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Travel ResourcesMarika Devan2025-03-10T20:56:46-07:00

Below I have listed my FAVORITE tools and resources I use to plan my trips

Travel planning is far from easy. In fact, it’s pretty stressful and at times confusing. There is an overwhelming amount of information out there and it’s almost impossible to know where to start. You have to figure out how much to save, where to go, where to book flights, accommodations, activities and transportation and not to mention figuring out what to pack. It takes some serious dedication and commitment. But not to worry! These tools are the very ones I use to make my trip planning process much easier.

Are you ready to plan your dream trip?

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trip planning

Look, I get it. Planning a trip is not a walk in the park. It’s confusing, stressful and just plain frustrating (bang-head-on-table frustrating). So I went ahead and put together an in-depth guide on planning the perfect trip step-by-step.

Let’s Get Planning!

Trip Planning

Earth Roulette is a fun (and addicting) site. It works by generating a random city anywhere in the world OR within a specified continent. Then it gives you a list of popular attractions in that city. If you are unsure where you want to go on holiday this would be an interesting way to pick a destination.

I absolutely LOVE My Maps! It’s a great itinerary planning tool. I use it one of two ways. One way I use it is by pinning things I want to do in a city, restaurants I want to eat at etc. Another way I use it is by pinning cities and locations I want to visit in a given country.

Another addicting site that allows you to explore the world from home is Google Earth. If there is a city you want to explore but don’t know if you would like it, you can get a sneak peak using “street finder” I also love their ‘I am feeling lucky’ feature that takes you to random city anywhere in the world.

Travel Insurance

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Anything can happen on a trip. A good travel insurance will cover things like, medical & dental expenses, trip delays & cancellations. and emergency evacuations among other things. Visitors Coverage is my go-to insurance company and I never leave home without it!

Flights

Aviasales compares hundreds of flights and will give you the cheapest options.

Momondo is one of the best flight booking engines. They seem to always have the best deals! One of my favorite features on their site is the search “anywhere” tool that allows you to search for flights that fit your budget.

Airfarewatchdog is an excellent site to find cheap flights. They allow you to pick a city you want to fly out of and will email you alerts whenever cheap flights are available from that city.

WayAway is a flight aggregator that helps you find the best deals on airline tickets. You can also upgrade to a WayAway Plus membership for cashback on flights, hotels, car rentals, tours, and more.

Hopper works differently than a lot of other flight booking engines. All you have to do is choose where you want to fly to and your dates and then Hopper will save your query and notify you when the best time to book is.

Google Flights have so many cool features that I admittedly spend maybe a bit too much time exploring. One feature I really like is their map that shows you the cheapest cities to fly to from your airport. You can choose your dates or the “flexible” option to give you the cheapest dates. I have found some really affordable flights to Europe and South America using that feature.

File a Claim

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Did you have a delayed or cancelled flight? AirHelp has helped more than 10 million passengers understand their rights and receive up to €600 in compensation for delayed or canceled flights.

Accommodation

Hostelworld is my favorite hostel booking engine. They have thousands of hostels in hundreds of cities all over the world. They guarantee every booking and have no booking fees.

I book almost all my hotels from Booking. You can find anything from affordable hostels, hotels and cozy bed and breakfasts to luxury resorts and everything in between. You’re guaranteed to find a property that fits your budget and travel style.

Have you ever dreamed of staying in a luxury treehouse, a cottage in the English Countryside or a cozy airstream? Cool Stays has a decent selection of unusual places to stay all over the world and honestly who wouldn’t want to stay somewhere out of the ordinary?

Sometimes, you want your own space and don’t want to pay a crazy price for a hotel. Airbnb offers room and apartment rentals (some of which can be pretty affordable). There are lots of properties to choose from, and it’s easy to find a room in your price range.

I use Hotwire for last-minute bookings. They work by surprising you with the name of the hotel after you book. You provide the area you want to stay in and check off any amenities you want, and they will show you a list of hotels with the prices and star rating, and then once you book, you get emailed the confirmation with the name of the hotel. I find it pretty fun.

Do you have a furry friend that you want to travel with? Bring Fido helps dog owners find dog-friendly hotels worldwide.

Hotellook is a service that helps you find and compare prices on hotels around the world.

VRBO, short for Vacation Rentals by Owner, is an online marketplace that connects travelers with property owners who offer vacation rental homes. Whether you’re looking for a cozy cabin, a beachfront villa, or a city apartment, VRBO provides a wide range of unique accommodations worldwide.

Agoda was originally the place to go for hotels in Asia, but now you can book hotels in 195 countries, and they compare different websites, so you will always be snagging the best deal.

Get a Transfer

welcome pick ups

Welcome Pickups has saved my butt a few times, including one time when I went to a festival in the middle of nowhere and thought I could get an Uber. What I love about them is that you can book a transfer up to five hours in advance.

Activities

Viator is a company owned by Trip Advisor, and when it comes to booking activities and tours, they never disappoint!

If you are tired of all the tourist traps check out Like a Local! Locals from cities all over the world will write recommendations for offbeat attractions, restaurants, cafes, bars and some locals will even give tours. I always check Like a Local when I am planning my day in a city.

If you are looking for really cool & quirky things to do, look no further! Atlas Obscura is one of the best places to find unusual attractions. If you are anything like me, you will be down an Atlas Obscura rabbit hole in no time learning about a farm in Sweden that makes Moose Cheese (but that’s a story for another time!).

