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Best online travel sites 2022

Use the best online travel sites to plan your trip ahead of time so you can enjoy your time away.

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The best online travel sites are wonderful not only plan your next trip for peace of mind, they're also a fun way to get excited ahead of your next adventure. You can simply go to one site and plan most of your trip's main parts from flights and hotels to rental cars and excursions. If what you're after is just hotel bookings, check out our list of the best hotel booking sites .

While what many of these sites offer is similar, it's the way in which they do it which is important. The last thing you need is a stress-inducing website when planning to go away to relax and unwind. So we've reviewed the best sites based on their price, of course, but also on the way they work, with the ease of use and clarity as important features. We also checked to make sure you won't suffer any extra charges added on top at the last minute. Plus, we took rewards schemes into account, which could help you save money upfront or in the longer term if you use some sites more than once.

With all that in mind, these are the very best online travel sites out there right now.

The best online travel sites

1. expedia.com: best online travel site overall .

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Expedia is a big name in online travel sites and hotel booking services and owns many popular sites like Hotels.com and Hotwire.com. We're fans of the original, though, thanks to its clean and straightforward to use interface. Hit the packages section of the site, and you can add up to five connecting flights, choose to add accommodation for all of or only part of your trip, and tag on car rentals too. 

It's all suitably well laid out, and it only takes a few seconds to start putting together your itinerary. However, we do wish there were a few more options for filtering out accessibility issues. Still, for most people, Expedia.com has everything they'll need, and there's even the option of a cruise too if you fancy it. It's as aspirational to look at as it is useful to, well, use and there are extra discounts for booking multiple parts of your vacation with the site. A Things To Do section rounds off the site's bid to help you plan your entire trip in one place.

2. Booking.com: Best for ease of use

Booking.com

Booking.com is a giant in the world of holiday bookings and not only offers over half a million properties in more than 207 countries but also offers flights and car rental services too. As such you can do it all from this one spot which makes it a very easy-to-use option. That said, there is a lot going on, and the user interface can be a little overwhelming at times. 

But with a superb rewards program, it is a great option that encourages you to keep coming back, making it easier to use as you become accustomed. You can even sort your taxi hire from this site meaning there is very little to think about when you get traveling as it's all been planned ahead of time. You also don't have to pay a booking fee on lots of hotels, allowing you to remain flexible – ideal if you're traveling about a lot on your journey.

3. CheapTickets.com: Best for finding things to do 

CheapTickets.com

CheapTickets is another site acquired by Expedia, but it does things a little differently. You can easily add on flight, hotel, and car or any combination of the three for package deals, although multiple flights are under a different option. So far, so Expedia (if less intuitive), but you can also clearly purchase event tickets from the site, which is far more useful if you want a one-stop-shop place to buy your trip. It's something other sites provide, but CheapTickets is that bit keener to entice you into the process, even if the site itself is a little cheesier looking than others. 

There's also the site's Vacation Value Finder, which lets you tweak how much you're willing to spend and what you're looking for from a vacation before making some fun suggestions. It's perfect for finding a last-minute deal if you don't have your heart set on one place. Students will also appreciate a section dedicated to them with extra discounts once you verify you're a student. All in all, it's a great varied site for numerous different needs. 

4. Priceline.com: Best for user reviews 

Priceline.com

Priceline is a big deal in the online travel site world for a good reason. It's effortless to use with options available for flights, cars, hotels, or any combination of the three. It's mildly annoying that Priceline's super cheap Pricebreaker deals don't extend to bundles, so you won't get an incredible bargain like you would if you booked separately. However, combining the set is still a worthwhile deal with discounts offered for the more you bundle together. 

One thing we really appreciated is that every hotel we looked at had dozens of reviews, and they're all from verified customers. It takes seconds to gain a reasonably accurate picture of what to expect from wherever you're considering booking. That's the perfect peace of mind when you're booking online, and you can't be sure of what you're getting without user reviews backing hotel statements up. Clearly laid out, you can focus on enjoying rather than worrying. Finally, Priceline is keen to make its VIP scheme easily accessible with straightforward discounts offered to you over time -- something that not all sites so clearly highlight. 

5. Kayak.com: Best for aggregated results 

If you're short on time, Kayak is pretty useful. That's because you simply enter where you want to go, and it aggregates results from multiple different sources. While it means you never book directly with Kayak, it does mean you get results quickly and without having to search around yourself, even if you will feel a bit overwhelmed with adverts while you search. 

The site itself looks a little basic, but under the hood is a surprising number of different filters (although no accessibility ones to speak of) and all the critical information you could require, although obviously you'll be sent to another site for the full details. The site also has a deals section, which has some great bargains for things you can do once you reach your destination, along with cheap car rental deals. It might not be pretty, but if you simply don't want to do the groundwork yourself, Kayak has you covered. It can be a real time-saver, and we reckon it's particularly useful if you're mostly researching possible trips in the future and want rough price estimates. Just watch out for the fact you can’t bundle in car rental deals. 

6. Hotwire.com: Best for renting properties 

Hotwire keeps things straightforward. All you need to do is enter what you're looking for, and a somewhat dated interface tells you what's available. It's not as pretty as some sites, but we really liked the extensive property type filters available. Want to stay on a houseboat or in a chalet at your destination? Hit the relevant filter, and you can find out if that's an option in the locale. That might not matter if your heart is set on a hotel, but it's a nice bonus even amongst the awkward site layout. 

Elsewhere, it's mostly business as usual, but that's no bad thing. Well laid out discounts are available to compare reasonably quickly, and most locations have plenty of reviews. If you feel like tracking down specific deals, you can do that too, with the site keen to offer up discounts to central locations if you're not quite sure where you'd like to visit next. It feels like the site needs updating when you compare it to its rivals, but it works well and speedily enough.

7. Agoda: Best for private home rental in Asia 

Agoda is a great option if you want to look for accommodation that isn't a hotel as this specializes in offering apartments and private rentals. In fact, there are dedicated market managers that work on finding properties, especially in Asia. As such you can find unique destination rentals at decent rates and should you change your mind there is a helpful 24-hour free cancellation policy in place. 

Everything is very easy to use and if you want to make more than one booking you can make great savings. Customer support is also a plus, as there is a 24-hour multilingual customer support service available when booking. With millions of reviews, Agoda makes finding a property very easy with a feeling of trust that can offer great peace of mind.

What to look for in an online travel site

Booking Travel Packages Travel packages can let you combine flights, hotel reservations and car rentals together for a better deal than booking separately. Some companies, like Priceline, pick hotels and flights for you, to get you to your destination for the lowest price. Other companies let you mix and match flights, hotels and car rentals to fit your schedule.

Booking Airfare One of the biggest reasons for searching on a travel site is to find cheap airfare. While there are dozens of airfare-specific websites, travel sites also give you the option to add hotel stays and car rentals. The best travel sites combine flight information from over nine different airlines and let you sort flights by price, number of stops, duration and flight class.

Booking International Travel Finding airfare for international travel is the easiest part of booking an overseas trip. AirGorilla helps you find accommodations and rent GPS units with your rental car, so you can find your way around. Often, sites will recommend hotels that are far from your actual destination or event. Searching for reservations on a site that gives accommodation recommendations will help you schedule an international trip with less stress.

How we tested the best online travel sites

We looked at how easy each site is to use during our testing, such as how quickly the site loaded and how easy it was to find what we were looking for. We considered whether the site felt cluttered with adverts or seemed like a dated interface. We also looked at how easy it was to find Contact Us pages, price guarantee information, and any kind of special deals section. 

We also considered how easily bundle deals could be arranged and how extensive they were and any potential discounts tied to them. We checked filter options to see how flexible and easy it was to look up different needs along the way.

We looked at trips between Los Angeles and Miami, Paris to Lisbon, and New York City to Los Angeles during testing. We also looked at lesser-known routes to see if they were also catered for appropriately.

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Jennifer has been freelancing for over 10 years. In the past, she's written about all things tech and gaming wise for outlets as varied as The Independent, Playboy, Eurogamer, and TechRadar. In her spare time, she spends far too much time watching films, attempting to train her pet guinea pigs, and mastering making the perfect burrito.  She's a full time freelancer, but a regular tech news contributor to Top Ten Reviews.

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24 Best Travel Websites to Find Deals and Save You Money

Use our guide to the best travel websites and find discounts and deals so you can vacation without breaking the bank.

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Whether you’re looking for a cheap last-minute vacation or planning to go home for the holidays, you’ll want to know the best travel websites to use. And if you’re tired of wondering which sites are best for each part of your trip planning, we’ve got you covered. 

Here are some of the best travel sites we’ve found to help you bag bargains on airfares, lodging, car rentals and all your other travel needs. Best of all, almost all of the travel websites are free to use. Bon voyage! 

Best websites to save on airfare

Keeping up with airfare prices has gotten easier thanks to sites like Google Flights and Kayak . To use them, just type in your home and destination airport, pick the flights that work best for you and then set an alert to track the price. For example, Google Flights will send you an e-mail showing if your tracked flight went up or down in price. Both sites also let you see which days are cheaper to fly in that month. Airfarewatchdog also lets you search flight deals.

If you haven’t decided on where exactly you want to go,  sign up for Going (formerly known as Scott’s Cheap Flights.) Their newsletter comes straight to your inbox with deals on domestic and international locations. Or you can follow Twitter handles such as @TheFlightDeal for flights, too.

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Best websites for flight information

Once your flight is booked, you’ll want to keep tabs on gate changes, layover information and more. FlightStats.com can help you plan a smooth trip by advising you on the best time of day to fly from a specific airport and which terminals to avoid when connecting flights. You can also view live updates of flight delays and sign up for free e-mail and phone alerts. Flightaware.com also tracks and predicts flight delays.

If you’re delayed by weather or some unforeseen event, it pays to act quickly. The TripIt Pro smartphone app ($49/year) will send you alerts about cancellations, delays or gate changes, sometimes even ahead of an airline announcement. Use it to locate alternate flights, find out when better seats are available, get fare refund notifications, track your rewards program points, and more.

Best websites to save on hotels

Hotels.com lets you search just one site for accommodations at hundreds of thousands of properties. Plus, its rewards program is simple: For every ten nights you spend at any combination of the program’s 500,000 member properties, you’ll earn a free night’s stay. As a member, you also unlock an average discount of 15% on select hotels. 

Similarly, HotelTonight is an app that lets users book hotels at low last-minute rates. Priceline Express Deals helps you find the best bargains, but there’s a catch. Priceline doesn’t tell you which hotel you’re booking until after you pay.

And try TripAdvisor.com for a detailed list of rated hotels (and excursions) that are close to your destination. The site links you to partner sites, such as Expedia and Travelocity for fulfillment. Click on the "check rates" button and select the site or sites you’d like to try — a new window with results will open for each partner.

Best websites to save on vacation rentals

Vacation rentals are an especially good value for groups because they generally offer more space and amenities for prices similar to or less than hotel rates, particularly if you look at it on a per-bed basis. Check out VRBO and Airbnb to find the perfect experience. For Marriott loyalists, Marriott Bonvoy lets you browse its 30-brand portfolio — which includes more than 2,000 private homes.

At the other end of the scale, if you don’t mind college-dorm-level amenities, check out Hostelworld.com , as a way to save money on vacation rental properties . The site lists 36,000 properties in 178 countries around the globe and includes reviews.

Best websites for cruises and vacation packages

At CruiseCompete.com , more than 500 travel agencies vie to give you the lowest prices for dates, ports and ships you specify, whether you’re booking well in advance or at the eleventh hour. You set up a CruiseCompete account, and they send you their best offers without ever seeing your personal information.

Kayak.com and Tripadvisor.com will also knit together vacation packages for you. Just type in your destination and travel dates to get the best prices.

Best websites to save on rental cars

Hotwire often offers the best-published deals on cars by collecting rates from its eight rental car company partners, including Alamo, Enterprise and Hertz. The site also offers "hot rates" from rental companies that aren't identified until after you’ve paid.

And while Hotwire does offer some good prepaid rental car deals, in certain international cities for the best overseas auto deals you should check out AutoEurope . It offers rentals at more than 20,000 locations worldwide, and customer service is available 24/7.

AutoSlash is also a good site to find rental deals, as it will apply the best coupons and discount codes to your rental and re-book your reservation if the system finds a better deal.

Best websites to save on international train tickets

Trains are often the fastest and cheapest way to travel within and between European countries. Our favorite for checking timetables and booking tickets on European train lines is RailEurope . But you might be able to catch better deals directly from European railways’ sites if you don’t get lost in translation — and make sure you have what you need to travel to Europe as an American!

Best websites for travel insurance

You never know when an emergency situation will spoil your travel plans. That's what travel insurance is for. But don't just go for the default options from agencies and travel providers. At Squaremouth , you can compare plans and prices from multiple insurance providers with just one search and narrow your search results by specifying the kind of coverage you need. Another option is InsureMyTrip.com .

Rivan joined Kiplinger on Leap Day 2016 as a reporter for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. A Michigan native, she graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 and from there freelanced as a local copy editor and proofreader, and served as a research assistant to a local Detroit journalist. Her work has been featured in the Ann Arbor Observer and Sage Business Researcher . She is currently assistant editor, personal finance at The Washington Post.

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60 Best travel websites for researching & planning a trip

Researching and planning a holiday is like decorating a room. It’s all about the preparation. (Yes, you can have a great spontaneous holiday, but there’s a lot of luck involved in that…).

In the good old days, before the internet, we relied on travel agents, but in today’s digital world, a wealth of online websites and apps are on-hand to help.

But too many. The choice is overwhelming and the quality and trustworthiness variable.

So which ones are the best? Which ones should you use and for what purpose?

Planning a holiday – even before you book it – involves several steps. We’ve broken down this process and recommended the best tools to use at each stage, to make your research and planning process as simple, painless, fast –and enjoyable – as possible.

Where to go & what to do

1.1 ideas & inspiration.

Discover new places you never thought of going to, wonderful things to see & do on your travels. Add them to your travel bucket list.

Bucket List Travels

Concept: This specialist travel inspiration site works with an impressive list of leading travel writers around the world to recommend the world’s greatest travel experiences. It also offers destination guides, simple itineraries that link the top attractions together, and recommends the best places to stay while you’re there. You can search and filter through the recommendations e.g. to find recommendations by price, or that are suitable for kids. You can also save your ‘finds’ to your travel bucket list.

