When you start planning your trip, you might feel lost and overwhelmed, especially if you're embarking on your first journey or don't travel that often.
What are the best travel resources? Where to search for flight tickets. Is there any reliable website where you can find comfortable hotels or cheap hostels? Should you rent a car or use public transport instead? What about travel insurance? Are there any guided tours worth taking?
These are the most common questions every traveler has before their trip.
After years and years of traveling, Lucie and I put together a list of our favorite resources to get you started.
We want to show you that booking hotels, rental cars, flights, etc. doesn't have to be stressful and to encourage and help you to have an amazing journey to your next destination.
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Accommodation
For most travelers, accommodation takes up a significant portion of their travel budget.
No matter if you're backpacking on a tight budget or splurging in the resort, you will need to spend a night somewhere at the end of the day.
We've stayed in campgrounds, hostel dormitories, B&Bs, boutique hotels, rental apartments, and 5-star resorts during our travels.
We use these sites to find the best deal when searching for a place to stay.
Booking is the best accommodation site out there. Period. We use it for all our hotel bookings, especially since we have their free membership Genius program. It has an easy-to-use interface, verified reviews, and great filters.
Their extensive database includes properties in most parts of the world, no matter if you plan to visit Banff, Reykjavik, or Auckland.
You can also narrow down the search by using the built-in map, which we find extremely handy. Our favorite part is that it offers a best-price guarantee, so you can be sure you're getting the best deal.
Hostelworld is our favorite hostel-oriented site with an extensive database of budget-oriented properties.
We use it mostly in expensive destinations to keep our budgets at bay or places with a wide range of hostels. We found great hostels in various places like New York, Kathmandu, and Tel Aviv, which helped us save tons of money on accommodation.
Their review and rating system is very detailed, and the social features like chat and user profiles are ideal for those who want to socialize on the road.
Tours
Whether you're a first-time adventurer or a seasoned traveler, guided tours offer a convenient, informative, comfortable, and enjoyable way to explore new destinations.
Even though we prefer to travel independently, we have taken countless tours to various destinations over the years.
With guided tours, we could hike the Inca Trail, snorkel at Bocas del Toro, explore the Peruvian jungle, or go whale-watching in Husavik.
All were amazing experiences, but we had some disappointing ones over the years. Choosing the right tour can be difficult, but these sites make the process much easier and simpler.
Get Your Guide is our favorite online marketplace for tours and excursions, offering tour options in most places all around the world.
Whether you're looking for walking tours, cooking classes, guided day trips, or adventure activities, this site is a great place to start. The site is easy to use, you can check the reviews, and they have competitive prices.
One of the most overlooked benefits of Get Your Guide is that it also saves time as you see all the tours in one place and don't need to shop around.
Viator is the largest booking platform for travel experiences and a great resource for searching for specific tours in any destination.
Our favorite part about Viator is its huge database of experiences ranging from traditional guided tours to extreme activities catering to all interests and preferences.
We also like the easy booking process, customer reviews with ratings, flexible tour options, and competitive prices.
No matter where you're traveling or what you'll be doing, there's a chance you will find a memorable experience on this site.
Insurance
In a nutshell, travel insurance covers emergency medical costs, lost or stolen luggage, trip cancellation, emergency assistance, and much more.
It also helps ease your mind, knowing you're protected if something goes wrong. Don't forget that medical fees in some countries can be enormous if you get sick or hurt.
Yes, travel insurance is an additional expense, but it can save you money in the long run.
Whether we backpack through South America, drive around New Zealand, or take a day trip to Vienna, we never leave home without good travel insurance.
World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance for all types of travelers.
Whether it's an emergency accident, medical expense, baggage loss/theft, trip cancellation, repatriation, or something else, World Nomads has a plan to cover your trip essentials.
The best part is that they provide travel cover for 200+ adventure activities, so it's ideal for those who want to stay active during their trip. If you like to go hiking, scuba diving, or skiing, World Nomads should have a plan for you.
Our main advice is always to check what's actually covered in your travel insurance plan. We needed a different plan for skiing in Zermatt, canyoning in Jaco, or climbing the Santa Isabel volcano.
Safety Wing provides affordable, easy-to-use travel insurance that covers almost every single country in the world.
Their monthly or annual plans are ideal for long-term travelers and digital nomads as it's one less thing to worry about when abroad.
Note that SafetyWing also offers travel insurance for specific dates, so you should be covered whether you plan to embark on a Galapagos Islands cruise, take a city break to Rio de Janeiro, or chill on the Perhentian Islands.
Transportation
The best mode of transportation for your trip depends on many factors, including your budget, time constraints, travel distance, destination, and personal preferences.
Take, for example, our year-long trip to South America.
While buses and local colectivos were our preferred mode of transportation on this trip, we also took a train to Machu Picchu, hitchhiked on Carretera Austral, biked around the Atacama Desert, flew into Buenos Aires, and took a boat to Colonia del Sacramento.
Simply put, transportation is an essential aspect of every journey.
Road trips are one of our favorite ways to explore, whether it's the Icefields Parkway, Ring Road, or Wild Atlantic Way. Some destinations are simply meant to be discovered by car.
Rental Cars is our favorite car rental search engine that compares prices from over 800 companies to help you find the best deal.
We like transparent pricing, great car options, additional discounts, and competitive rates.
Skyscanner is our favorite flight search engine that compares prices from multiple airlines. We use it all the time.
It offers one of the best ways to find cheap flights and get a sense of fares, routes, and connections.
We also like flexible search options and price alerts for specific dates, routes, and destinations, which is perfect for travelers with flexible travel plans.
12Go is our favorite online booking platform for searching various transportation options when traveling around Southeast Asia.
It compares and books different modes of transportation, including buses, vans, trains, planes, taxis, or ferries.
Simply enter your departure and arrival destinations, and it will offer a convenient way to get from point A to point B.
Visa
One of the essential things to do before traveling abroad is to check the visa requirements for your specific destination, as many countries require a tourist visa to enter the country.
Sometimes, getting a travel visa is a matter of a few clicks and minutes; sometimes, it's a complicated process that takes several weeks or months.
If you don't have spare time or determination to arrange a tourist visa for your upcoming trip, iVisa provides the simplest solution for processing your travel visa.