Travel Planning Resources

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Weekly Travel Deals

Here’s where (I try) to post all ongoing travel-related deals/discounts so you can access them all in one place. This can include limited-time hotel offers, discounted activities, eSIM promo codes, and more.

Travel Planning: Apps, Services, and Things That I Actually Use

There’s a lot that goes into travel planning. I’m not going to sugar coat it—travel planning can result in hours and hours of research at times, especially if you’re planning for yourself or even for the rest of your group.

If you’re looking to really streamline the travel planning process, then you’re in the right place! I’ve compiled a list of my most useful budget travel planning resources for you. I’ve been using some of these for over 8 years and they continue to be useful to this day.

Trust me, these resources will help you save a lot of time and heaps of cash along the way!

Jump to the section you’re most interested in:

• CHEAP FLIGHTS
• HOTELS + ACCOMMODATIONS
• TRAVEL TRANSPORT + GETTING AROUND
• TRAVEL ESSENTIALS + BRANDS I LOVE
• TRAVEL APPS
• TRAVEL SAFETY
• ATTRACTIONS + THINGS TO DO
• GENERAL MONEY SAVING TIPS

This post may contain affiliate links. You won’t be paying a cent more, but in the event of a sale, the small affiliate commission I receive will help keep this blog running/pumping out useful and free content. Thanks a lot!

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Finding Cheap Flights

Google Flights | Whenever I begin looking for flights, Google Flights is always Step #1. It’s the most user-friendly among all the airfare search sites. So much information is provided when you search, such as the best options for the cheapest, fastest or best overall flight options. It’ll also allow you to compare the flight prices between various airlines so you know you’re getting the best deal.

Going (previously Scott’s Cheap Flights) | The best travel email subscription ever! Get notifications whenever there are mistake fares or extreme sales on flights, right to your inbox. Scott– whoever you are, I don’t know you, but what would I do without you… sign up for free alerts here!

The Flight Deal | My go-to flight sale site when I have nothing to do and want to browse for places to go. They have an email subscription as well.

Secret Flying | I’ll check out this flight deal site every once in a while. Very similar to The Flight Deal. It’s awesome because it allows you to filter by departing city, destination, or both, as well as your travel timeframe.

Point.me and Roame.travel | Both of these sites are great for finding the best ways to use your points and miles for flights. All you need to do is enter your destination, and it shows you all the available redemption options across various loyalty programs. Roame is free, while Point.me is paid.

ITA Matrix Airfare Search | ITA Matrix is a software that is, essentially, the holy grail of flight search tools, which is why many travel agencies and airline websites use it. Google Flights works off this software, but ITA can give more comprehensive search results if you have the energy to deep-dive.

Priority Pass | Before heading to any airport, I’ll always check to see if I have access to any airport lounges through my Priority Pass membership. This membership gets you access to a ton of airport lounges around the world that offer meals, drinks (including alcohol!), showers, comfy sofas, private wifi, and even 30-minute massages at times!

It’s definitely a must-have if you want that added airport comfort! It’s especially great for international travel and long layovers. Explore the lounges that are part of the Priority Pass program here.

I have a PP membership through the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, aka my ultimate travel card. I’ve had this card since 2017 and I still continue to find so much value in it. I use it for all those travel expenses that earn me 3x points for every $1 spent.

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Hotels + Places To Stay

Booking.com | This is my go-to accommodation booking site. This site has free cancellation and no prepayment required on reservations which is huge. It also has amazing abilities to filter accommodation options by rating and price.

Honestly, it’s shaved off so many hours of endless research for me and has made booking hotels and other accommodations a breeze. It even have apartments / vacation homes for rent on there now!

What I like to do to filter down options and expose the best value for money options:

• throw on a filter of Review Score: 9+
• then sort by Lowest Price First
• if no decent results that fit your budget, lower the Review Score to 8+

Agoda | Agoda is my favorite site for booking apartments, villas, and hostels in Asia. Based in Singapore, Agoda naturally has an extensive presence in Asian countries, but they do offer lodgings worldwide. Aside from their great prices, they’ll sometimes have additional deals from time to time, so be sure to check out their deals page before booking!

Hostelworld | I don’t stay at hostels anymore these days, but when I did, this was my go-to platform for booking hostels worldwide. Hostelworld offers the largest selection of budget-friendly accommodations and has a super user-friendly interface, detailed reviews, and real-time availability. Plus, you can easily find hostels with free cancellation and exclusive deals, too.

See it in action here:

Couchsurfing | The idea behind Couchsurfing is simple: “couchsurfers” leverage the hospitality of friendly people around the world who open their homes to travelers. There’s an extensive worldwide network of people on there that often just get together for social events (without the couch surfing part). It’s a great way to meet other like-minded travelers. I’ve only used Couchsurfing a handful of times, but I’ve had very good, totally non-creepy experiences. I’ve also met a lot of other female travelers who’ve had nothing but good things to say about their experiences as well.