Pros: the search and filtering is unique amongst travel inspiration sites, and it allows you to sort through the thousands of expert recommendations to find what you want quickly – a huge time saver. The destination guides have curated, not comprehensive recommendations, so they’re effectively handing you a list of great recommendations for when you visit a new destination, i.e. the ‘bucket list’ experiences not-to-be-missed. The adding to favourites is also unique – great for ‘saving for later’ those brilliant experiences or places to stay you come across.

Cons: coverage is limited to only 100 or so destinations, which mainly centres on the UK and western Europe. Non-Europe content is limited (but being added in the near future).

When to use: Use it before any other site to decide on where to go or what to do next, and to get an outline list/itinerary of what you want to do there. Then supplement that with tours & activities from other inspiration sites listed here, especially the ones with the local authentic experiences.

Website : https://www.bucketlisttravels.com/

Concept: Instagram is a social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos with their followers. It’s popular among individuals, influencers, and businesses for promoting their personal brands or products.

Pros: Insta is a great source of travel inspiration, as it allows you to discover new destinations, attractions, and experiences through visually appealing and engaging content. You can follow travel influencers and bloggers for tips and recommendations, discover lesser-known destinations and experiences, find out about local events and festivals, and see how others experience a particular destination, which can provide ideas for your own itinerary.

When to use it: Day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Website : https://www.instagram.com/

Concept: Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to discover, collect and share images and videos on virtual pinboards. Users can create boards on any topic and save Pins from other users or external websites, as well as search for inspiration and ideas. The platform has over 400 million active users worldwide.

Pros: Like Instagram, it’s a great visual travel inspiration tool, for discovering what to do in the world and specific destinations.

When to use it: For visual searches of potential destinations, and saving ideas (pins) for future trips.

Website : https://www.pinterest.com

Travel & Leisure

This high-end, luxury travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world. Being a magazine, it focuses on the new and topical, so it’s a showcase of the latest and greatest in travel if novelty is your thing.

Pros: It’s top-quality content and genuine expertise from leading journalists and travel writers, with selective, curated recommendations. They have tonnes of round-ups of the ‘world’s best’ too.

Cons: Recommendations can be a bit too curated, missing lots of smaller experiences, and are often outside of the budget of most travellers. It’s primarily a magazine with an online afterthought, so recommendations tend to get buried in long pages of text. The site search turns up articles/posts that you then have to read further, rather than specific recommendations, and you can’t filter anything which is the big time saver.

When to use it: Sign up for their social feeds and newsletters, which often feature great round-ups like: “Best place to…”. Great for day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Honourable mentions: other great magazines for this include Conde Nast Traveller (featured later) and Wanderlust .

Website : https://www.travelandleisure.com/

Travel blogs

Concept: Travel blogs (too many to mention, but pretty much all the same in format) feature personal experiences, advice, and recommendations, usually written by an individual traveller or group of travellers who share their travel stories, photos, and tips with their audience.

Pros: You can’t beat personal experience when it comes to travel recommendations, and often these experienced author-travellers offer good insights and tips. They’re also usually an interesting, engaging read.

Cons: for planning a trip, blogs are hit and miss. They are written from the perspective of the blogger i.e. where they have just been or what they have just done, so it’s pot luck if that coincides with where you want to go or do next. They are also flat, text articles – you can’t search or filter their recommendations.

When to use it: Follow the ones you like if you enjoy reading such things. Once you have your list itinerary roughly planned out, they’re worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights (if you can find something relevant).

1.2 Top attractions, activities, tours & events

If you’re ready to start planning your trip, and nothing on your travel bucket list fits the bill, take a look at one of these sites to decide:

Concept: See listing above.

When to use: Head to their search results that shows all 100+ destination they cover, then use the filters to select a destination based on cost (cheap v expensive), or theme  (e.g. Science & Nature, Art, History & Culture) etc. You can also handily filter the list according to the best month of the year to visit.

FlightsFrom

Concept: this handy website lists all of the destinations you can fly to from every airport, on what days and with what airline.

When to use it: great for identifying where you can fly to from your local airport, and planning multi-destination trips.

Website : https://www.flightsfrom.com/

Google Flights

Google’s flight aggregator and comparison service consolidates flight schedules from all of the world’s commercial airlines in one place. By entering your dates and departure/arrival airports, you can quickly see who flies there, on what dates and at what times, and the price of the fare. Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

How to use it: The ‘Explore’ function allows you to specify a departure airport and see the cheapest flights to any destination you can fly to from that airport, for certain dates and trip durations – so great if you don’t have a fixed destination in mind. You can also handily add more than one departure airport if you have more than one departure option. (NB FlightsFrom shows you all available flights; Google Flights shows you available flights and their prices). NB Skyscanner has a similar ‘Explore everywhere’ feature, however, it is only available on the app and you can only enter one departure destination).

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/flights

This travel inspiration website provides a wealth of travel content, including destination guides, hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Pros: there’s loads of decent quality content, and their network of experts worldwide have good credentials and specialise in the destinations they write about.

Cons: The recommendations feature in text-heavy pages, making it hard to use for planning. You can’t filter, or save your favourites, and if you site search, you then have to wade through lots and lots of article posts. The content can also be quite random – as if it’s what someone felt like writing at the time, rather than being structured.

When to use it: Once you have your main list drawn up from the other sites listed here, it’s worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights.

Website : https://www.tripsavvy.com/

This global deals site specialises in providing exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences to its 30 million members worldwide (membership is free). They partner with over 5,000 travel suppliers to source cut-price inventory.

When to use it: Sign up for their newsletter, then sit back and let the deals roll in. If you’re price-conscious, or just love a deal, then use their offers to decide on where to go and what to do next. Works best if you’re flexible on dates – most deals will be for when demand is lower i.e. in winter and/or outside of school holidays.

Website : https://www.travelzoo.com

1.3 What to do when you get there: attractions

Now you’ve decided on a destination, what should you do there? What are the top attractions, the must-see-and-dos, and the ‘bucket list experiences not to be missed?

How to use it: Navigate to the destination guide webpage. Our expert writes not only curates the top travel experiences – attractions, activities, tours & events – for you, but also further splits them as either ‘bucket list’ i.e. the not-to-be-missed, or ‘other’ experiences – nice to know about, but only for if you have time/interest.

Also, be sure to scroll through the destination page photo gallery for a pictorial summary.

Google Travel

Concept: Google’s travel planning platform offers a range of tools to help users plan their trips. It includes Google Flights (see later), a hotel aggregator and holiday rentals

For deciding what to do when you go somewhere, type your destination into the search, then click on the ‘Things to do’ side icon for full listings. It tries to list in order of priority/popularity, which mostly works, though it is an auto-generated list. The written descriptions come from Wikipedia, so it lacks that human expertise and it all feels a bit soulless (to me anyway). The interface however is easy to use, and you can add favourites to a trip list.

How to use it: After you’ve been to Bucket List Travels for the curated, expert list, if you feel you need more in your itinerary, and/or you’re worried we may have missed something, then use Google Travel to check the full comprehensive listings and see if there is anything else you want to do.

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/

Lonely Planet

Concept: The original ‘guidebook’ company, they have destination guides for pretty much every place on the planet. Their expert writers, who must specialise in the destination, provide comprehensive listings and recommendations for sightseeing, accommodation and food & drink, plus very detailed logistical and practical information.

How to use it: They’re comprehensive, not curated. They include a lot of minor attractions that the majority of travellers would not want to bother with, and there’s not a lot of imagery, just text. I use them as a cross-check once I have outlined what you want to do. It’s too detailed/comprehensive for researching and planning – unless you’ve got days to spare. Handy to take the book with you, though, for the in-depth local tips when you’re there.

Honourable mentions: all of the guidebooks are broadly similar. Also try Rough Guides , Fodor’s , Frommers’ , Rick Steves (Europe only) and DK Eyewitness .

Website : https://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Tourism Associations

Concept: A local government body, tasked with promoting tourism to the destination, that will provide comprehensive information, advice and recommendations for visitors to both attract and facilitate their visit. Being the local specialist, they should know better than anyone what to see & do, and they often include many smaller, high quality attractions and tours that others will miss. However, the quality of websites is highly variable (best in the most developed, richer nations as you’d expect), and they have to be impartial so there is no curation and little opinion.

How to use it: A great resource when it’s done well. If you’re going to a developed nation, I would say they are a must-visit. Use them to start drafting up your list.

Concept: A video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and view videos on a variety of topics. It attracts billions of monthly active users. There’s a digital tonne of travel content on there, covering every aspect – from destination recommendations to videos on how to book flights.

When to use it: if you’re a visual person, YouTube is a great resource for travel inspiration. It’s jammed packed these days with ‘What to see in X’, with video and image slideshows showing you the top sights. It tends to be top sights only, but a good place to start drawing up your shortlist. It’s also great for travel advice and tips.

Website : https://youtube.com

1.4 What to do when you get there: local experiences

‘Authentic’ experiences enable you to experience the real destination, to experience its culture, to meet its people, and to live like a local. Indeed, many travellers prefer them to crowd-thronged, tourist-spoiled ‘big ticket’ attractions. Here are some resources I use to discover them in my chosen destination:

Air BnB experiences

Concept: This service allows individuals and small businesses to offer unique activities and tours to travellers in over 1,000 cities around the world. Experiences can range from food tours to pottery classes to wildlife safaris, and are designed and led by locals who have expertise in their field.

Pros: Coverage is extensive, and the experiences can be a more immersive and authentic way for travellers to connect with the local culture and community.

Cons: Some of the experiences listed I feel are more for locals than tourists, and it’s tours/classes, so not really attractions you visit like museums.

When to use it: If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with these experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com/experiences

Atlas Obscura

An online travel guide that features unique, offbeat and even bizarre travel experiences – be it unknown/obscure destinations or little-known experiences within well-known destinations. It also offers tours and experiences to some of the destinations featured on the website.

Pros: Once again, this is a site for those seeking off-the-beaten-track, authentic and unusual experiences.

Cons: It’s very niche, aimed at the truly intrepid traveller. If you’re a mainstream tourist, wanting to tick off the main sites, this is not the site for you.

When to use it: If you want to avoid the big tourist sites and experience something unique and different in a destination. If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with the Atlas Obscura experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.atlasobscura.com/

Spotted by Locals

Concept: A travel website/blog that provides insider city tips from locals. Each city ‘guide’ is curated by a team of handpicked city residents, featuring their favourite local spots for food, drinks, culture, and entertainment.

Pros: it’s a great source for finding those authentic local experiences, away from the tourist hoards.

Cons: Recommendations/articles are quite random in subject – and you have to scroll through pages and pages of blog posts. You can’t search or filter by interest for example. Coverage is also limited to only 80 cities.

When to use it: They also don’t cover the big-ticket attractions first-time visitors will want to see, so use this for filling gaps in your itinerary or for second visits once the big ones have been ticked off.

Website : https://www.spottedbylocals.com/

1.5 What to do when you get there: tickets & tours

Get Your Guide

Offers a very similar proposition to Viator (see below). GyG though is Europe-based, so it has much stronger tour options in Europe than the US-based Viator, which conversely has a better US inventory.

Website : https://www.getyourguide.com/

Concept: An online tour ‘aggregator’ combines and lists multi-day organised tours, both small and large group, from all the leading tour operator brands like Intrepid , G Adventures and Exodus. They are to guided tours what Booking.com is to hotels. Search is by destination, so you need to know where you want to go first.

Pros: Listings are comprehensive and up to date, giving you a window on all of the options available that you can search and filter to your specific need.

Cons: Always beware the pricing on aggregators. Operators have learned to use low pricing to get you to click through to them, then load that up with expensive extras and upgrades once you are on their site (or they lie about the price in the first place).

When to use: If you want to go on a guided tour, this is a great place to start. It will tell you who the best tour operators are, what are your tour options, and the prices.

Website : https://www.tourradar.com/

Concept: A ‘tour aggregator’ offers a wide range of tours and experiences in destinations worldwide, through local third-party tour operators. (Think of them as the Booking.com or Expedia of tours). Tours can be anything from 1-hour walking tours to 10-day organised tours. A US-based company (owned by TripAdvisor), it’s much more comprehensive in the US than in Europe.

Pros: They partner with the best local tour operators, so the tour quality is good, and you have someone to complain to if things go awry. The site search allows you to sort through the extensive catalogue quickly.

When to use it: Work out where you want to go, and get a feel for the top attractions, somewhere else, then come to Viator to book tickets and tours.

Website : https://www.viator.com/

1.6 Draft an outline itinerary

Now you know what you want to see & do in your destination, work out a rough day-by-day itinerary to ensure you get to do everything you want to do, with minimal travelling around.

Concept: see listing above.

How to use it: For most destination guides (where it makes sense to do so), our writers have set out simple itineraries of what to do and where to go on each day of a trip. For cities, they are usually 3- and 5-day itineraries (the 5-day version has the same first 3 days, then two additional days on top). They link all of the top attractions together in the most logistically convenient way, minimising travel, and including recommendations for lunch and dinner while you’re there.

Rick Steves Europe

Rick Steves is a travel guidebook author and television personality who specialises in European travel. His guidebooks offer practical advice and recommendations for budget travel, including tips on accommodations, dining, and sightseeing. His approach emphasises cultural immersion and connecting with locals, and his guides often include suggested walking tours and off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Pros: Rick’s guidebooks offer much more in-depth expertise than the others for Europe, with high-quality, well-researched recommendations based on experts with years of experience. The website has great travel forums for asking fellow travellers questions.

How to use it: It’s not a site for researching where to go and what to do. It’s better once you know where you want to go, and really want to drill into the fine detail. However, like Bucket List Travels , the site does have helpful itineraries that set out where to go and what to do day-to-day.

Website : https://www.ricksteves.com/

1.7 Specialist travel

Cruise Critic

The world’s leading online cruise review website and community provides comprehensive reviews, ratings and forums to help you assess cruise vacations. It’s the TripAdvisor of cruises (and not surprisingly, it’s owned by them), so just like with TripAdvisor, don’t believe everything you read.

When to use: We would personally recommend finding recommendations elsewhere e.g. from cruise travel journalists writing for newspapers, magazines or even Bucket List Travels. Then come to this site to check out the reviews of your shortlist.

Website : https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/

Euan’s Guide

Set up by wheelchair user Euan MacDonald MBE, this disabled access review website is the go-to tool for many disabled people wanting to travel in the UK and beyond. It shares accessibility information for venues and the experiences/reviews of other disabled users.

Pros: Helps to solve some of the challenges disabled people face, and gives them the confidence to travel.

Cons: the coverage is mainly UK and Europe, but thankfully is widening to the rest of the world at a pace.

