Travel Planning Resources

Planning for your upcoming trip can be extremely stressful. Luckily, after years of traveling the world, I have a few tips and tricks to make travel planning a lot easier! From travel inspiration to travel booking, here are my top recommended travel planning resources.

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My Top Travel Planning Resources

Flights, Trains, and Transportation

Pink Sunset Airplane Wing

To get the best deal on flights and transportation, you’ll need to check multiple sites and compare prices. Don’t depend on a single website!

These are my top websites for booking flights, trains, and other transportation:

Dollar Flight Club is a free flight alert newsletter that will send you flight deals from your choice departure airport. Snatch up flight deals that can save you hundreds of dollars on tickets!

Skyscanner is an amazing resource! It searches for the cheapest flight options across multiple sites to find the cheapest, fastest, or best value flight for your trip. You can search for specific dates or, if you’re flexible, search an entire month to find the best dates to fly.

Airfare Watchdog is a great tool for budget travelers! This site monitors ticket prices and alerts you when prices drop. I’ve used this to get a great price on a flight to England.

CheapOair is a great site for finding discount flights and flight deals to destinations all around the world.

Expedia is a top tool for finding cheap flights. You can compare ticket prices at a glance from their large inventory of carriers and earn rewards on every booking when you become a member.

Orbitz is another top-rated tool for finding cheap flights that allows you to compare ticket prices easily.

Aviasales is one of the largest online search engines for flights that lets you compare prices from hundreds of airlines and dozens of travel agencies.

Omio is a great platform for searching and comparing cheap trains, flights, and buses in Europe.

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AirHelp can help you receive compensation for delayed, canceled, or even overbooked flights flights.

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Rentalcars.com is a great site for booking cheap rental cars anywhere in the world.

Globus is a group bus tour company that has tours all around the world. We took a Globus tour of Italy and had a great time!

Find more tips for booking cheap flights here.

Cruises

Cruise Ship

There are a ton of great websites for booking the best cruises at affordable prices. Check out some of my top recommendations below!

Uncruise is an intimate small-ship cruise company that focuses on community, culture, connection, and environmentalism.

  • Big Savings: Get $500 off per person per cabin on any destination (minus Galapagos) using the code PAIGE500 at checkout!

Expedia is a great source for finding cheap cruises and last minute cruise deals anywhere in the world.

Orbitz is another amazing place to search for cruise deals and get top cruise tips from travel pros.

Accommodations

Purple hotel room - Cheap Accommodations

Where you’ll rest your head is an decision when planning a trip. Will you stay at a hotel, a hostel, or in a vacation rental?

These are my top websites for booking accommodation:

Hotels.com is my go-to for hotel bookings. I like that I can compare hotel prices in the area and earn loyalty points on their website.

VRBO is great for vacation rentals. I use this a lot for cabin weekends in the North Georgia mountains.

Booking.com is another highly-rated website for finding hotels, but they have other options as well. You can find hostels, bed and breakfasts, apartments, and houses on this accommodation site, too.

Tripadvisor isn’t just for looking up reviews, although it’s a valuable resource for that too! You can also compare prices and book hotels through the travel site.

Hostelworld is a hostel-focused online booking platform for hostels located all around the world. Hostels are one of the best budget-friendly ways to stay, and this site makes booking so much easier.

Expedia is another top website for finding hotels and vacation rentals. They also allow you to bundle with flight and car rentals for a cheap package.

  • Hot Deal: Sign up or sign in to your member account to access Member-Only savings on select stays.

Orbitz is yet another great website for finding hotels, allowing you to compare prices at a glance and easily plan your trip.

CheapOair isn’t just a great tool for finding cheap flights, it’s also great for finding cheap hotels and hot hotel deals!

Trivago can help you compare deals for millions of hotels and other accommodations in 190 countries, so you can find your best stay at the right price.

Find more tips for booking cheap accommodation here.

Tours and Activities

Atlanta Segway Sightseeing Tour

It’s time to start planning what you’ll do on your vacation! While blogs are helpful for those who want to go it alone, many people find peace of mind in booking tours, excursions, and guided activities.

These are my top websites for booking guided tours, excursions, and other activities:

Viator is my go-to for booking day tours. They have thousands of day trips, skip-the-line passes, and multi-day tours from destinations all over the world.

