. When you purchase something through them, I earn a small commission (that will help support this website) but you won't spend additional money. I'm not suggesting these links for the commission, but because I use them and helped me plan better travels.
Trip Planning Websites
Wikitravel was launched in 2003 as a free crowdsourced travel guide. 300,000 writers/contributors, who are travellers themselves, share updated info from any corner of the world and 7 million travellers visit the website every month! Wikitravel is available in 21 languages.
Tripadvisor is the most popular review network in the travel industry, the perfect place to know your destination from the traveller's perspective. You'll find reviews on thousands of restaurants and accommodations worldwide plus tips and info about the various geographical locations.
Lonely Planet is an Australian travel guides publishing company and offers trusted content from experts who visit every destination. The company helps travellers with digital (a website and mobile app) and print guides rich in useful information, ideas, advice, tips, and reviews.
Airfare
Skyscanner is a metasearch engine and travel agency to find the cheapest flights fast. It started with aeroplanes and now it allows to compare also millions of hotels and cars all over the globe. It checks 1,200 sites at once. When you find the best deal, you can book directly with the company.
Momondo is a travel fare aggregator and travel fare metasearch engine. You can find and compare prices from 1,000+ airlines and travel websites. Like Skyscanner, Momondo compares hotels too. The platform is intuitive and user-friendly and offers a travel information blog as well.
Kiwi.com is a fare aggregator and metasearch engine of airline tickets and ground transportation. It helps you discover the best route within your budget. Its plus is the ability to combine itineraries with hundreds of carriers that don't usually collaborate in online bookings.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on how to find a cheap flight.
Accommodation
It's an online travel agency for booking lodging with more than 28 million listings in 120,000 destinations worldwide. The description of the hotels, apartments and other accommodations is very detailed. The map and large reviews database are very useful in finding the best deals.
Agoda.com is probably the best platform to book your accommodation in Asia. You'll find hotels, homes, villas, bungalows, and vacation rentals for short-term residential accommodation. It's a travel agency and metasearch engine to find and book also flights and airport transfers.
Airbnb is a vacation rental online marketplace. It focuses on homestays and tourism experiences. With homeowners from all around the world, Airbnb lists over 7 million lodgings. It has 150+ million users and the top destinations are the US, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
Hostelworld is an international online reservation platform focused on hostels and travellers who want to visit the world on a budget. You will find 17,700 hostel listings, 13 million reviews and 173 countries to explore with like-minded people. You'll also find hotels and B&B.
Couchsurfing is a global online community where members can share home and hometown. Home sharing is a powerful way to find accommodation all around the world on a budget while making friends. They also organise regular events in 200,000 cities worldwide.
Homestay offers 33,000 quality and affordable houses in over 160 countries. It's a great value accommodation option for short or long term stays. Before going on Airbnb, I recommend that you take a peek here, there are often interesting offers.
Eurocampings lists almost 10,000 campsites all over Europe. Locations are inspected every year by ACSI (Europe’s leading campsite specialist) for reliable information. You'll find 200+ amenities and 100,000+ ratings and reviews to help you find out and book the perfect camp.
LoveHomeSwap is a home swapping global community with 45,000+ homes listed, reviews, a verification process and a points system. You can exchange your house with the members choosing between three plans. A 2-week trial allows you to try out the service for free.
TrustedHousesitters is an international community that allows you to find free accommodation all around the world in exchange for pet and house sitting (and a small annual fee). A verification process together with a recommendation and review system keeps your transaction safe.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on how to find cheap travel accommodation.
Insurance
World Nomads provides flexible travel insurance and safety services for independent travellers in 150+ countries. It covers 200+ adventure activities and you can buy the insurance even after you left home and are travelling. You can also enjoy tips, guides, alerts, and podcasts.
SafetyWing sells travel and medical insurance for nomads and health insurance for remote workers and companies. You can purchase it abroad and it works like a subscription. One young child per adult is included. Its Nomad Insurance also covers COVID-19 for new policies.
VisitorsCoverage provides travel insurance for millions of global travellers in over 175 countries. They are the largest provider of visitor’s insurance for inbound travel to the U.S. and offer numerous specialized coverage products for travellers in a world of growing natural disasters, civil incidents and travel calamities.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on the best travel insurance.
Travel Credit Cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred
This credit card gives you premium dining and travel rewards on hotels, airfare, cafés, restaurants, and other purchases. You also get 60,000 bonus points ($750 value) plus other benefits (referral programme, purchase coverage, zero foreign transaction fees).
Capital One Venture
Capital One Venture rewards credit card offers unlimited 2x miles per dollar on every daily purchase plus 5x miles with Uber Eats. As a new member, you'll earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending your first $3,000. Rewards can be used on Amazon.com as well.
Chase Business Preferred
This card rewards your business with premium travel rewards. You get 100,000 bonus points (a $1,250 value), 3x points per $1 spent, travel & purchase coverage, no foreign transaction fees, and employee cards at no additional costs to earn more rewards faster.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on the best travel reward credit cards.
Travel & Photography Gear
On Rei.com you can find and purchase hundreds of products for your travel: gear and clothing for both men, women, and kids. The catalogue is wide and includes climbing, biking, camping, hiking, running, snow sports, paddling, yoga, park passes, fitness, water sports, bags, luggage, etc.