Website : https://www.euansguide.com

We Love 2 Ski

This excellent online resource provides skiers and snowboarders with up-to-date and comprehensive information on ski resorts, conditions, accommodation, equipment, and more. The website features detailed reviews, insider tips, and expert advice on everything related to skiing, as well as an active forum for the ski community to share their experiences and knowledge.

It’s managed by 3 ski experts, with a wealth of expertise between them and who really know their stuff and take pride in keeping the information up-to-date. It’s one of those more genuine sites that care about their advice and is not trying to constantly do the hard sell.

When to use: if you want to go skiing, start here. If you’ve already found somewhere to go or stay, be sure to check what they say about it here before you go.

Website : https://welove2ski.com/

Getting there & around

2.1 flights.

Concept: a flight deal finder service that sends you price and deal alerts on flights. You enter your preferred departure airport and they send you notifications of great deals, and price movements. Tickets are discounted 40-90%, for flights 2-6 months out in Economy, Business and First classes.

How to use it: If you’ve got flexible travel dates, or have a bucket list destination in mind. Sign up and wait for a deal.

Website : https://www.going.com/

Google’s Flights is a flight aggregator that allows you to find and compare flights. It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts. The pricing can sometimes be inaccurate, however, and when you click through, it’s usually for a basic fare without any luggage.

When to use it: Start your flight search here. You may have to add in the extras, then compare prices, or you may not get the cheapest option.

Honourable mentions: Skyscanner and Kayak offer similar services. In my experience, they pretty much have the same inventory. It really comes down to which interface you prefer.

Hopper is one of the US’s most successful travel apps, selling over $4.5B of travel each year. It helps you find the best deals on flights, hotels, home rentals, and car hire by analysing trillions of data points to predict when prices will rise or fall. When you set your dates, you see a helpful calendar showing when prices are highest and lowest, and you can sign up for price alerts.

Their second big USP is their ‘price freeze’ option, where you pay a small fee (5%-15% of the price) to freeze the price for a limited duration (options range up to 3 weeks). If the price goes up, you pay no more; if it goes down, you pay the lower price (like insurance). They also offer Flight Disruption and Cancel for Any Reason Guarantees.

Pros: Simple to use, the most accurate predictor of prices, really helps you get the best deal (if your dates are flexible). The insurance options have been a godsend to many in the recent years of travel disruption and inflating prices. Unlike other flight aggregators like Kayak or Skyscanner they show the different airline fare options within the app, so you don’t get caught by the artificially low basic fare enticing you to click through (see Skyscanner summary).

Cons: None that we can see! It really is an excellent service.

When to use it: Once you know where you want to go, come to the site to get the best deal on flights, car hire and accommodation. Simple as that.

It works best if you’re dates are flexible, so you can pick the cheapest travel dates, and/or if you have time before you book – take out the freeze option and you can be assured that the price will only come down, or sign up for the price alert.

Website : https://hopper.com/

Concept: This flight aggregator, owned by Chinese-backed Trip.com and based in Edinburgh, does the same thing as Google Flights. . It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

When to use it: I’ve not found much difference in pricing to Google Flights, though I much prefer Skyscanner’s user interface. It really comes down to personal choice.

Honourable mentions: US-based Kayak , originating in the US, offers a similar service to Skyscanner.

Website : https://www.skyscanner.net/

The Points Guy

If you’re someone that loves to save on travel using reward points, check out this advisory site by Brian Kelly. As he puts it, it’s ‘your go-to source for all things travel, points, miles, credit cards and more’. His advice covers both where best to earn points, and how best to spend them. There’s both a US and a UK website , with custom advice based on where you reside.

He gives up-to-date advice and tips in this ever-changing, evolving space that cuts through all of the confusion, and helps you find the best deals in the market, and explains how to take advantage of them.

How to use it: Visit here first if you’ve got points to burn, or will have and want to know the best scheme to sign up for.

Website : https://thepointsguy.com/

2.2 Car hire & taxis

Rentalcars.com

A global car rental booking platform that provides customers with access to over 60,000 rental locations in more than 160 countries worldwide. The site enables you to compare prices and features from a wide range of rental companies. Customers can also benefit from 24/7 support and free cancellation on most bookings.

I’ve regularly rented cars via them, and never found a cheaper deal. The customer service and support are also very good. There’s not really a reason to start looking anywhere else.

Website : https://www.rentalcars.com/

It doesn’t really need any introduction… but just for completeness. Founded in 2009, Uber is a ride-hailing service that connects riders with drivers in most major cities around the world. Through the app, you can request and pay for rides, track your driver’s location, and rate the experience.

Uber’s meteoric rise to a global brand can be attributed to solving several customer issues with then-taxi firms: they would find you a ride tell you how long it would take to arrive, how much the fare would be upfront, and sort payment automatically through your account, thus avoiding the need to have enough cash on you.

Other leading ride-sharing apps include Lyft (US and Canada) and Cabify (Spain & Latin America).

2.3 Rail, Bus & Ferry

Concept: Omio is a comprehensive travel search and booking platform that helps users find and book the best deals on trains, buses, and flights across Europe. The website offers a user-friendly interface, with real-time price comparisons and flexible search options to suit individual needs and preferences.

When to use: It’s a great tool for planning and booking multi-modal trips.

Website : https://www.omio.co.uk/

Rail Europe

Concept: Rail Europe is a one-stop-shop for planning and booking train travel in 33 European countries. The website offers a wide range of tickets, passes, and packages for different destinations and budgets, as well as information on train schedules, routes, and stations. Note, they don’t cover local trams and metros, it’s intercity trains only (that includes Eurostar). Enter the destinations you want to go to and they’ll recommend the best value ticket/pass.

For multiple trips, you’ll likely be recommended a Eurail pass. This brilliant invention allows you to travel on over 30 European railway operators and some ferries too. Kids under 11 travel free with an adult.

Website : https://www.raileurope.com/

2.4 Route planning

Google Maps

Who hasn’t used google Maps? And for good reason. Its coverage is comprehensive, it’s simple to use, and it’s is invaluable when you’re trying to figure out how to get from A to B in an unfamiliar place. It shows travel times and distances in multiple transport modes: on foot, bike, by available public transport and by car.

How to use it: use it to help plan upfront your transportation from point to point in your itinerary.

Website : https://www.google.com/maps

Hands down the best service for planning and booking journeys within and between countries. It combines and compares transport options from over 5,000 transportation providers across 160 countries, then recommends the cheapest, fastest, and most convenient routes for different modes of transportation including flights, trains, buses, and car rentals. The website also provides comprehensive travel information. It will quote prices, distances, times, mileage, route numbers, and which companies to book.

Their slogan is “Discover how to get anywhere by plane, train, bus, ferry & car – and it does exactly what is says on the tin.

Website : https://www.rome2rio.com/

Where to stay

3.1 'best' hotels - curated selections.

Whatever you go, there are always thousands of hotel options. These sites do the research work for you and use experts to curate a list of the best, based on location, quality and quality.

How to use it: For all the destinations we cover, we provide you with a curated list of the best hotels – for all budgets, from the mainstream to the unusual.

The selections are made by our writers, who must not only be leading travel journalists, but also specialise in that destination (either living there or visiting frequently). The writers have at least inspected and usually stayed in the properties they recommend.

Conde Nast Traveller

Similar to Travel & Leisure above, this high-end, luxury global travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world.

When to use it: They do great round-ups of the ‘best’ hotels to stay in a destination – but obviously at the top end. If you’re not that price sensitive, start with their shortlist.

Honourable mention: Travel & Leisure, their great rival, also does destination hotel round-ups.

Website : https://www.cntraveller.com/

In my view, it’s the best ‘guidebook’ website for researching and planning a trip online – once you know where you want to go. They simply and helpfully list out a reasonably long short list of things to see & do and places to stay, and rate them each from 1-3, depending on how good they are.

However, like all the guidebooks online, coverage is comprehensive at times, requiring a lot of time and effort to research through it. The website is also swamped with banner ads that are off-putting and annoying.

How to use it: A good place to start your hotel search. They generally do select good options, though it’s more aimed at budget travellers.

Website : https://www.frommers.com/

The Telegraph (Travel)

This long-standing British newspaper does a fine job of curating and rating (out of 10) the best hotels in destinations around the world, for all budgets. The reviews tell you what you want to know – style, location, key amenities – without being overwhelming.

As for Bucket List Travels , selections and reviews are written by top travel writers who have inspected and usually stayed in the property. The number of hotels they recommend is a lot more than Bucket List Travels – and includes ones we certainly wouldn’t include – but it does give you a longer list to start with.

When to use it: if you care about where you stay, and really want one of the best places, this is a great place to start your start for somewhere to stay.

Website : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/

TripAdvisor

The original hotel review site, it has since expanded to become the global platform for reviews (and information) on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and other travel-related businesses. It also offers a variety of travel-related content and resources, including travel guides and forums.

Over the years it has, sadly become increasingly corrupted with fake reviews, but they can’t fake all of them and as long as there are at least several hundred reviews, the score should be reasonably reflective.

When to use it: I personally like to start drawing up a shortlist of places to stay on other sites listed here, then do a quick check of the reviews of each on TripAdvisor. I also filter to see only the negative comments, then look at 1) how recent they are 2) if it is a one-off complaint i.e. someone had a refund request refused and 3) if it is something that can and probably has been fixed e.g. a rude receptionist. Small room sizes, traffic noise from road proximity, and so on – these issues are not easily fixed.

Website : https://www.tripadvisor.com

3.2 Boutique hotel collections

If it’s a boutique hotel you’re after, try one of these specialist sites. They only list high-quality properties that meet their individual criteria.

Design Hotels

As the name suggests, this website offers a curated selection of over 300 independently owned and operated hotels and resorts around the world, each chosen for its unique design and aesthetic. The site emphasizes design and architecture and offers a range of luxury and boutique properties.

Pros: It’s a brilliant resource for finding unique and interesting stays, especially with modern and/or minimalist interiors.

Cons: if you’re not that worried about hotel design, then it doesn’t offer a lot of value other than a list of interesting hotels.

When to use: if you’re interested in design, and prioritise that in your accommodation, then this is a great resource. If it’s not that important, you’re better off elsewhere with a greater selection and better prices.

Website : https://www.designhotels.com/

This boutique hotel booking website offers a carefully curated selection of stylish, unique and independently-run hotels and vacation rentals around the world. They offer in-depth reviews of each property, personalised recommendations, and a friendly, 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The curated selection of unique and stylish properties is exceptional and of a consistently high quality that you can rely on. Each property has been personally inspected by staff. The reviews, from both customers and staff, are honest and in-depth and tell you who it is and isn’t for, rather than pretend everyone’s going to love it.

Cons: There’s a limited number of properties in many destinations, and it is property, not destination, led – meaning is easier to find the place, then decide on the destination rather than the reverse (which may suit).

When to use: if their style of property i.e. unique, high quality, small and independent, is what you like/are looking for, there’s no better resource to use. If they don’t have something in your preferred destination, then look elsewhere, but check first.

Honourable mention: Sawdays offers a similar service, but they’re UK & Europe only.

Website : https://www.i-escape.com/

Mr & Mrs Smith

This first-rate, UK-based hotel booking website curates handpicked, boutique hotels around the world, each personally inspected to meet their high standards of facilities, service and location. The website has in-depth reviews of each property, with insider tips like what are the best rooms to book, without being overwhelming.

There are also exclusive benefits for members like gifts on arrival, or late checkouts, and a 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The standard of hotels is consistently high, so much so that the brand has become a trusted stamp of quality. The booking service and post-sales support is efficient yet very personable, and hotel staff genuinely care about ‘Smith’ customers so you feel very welcome when you arrive.

Cons: They have limited or no options in many destinations. They also can’t match the benefits of the OTA reward schemes like Booking.com .

When to use: The site is great if this is your style of hotel, and you want to be looked after at every step. Limited coverage is only an issue if you are dead set on a destination. If you’re not really that bothered where you go, or at least are open to suggestions, check this excellent site first.

Website : https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/

Secret Escapes

A members-only hotel booking website that offers exclusive deals and discounts on luxury hotels and vacations around the world. The site negotiates special rates with hotels and resorts, available to their members only.

Pros: There some great deals and genuine exclusive discounts to be had, though max discount tends to be 30% (and average of 15%-20%), but still not to be sniffed at. They also do a good job of curation, so you know you’re getting a decent hotel.

Cons: You still need to compare prices to other sites like Booking.com and the hotel’s own website, as there are lots of sneaky tricks and breaking of agreements that going on behind the scenes and you never really know where the best deal is until you check.

When to use: if you know where you want to go, it’s well worth checking in for a deal.

Website : https://www.secretescapes.com/

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

This website has personally visited, verified and vetted every single one of its 520 hotels in more than 90 countries. The criteria for inclusions I small (<50 rooms, non-chain and offering the highest standards of luxury and service.

Pros: it’s an exceptional collection of outstanding hotels, and the brand guarantees a high-quality, luxury stay. Members get 10% off and extra (tiered) benefits like upgrades and late checkouts. Hotels welcome their members with open arms, as they usually spend well, and SMH look after their customers.

Cons: things this good come with a price tag. Many hotels are out of reach of most travellers’ budgets.

When to use: if you’re a discerning, occasionally demanding, traveller, that specifically wants a smaller hotel, this is a great place to start your search. Check other websites though for better prices – even with the 10% off – but if you’re not that price sensitive, it’s nice to book with someone who cares, as opposed to a hotel production line like Booking.com.

Website : https://slh.com/

Tablet Hotels

This New York-based brand, founded in 2000 and well-known across the US, has curated over 3,500 boutique & luxury properties around the world. In 2018, it was purchased by and merged with Michelin.

Similar to Mr & Mrs Smith, they curate a selection based on criteria, offer a full booking service, and exclusive benefits for ‘Tablet Plus’ members like VIP upgrades and free valet parking.

Pros: the curated selection guarantees a measure of quality, and some of the VIP benefits are really nice ones to have and make you feel a bit special.

Cons: You inevitably will pay more than on other sites, and sometimes they overpromise and underdeliver on the VIP experience – much depends on the attitude of the hotel. The criteria for selection is much broader than a Mr & Mrs Smith, so you’re not getting that real consistency of accommodation, and the personal relationship that Smith has with its properties.

When to use: If you want to feel like a VIP and value those benefits over saving a few pennies or cents, then they are worth a look.