GetYourGuide is another great option for day tours. They have thousands of walking tours, day trips, skip-the-line-passes, food tours, and cooking and craft classes in destinations worldwide.

CityPASS is my go-to attraction pass. Get discounted admission to top attractions in major cities across North America, from Atlanta to San Francisco.

Tripadvisor now offers tours and activities you can book through their platform. The best part is, you can read through the millions of traveler reviews before you book.

Orbitz also offers deals and rewards on day trips, city tours, attraction passes, and more.

AmazingCo is a unique activity company that specializes in mystery itineraries. You can go on a Mystery Picnic, a Food Trail, Insta Worthy Adventures, and more.

Tinggly is another unique activity company, but they specialize in experience gift boxes. You can gift yourself or a loved one the adventure of a lifetime in the form of a bucket list experience or a weekend getaway.

Eatwith is a unique activity experience that allows you to attend cooking classes, food tours, and meals with locals while you travel.

Flytographer allows you to hire a local photographer when you go on vacation for the perfect travel souvenir.

  • Hot Deal: Get $25 off your first photoshoot! Just use my link here.

Go City offers multi-attraction passes for top tourist destinations worldwide at up to 65% off the initial cost. Get entrance tickets to various museums, tours, and attractions in top cities around the world for a fraction of the price!

iVenture Card is a simple way to see all the top attractions in a city. This flexible attraction pass allows you to enjoy top attractions at your own pace.

ResortPass is a unique way to experience resort-style pools and spas without having to book a night at a hotel. Make any day a vacation with a day pass to a luxury hotel for access to the pool, spa, and amenities.

Tiqets is a great site for finding museum and attraction tickets for top destinations all over the world. They have direct partnerships with their museums and attractions, so you know the tickets are legit. You can even book from your phone at the last minute.

  • Hot Deal: Find discounted tours and entry tickets here.

Fever is the best place to find tickets to local events like immersive experiences, candlelight concerts, escape games, discounted attraction tickets, and more.

SeatGeek is the best place to find tickets to concerts, sports games, theater shows, and more.

Arigato Japan is a Japanese tour company that specializes in food tours in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Mt. Fuji.

Passport, Visa, and More

Passport in Back Pocket

Streamline the process of updating your passport or applying for a travel visa, access luxury airport lounges, get discounts on eSIM services, and more!

These are my top websites for all those extra travel services:

iVisa is a simple way to get your visa. They provide guidance for any visa application worldwide. Their experts will even review your documentation to ensure a minimal chance that your application will get rejected due to technicalities.

  • Subscribe & Save: iVisa Plus is the best way to save money when you need a lot of travel documents. With iVisa Plus, you’ll get free standard processing for an unlimited amount of eVisas, Health Declarations, and Embassy Registrations, discounts on rush processing fees, and all applications reviewed by visa experts.

Airalo is the first eSIM store that gives you access to digital SIM cards. You can download and install a digital data pack for over 200 countries/regions and get connected anywhere in the world.

Fahlo are wildlife conservation bracelets that come with a real animal to track, and they help support wildlife conservation non-profits.

  • Hot Deal: Get 20% off bracelets using code PMTG20

Find more tips for passport photos here.

Travel Inspiration

Palm tree and signs point to world destinations - Travel Inspiration

Sometimes you just need to be inspired! Travel inspiration sites can help you decide what destination is right for you.

These are my top websites for travel inspiration:

Benable is my go-to app for recommendations. You can easily find recommendations for all things, from travel gear to destinations to restaurants, listed by real people who have tried out everything themselves.

  • Skip the Benable waitlist: Use my code PAIGE to join!

TripAdvisor is great for figuring out what you want to see once you have a destination in mind. You can create a whole travel itinerary just from looking at reviews!

Pinterest is the perfect travel planning site! Explore Pinterest to find local travel tips, packing guides, and reviews for any destination. You can organize everything into one board for your destination for future reference.

Etsy is full of unique items that can help inspire your future travels and help you organize your old travel memories. I love their travel planners and unique maps and prints that can spark wanderlust whenever you look at them.

Ready to take a vacation? Plan your trip with these tips.

Cheers!

Paige

Travel Planning Resources