Trusted Housesitters | Don’t spend a dime on lodging and accommodation while traveling. This is such a great way to exchange your service for a place to stay while traveling! If you don’t know what housesitting is, it is an exchange in which a person (you) stays at someone’s home and cares for their pets and property while they are away. Usually, no money is exchanged between parties.

Workaway | A great way to save money on lodging if you’re going to be traveling for over a few weeks. Workaway is an international hospitality service that allows members to contact one another to organize homestays and cultural exchange. “Workawayers” will work a few hours of their day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by their host. I didn’t get the chance to use Workaway, but I have a membership with them and the work opportunities/exchanges look legit.

Hippo Help | Another work exchange site, smaller and newer than Workaway.

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Travel Transportation + Getting Around

Omio | Omio is a very user-friendly search engine that lets you compare and book train, bus, and flight tickets–anywhere in Europe! Typical train websites are clunky and hard to use… with Omio, you can easily book tickets with your credit card at essentially the same prices as Europe’s National Railways websites. Omio also has an app that allows you to download all your tickets digitally to your smartphone. No more printing required!

Rome2Rio | This is my go-to transportation resource when I’m already traveling and need to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Rome2Rio is a super useful tool when you have absolutely no idea how to get around between cities, between countries, or even between continents! Simply type in your starting point and destination and it’ll show you how to get there by plane, train, bus, ferry & car – as well as an estimate of how much it’ll cost you. Trust me, this is a really powerful tool for getting all your travel options displayed in one place.

Rentalcars.com | Need to book a rental car? If you are the type to compare prices between rental car companies as I am, use this rental car search. Not only does the tool allow you to compare rental car prices, but most of the time, you can book with no prepayment and no cancellation fees. Really! If you don’t show up for your reservation and forget to cancel, there is no penalty.

Tip: If you’ve ever used Priceline’s rental car search tool, Rentalcars.com is the same search engine! Clean and easy to use!

Costco Travel | If you have a Costco membership, you can also find great deals on rental cars through Costco Travel. Surprisingly, the rental car prices on Costco Travel are very competitive and sometimes even the lowest I can find!

Welcome Pickups | If you are going to places where ridesharing is not legal (such as in Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula), your options for getting around are limited to public transportation, taxi, or private transfer. Taxis are expensive and public transportation can be too inconvenient. Welcome Pickups is my go-to for stress-free airport transfers and personalized sightseeing rides. Their professional, local drivers are usually always on time and will make your journey seamless from the moment you land. 

The Man In Seat Sixty-One | Useful for planning ground transportation across Europe. Don’t know where to start? Well, the site breaks down your train options extremely well. Enter your starting city and he’ll show you where you can go by train. Tip: Take advantage of those overnight trains– a very cheap and comfortable way to travel!

Seat Guru | Seat Guru is for the flight nerds who wants to understand everything about their flight, down to the type of seat they’re getting. Use it when you’d like to know which seats on an airplane are your best or worst options.

BlaBlaCar | Traveling Europe on a budget? Need to catch a ride from point A to point B but want to save some money along the way? BlaBlaCar is a ridesharing website that lets you share rides with vetted local drivers by pitching in for gas. You’ll just request a seat in someone’s published ride, and once they approve, off you go! It’s a super neat way to get around Europe.

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Travel Essentials + Brands I Love

This section can become quite extensive, so I’ll briefly touch on the travel gear brands I love. You can read more about all my favorite things in the separate guide below!

Monos | I’m obsessed with Monos for their sleek, durable carry-on suitcases and game-changing compressible packing cubes. Their minimalist design and thoughtful features make traveling a breeze, and their other gear (like duffels and toiletry bags) is just as impressive. Perfect for the stylish, organized traveler! 

Bellroy | Bellroy is an Australia-based company that makes just about the best travel backpacks and slings. With their sleek, functional designs and premium materials, they’re perfect for keeping your essentials organized and accessible on the go. Plus, they’re super comfortable to carry—win-win! 

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Travel Apps

Culture Trip | Whoever’s on the Culture Trip payroll, I love you. Culture Trip continuously gives awesome recommendations that have helped me travel on a much deeper level (past the touristy fluff) — which is why I’ve been using them as a go-to source of inspiration since 2016. Moreover, they provide you with awesome out-of-the-box recommendations such as the best coffee shops, flea markets, and secret local spots to check out! 

Viator | I never used to go on tour, but since I’ve gotten older, I’ve been relying on them more! You can discover the world’s coolest insider tours and activities with Viator. It’s hard not to come across a Viator tour when you’re traveling and looking for that effortless, guided experience.

GetYourGuide | When it comes to booking tours and activities, GetYourGuide is my top pick for Europe. Their curated selection of experiences—from skip-the-line tickets to hidden gem tours—is unmatched, and their user-friendly platform makes planning a breeze. While I alternate between GetYourGuide and Viator depending on the destination, GYG is always my go-to for European adventures.