Website : https://www.tablethotels.com/

3.3 Home rentals & stays

Launched in 2008 and needing no introduction, this global accommodation powerhouse forever altered the holiday market. Now with more than 300,000 listings in over 190 countries, it has expanded from its original core offering of ‘spare rooms to rent’ to include apartments, treehouses, villas – whatever you can stay in, it’s likely to be on AirBnB.

Pros: the sheer number of options and global coverage means you’re highly likely to find something you want. The site is simple and easy to use, with lots of photographs, user reviews and star ratings.

Cons: The product and website is great, but they don’t really care about customers, and customer service if something goes wrong can be challenging to find.

When to use: whenever you’re looking for something other than a hotel, and/or something more authentic or with a local feel. It’s especially good for families and groups wanting to stay together in one place.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com

Couchsurfing

This global hospitality exchange enables you to stay with a host for free for a few nights – be it sofa or, if you’re lucky, a bed. You simply create a profile, search for hosts, and request to stay with them. Surprisingly, perhaps, it works, and over the years the site has built a loyal following and a strong community of ‘couchsurfers’ who help and support each other, and even organise events around the world.

When to use it: When budget is tight and you just really want somewhere to crash, and/or you’re looking to connect with other travellers and the local community.

Website : https://www.couchsurfing.com/

This upscale holiday home and apartment rental specialist has a large catalogue of privately-owned places to stay, which you can filter by key criteria like price, location, number of bedrooms etc. Each listing is vetted by their team to ensure it meet minimum standards. It’s owned by the Expedia Group.

The quality of homes for rent is exceptional and varied, from lake houses to treehouses, and the search and filtering makes it quick and simple to find something that suits. Customer service is good, much better than AirBnB for example.

Website : https://www.vrbo.com/

Villas of Distinction

Villas of Distinction is a luxury villa rental company that offers an extensive portfolio of properties in over 50 destinations worldwide. They provide personalized service to help clients select the perfect villa for their vacation, and offer a range of amenities such as private pools, chefs, and concierge services to enhance the guest experience.

When to use it: When you’re looking for an independent, self-catering stay in an uber-luxurious villa. It’s top-end, with a price tag to match.

Honourable mention: One Fine Stay offers a similar service.

Website : https://www.villasofdistinction.com/

3.4 Campsites & Hostels

HostelWorld

The hostel specialist is the go-to place for booking budget accommodation in over 170 countries – both dormitory beds and private rooms. The website and mobile app allow you to browse and book from a wide range of hostels, hotels, and guesthouses, with a focus on affordable and social options. There are also offers travel guides, reviews, and a loyalty program for frequent users.

Pros: The UX is really smooth, the inventory (number of options) is much is larger than on the major hotel search engines (OTAs), and it does a much better job of setting out dormitory bed pricing and deal options. There are a number of ‘community’ features that encourage you to connect with fellow travellers.

When to use it: If you’re on a budget or want to meet people when you’re travelling, start here with your accommodation search.

Website : https://www.hostelworld.com/

If you’re looking for something off-grid, preferably unique and unusual – but don’t want to compromise too much on luxury, this website is for you. It’s a directory of for luxury campsites and stays, with various accommodation options ranging from tents to tipis, log cabins to vintage caravans. Coverage is mainly Europe & UK, though they have plans to expand beyond.

Website : https://campaglam.com/

3.5 Price comparison

Concept: This Expedia-owned hotel search engine allows you to compare prices from various booking sites for over 1.8 million hotels in more than 190 countries. You can search & filter to discover hotels matching your criteria, then each hotel listing shows the price of a room on the various OTA sites. The site also offers user reviews, ratings, and filters to help you decide.

For all aggregators, the prices are often inaccurate, and not the cheapest option when you click through. The OTAs (like Expedia, Booking.com) have learned over the years how to manipulate them to ensure their listing comes up first with the cheapest price.

When to use it: It’s a good place to start your hotel search, especially when you have specific requirements such that you can use the on-site filters to narrow down the options quickly. If you discover a hotel you want somewhere else, always come and check the prices here before booking.

Note – it doesn’t always include the hotel direct price (so make sure you check separately), and sometimes the prices are inaccurate when you click through.

Honourable mentions: HotelsCombined , owned by Booking.com and the main rival to Trivago, is known for having better deals as they search lesser-known booking sites (though that can come with risks). Both I suspect of bias, however, in pushing Booking.com and Expedia products. Skyscanner also now offers accommodation price comparison, and they have the advantage of being independent and unbiased of the leading OTAs. Kayak also offers price comparison – but they are owned by Booking.com too. I prefer Trvago above the rest purely because they also helpfully show you show the lowest price depending on the ‘deal’ type i.e. cancellable or non, including breakfast etc. which obviously makes a big difference to the ‘cheapest’ price.

Website : https://www.trivago.com

3.6 Accommodation booking

Booking.com

The world’s largest accommodation online booking service that lists over 28 million hotels (and now rentals, B&Bs and hostels) from around the world. They offer a tiered loyalty program called ‘Genius’ The three levels offer 10%, 15%, and 20% discounts (respectively) on bookings at hundreds of thousands of participating locations. They also include priority customer service help, and free breakfast packages or room upgrades when possible.

Pros: The website is easy to use, with excellent filter options, and once you have created an account, you can book within a few clicks. Their inventory is phenomenal, with most hotels in the world signed up. The loyalty program is accessible and with great benefits.

Cons: The loyalty program only applies for a limited number of participating hotels, so you won’t always get the benefits. Hotel websites often still have a better deal, and some don’t release all of their room types to Booking.com so you can’t see these rooms.

Booking.com may also confusingly say ‘sold out’ when there are rooms available still on the hotel website. So always check the hotel website before booking.

When to use it: Start your accommodation search here, and then once you’ve narrowed down the options with the filters, check other sites and the hotel website for a better deal.

Honourable mention: Agoda is essentially a carbon copy of Booking.com – they are owned by the Bookings Holdings Group. Agoda has it’s roots in Asia, and is based in Singapore, so it has more comprehensive Asian content. If that’s where you’re going, it’s worth using.

Website : https://www.booking.com

Concept: same as for Booking.com, with a similar tiered loyalty program, though at time of writing, the tiered benefits are not lifetime like they are with Booking.com. You need to be a regular customer to benefit from the higher tiers – not the case with Booking.com.

Their famous loyalty program of stay 10 times, earn one free reward night – now the basic tier – requires you to book at least once every 12 months or your reward night expires.

Honourable mention: Expedia is essentially a carbon copy of Hotels.com. They’re owned by the same group, and effectively have the same hotel inventory and pricing. There are slight differences in the reward program – I think Hotels.com’s one is better, hence why they got the nudge.

Website : https://hotels.com

HotelTonight

Owned by AirBnB , this mobile app and website offers last-minute hotel rooms at discounted rates. Inventory ranges from budget to luxury, and you can use the filters to specify your location and preferences. There’s also a ‘Rate Drop’ feature that discounts same-day prices after 3pm.

When to use: if you need a last-minute room, it’s definitely worth checking for a deal. However, in my experience, their deals weren’t especially good compared to other standard booking sites – though the ‘Rate Drop’ does deliver discounts.

Website : https://www.hoteltonight.com/

Food, drink & entertainment

4.1 food & drink.

A food and dining news website that provides reviews, guides, and information on restaurants and food trends in various cities across the world. The site offers articles on topics such as dining culture, chefs, industry news, and more. They also feature videos and podcasts related to food and restaurants. The quality of content and recommendations is excellent, and they’ve regularly won awards to their food & wine journalism.

When to use it: Officially it only spans 23 US cities, and if that’s where you’re headed, it’s a good place to check. However, that’s for detailed coverage. For most cities, however, they have a round-up of ‘the best restaurants in X’, covering all price ranges. Just search for it on their site.

Website : https://eater.com

Foodie blogs

Local foodies blog about anything from food trucks to Michelin-starred restaurants. In any destination, especially cities, the food scene changes so fast that almost any corporate website will not keep up. Local foodies are out testing daily, and take pride in keeping their blogs up to date with the latest and greatest. They also cover the smaller, more niche places that only a local would know about.

There are too many to mention, but search for ‘food blogs in X’ by Googling (or Binging) and see who you can find.

When to use: When you want to discover some insider foodie experiences in a destination, and get some good restaurant tips that are not Michelin-starred.

Concept: Increasingly the go-to resource for vegan and vegetarian dining around the world, run by vegans, as the popularity of the movement continues to gather a welcome pace and momentum. The site is also becoming a thriving community hub, with active forums and listings of fellow vegans in local cities that you can message for tips.

When to use it: to discover the best vegan and vegetarian dining options in your destination, or to get tips/advice from the local community.

Website : https://www.happycow.net/

This stalwart former magazine is still the place to go in the digital era for local listings of ‘what’s on’. It provides comprehensive listings, information and reviews on cultural events, concerts, theatre performances, film screenings, and other entertainment in cities around the world.

When to use it: If you’re wanting to book in some entertainment on your trip, this is the best place to start looking.

Website : https://www.timeout.com/

Yelp is a platform that allows you to search for and review local businesses, including restaurants, bars, shops, and other services in 220 cities in 32 countries . It’s best known for restaurant reviews, however – some of the other business listings can be fairly light. As with all review sites, it suffers from fake reviews,  but the volume is sufficient to give you an overall sense of what’s worth a try.

How to use it: I use it to draft a short list of places to try, then cross-check that with other sources and/or my hotel if I’m staying in one. Concierges will give good restaurant tips, but in my experience, the options they give are limited.

Website : https://www.yelp.com

Before you go

Centre for Disease Control

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. The website provides comprehensive information and resources on health and safety topics, including infectious diseases, vaccines, travel health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and more.

When to use it: before you go to a new destination, stop here to check any disease risks and vaccination requirements (you can search by country from the home page). It also has helpful advice for people with special health conditions , and/or doing specialist activities.

Website : https://www.cdc.gov/

5.2 What to take

This global online store is a specialist in all things travel accessories, with over 200 products covering everything from adapters, to travel pillows and luggage security.

How to use it: have a skim before you go. I always end up seeing/buying things I never even knew I needed!

Website : https://go.travel

Packing List Checklist App

A handy app to create packing checklists – a godsend for people like me who always forget their sunglasses. A plethora of packing list apps, I like and use this one before it’s simple, quick – and free. No upgrades needed.

You manually create your own list(s) – you can create multiple different ones, for different holiday types for example – then select from a list of a fairly comprehensive list of suggested items to start you off. Most of the time that will do it, though you can add your own if needed. When it comes to packing, you can tick things off as and when they’re in the case.

How to use it: Next time you get a few free moments, create a packing list. Add to it as and when things pop into your head. Tick them off when you pack.

Website : https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/packing-list-checklist/id1235121075

5.3 Travel planning

TripIt is another travel organising app that allows you to store all of your travel plans in one place. Users can forward their confirmation emails for flights, hotels, and rental cars to the app, which will then create a master itinerary for their trip. The app also provides real-time flight alerts, directions, and travel recommendations.

Website : https://www.tripit.com/web

Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

My Best 61 Travel Tips to Make You the World’s Savviest Traveler

Most people aren’t born savvy travelers. It’s something that only comes with on-the-road experience. Travel savviness is a process born of missed buses, foolish behavior, cultural unawareness, and countless tiny errors. Then, one day, you begin to seamlessly move through airports and integrate yourself into new cultures like a fish to water.

In the beginning, you just make a lot of travel mistakes.

But I want to help speed up the process and help you avoid my mistakes ( and I often make a lot of them ), so I put together this giant list of my best travel tips that cover everything under the sun to help you reach your full travel ninja potential.

I’ve learned these tips over the last sixteen years being a nomad.

These tips for traveling will have you saving money, sleeping better, getting off the beaten path more, meeting locals, and just being a better traveler.

So, without further ado, here are the best 61 travel tips in the world:

1. Always pack a towel. It’s the key to successful galactic hitchhiking – and plain common sense. You never know when you will need it, whether it’s at the beach, on a picnic, or just to dry off after a shower. While many hostels offer towels, you never know if they will or not, and carrying a small towel won’t add that much weight to your bag.

Make sure it’s a lightweight, quick-drying towel since regular towels are too bulky and heavy (and they take a long time to dry). Dry Fox travel towels are my favorite (use the code “nomadicmatt” for 15% off your purchase)!

My favorite bag is the Flash Pack from REI . Other companies offering high-quality bags are Osprey, Nomatic, and MEC (for Canadians).

This article has more tips on finding the best travel backpack for your needs.

The same rule applies to suitcases. Don’t take a huge suitcase because they are a pain in the butt to lug around, especially if you’re traveling long term (short term, not so much). I like Level 8 suitcases. They are durable, quite spacious, nicely designed, and well-priced (luggage can be pretty damn expensive). Plus, they have a TSA lock built into the zipper. You can click here to learn more and buy one .

I also recommend packing cubes , which are essential if you’re going to be living out of a backpack for a few weeks (or months), or you just want to keep your suitcase better organized. They come in a variety of sizes, allowing you to store items big and small. They’re great for making it easy to find everything in your backpack or suitcase.

3. Pack light. Write down a list of essentials, cut it in half, and then only pack that! Plus, since you bought a small backpack like I said above, you won’t have much room for extra stuff anyways! Take half the clothes you think you will need…you won’t need as much as you think. It’s OK to wear the same t-shirt a few days in a row.

I love Unbound Merino , as their travel clothing can be worn daily for weeks without getting smelly. They are super light and they look sylish too. I really love the material, they’re comfortable, they hardly ever need a wash, and they last forever!

Click here for more packing tips .

4. But take extra socks. You’ll lose a bunch to laundry gremlins, wear and tear, and hiking so packing extra will come in handy. Take a few more than you need. Trust me on this. Nothing beats a fresh pair of socks!

Here’s a list of all my best hostels around the world . If you’re planning on backpacking Europe , it’s worth getting HostelPass , a card that gives you up to 20% off hostels throughout Europe. It’s a great way to save money, and they’re constantly adding new hostels too. I’ve always wanted something like this and so I’m glad it finally exists. Use code NOMADICMATT for 25% off.

6. Take an extra bank card and credit card with you Disasters happen and things get stolen or compromised. I once had a card duplicated and a freeze put on it. I couldn’t use it for the rest of my trip. I was very happy I had a backup. You don’t want to be stuck somewhere new without access to your funds. This happened to a friend once and they had to borrow money for me for weeks while they waited for their new card to arrive.