Manfrotto is an Italian brand that sells quality professional photography and video camera tripods, monopods, heads, lighting, iPhone camera accessories, filters, memory cards, and bags. Products are distributed worldwide. The website also proposes guides and how-to articles.
Shimoda Designs sells high-quality camera travel bags and backpacks plus accessory cases. The products are one of the best in the industry to satisfy the needs of every adventure photographer, explorer, storyteller, and creator. The company distributes internationally through Europe, Asia, and the USA.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on the best travel gear and accessories and the best travel photography equipment.
Travel SIM Cards
The Best SIM Card for the USA
T-Mobile SIM Cards have a strong, reliable network and excellent internet speed. They are the bestselling prepaid travel SIM Cards for the US. You get unlimited calls and SMS along with 50GB within the USA and 5GB in Canada and Mexico.
The Best SIM Card for Canada
When you travel to Canada, AT&T is the best choice. You can enjoy unlimited calls (mobile and landline) and text, plus up to 30GB of data for your Internet connection. You get high-speed Internet and coverage all over North America.
The Best SIM Card for Europe
Orange has 250+ customers worldwide and is the largest telecom company in Europe. You can choose between two prepaid SIM cards that connect to the best European 4G network. You get unlimited calls and SMS plus up to 20GB of data.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on the best international SIM cards for travellers.
Tour & Guide Companies
G Adventures is an adventure travel company for small groups that organises and offers tours, safaris and expeditions worldwide (from South America to New Zealand, passing across Europe and Africa): top-notch tours in great places with experts on adventure travel.
Here’s another small group travel company made of experts and local leaders that accompany the travellers to ensure safety and wellbeing. Intrepid Travel operates in 7 continents and has 31 years of experience in the industry. Over 80,000 reviews demonstrate its quality.
Charlie The Traveler acts as your personal trip planner. It offers personalised trips and optimises your itinerary, tours and activities. Its goal is to offer the best travel experience at the lowest price. The owner visited 596 destinations in almost 80 countries worldwide.
Civitatis helps you find the best tours and guide companies around the world in many languages. The website lists over 2,550 destinations and 58,200 activities. Are you a walks lover? You can even book free walking tours in the main European and American cities.
This is an aggregator website to find cheap tours, attractions tickets and things to do all over the world (outdoor and sports activities, cooking classes, excursions, city tours, etc.). Every search is free and includes 300,000 tours and attractions in 1,300+ destinations.
GetYourGuide is an alternative to TourScanner. You can search and book among 50,000 attractions, activities, and tours available in 2,500 destinations and 155 countries. Top destinations are cities like Paris, Rome, London, New York or Barcelona.
If your destination is in the USA or Europe and you’d like to visit it by walk, you can book your small-group tour on takewalks.com. The company employs more than 100 ground staff and collaborates with 600 guides operating in 13 important cities.
Fat Tire Tours is the largest European company for city bicycle tours for small groups. It also created the first Segway Tours in the world and Classic Walks of Paris. It’s expanding around Europe and the USA and offers fun guides and great stories.
EatWith is a peculiar service and community. You can book cooking events and immersive social eating experiences with locals. As a member, you can connect with hand-selected hosts in 130+ countries (home cooks or professional chefs).
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on the best group tour and travel guide company.
Transportation
Do you like travelling by bus? With Flixbus, you can do it starting from just €5,00 without giving up on comforts (Wi-Fi, toilet, a power outlet, nice seats). The transportation company operates in 34 European countries and reaches over 2,500 destinations.
The website allows you to find and book train tickets all around the Old Continent with 20,000 stations and 49 transport operators. You’ll also find bus tickets and rail passes (to travel on panoramic trains, buses, and boats in Switzerland).
This is a practical guide to travel by train or ferry from the UK to mainland Europe, around European countries, as well as internationally in the Americas, Australia, Asia, and Africa. The website offers guides and tips for epic and scenic journeys.
Planes, trains, and buses are not the only way of travelling. If you like the ocean and its unique atmosphere, you can find the best cruise deals on Cruisesheet.com and visit places like Naples, Bahamas, Florida, NYC or Buenos Aires sailing on the sea.
This is a great place where you can discover and compare car rental deals choosing the pick-up location and dates. You can find offers in 145+ countries and 10,000+ locations, and save up to 70% on purchases from 500+ partners around the world.
BlaBlaCar is a long-distance carpooling platform and allows you to find other drivers nearby who travel your way. You can then share the costs and save money. BlaBlaCar has 90 million members in 22 countries and 5 million travellers use it each quarter.
Job Resources
With TEFL services and accredited courses, you can get qualified and certified to teach English as a foreign language abroad. You first qualify as a confident TEFL teacher and then start a TEFL internship in locations such as Thailand, China or Spain.
This is a collaborative platform that allows you to use your skills to travel the world. You’ll find 500+ opportunities to travel and volunteer in 170 countries, plus an academy with courses to learn the necessary skills to become a digital nomad.
WorkAway is a community for travelling abroad through volunteering, working holidays, and cultural exchange. It lists over 50,000 opportunities in 170 countries. You can find and connect with travellers and local hosts and read their reviews.
For more information, visit this article with all my tips on how to get paid for travelling.