Klook | This is my go-to excursions and activities app for all things Asia travel! Whether you’re interested in cultural tours, outdoor adventures, theme park tickets, or entertainment options, Klook offers a comprehensive selection, catering to a wide range of interests. To give you a sense of how I’ve used it: I’ve booked Hong Kong Disneyland tickets, Tokyo Disneyland tickets, spa packages in Bangkok, etc. through this app — every time, it’s saved me money!

Airalo | I love it when a service can save you both time and money! Airalo is the world’s first eSIM store that solves the pain of high roaming bills by giving you access to eSIMs (digital SIM cards) across 200+ countries/regions. Airalo saves me the energy and time needed to stop by a cell phone store / SIM card store when I land at an international destination.

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Safety While Traveling

SafetyWing | SafetyWing is another travel insurance provider. This is a very solid budget-friendly option if you’re just looking for insurance coverage in case of an emergency abroad. Good for those looking for more basic coverage.

Travel Advisories | Wondering if your travel destination is safe at the moment? As one of your first steps in planning any trip abroad, check the Travel Advisories for your destination.

CDC Traveler’s Health | Before leaving for any trip, you’ll want to make sure you have the right immunization shots and the right meds for your trip. The last thing you want is to contract some preventable disease and have your health suffer while traveling.

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Attractions / Things To Do

Viator | Whenever I’m looking for a formal day trip, excursion, or tour, I go with Viator. No matter what you are looking for, whether it be a snorkeling tour, a food walking tour, or a combo destination day trip—you’ll find that they have different tour company options and price points for the same trip, so you can choose what’s best for you.

Go City | Go City offers great value-for-the-money attraction passes in various destinations around the world (including Bangkok, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Chicago, San Francisco, Oahu, Paris and much more). These digital attraction passes provide admission to popular museums, tours, and excursions within a city. Whenever I want to play tourist in a city, I always check to see if Go City operates in that city! You can read about my previous experiences with the passes in Oahu, Chicago, and Cancun.

CityPass | CityPass is like Go City, except they mostly specialize in North American cities (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, etc). These passes grant you admission to a select number of most popular attractions in each city and are priced up to 50% less than the combined regular price of admissions.

Culture Trip | Again, Culture Trip is a great travel content site that provides me with tons of out-of-the-box ideas for things to do when I’m in a new destination. I’ll often use this to look up restaurants, things to do, and other local suggestions. What I love most about it is that their posts recommend ideas outside of the norm and are often written from a local’s perspective!

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Saving For Travel + General Money Saving Resources

Rakuten | Rakuten offers you cash back at 2,000+ stores whenever you begin your shopping experience through their website/portal. I’m not a big online shopper, but when I do, I make sure I save where I can. I’ve saved over $500 by using this cashback site since joining back in 2011. Every little bit counts!

DEAL ALERT: For a limited time, use this Rakuten referral link for a $30 bonus when you join and spend $30. Yep, it’s basically free moolah!

Swagbucks | Swagbucks is a bit like Rakuten, except members are rewarded with “Swagbucks” that can be redeemed for free gift cards instead. They sometimes offer huge bonuses for completing special offers (such as signing up for food subscription services that you can cancel later on– I’m guilty of doing this plenty of times). And to top it all off, the rewards don’t suck. I always exchange my Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards!

The Points Guy | TPG is the credit card points king. Seriously, if you need any sort of information on credit cards, travel hacking, earning and spending points, he’s the one to go to.

Evreward | I use this site whenever I’m about to make an online purchase but don’t know which cash back or points system will result in the highest rewards. Evreward compares all the major points programs and cashback sites and lets you know which payouts are best.

Like-A-Coupon | They’re an email subscription service that sends you the best deals from around the web. Content can range from free food, free movie tickets, “spend $X and get $X gift card from Amazon”, steeply discounted items, etc. I’m not exactly sure how I started receiving these emails, but the deals are super legit and up-to-date, so I’ve kept them around.

Slickdeals | Slickdeals is a huge deal-sharing site and forum which you should check on a regular basis if you are on the prowl for discounts. Almost all the best deals out there for just about anything show up on Slickdeals first.

Gas Buddy | Discover, by list or map view, where to find the best prices on gas wherever you are. GasBuddy provides historical gas price data so you can make sure you’re getting the best price every time.

Poshmark | A social way to sell fashion for men, women, and children. Poshmark is like an Ebay, but most of it is all clothes. Simply take pictures of your unwanted clothes, provide a brief description, set your price, and share your listings with the Poshmark community. You’re also able to sell sportswear, makeup and “boutique”/wholesale items on here.

Supercook | If you have a bunch of random ingredients in your kitchen but have no clue what to make with it all, use this site! List all of the ingredients you have and Supercook will spit back a list of recipes from popular cooking websites that use those items. Definitely saves money since you don’t have to toss unused groceries or buy new ones.

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