Here are some helpful articles on banking:

• How to Avoid Banking Fees While Traveling
• 22 Ways to Cut Your Expenses and Have Money for Travel
• How to Pick the Best Travel Credit Card

7. Make sure to use no-fee bank cards. Don’t give banks your hard-earned money. Keep that for yourself and spend it on your travels. Get a credit card and debit card that doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee or an ATM fee. Over the course of a long trip, the few dollars they take every time will really add up!

Here’s an article that will tell you how to do that.

8. Don’t fly direct. When booking flights, sometimes it is cheaper to fly in to airports close to your final destination, and then take a train, bus, or budget airline to where you need to go.

To use this method, find out how much it is to go directly to your destination. Then, look at prices to nearby airports. If the difference is more than $150 USD, I look to see how much it is to get from the second airport to my primary destination.

My favorite flight search engine is Skyscanner . This is my go-to website for finding cheap flights. It searches a lot of different airlines, including many of the budget carriers that larger sites miss.

Here are some more tips on finding cheap flights!

Here are some helpful articles on solo travel:

• Why I Travel Alone
• The Joy of Solo Travel
• Travel: The Ultimate Personal Development Tool
• How to Overcome Being Alone
• Reading People: One Skill Travel Has Taught Me

10. Always visit the local tourism information center. This is probably one of the most underused travel tips in the world. Tourism information centers know about everything going on in town. They can point you to free activities, special events happening during your stay, and everything in between. They even offer discounts on attractions and transportation. It is their job to help you experience the destination better. It’s amazing how many travelers skip this when they are visiting somewhere but, as a savvy traveler, you know to use this resource!

11. Take free walking tours. Besides being free, these tours will give you a good orientation and background of the city you are visiting. I love, love, love taking walking tours when I travel. You pass the time, you get to pepper the guide with questions, and you get to learn so much about where you are. Here are some of my favorite walking tour companies around the world:

• The Best Walking Tours in New York City
• The Best Walking Tours in London
• The Best Walking Tours in Paris
• The Best Walking Tours in Berlin
• The Best Walking Tours in Amsterdam

And while free walking tours are great, sometimes it’s worth it to take a paid walking tour if you’d like to dig deeper into a particular aspect of the destination. Walks is one of my favorite paid walking tour companies, offering in-depth history and cultural tours in cities around the world (especially Europe). Its small-group tours also tend to offer exclusive behind-the-scenes access you can’t get elsewhere.

For fellow foodies, Devour Food Tours has all kinds of amazing food tours around Europe.

12. Don’t be afraid to use a map. Looking like a tourist isn’t as bad as getting really lost and ending up in the wrong neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to use a map or ask for directions and look like a tourist. After all, you are one!

13. But don’t be afraid to get purposefully lost. Wandering aimlessly through a new city is a good way to get to know it, get off the beaten path, and away from the tourists. You might be surprised by the hidden gems you find. I like to wander around and try to find my way without using Google Maps. Travel is the art of discovery and you never know what cool little spot you’ll come across.

14. Ask hostel staff for information — even when you aren’t staying there. Hostel staff deal with budget travelers all day, every day. They know exactly where to go for cheap meals and attractions. They also tend to be locals so they know the city very well. Ask them for all sorts of information. Even if you aren’t staying in one, just pop in and ask for help. They’ll usually give it.

15. Sign up for flight deals. When it comes to travel, your flight(s) will likely be your biggest expense. Save money by signing up for flight deal websites. You’ll get epic flight deals straight to your inbox, saving you time and money. Also be sure to sign up for airline newsletters, since that is where they will announce their sales first. The best websites for finding travel deals are:

• Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) – The BEST for upcoming US flight deals.
• The Flight Deal – Great for global flight deals.
• Holiday Pirates – The best for European flight deals.
• Secret Flying – A great site for flight deals from around the world.

16. Don’t buy a money belt — they’re stupid. Thieves know they exist and being seen with one basically shouts, “Look at me, I’m a tourist with money! Rip me off!” The more you can blend in and act like a local, the easier it will be to get deals and avoid touts. If you’re worried about pickpockets, keep a better eye on your stuff!

17. When you go out, take only what you need. Limit the amount of cash and bank cards you carry with you when you go out, so if something does happen, you can easily recover. Never take more than one credit card or ATM card with you. My rule for cash is to limit what I carry to $50 USD.

18. Always carry a lock. Carry a small combination lock with you when you travel. They come in handy, especially when you stay in dorms. Most hostels use lockers, so budget travelers need to provide their own travel lock to keep stuff secured. While you can usually rent or buy them at hostels, it’s much cheaper just to buy one before you go. (Just don’t use one with keys because if you lose the keys, you’re screwed!)

19. Make extra copies of your passport and important documents. Don’t forget to e-mail a copy to yourself too. You never know when you might need to have some sort of documentation with you and might not want to carry your original. Additionally, if your passport gets stolen having a copy will come in handy for your police report.

20. Learn basic phrases in the native language of your destination. The locals will appreciate it and it will make your interactions easier. You don’t need to master the language but learning a few things like “Hello,” “Goodbye,” “Thank you!”, “Where’s the bathroom?” will go a long way to endearing yourself with the locals. They’ll like that you tried.

Here are some tips on how to learn a language .

Here are some posts that highlight my favorite reads:

• 13 Travel Books That Will Give You Serious Wanderlust
• The Best Travel Books
• 12 Books to Take You Around the World

22. Don’t be ashamed to walk into a Starbucks or McDonald’s. Sometimes familiarity is comforting and both places have free wifi and public restrooms you can use. (Just don’t eat the food at McDonald’s! That shit is gross and unhealthy for you! You can get it back home!). Libraries and most modern coffee shops also have free Wi-Fi too.

23. Always get behind business travelers when in security lines. They move fast since they are usually in a rush and travel light. They know the drill. Line up behind them as much as possible. You’ll speed through the line!

24. Never get behind families in airport security. They take forever. It’s not their fault. They just have a lot of stuff because of the kids. Try to avoid getting in lines with lots of kids. It’s going to take a while.

25. When you check in to the hotel, don’t be afraid to ask for an upgrade. They have a lot of flexibility when it comes to assigning upgrades at check-in. It never hurts to ask. Often times they can accommodate you if the hotel isn’t full. Just be super nice!

Note: If you stay in hotels frequently (or want to), it might be worth it to get a hotel credit card . You can earn points on your everyday spending at home and convert those points into free stays. The best cards come with status, making upgrades more likely too!

26. Write down your experiences. Even in this hyper-technological age, I think everyone needs to write more during their travels so they have something to look back on. I never leave home without a journal. Not only do I use them for work (I’m constantly taking notes and writing down ideas) but I also use them to keep track of my travels.

Simple travel journals work great for journaling during your trip as well as for writing down logistical information like directions, contact information, and language tips.

If you want a travel journal that isn’t just blank pages but rather has space for itinerary planning, places to jot notes in the local language, inspirational quotes, and more, grab our new travel journal. It was designed specifically with travelers in mind, so you can take notes as well as write down stories and reflections during your travels.

27. Lunchtime is the best time to visit historical sites. Be a contrarian. You’ll have fewer crowds getting in your way as big tour buses, groups, and most travelers head to lunch. It’s always best to visit an attraction super early, late, or when people eat. You’ll have even the most popular places to yourself!

28. Never eat in a touristy area or near a tourist attraction. As a general rule, I walk five blocks in either direction before I find a place to eat. The closer you are to tourist attractions the more you are going to pay and the worse the food (and service). Use websites like Yelp , Google Maps , or Open Rice to find some delicious and popular restaurants around you.

Additionally, never eat anywhere the menu is in like 6 languages! That means the restaurant is just for tourists!

29. Locals don’t eat out every night and neither should you. Go grocery shopping. You can learn a lot about locals’ diets by seeing the type of food they buy. Plus, it will save you a lot of money. You won’t regret it. Cook your food, save money, and surprise yourself!

30. Eat at expensive restaurants during lunch. Most expensive restaurants offer lunch specials featuring the same food they would serve for dinner but for a fraction of the cost! That’s the best time to eat out when you travel.

I share more tips on how to eat cheaply around the world here.

31. Pack a headlamp. This is a handy tool for both backpackers and anyone looking to do any hiking or camping. If you’re going to be staying in a hostel, having a headlamp is helpful when you need to check in or out but don’t want to disturb your fellow travelers by turning on the lights. They’re also helpful in emergencies.

32. Carry a basic first-aid kit. Accidents happen, so be prepared. I always take band-aids, antibacterial cream, and ointments for minor cuts and scrapes. You never know when you’re going to need it and you can’t always get it when you travel.

You can either assemble a first aid kit yourself ( here are some tips for doing so ), or purchase a pre-made kit online .

33. Don’t believe the cheap flight myths. Don’t drive yourself too crazy trying to get the absolute cheapest fare. There are a lot of myths online about how to find cheap flights, but there is no magic bullet or one secret ninja trick. It’s not cheaper to book on a particular day of the week, or if you search in an incognito window.

Spending five hours to try to save $10 will cause you a lot of stress. Once you find a flight deal that you’re happy with, book right away, as airfares change by the minute. Remember, you usually have a 24-hour window to cancel in case you need to.

Here are some article on how to save money on flights:

• 5 Steps to Booking a Cheap Flight Online
• How to Always Find a Cheap Flight
• Where I Find the Best Travel Deals

34. Use Meetup, the sharing economy, and hospitality websites to meet locals. These websites will help you get an insider’s perspective on your destination by connecting you with locals in the places you visit. The sharing economy has changed the way people travel allowing you to meet locals, get off the tourist travel, and save mega money! It’s a triple win – and I use these resources all the time when I travel.

Here’s an article on how to use the sharing economy (and what websites to use) when you travel.

35. Be open to strangers. Not everyone bites. Say hi to people on the road. Turn strangers into friends. Remember they are just like you! They want to live a happy, full life and have hopes and dreams too! You never know. You just might make some lifelong friends.

36. But keep your guard up. Some people do bite, so keep a healthy level of suspicion. You don’t want to fall for any travel scams or get yourself into uncomfortable situations. Be open but cautious. Here is a list of travel scams to avoid.

• My Favorite Restaurants in Europe
• The Best Places to Eat in NYC
• How to Eat Cheap Around the World
• 30+ Places to Eat in Tokyo
• How to Eat Around the World on a Vegan Diet

38. Avoid taxis. They are always a budget buster. Never, ever take a taxi unless you absolutely have too!

39. Take a reusable water bottle through airport security and fill it up at your gate. Single-use plastics are common in a lot of countries around the world. They’re also polluting our oceans and destroying the environment. Drink from the tap when you can — you’ll save money and help the environment. If you’re going somewhere where you can’t drink the water, be sure to get a water bottle with a filter. I love Lifestraw .

40. Get city attraction cards. If you are going to visit a lot of museums and other attractions in a short period of time, a city pass is going to save you money on admission (plus most provide free public transportation too!).

41. Take pictures of your luggage and clothes. If your bag gets lost, this will help identify it more easily and speed up the process of having your travel insurance reimburse you.

42. Carry emergency cash. Because emergencies happen, like that time in Romania when I couldn’t find an ATM and needed money for the bus to the hostel. I usually try to keep around $200 USD in emergency cash in case something happens!

43. Get good shoes. You walk a lot when you travel. Don’t beat up your feet. Love them as much as they love you, and they’ll take you to amazing places.

My favorite shoes for traveling are Suavs shoes , which are versatile and durable. They’re comfortable and great for exploring a new city all day, but also look nice enough that you can dress them up if you want to at night.

44. Get vaccinated. Because falling prey to an illness in a foreign country is not fun — and many countries require you to get vaccinated in order to visit them. So regardless of your opinion on the subject, you just might have to.

Here is an article on how to stay healthy on the road.

45. Learn to haggle. Haggling is a fun, playful way of not getting charged the foreigner price. It’s the art of negotiating and one that will help you throughout all of life, not just at the market.

Here are some articles to help you get started with using points and miles:

• Points and Miles 101: A Beginner’s Guide
• How I Earn 1 Million Frequent Flier Miles Every Year
• The Best Travel Credit Cards
• The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Best Travel Credit Card

47. Take a jacket. Nights get chilly.

48. Eat street food! If you skip the street food, you miss out on culture . Don’t be scared. If you’re nervous, look for places where kids are eating. If it’s safe for them, it’s safe for you.

49. Get travel insurance. Travel insurance is the most important thing to get that you never want to use. If something goes wrong, you don’t want to be out thousands of dollars in bills. Travel insurance will be there if you get robbed, flights get canceled, you get sick or injured, or have to be sent home. It’s comprehensive and, for just a few dollars a day, one of the best investments you can get for a trip.

You may think you’re superman/woman but so did my friend who broke her arm, didn’t have insurance, and had to pay thousands out of pocket. Insurance was there when I had to replace my camera and when I popped an eardrum scuba diving! Get it! Here are some tips on how to find the best travel insurance.

My favorite companies are:

• SafetyWing – A budget-friendly choice for travelers who need basic coverage. They are affordable, have great customer service, and make it easy to make a claim. If you’re on a tight budget, go with SafetyWing!
• Insure My Trip – The best insurance for those over 70 years old.
• Medjet – This is a membership program that provides emergency evacuation coverage should you get into a dire situation while traveling and be hospitalized. Medjet is meant to supplement your regular travel insurance.

50. Be patient. Things will work out in the end. No need to rush. You’ll get to where you are going in due time. Travel is about the journey, not the destination.

51. Be respectful. Locals are willing to help you out, but there’s probably a language barrier, so keep your cool when something doesn’t go your way. If you don’t, you’ll end up just looking like an asshole tourist.

52. Don’t over plan your trip. Let your days unfold naturally. Schedule two or three things and let the day fill in the rest on its own. It’s less stressful, and letting the day just take you is one of the best ways to travel. Here’s my advice on how not to over plan your travels!

53. Relax. See Be patient .

54. Be frugal — but not cheap. Don’t be pennywise but pound-foolish. Look for deals and don’t waste money, but don’t miss out on great experiences or walk 10 miles to save a couple of dollars. Time is money. Spend them both wisely.

55. Take earplugs. Anyone who has ever stayed in a hostel knows that earplugs are a necessity. Snorers are everywhere and you need your sleep.

But even if you’re not going to be in a hostel, they’re still helpful for sleeping well if your accommodation is located on a busy street, or for sleeping in buses, overnight trains, and other types of transportation. A good night’s sleep is priceless — be prepared!

These earplugs are reusable and work much better than the cheap foam ones, blocking out any distracting noises.

