TRAVEL RESOURCES
When you’re planning for a trip, reading blog posts on ForTravelista.com is only the first step! To prepare for your travels, it’s also important to use the best planning and booking resources available today to cater to your budget, destination, and overall travel preferences.
There are so many tools on the internet that it can be overwhelming and tricky to weed out the most useful platforms from the average. To save you time and trouble, we've curated our favorite resources to help you find the best information and deals on flights, accommodation, tours, and all other aspects of your travels. You can trust the services recommended below: they're our personal go-to's, tried and tested by our team of long-term travelers.
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links to the resources included on this page are affiliate links. We earn a small commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. We personally use the companies featured and recommend them as trusted and reliable platforms to help you travel better, smarter, and easier. If you are planning for your upcoming trip and want to support us, please use the links below to access the recommended sites.
Flights
Using the right flight search engines can save you precious time and hundreds of dollars on airfare. Here are our three favorites:
Skyscanner is usually our first stop when searching for flights. It has a comprehensive selection and makes it very easy to find the best and cheapest flights for your destination on specific dates or within an open date range. You can also turn on alerts to get notified when your chosen route becomes cheaper. If you ever find yourself in need of an affordable break and open to any location, the site has a nifty feature that allows you to search for "Everywhere," showing you the cheapest destination from your departure point - perfect for a spontaneous getaway!
Our team's other go-to, Kiwi.com lets you both compare flights and build itineraries in a uniquely smart way. This very visual website allows you to search either the classic way or by displaying fares on a map (so you can see flights from all the airports nearest to you all at once!). It also highlights special deals and the cheapest dates for any given route. Moreover, it's the only platform we know that offers "virtual interlining" - i.e., it makes planes, trains, buses, ferries, and taxis connect even when the operators don’t work together, and protects customers from missed connections, delays, or schedule changes. This multiplies your flight options and allows you to build more flexible and complex itineraries. For those planning long-term, multi-segment travels, there is even a dedicated Nomad page to allow you to do just that.
As with all Google services, you can expect the options returned by Google's flight-dedicated search engine to be comprehensive and well-organized. Google Flights lets you book flights from over 300 airlines through its online travel partners. These partnerships don't affect the ranking of the offers suggested to you in any way, so you don't need to worry about biased results. The best feature of this program is that you can configure it to send you email updates to notify you of price changes on any route you are looking to fly on specific dates.
Accommodation
Just like with flight booking sites, there is no shortage of online resources available to help you search for the best places to stay on your travels according to your needs and budget. But not all are created equal! Here are the four platforms we swear by to find and book awesome accommodation:
With a great mix of hotels, apartments, and even hostels and private home rentals, Booking.com is a top choice for all types of travelers looking for a place to stay on their trip. We love this platform for offering the largest range of options worldwide at the best possible prices,as well as rather flexible cancellation policies. Moreover, one of the top features of this website is that it allows users to book their accommodations without making any sort of prepayment and to just pay directly at the property (although of course, this depends on the owner’s preference). This is a great option for those who prefer not to share their bank details online.
Agoda started as a hotel booking site focused exclusively on countries in Asia. That focus remains obvious on the homepage, where properties in Thailand, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries remain very prominent. However, Agoda has since expanded to North America and Europe to deliver an experience to rival some of the best-known hotel sites in those parts of the world too.
Let’s be honest, staying at a hotel in a big city can be very expensive – especially if you are staying there long-term. There’s another reasonably priced option for travelers seeking accommodation that won’t break the bank and looking to enjoy more homelike facilities and necessities. Airbnb connects homeowners with individuals who want to rent rooms or private properties. In some countries, renting an Airbnb can be cheaper than a hotel – particularly for a longer stay, as many owners offer weekly and/or monthly discounts.
Ready to try Airbnb? If you don't have an account yet, get up to 30€ (about $33) off your first booking!
TripAdvisor probably needs no introduction! Among many other functions, this complete travel platform acts as a hotel search site that displays the prices of different hotels in the location you choose. Besides serving as a search engine, it's also the largest online go-to place to read reviews left by other travelers when searching for the best hotels, restaurants, activities, and other services. So, if you are considering booking any sort of hotel or travel-related service, it's always worth checking out TripAdvisor to find and reserve the top-rated options at your destination.
Gear
Travelling overseas requires some preparation. With good planning, you can easily leave with greater peace of mind and avoid many of the problems you might encounter on the road. Here are some basic accessories you should make sure to pack in order to enjoy hassle-free travels:
World Nomads Backpacker Insurance prides itself on offering coverage in more than 150 countries around the world. Most of those who visit Switzerland to ski or go to Africa for skydiving normally choose to get insurance from an insurance company. It’s so easy to overlook getting insurance when planning travel to far destinations due to the excitement.
It earns its lightweight status through minimal design. The two pockets are small. It is unlined. There is no powder skirt or extraneous fabric. This is a stripped-down shell at its most fundamental, and for anyone moving quickly through the wilds, the Rhyolite is probably all you’ll need.
They’re extremely detailed and very big. They locate hostels, restaurants, attractions, transports, and a lot of other things. It’s just too difficult to travel around without a map and Lonely Planet offers a map for all cities, towns, and regions for the specific country you want to go.
Tours
People travel usually because they would like to enjoy a rather peaceful time away from their day to day lives. But because of the hassles of creating itineraries and planning your trip from beginning to end may be somewhat of a hassle, taking a tour would be a great thing to consider.
This is the niche adventure travel company that focuses on taking customers remote track to about 90 places in different parts of the world. With this typical tour, you are able to follow paths similar to localized people, regarding the environment as well as the culture. This is a travel tour operator company that takes generally public transport, hotels, as well as restaurants in small local-owned organizations.
Context Travel offers a comprehensive alternative to modern tours. The Rome walking seminars offered by Context are an alternative to usual guided tours. With more than 50 different walks led by Ph.D. or MA-level scholars, and with small groups.
It is a website where you can book tours and experiences you can experience with locals. You are able to choose where to go, and you will get access to offers made by insiders who would like you to discover their home town the way they would. It is perfect if you want to experience off the beaten path and discover some of the hidden gems in the area.
Transportation
If you are looking for some of the best auto transport rates available, then you must know about all the alternatives available. There are many people that transport their vehicles to all part of the nation every day. Here are some of the best resources you can use for finding the right transportation for you.
The Man in Seat 61 is a travel site that is written and run by Mark Smith. This site focuses almost solely on train-based travel, with ferry recommendations from time to time. This site is the first option of all people who look at their trip as part of the holiday, and those who want to take the train to travel.
Rome2Rio is an online multimodal transport search engine that was founded in April 2011. Rome2rio is a worldwide covering platform that can serve long-distance trip planning and also local trip planning. This apps provides essential information for pedestrians seeking consistent transportation in cities in different parts of the world.
Another source that can help you get to where you have to go in greater convenience is Rentalcars.com. This works with every major international car rental suppliers at more than 50,000 rental locations all over the world to offer you a great range of vehicle selections. One of the best things about this service is how you can enjoy the convenience of managing or canceling your booking whenever you want.
This budget airport parking comparison site makes it easy for travelers to compare cheap, secure, and reliable off-site parking options and find the best deals. The site allows you to read customer reviews, see real photos, and compare the security measures of the different car parks. You can then conveniently book online to secure a cheap rate. ParkFellows offers highly discounted rates because they sell unused parking spots around the airport. If you need airport parking in another country, you can simply click on the flag in the right-hand corner to see the parking options in 12 other countries.