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If you’re looking for all the best ways to find flight deals, places to stay, activities, and more, you’re in the right spot. These are all my favorite tools and resources I use for every trip, all in one place.
Find the best flight deals
✈️ Skyscanner is my go-to for searching for affordable flights. It also has a really cool “Explore Everywhere” tool where you can search for the best flight deals worldwide.
✈️ Google Flights is also one of the best options out there, and I check it every time I fly. If you’re flexible with your timing, it has a calendar view where you can see which days have the best prices.
Book a hotel or hostel
🏨 Booking.com is a great tool for finding accommodations worldwide. It has a range of filters you can search through, such as neighborhood, type of accommodation, amenities, and ratings. Especially if I’m traveling within the U.S. this is almost always where I find the best rates, but I will also use it when booking international hotels/hostels as well.
🏨 When traveling internationally (options are way more limited in the U.S. sadly), I also always check Hostelworld.com.
Don’t be scared of staying in a hostel! Plenty of hostels out there are clean, cute, and safe.
If you want a social atmosphere where you can easily meet other travelers, there are hostels out there catered to that environment. But there are also hostels out there for anyone who prefers a calmer, more secluded environment (which nowadays is me, more often than not.)
I always try to find hostels that have private rooms (many of them also have private bathrooms), but if you want to save money and make it even easier to meet people, dorms are also a great option.
Plan tours and activities
When traveling, I love booking a tour or two. Not only do you not have to worry about transportation, but you also get to learn even way more about a destination or cultural experience by having a local guide.
I especially love them for activities that I’d be intimidated to do on my own, like a hike or a bar crawl. Plus, they’re usually a great place to meet other travelers if you’re solo!
🏝️ GetYourGuide.com has tons of tours, activities and experiences for every destination and type of traveler.
🏝️ Viator.com also has lots of great options to check out, from visiting popular landmarks to more off-the-beaten-path cultural activities.
Depending on where you are, you’ll typically find that either Get Your Guide or Viator has better or more options versus the other one, so I always check them both! If they both have similar options, I go with the one that’s more affordable/has the most reviews.
🏝️ Tripadvisor is also my go-to for finding other things to do, plus getting other travelers’ opinions about different sightseeing and restaurants.
Get your trip covered
As amazing as travel can be, unfortunately, things can and do go wrong sometimes. I’ve had to use travel insurance a couple times on my travels — once when I got covid and was stuck in Brazil for an extra week, and another time when a storm canceled my flight home from Guatemala — and let’s just say I was so relieved I’d gotten insurance.
🌎 I’ve used World Nomads for all my international trips over the past few years. They offer coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more. Get more information here.
Stay connected while you travel
On my first few international trips, I used to wing it without a SIM card and only use my phone when I could connect to WiFi. After getting lost in the rain one time in Buenos Aires when I desperately wished I could just call an Uber or at least check a map … I realized the error of my ways.
Being able to call an Uber whenever you need, check Google Maps, or send a message is so important for safety, comfort, and ease while traveling, and getting an e-SIM is the easiest way to make sure you have phone data while abroad. (If you have an older phone you may have to stick to getting a physical SIM card though.)
🗺️ Airalo has SIM card options for over 200 countries/regions and can be activated as soon as you land, which means no more dealing with finding a place to buy a physical SIM card, having a different phone number while away, and worrying about losing your original SIM card.