56. Always carry a power bank. Batteries die. Your good mood shouldn’t.

We all travel with numerous electronic devices like phones and tablets, but it can be hard to keep them all charged. An external battery solves that problem.

57. Remember that you’re not alone even if you’re traveling solo. Traveling alone never means you’re really alone. Wherever you go, there is a network of travelers who will be your friends, give you advice or tips, and help you out. They will guide you, point you in the right direction, and be your mentors. You aren’t out there on your own. You’ll make lots of friends and tons of memories.

If you’re not sure about traveling on your own for the first time, you can always join a group tour, such as those we offer at The Nomadic Network . I’ve designed all the itineraries myself to ensure they cover the highlights, get you off the tourist trail, and connect you with friends and locals.

59. Pre-book your tickets to attractions, activities, and excursions online. If you’re planning to do any activities or excursions on your trip, book them online. Companies usually offer a discounted price when compared to buying in person. Not only that but you’ll be able to pay with a credit card, giving you some extra protection as well as more travel points!

Many major attractions also allow you to reserve your spot and skip the line. Always look online to see if this is an option. This will you to avoid wasting time in multi-hour lines and go right in. I’ve seen people wait hours for the Paris Catacombs, Louvre, London Churchill War Rooms, churches, temples, historic fortresses, and more. Pre-book the day before, skip the line, get to see more during your day!

Get Your Guide is my favorite place to book activities in advance. It’s a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions, with tons of options in cities all around the world, including skip-the-line attraction tickets, cooking classes, walking tours, and more!

60. Avoid TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor is fine when you need opening hours or an address, but when it comes to reviews I ignore it completely. People always leave a negative review when something bad happens but rarely leave a positive review when something good happens so the reviews tend to be skewed.

On top of that, it’s very easy to create fake reviews and make a place seem better than it is. Many hotels and restaurants hire firms to artificially inflate their reviews on the platform. Additionally, TripAdvisor has been known to take down reviews that are overly negative as well as reviews on sexual assault. Use TripAdvisor with caution. Or better yet, don’t use it at all.

61. Finally, wear sunscreen. For as the Baz Luhrmann song “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” goes:

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable Than my own meandering experience.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for everyone)
• Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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How to Travel

Last Updated: December 8, 2023 References

This article was co-authored by Carmela Resuma, MPP . Carmela is the Executive Director of FLYTE, a non-profit organization headquartered in Georgetown, Texas that empowers students living in underserved communities through transformative travel experiences. Carmela has a Masters in Public Policy Analysis from New York University and is passionate about youth empowerment, social impact, and traveling. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 147,906 times.

You know you're ready to hit the road and see the world, but you need a little help getting out the door. With some thought and careful planning, you can be headed for adventure sooner than you think. Start planning your escape!

Deciding Where and When to Go

• Remember that in addition to any travel expenses, you still have to pay rent and bills at home. Make sure you have enough to cover these essentials before you spend money traveling.
• Be savvy and cut out small, unnecessary purchases where you can. Eating in, avoiding ATM fees and skipping the $4 lattes are all quick, easy changes you can make to save extra cash for traveling.
• If you can't afford to jet to a distant location but you're itching to explore, research where you can go that is within a day's drive of home. Search for national parks, weird roadside attractions, or even look at a travel guide for your area. If you don't have wheels you can rent a car or take a bus to get away for the day.

• Don't forget to factor in travel time--if you only have a long weekend, it might be best to stick relatively close to home. You can determine the percentage of your vacation you will spend traveling by dividing the total number of hours you spend on the road by the total number of hours you plan to spend at your destination. [1] X Research source

• High season is when there are the biggest crowds, the best weather, attractions selling out, and the highest prices.
• Low season usually means great deals, fewer tourists, the possibility of terrible weather, and the risk of some attractions being closed. You may also find that locals are a little more welcoming.
• Shoulder season is considered the best time to travel. You get the best of both worlds--you will miss the crowds, snag the good deals, and still have good weather. Book right before or right after high season to take advantage of shoulder season. [3] X Research source

• Many travel websites will include inspiration and ideas for different types of trips: family, ecotourism, road trips, and more. Try a website like Triptuner that will give you suggestions based on your preferences.
• Ask friends and family about places they've been. They may have some great recommendations and insights on what to do, where to stay, and what to eat.

Preparing for Your Trip

• Research the cost of the activities that interest you--look up the admission fee to the Musée d'Orsay or the price of a ticket to a Broadway show. The more accurate you can be with costs, the better you can plan your trip.
• Many cities offer some kind of tourism pass, which, for a flat fee, grants free or discounted entry into popular attractions like museums, tours, and historical sites. [5] X Research source
• If your plans exceed your budget, you may need to make a few sacrifices. Stay at a hostel instead of a hotel or skip the four star restaurant. Being flexible will make it easier to stick to your budget.
• Don't forget to look up the money conversion rate if you're going abroad and work that into your budget.

• Be sure you have plenty of time to switch planes if you have a layover in another city.
• Studies have shown the best time to buy a ticket for a domestic flight is between 100-50 days (3.3-1.5 months) before to your departure date. Tickets for international flights are usually lowest between 171-50 days (5-1.5 months) before travel. [6] X Research source
• If you're not sure how you want to get to your destination, a website like Rome2Rio will give you estimated cost and travel times for just about every mode of transportation.
• Train travel is big in Europe, and websites like Seat61 can help you plan a route and look for deals.

• There are even ways to arrange for a free place to stay--sign up at couchsurfers.com to crash with someone local, or try WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) to exchange work for room and board.
• Make reservations ahead of time. It may decrease the spontaneity of your trip, but it's no fun to arrive and find every hostel in town is booked for the night and you have nowhere to sleep.

• Researching the transportation system will make it easier to plan and budget your time. Learn how the metro works before you visit Paris, or find out which train lines will take you to Pisa from Florence and how long the trip will take. [8] X Research source
• Add the addresses and contact numbers of any hotels, car rental agencies, so you have them in one place and can reference them quickly.
• Share your itinerary with your family, and include all your travel information. It's important someone knows where you are and how to reach you in case of an emergency.
• Email your itinerary to yourself so it's easily accessible.

Carmela Resuma, MPP

Try to make the first 24 hours as stress-free as possible. Make sure you have very reliable transport from the airport to wherever you're going and a nice place to stay, even if it costs a little more. Having that first day planned out will help reduce your stress.

• Pack light. Pick basic clothes that coordinate so you can mix and match over the course of your trip.
• If you are flying, remember the safety restrictions, including the 3-1-1 rule: each passenger can have one 1-gallon bag of liquids, gels, or creams, each in a 3.4oz container. Most drug stores sell travel-sized shampoos and moisturizers you can pack.
• Make sure you pack any medications you take and that you have enough for your entire trip, plus a little extra.
• Other must-haves: a light rain jacket, a back-up battery for your phone or other electronics, something to read or pass the time on flights and bus rides.
• Consider the weather. It might be snowing outside, raining cats and dogs, windy, or it might be as hot as the desert sun. Well, it all depends on the weather, and so the type of weather is the type of weather activity you'll be doing.
• Roll your clothes up when packing. Don't fold your clothes-roll them up! You'll have tons more space in your bag. To make things even easier, roll up each outfit into one big roll. That way, you can grab the whole thing at once, no search required.

International Travel

• It is possible to expedite the process and get your passport sooner than 4-6 weeks (even as quickly as 24-hours in an emergency), but you will have to pay an extra fee.
• If you are renewing your passport, you can skip the lines and submit by mail.
• When you receive your passport, scan a copy and email it to yourself. You may also want to make a photocopy and keep it in your suitcase. These copies will be very helpful if your passport is lost or stolen while you're out of the country.
• Keep your passport somewhere safe while you are traveling--a jacket with an inside pocket or a money belt that goes under your shirt can keep you from losing your passport or having it stolen.

• You may need to arrange your hotel accommodations before applying for a visa and be asked to present the address and contact information when you apply.

• Vaccines can take several weeks to start working, or you may need multiple doses, so don't wait until the last minute. See your doctor 4-6 weeks before travel. [10] X Research source
• You can also visit a travel clinic for vaccines--the staff specializes in travel medicine and will be well-versed in what precautions you should take while abroad. [11] X Research source

• English is common as a second language in many countries, but you should never assume everyone will be fluent.

• Pay attention to things like how locals typically dress (some countries are more modest than others and you may get unwanted attention by showing skin), if tipping is expected, and how much "personal space" is normal (you may find people stand and talk much closer than you're used to).
• Check for travel warnings or alerts for the country you plan to visit. You may learn that certain areas are experiencing conflict or are considered unsafe to visit and decide to alter your plans.

• Ask your bank if they have any international partners or branches you can visit. The fees for ATM withdraws in foreign countries are fairly high and can add up quickly. [12] X Research source
• Using your ATM card for withdraws will almost always get you the best exchange rate. Just watch for those fees. [13] X Research source

Community Q&A

• Keep a journal. You may think you'll remember every amazing moment of your trip, but chances are you'll be having so many new experiences it may be hard to keep track of it all. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Take lots of pictures. You can always delete bad ones later, but you won't have another chance to snap a shot of that monkey sitting on your friend's head. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Protect your devices. If your device has a camera, write down a parent's cell number or e-mail address (ask permission first) and take a picture of it, along with a polite note asking the finder to get in touch. Set your home screen to that image so that if your device is lost you might get it back. Then find a small crossbody bag with a zipper top, and use it to carry your device and sunscreen. When you don't have your bag, pick a spot where you will always place your device when it's not in your hand - in the inside pocket of a beach bag, for example. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://traveltips.usatoday.com/decide-vacation-12765.html
• ↑ https://www.smartertravel.com/low-season-low-cost-five-tips-for-off-peak-travel/
• ↑ https://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/shoulder-season-travel-secrets
• ↑ https://traveltips.usatoday.com/set-budget-travel-14231.html
• ↑ https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/how-to-quit-your-job-and-travel-tips-on-making-your-money-go-further
• ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/grantmartin/2014/12/09/best-days-to-book-flights-are-tuesdays-50-100-days-before-travel-expedia-study-concludes/
• ↑ https://www.yahoo.com/travel/the-smartest-ways-to-avoid-travel-burnout-116278797137.html
• ↑ https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/yf/
• ↑ https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/find-clinic
• ↑ https://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/money-and-insurance/atms-abroad

About This Article

If you want to travel, start by choosing a destination and deciding how much time you can spend there. Take into consideration factors like your travel time, paid time off, and any obligations you have at home. If you are flying, book your flight early since they are usually cheapest 50-100 days in advance. Then, search online for activities you'd like to do and the cost of food so you can make a budget. To save money, consider cooking your own meals and staying at campgrounds or hostels instead of at resorts. To learn how to prepare for an international trip, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to find cheap flight deals with momondo

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35 BEST Travel Deal Sites [2024]: Flight, Hotel & Tour Deals

* This article contains affiliate links, which help run this site at no extra cost to you.

Short on time? My top two picks for the best bargain travel sites to find cheap deals are Hotels.com and Going .

Our ultimate list of the best travel deal sites to make sure your money is well spent when planning your next trip.

It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling for one week or one year; everyone wants to have their money go as far as possible. 

You can achieve this by finding cheap flights, reasonable prices on car rentals, and other great deals on the best vacation package websites.

Since 2020, travel deals have become harder to find due to labor shortages, the rising cost of fuel, and inflation. 

However, you can still find a good handful every month– if you know the best websites to find the best fares. And that’s is where this article comes in.  

Over the years, I’ve used numerous vacation websites and have narrowed down which are the best booking sites for saving the most amount of money and finding the best deals. 

With my years of first-hand experience, I’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to the best deal sites so that you can take advantage of them too.  

My style of travel ranges from budget to luxury, and so do these sites.

Note: this post contains affiliate links, which help run this site at no extra cost to you so we can keep providing free travel advice and tips.

Here’s a Quick Look at the Best Travel Deal Sites

• Best Tour and Travel Agency Deal Site – GetYourGuide
• Best Hotel Deal Site – Hotels.com
• Best Flight Deal Site – Going
• My Favorite Other Deal Site – Expedia

Table of Contents

Best Travel Websites for Finding Flight Deals

Google Flights

Google Flights is one of the overall best travel websites for flights to use when looking for cheap airfare. 

However, I use this website more as a jumping-off point rather than the only tool to book the cheapest flights possible. 

One of my favorite aspects about Google Flights is that it separates top-rated routes from the more unusual ones.

Also, Google Flights now has a price guarantee if their own price decreases after purchase, which can be pretty amazing.  

Just note that this will only apply to those flights that have the ‘price guarantee badge’ next to them.

For years now, Skyscanner has topped the list of my go-to travel websites when looking for cheap flight deals. 

It allows me to brainstorm an upcoming dream vacation easily by comparing graphs and calendars of prices. 

If my travel schedule is flexible, I can even search for the cheapest month to fly to that destination. 

One of Skyscanner’s better features is the option to search for flights without a destination. 

The ‘explore everywhere’ option gives a list of countries in order, starting from the cheapest to fly to from your starting destination. 

You can then click the box to get more details on the best fares for these flights. 

Another nice feature is the ability to turn on notifications for when prices drop for a certain route. The interface is also very easy to use, which is always a plus. 

If you want to keep it simple, you could honestly get away with just using Skyscanner and Google Maps to start planning a cheaper dream vacation today.

Hopper is a unique travel website that gives you deals only available on the platform. 

You are also able to collect carrot cash that you can redeem on their site for even better deals. 

Personally, I’ve found Hopper to be better in the United States than outside of it. Even with this limitation, flights in the United States can be expensive, so a deal is a deal. 

When you first join the website or app, you’ll immediately get money off your first flight, so that alone makes it worth using at least once.

Is Hopper all it’s cracked up to be? Check out our full Hopper review !

Skipplagged

Skipplagged is a unique resource that you can use on top of Google Flights and other travel sites. 

If you do flight research for long enough, you’ll come across destinations that are cheaper to fly to if you have it as a layover instead of the final destination. 

For example:

• If you want to fly to Panama City in Panama, the flight might cost you $200 one-way from Antigua. 
• You can then look at a flight from Antigua to Medellin and see that the flight has a layover in Panama City and only costs $150. 
• That’s $50 in savings if you get off at your layover.

Skipplagged cuts out the middleman in this scenario and helps you easily find these types of cheap flights. That $150 Medellin flight will appear in your search results for Panama City, marked as a ‘Skiplagged rate.’ It’s a sneaky way to score cheap nonstop flights.

Check out our Skiplagged review for more information on how this travel booking site works .

