As much as I love traveling, the planning aspect can be tedious. However, over the years, I’ve curated my list of go-to websites. Whether for travel inspiration or booking the essentials, these are the best websites + resources for travel planning (in my opinion)!
Travel Insurance
First things first, let’s talk about travel insurance. Far too many people believe that their home insurance plan will cover them abroad, but the majority of health plans will cover little or no part of health care once outside of your home country. Having an emergency away from home is not worth the risk!
A good travel insurance plan is a must-have. Check out my post on The Best Travelers Insurance to help decide which company might be the best fit for you!
Websites For Travel Planning + Booking
Google Flights – This is my favorite site for seeking and comparing flights. You can set alerts to snag the best flight at the best price and search deals in a matter of seconds. The site’s map is also a fun tool to use if you’re flexible on destinations as it always shows the cheapest deals during the date range you’ve selected.
Skyscanner – For searching and comparing flights without the limit of having to provide an exact destination, Skyscanner has never let me down. It always finds me the least expensive flights, and allows for you to search specific dates or a range up to a month at a time!
Kayak – A solid resource for finding hotels, flights and rental cars, Kayak is a one-stop search engine. My favorite part of the site is the given ability to put in flexible dates, plus or minus up to three days of your chosen date, to view price differences based on day of travel. I also regularly use to it confirm pricing since it pulls from multiple sites.
Airwander – A newer site to the scene, this flight search engine helps you add in a free stopover (over 24 hours) in locations based on your final destination and days of travel.
Rome2Rio – This is the ultimate site to discover how to get anywhere by searching plane, train, bus, car and ferry routes in your desired destination. I genuinely use this site every time I am traveling to a foreign country and it’s a game changer.
Costco Travel – If you are a member of this popular warehouse club, then you should be using all of the fringe benefits! Costco Travel is an in-house travel agency designed to offer members good deals on vacation packages, rental cars, hotel rooms, cruises, theme parks… the list goes on. I primarily use this website for rental cars and it’s consistently the cheapest option, plus there are never any hidden costs. What it quotes you is what you will pay.
Hotels.com – I’m hooked to their rewards program that they have in place. Basically, you receive a free night for every 10 nights (nights, not stays!) and they add up fairly quickly!
Info Resource Sites
TripAdvisor – I use this site for help with planning, research and occasionally booking. You can find everything from hotel, restaurant and experience reviews to exploring their community of helpful forums for travelers. If you have a questions about a destination, I’m willing to bet TripAdvisor will have an answer.
Oyster – This site is the ultimate truth for any hotel you are considering. It weighs the pros and cons of most properties across the world, so you’re never left guessing if all those fantastic reviews are true. I’m a hotel snob, I’ll be the first to admit it and this is the best site to utilize in order to avoid having a bad experience!
Eater – No travel is complete unless you know where you will be going to eat! Use this site to be up-to-date on the latest food news and dining guides from across the country.
The Points Guy – This site is completely devoted to maximizing credit card and reward travel. Make sure to sign up for this sites newsletter, you won’t be sorry!
Don’t forget! If you have been looking to get a travel rewards credit card, I suggest applying for one at least 4 months before a big trip or purchase. Some benefits are earning points to use for free flights and hotels, travel protection when you use the card to pay for aspects of your trip and additional points when making travel-related purchases. I suggest checking out My Favorite Travel Credit Cards to help narrow the selection.
Travel + Leisure – I solely rely on this site for all my travel inspiration and hotel suggestions. I even use this to curate travel itineraries for destinations worldwide.
Safe Travels!
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