Eat With allows you to book diners and cooking classes with locals in their homes. It’s a great way to give back to the places you visit while meeting the people who live there.

Spotted by locals is a fantastic app full of local city guides that give readers insider tips and offbeat experiences.

Go City allows you to book top attractions, museums, and tours for up to 50% off! It’s a great place to check if you are wanting to save some money.

Klook is a leading marketplace for booking attractions and tours around the world. They originally started as a place where you could book tours and attractions in Asia, but has since expanded. Although, this is still one of the best sites to use if you are traveling around Asia.

If you are looking to book a tour, Get Your Guide is one of the best places to book. I love Get Your Guide and use them along with Viator whenever I travel.

If you would rather walk around on your own, instead of booking a tour, WeGoTrip has self-guided audio tours. I did one in Tallinn and it was actually really good!

Stay Connected

Stay connected

If you need an Esim, Airalo has you covered. I use them all the time. They are very fast and the setup is super easy. They also have fantastic customer support to answer any questions you may have.

Food

The Michelin Guide website is your go-to resource for finding amazing restaurants around the world. This guide isn’t just for finding Michelin star restaurants. You;ll find restaurants for all budgets with a focus on quality food and unique & elevated dining experiences. I have had some of the best meals of my life by looking at Michelin Guide.

Happy cow is a fantastic app that allows users to search for vegan/vegetarian restaurants world wide.

Instead of giving you a list of every restaurant in a given city, Foursquare focuses on smaller and independent restaurants.

Cookly is a website that lets you book authentic cooking classes & foodie experiences with locals all over the world!

I discovered Word of Mouth not long ago and knew I had to share it here! You can find hundreds of restaurant recommendations for thousands of destinations. You will get recommendation for local spots from chefs, food writers and a community of over 100,000 foodies!

If you love food trucks check out Roaming Hunger! This is the ultimate database of food trucks in the US and beyond. They list the schedules of the trucks so you can find out if they will be serving food near you!

Lounge Access

priority pass

If you travel a lot, Priority pass may be the thing that makes the unbearable of travel bearable. With this pass, you get access to over 1600+ lounges worldwide. I have saved thousands of dollars by using Priority pass, since food and drinks are included once you get into the lounges! It makes long layovers not so bad.

Tours

Urban Adventures is one of the best tour companies. They have tours in over 100 cities offering visitors unique and offbeat experiences like, food tours to local restaurants, cooking classes with market visits, home visits where the host cooks for you, seasonal tours for holidays like Christmas, Easter, seasonal tastes of Ramadan and so much more! I highly recommend Urban Adventures for memorable & local experiences

Sandman’s was one of the first walking tours I took when I was in Europe and one of my favorites. The guide was informative and all the tours city tours are donation based making it an affordable option for those on a budget. They also have a wide selection of tours that can be booked like beer tours, history tours, food tours, day trips and more!

Originally offering tours only in NYC Secret Food Tours has expanded offering tours all over the world. Their mission is simple: they highlight delicious & mouthwatering food by taking visitors to secret establishments that are loved by locals but often overlooked by tourists. My favorite part of the tour is the secret dish at the end that is handpicked by the guides. When I took the tour in NYC, the secret dish was one of the best I have had in my life. I went back to NYC just to eat it again.

Everyone loves a free walking tour, and Free tour is the ultimate place to find free walking tours in 140+ countries.

Culinary Backstreets is another fabulous food tour company. They only have tours in 22 cities, but they are constantly expanding. Every time I look back, it seems like they always have new destinations. Their tours are about 5 hours long, so make sure you arrive hungry and ready to learn! I have done many Culinary Backstreets tours and even wrote an article about my experience with them.

Guru Walks is a popular site to find and book free walking tours. They have everything from ghost tours to food tours and everything in between.

Luggage Storage

radical storage

Need some time to kill before a flight or have a long layover, but don’t want to lug your bags around the city? Radical Storage has you covered! I have used them many times, even storing my bags for a week while I flew somewhere. They partner with local shops and hotels who have the extra room to store bags.

How to Get Around

Traveling and want a cheap mode of transportation? Busbud finds you the best and cheapest bus routes going from city to city, searching though many bus companies and routes.

Trains are one of the best ways to travel around Europe, and Rail Europe is one of the best places to book tickets. They have a database of over 50 European train companies, and they have tools you can use that will easily help you plan your trip.

Another transportation comparison site that focuses on Europe, Canada and the US.

Trainline used to be my go to train and bus booking engine when I lived in London, and I still use them when I travel to Europe. They show you the best possible rote and prices from over 210 train and coach companies.

Direct Ferries is the best website to book ferries! Their easy to use system allows you to search and book thousands of ferry routes worldwide.

Discover Cars finds and compares car rentals in over 145 countries worldwide.

Flixbus is a leading coach company in Europe and North America. They are known for being incredibly affordable without slacking on any comfort.

12go is the leading transportation booking app for primarily Asia, but they have now expanded their offerings to many more countries. You can book, trains, buses, ferries, transfers, and flights.

BikesBooking is an online booking service for motorcycles, scooters, quads, and bicycles all over the world. They compare the prices of rental companies from over 40 countries to find you the best deal.

Hey there! Ask me anything!