Going (Formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)

Going (Scott’s Cheap Flights) is a newsletter and website that began in 2015 when a guy named Scott wanted to share flight deals with friends and family. 

Today, Going (Scott’s Cheap Flights) is one of the top travel sites to find cheap flights around the world (don’t worry, you no longer need to know Scott personally to get on the email list). 

Once you sign up, you can choose your home airport and any nearby airports and you’ll then start receiving monthly or bi-monthly deals directly to your email. 

The Going (Scott’s Cheap Flights) newsletter list has a free version and a premium version. 

The free version works great for those who don’t travel that often. 

If you’re a regular traveler, however, I’d recommend getting the premium version since it’s not that expensive compared to how much you can save on flights. 

Plus, you’ll not only receive their best flight deals but error fares as well (which are flights that an airline mistakenly lists as much cheaper than it’s worth.)

Secret Flying

Secret Flying is a company very similar to Going. On their site, they show you trending flight deals from all around the world. 

These deals can have savings of up to 90%. There’s also a search bar in case you’re looking for something very specific. 

Although I prefer Going over Secret Flying, it doesn’t hurt to have multiple options to check before you purchase a flight just in case you missed a great deal.

CheapOair has been around since 2005 and is one of the earliest travel websites to offer great deals on flights. 

They’ve since expanded their game to include certain travel packages, rental car bookings, and other activities. 

They also have a rewards program called ClubMiles where every 1,000 points equal $5 of rewards for their site.

Momondo is another free tool that allows you to compare prices on flights and travel packages. 

It used to be the main competitor to Skyscanner, but Skyscanner has since pulled ahead and is the app most travelers prefer these days. 

With that said, Momondo can still be a good site to check to see if you can find a lower price for a flight. 

It’s now also owned by Kayak, which makes sense when you see the different options that come up when you’re searching for travel deals. 

Some of the best ways this site can help you save money are through its flexible dates tool & multi-city option. 

The flexible dates tool is very easy to use for a quick glance at comparing prices and the multi-city option can help those long-term travelers plan their trips better.

Dollar Flight Club

Dollar Flight Club is the most comparable to Scott’s Cheap Flights (or Going). 

It has three different levels of membership. The free plan, premium, and premium plus. 

Similar to Going, they send the best flight deals straight to your inbox so you don’t have to do any of the work. These deals can also be up to 90% off.

With the premium plans, you can also get discounts on other discount travel sites for airfare and online travel agencies that they work with, like Babbel and Jubel.

Best Travel Booking Sites for Hotels Deals

Hotels.com is, in my opinion, the best website for booking hotels. Oftentimes, you’ll be able to find the best hotel deals here. 

What makes this site so unique is its rewards program. 

For each night you stay at a hotel, you’ll get a stamp. After collecting 10 stamps, you’ll get one night free (or the average price of your 10 stays), which can rack up a lot of savings.

Airbnb has changed the accommodation game since its arrival. 

The main perk of going through Airbnb compared to a hotel is that you get more of a feel of living in your destination. This is because people are renting out their homes to you. 

It’s also very possible to find great deals with this website. The best way to get a deal with Airbnb is if you plan to stay for longer periods. 

If you stay for a week or more, there are often weekly discounts that apply to your stay. If you plan to stay for one month or longer, the savings can be astronomical. 

The owners will oftentimes give you a great deal if you message them directly, and it’s what makes slow travel so enjoyable. 

Case in point–when our editor, Mimi, and her partner stayed at an Airbnb in Tahoe for a month, they were able to get it down to $3,000 total instead of the $7,000+ that was initially listed. 

Owners will often appreciate a guaranteed long-term stay and will be open to lowering prices to secure that. And really, it never hurts to ask!

Hostelworld

Hostelworld is the king of finding the best hostels from around the world. This platform is amazing for those travelers out there who are on a budget, particularly solo travelers.

The reviews are very important on this website because you don’t want to get stuck in a party hostel when you’re trying to sleep, so just do your research and you’ll be fine. 

There are all kinds of hostels, but the one thing hostels all have in common is that they’re usually a fraction of the price of a hotel. 

And, if you don’t like the idea of sharing a dorm, some still offer cheap private rooms. 

Hostels can also be a great way to meet other travelers, especially if you’re traveling solo but even if you’re traveling with a friend or two. 

Be sure to look for the ones with a free breakfast!

Booking.com

Booking.com is one of the best travel websites for booking accommodations because of how many options it gives you. 

You can find hotels and hostels on the website, although it focuses more on hotel stays.

Another huge perk of it being one of the biggest travel sites is the number of reviews. 

Reviews are huge when it comes to choosing which accommodation you want. Since Booking is such a popular site, there are usually a lot of reviews to read through for each property. 

Booking.com also just started offering its own reward program. 

Everyone starts out at Genius Level 1 and can find 10% discounts on select accommodation deals. 

Genius Level 2 unlocks after you stay at five places within two years, and it gives you 15% off!

The best deals come when you unlock Genius Level 3. 

Once you’ve stayed at 15 places, you can start enjoying 20% off on properties and even start getting rewards for each stay. You can then use the rewards balance to book other properties.

Although I love Hotels.com, it’s hard to ignore how strong of a contender Booking.com is as one of the best hotel deal sites, especially with its loyalty program.

HotelTonight

HotelTonight is great for those travelers who like to save and also don’t enjoy booking accommodation far in advance. 

This company specializes in last-minute deals. If you’re more of an off-the-cuff traveler who likes to decide where you’ll be staying for the night only once you arrive, this is the perfect website and app.

It allows you to still save some money on accommodation when booking things last-minute, which can be hard to come by in the hotel industry.

Kayak is a large search engine for everything travel-related. This site is easy to use and has some great tools to compare prices to get the cheapest possible rental car or hotel.

One of the best features of Kayak is its ‘Pricebreaker’ option. 

Once you turn on this option, you can get up to 50% off top hotels, but you won’t know which one until after the booking is complete. 

It’s a bit of Russian Roulette, but if you’re flexible, you can get some great savings from it.

Hotwire is on this list of travel deals because of its exclusive deals for hotels that it gives to its customers. 

The way this system works is that hotels often have unsold rooms so they sell them at a super-discounted price. 

The only downside to this is that you don’t get to see the hotel name until after booking. However, you’re still able to see reviews, amenities, and the area where the hotel is.

Agoda is another great tool to use when looking for hotel deals. You can use it all over the world, but it’s especially great for properties located in Asia. 

Agoda also has a nice feature for recommending other hotel ideas if your travel dates are flexible. This is how to find the best deals.

Super (Formerly SnapTravel)

Super (what used to be SnapTravel) is more than a travel company these days. Not only can you save up to 50% on hotels, but they also have a shopping section.

Their shopping section is where you’ll find different deals on items you can purchase. These items include everything from apparel to furniture, health and beauty products, electronics, and beyond.

Super now also has its own credit card, which gives you up to 10% cash back when booking things on the website.

Best Websites for Tour and Travel Agency Deals

GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide is a great tour operator to use for finding guides with lots of reviews. It’s very popular in places like the United States and Europe. 

With thousands of reviews on popular activities, great photos, and an easy-to-use interface, GetYourGuide is one of the best tour booking sites. 

If you use the app or sign up with your email, you can enjoy up to 10% off on bookings. 

Although I’ve found the quality of their tours to be hit or miss sometimes (which is why the reviews are important to look at!), they offer a lot of dirt-cheap tours. 

I usually find their tours to be cheaper and to attract a younger clientele than their main competitor, Viator. 

Also, for Viator tours, I’m usually always with other Americans, whereas for GetYourGuide it’s usually a mix of Americans, Europeans, and Australians.

GetYourGuide is one of the best vacation booking sites for solo travelers to book tours on, since it helps you get out and easily meet people while doing a fun activity.

Costco Travel

Costco Travel is owned by one of my favorite stores for discounts and deals, Cosco Wholesale. 

Costco Travel finds some of the best travel deals around and only gives them to their members. 

When purchasing through Costco Travel, you know that the quality will be as top-notch as their stores because everything is hand-picked by their skilled travel buyers.

Costco members also receive an annual 2% reward on all Costco Travel purchases.

Viator is an extremely popular tour company owned by Tripadvisor. This means you know you’re getting a good product with many reviews to back it up. 

On their website, you can search for a place or activity to help find what you’re looking for, or you can scroll down to see their most popular tours. 

When you download the app, you can also get exclusive promo codes and deals. 

Viator has a wide range of cheap to more expensive tours and usually attracts an older, mostly American clientele. 

The quality of most of their tours is top-notch, and their depth of tour options for most destinations is unbeatable.

My Other Favorite Travel Deal Websites

Expedia is one of the largest travel companies in the world and one of the best vacation deal websites. 

The Expedia group owns the companies of Orbitz, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Travelocity, Trivago, VRBO, and more. 

Because of this, Expedia is an all-in-one travel agent that allows you to book discounted travel packages. 

On the website, you’re able to purchase many things related to travel, like cruises, flights, hotels, resorts, tours, and even car rentals. 

The search engine for rental car bookings is comparable to travel websites like Kayak. 

These bundles can save you a lot of money as well as being part of their rewards program.

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is one of the best-known and overall best websites for travel. 

There’s a reason store owners want that green logo on their front window. It means something. 

With thousands of reviews on activities and restaurants, you can simply book whole vacation packages here or find a cruise line.

No travel deal or vacation package is a good deal if the experience is bad. 

What makes Tripadvisor a great travel deal site is the millions of reviews on all things travel. You’ll know if an experience is likely to be worth the money when you’re using this site.

Travelocity

Travelocity is comparable to other sites like Expedia, but it won’t have as many cheap vacation packages as those other sites. 

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find good deals. It’s still one of the best vacation booking sites on the market these days. 

In fact, you can sometimes find better deals to save money than sites like Expedia because Travelocity isn’t connected with other large travel agencies and their vacation package deals. 

Plus, if you use their app, you can earn up to 15% off on certain vacation packages.

Daily Drop is one of the fastest-growing newsletters in the travel space. This daily newsletter is all about travel tips and hacks to find the best travel deals around the world. 

These deals range from hotels to flights to cruises and use various tactics, such as credit card points and hotel loyalty programs. 

This isn’t the place to find easy and quick last-minute deals; rather, it’s more where you can learn how to become a top-notch travel hacker to always save on future travel.

Homestay is a great way to meet locals and stay in their homes. This will still cost money, but a lot of times, it can be cheaper than staying in a hotel. 

Depending on the host, they might even make meals for you as well.

Workaway is one of the largest volunteer sites for travelers on the web. 

On the site, you can apply for different jobs, such as working on a farm, greeting guests at hostels, or bartending. In return, the host will let you stay at their place for free. 

They sometimes also include other amenities such as free tours and meals.

Trusted Housesitters

Trusted Housesitters is one of my favorite travel sites on the internet. If you’re a slow traveler or just want to take a week off, this is a great tool. 

Most homeowners on this site want you to watch their pets while on vacation. In return, you can stay at their house for free!

You can filter it to have certain pets, no pets, and even a free car to use! Trusted Housesitters is the best website I’ve found to help you travel for as long as possible for cheap.

Discover Cars

Discover Cars is one of the best websites for car rentals on the web today. 

This site looks at over 500+ rental car companies from around the world to help give you the best deal on rental cars. 

Simply type in your pick-up location and dates and they will show you all of the best options for a car rental to keep you saving money. 

If you’re looking for a rental car for your next trip, Discover Cars needs to be on your list.

Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is a very cool concept in which people from all around the world lend out their bed or couch to a stranger for free. 

This is a fantastic way to meet the locals and for those hosting, it’s a great way to meet foreigners. 

Couchsurfing has changed a lot over the years. It used to be 100% free but now costs around $15/year. 

This is still an extremely great deal considering how much money you can save on accommodation.

Rome2Rio 

Rome2Rio is one of the best travel sites you can add to your arsenal. Choose any two locations, and it will show you all the different options for how to get from point A to B. 

I used it a ton in South America for travel tips on how to find the cheapest ways to get around. 

For instance, when looking for the best routes from Quito to Baños in Ecuador, I clicked the bus option and instantly found the cheapest company to book a ticket from.

Tip : It’s often cheaper to book with the company directly than going through a third party.

Travel Zoo is another large search engine that helps you find the best deals from across the world.

A useful feature of this site is its “Last-Minute Deals” section. Here you can find the best travel deals, cruises, hotels, flights, and more!

Priceline is another one of the best sites to find travel deals this year. 

It was founded in 1997 and still has the same goal now as it did back then: to help you save money when trip planning. 

On the site, you’re able to search for hotels/flights and then bundle these together with other things like a rental car to save even more money. 

Priceline also has a VIP membership program that can save you up to 50% on hotels, 20% on car rentals, and a 10% coupon for express deals after every purchase. 

Another feature that many people might not be aware of is Priceline’s express deals. You can save up to 70% on hotels but you won’t know which one until after booking.

Orbitz hit the scene in 2001 to compete against the fast-growing companies of Expedia and Travelocity, and it’s one of the best travel package sites.

On the Orbitz site, you can search for any type of travel package you’re interested in as well as look at the day’s top deals. If you’re a member, then the prices get even better. 

As a member, you can get instant hotel savings of up to 10% once you sign up. 

They also have something called Orbucks, where you can get reimbursed up to $50 a day on travel expenses, making your vacation package even more affordable.

Cruisewatch

Cruisewatch is a website that you should definitely bookmark if you love going on cruises. 

This is one of the best websites to use to find great deals on cruises. 

You can sign up for Cruisewatch and then let them do all the work for you by sending you any price drops you might be interested in. 

Plus, if you book a cruise by destination, you can save up to 71%. 

Their search engine also allows you to find that perfect cruise, or it can find you many options to choose from if you don’t care about the dates or cruise line. 

Keep an eye on prices, as their price prediction has an 80% accuracy rate.

Bonus Travel Deal Sites

• Travel Pirates : This is a team of travel deal hunters that give you insane prices for flights, hotels, tours, and all-inclusive vacation packages. It helps if you’re flexible with your travel dates.
• Holidu : If you’re looking for vacation rental homes, this is one of the best websites on the market with up to 55% in savings.
• Airfare Watchdog : This is a great website for getting notifications for cheap airfare and its feature “the weekender” helps those looking for a quick getaway.
• Dayuse Hotels : If you’re a digital nomad looking to use a hotel room just for the day to get some work done, this is a great site to find cheaper options. It’s also ideal for anyone who wants a place to crash for the day after a long haul flight.
• Hotels By Day : This is another hourly hotel website that can help save you money, up to 70% off. 
• The Flight Deal : This is another tool to add to your list of travel websites. It’s essentially a blog that highlights hot deals on airfare, travel credit cards, and more. Check back every day for the latest in best travel deals right now.

FAQs About Travel Deal Sites

What is the best website to find vacation deals?

The overall best vacation websites to find travel package deals would be Kayak or Expedia . 

There are other sites that sometimes have better fares for airline tickets and hotels or have a better rewards program, but Kayak and Expedia do everything all in one place. 

These two best vacation deal sites are great for trip planning because you can do a price comparison before you book vacation packages.

Where is the best place to find last-minute deals?

The best place to find last-minute travel deals would have to be Hotwire . 

This is because their hotel deals are almost always going to be the best price you can find. 

Some people might not like waiting until the last minute, but it’s sometimes necessary to find the lowest prices.

What is the most used travel deal website?

The most used travel deal website is Booking.com . 

It currently ranks 1st, right above TripAdvisor. This is due to the fact that Booking.com normally has the most accommodation options out of any website.

How do I book the best travel deals?

When planning a trip, many people like booking their flight (especially international flights) for a specific date. The same goes for hotels. 

However, if you want the best travel deals, then you need to be flexible . 

Being flexible on hotel dates and flights is huge. Prices will rise and fall depending on when and where you go. 

Traveling in the low or even shoulder season is generally cheaper than going in the high season. And the experience can sometimes be even better with fewer crowds!

Another tip for getting the best travel deals is something called The Greek Island Trick . 

This is where you purchase the cheapest possible ticket to the continent of the country you’re going to. 

Once there, you can then find another cheap mode of transportation to your final location. 

This works especially well in Europe or Asia, where you can find ultra-cheap regional flights, buses, and trains. 

It doesn’t work quite so well in the US with how expensive our flights, trains, and overall transportation is here.  

This mode of travel usually takes more time, but the cost savings will be worth it for some.

Is it cheaper to book vacations through a travel agent?

In this day in age, you usually don’t get cheaper vacations when booking through a travel agent. 

It can be far more convenient to travel this way, but you’re paying extra money to have someone do the work for you.

Are travel deals worth it? Is it actually cheaper to book through these travel deal sites?

Travel deals are totally worth it if you’re looking to make your money last as long as possible and are capable of being a flexible traveler. 

The top websites we’ve mentioned above can save you money, and lots of it.  

The pros of good travel deal sites are simple. They can find you the best vacation packages for cheap and most likely will do the majority of the work for you.  

The cons of travel deal sites stem from them being 3rd party retailers. You may lose out on perks like free cancellation and free breakfast.

This means if something goes wrong with your booking, there’s a possibility you’ll have trouble getting it sorted out or your money back.

This is the subject of many of the negative reviews for these types of sites, so it’s important to always read the fine print and have good travel insurance.

How far ahead should you book a flight? What’s the Goldilocks window?

The Goldilocks window varies depending on whether you’re booking for peak or off-peak season. For domestic flights in peak season, you should book between three and seven months in advance. Off-peak, that range goes down to between one and three months. 

If you’re booking international flights in peak season, this timeframe should be increased to between four and ten months in advance. The best time for off-peak international travel booking is between two and eight months. 

The Goldilocks window refers to the timeframe above. If you buy flights too far in advance or wait until the last minute, then you run the risk of missing out on a cheap flight.

Do flight prices go down on Tuesdays?

In the early days of the internet, airlines would release new flights on Tuesday nights. 

They did this manually because the technology wasn’t as good as it is today. This is where the rumor started about Tuesdays being the best day to purchase plane tickets. 

Now, these same flight routes are updated constantly every day based on algorithms. 

My suggestion would be to frequently look at Google Flights in incognito mode, so you know you’re getting the best price.

Why are some websites cheaper for flights?

Some of the best sites are also partner sites with airlines. Other times these websites can buy up flights when they’re cheaper than they currently are to offer users a better deal. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phillip Anderson

Phillip Anderson is a freelance travel writer, personal trainer, and adventure enthusiast. With years of travel experience under his belt, Phillip is an expert in finding the best deals through travel apps and websites. He knows how to find cheap domestic and international flights, like a flight to Peru for as low as $350.

When looking for cheap accommodations, Phillip combines his knowledge of websites like Airbnb, Booking.com & Hostelworld with more unique sites like TrustedHousesitters, for even more savings. Whether it’s flights, accommodations, or local experiences, he teaches travelers to make informed decisions, ensuring their adventures are both memorable and economical.

Looking for more travel tips and recommendations? Check out these related articles below!

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Hi, I'm Mimi! I'm an outdoorsy Californian who has spent over 28 years immersed in the incredible natural beauty that California has to offer. My goal is to inspire others to get out and find their next adventure in California. Whether it’s escaping to an alpine lake in the Sierras, finding peace among the giant redwoods, or road tripping down the PCH, there’s always more to explore in this beautiful state.

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The 8 Best Travel Package Sites for Booking a Cheap Vacation

Sarah Schlichter

Deputy Executive Editor Sarah Schlichter's idea of a perfect trip includes spotting exotic animals, hiking through pristine landscapes, exploring new neighborhoods on foot, and soaking up as much art as she can. She often attempts to recreate recipes from her international travels after she gets home (which has twice resulted in accidental kitchen fires—no humans or animals were harmed).

Sarah joined the SmarterTravel team in 2017 after more than a decade at the helm of IndependentTraveler.com. Sarah's practical travel advice has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Budget Travel, and Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio. Follow her on Twitter @TravelEditor .

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A journal. Even years later, reading my notes from a trip can bring back incredibly vivid memories."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Road tripping and hiking through the rugged mountains of Patagonia."

Travel Motto: "'To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.'—Freya Stark"

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle. I get restless on long flights and like to be able to move around without disturbing anyone else."

Email Sarah at [email protected] .

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Booking a flight, hotel, and rental car together doesn’t just save you time—it can often save you money, too. But before you make such a significant purchase, it’s important to find the best travel package sites for booking your vacation.

I tested more than a dozen vacation package sites to see which ones had the lowest prices and best user experience. I discovered that many of the best vacation package websites allow you to book any combination of flight, hotel, and rental car, while others are more limited (flight + hotel is often the default). Fortunately, some sites will let you add a car onto a hotel+flight package, even if a car isn’t listed on the initial booking page.

It’s also important to compare the price of a vacation booked as a bundle to that same trip booked a la carte as separate components. Booking a package isn’t always cheaper, and sometimes you’ll get  better flight options to choose from if you search for your airfare separately. In some searches, I discovered that the flight options included by default with my vacation package had ridiculously long layovers or undesirable departure times (4:30 a.m., anyone?).

The Best Car Rental Booking Sites

Keep a sharp eye out for resort fees; many of the best vacation booking sites don’t count them in their initial per-person price estimate because they’re collected separately by the hotel, but they can drive up the final cost of your trip. Similarly, optional airline baggage fees can also increase your total bill, especially if you book a flight in basic economy, and some vacation package sites don’t disclose these fees as clearly as others.

Finally, it’s important to know that many of the best sites for vacation packages are owned by the same parent company, so you’ll often find similar inventory and prices from one to the next. Knowing which sites are mostly interchangeable can save you some research time.

The Best Travel Package Sites

We put them to the test to compare prices, inclusions, and more. The following are the best websites to book vacations, listed in no particular order. Scroll down for more in-depth analysis of each one.

• Expedia’s sister sites: Travelocity , Orbitz , and CheapTickets

CheapCaribbean.com

Funjet vacations.

This well-known site is one of the best travel package sites for a reason. Expedia offers a full complement of bundle options (flight/hotel, flight/car, hotel/car, and flight/hotel/car) as well as trips to just about every corner of the globe. It’s reliable when it comes to pricing, too: Expedia offered the lowest price in two of my five tests, and was cheaper than average in all but one test booking.

That said, the amount the site said I was saving on a given package didn’t always match up to the actual price difference when I added up the cost of the trip’s individual elements. In one of my test cases, it was actually cheaper to book my flight, hotel, and car separately. So take those supposed savings with a grain of salt (or even better, price out the components separately on your own to be sure you’re getting the best deal).

Expedia has plenty of useful filters to help you find what you need. You can sort hotels by price, distance from a city’s downtown, guest rating, package discount, and property class, while flight options can be filtered by general departure and arrival times (for example, morning vs. evening), airline, whether carry-on bags are included, and more. You can also sort flight options by duration (longest or shortest), price (highest or lowest), departure time (earliest or latest), and arrival time (earliest or latest). There’s also a map view so you can check out the location of each hotel.

Best Feature: The breadth of choice and consistency of pricing make Expedia perhaps the best site for vacation packages. You may not always get the absolute lowest price here, but chances are you’ll pay a fair rate and have plenty of options to choose from.

Check out Expedia

How Far in Advance Should You Book a Vacation Home?

Expedia’s Sister Sites: Travelocity, Orbitz, and CheapTickets

Many travelers don’t realize that Travelocity , Orbitz , and CheapTickets are all owned by Expedia Group, and typically have very similar inventory and pricing to Expedia. Each of these sites has similar layouts and filter options, too. Like Expedia, these three sites offer every possible vacation package combination involving a flight, hotel, and/or rental car.

It was rare for any of these sites to beat out Expedia’s prices in my tests; in general, the rates were identical (especially on Travelocity, where I didn’t find any deviations from Expedia) or a little bit higher. However, Orbitz and CheapTickets did offer slightly cheaper packages on one flight/car itinerary.

Because the pricing is so similar, it’s probably not worth searching all three of these sites in addition to Expedia unless a difference of a few dollars will make or break your travel budget.

Best Feature: Travelocity, Orbitz, and CheapTickets offer a checkbox on their main booking page to specify “I only need accommodations for part of my trip”—a feature that allows user to select a subset of their trip dates and search for travel packages only within that period. This feature is also reflected on Expedia’s search page.

Note: Expedia Group also owns Hotwire , which I didn’t find quite as reliable as the other three in my tests. For one itinerary, a nonstop flight that the other sites offered was not available when booking a Hotwire package (though it was available when booking a separate flight on Hotwire), and the pricing on some searches was a little higher than on the other sites.

Check out Expedia’s sister sites below:

Like Expedia and its partners, Priceline also offers every possible combination of flight, hotel, and rental car. Its search results pages are easy to navigate, with plenty of filter and sort options, plus a map view for hotels. Priceline offers numerous hotel options in popular vacation destinations at every price point.

One quirk to prepare for: Priceline’s flight result page lists departure and return flights together as a pair rather than letting you choose each one separately. This cuts down on the number of screens you have to click through but could mean extra scrolling while you try to find the exact two flights you want. Not all flights that are available when booking airfare separately on Priceline seem to be accessible to those booking a package—so it’s worth checking both.

Priceline was in the middle of the pack as far as pricing was concerned. It won one of my tests but was the most expensive option in two others; overall, it offered cheaper-than-average prices 60 percent of the time. To help you save money, the site offers “Express Deals” for rental cars, an opaque option in which you don’t know which rental car brand you’ll get until after you’ve booked. If you’d rather choose which company you’re renting from, standard car rentals are also available.

Best feature: Once you’ve selected your flight and rental car preferences, the site will keep them the same as you click through alternate hotel possibilities—saving you the hassle of having to select them over and over again.

Check out Priceline

What Happens If You Don’t Turn Your Phone to Airplane Mode?

As its name suggests, CheapCaribbean.com has a more limited scope than other sites on this list, but it’s worth checking if you’re planning a trip to the Caribbean, where package trips such as honeymoons are particularly popular. The site turned up cheaper-than-average prices for both of my Caribbean tests.

CheapCaribbean.com is one of the best vacation websites for all-inclusive packages. Once you’ve entered your trip information, you can also filter your results by “adults only,” “children’s amenities,” and “luxury.” Each hotel-specific page includes a list of active promotions, on-site activities, and the property’s Tripadvisor Traveler Rating.

In some ways CheapCaribbean.com isn’t quite as sophisticated as other travel package sites. There’s no map available to compare locations of the listed hotel options. Also annoying: not being able to group Houston’s two airports into a single search, though you can select “all airports” for New York City and Washington, D.C. But the affordable deals are worth a few snags, as long as you’re only looking for a flight/hotel package—there’s no option to add a car or create any other package combinations, though you can add travel insurance and transfers, at least for the destinations I checked.

Best Feature: The “ Deals of Fortune ,” or bookings where you know the destination but not the exact resort until about a week before the trip. This is a fun feature for value-conscious travelers who aren’t set on a particular island or property.

Check out Cheapcaribbean.com

A popular meta-search site, Kayak saves travelers time by searching many of the best travel package sites with a single click. Unfortunately, you can’t specify which elements of your trip you’d like to bundle; it searches flight + hotel by default. You can add a car later on some of its partner sites, but if you’re looking for a flight/car package, you’ll have to go elsewhere.

Results list the cheapest available packages from sites such as Priceline (Kayak’s sister company), Expedia, and CheapCaribbean.com. There’s a map view available, and the results page shows both air- and hotel-related filters to make it easy to find nonstop flights, free breakfast, or a specific hotel.

I found that the prices listed on Kayak didn’t always match the price on the source site when I clicked over to find the deal—a fairly common problem with meta-search sites. But I also occasionally discovered that I got a different price after clicking from Kayak than I did when searching the same itinerary from the booking site’s home page. For example, a Las Vegas package was $819 per person on Priceline when I clicked over from Kayak, but just $783 when I booked the same package from the Priceline home page. Another test offered the opposite result, with the price being cheaper after clicking from Kayak than it was when booking directly on Priceline. The lesson: Test both options when using a meta-search site.

Best Feature: Being able to search some of the best vacation booking sites in a single place is a major time saver. Though Kayak doesn’t always find you the lowest possible price, it’s a good place to start your search and get an idea of what’s out there.

Check out Kayak

The Essential Caribbean Packing List

The Funjet home page gives you a single package option: flight/hotel. However, you can work around this by adding a rental car on at the end of a flight/hotel or individual flight booking. There are plenty of sort options for your results, including price, hotel name, rating, points of interest, and location.

One annoyance: Similarly to CheapCarribbean.com, there is no option to select “all airports” for certain cities like Houston or Chicago. And Funjet’s prices aren’t the most consistent, ranking as the cheapest in one test and the most expensive in another. Still, the site is worth comparing to others when booking your vacation.

Best Feature: Rather than making you scour the web for coupons, Funjet automatically applies any relevant promo codes to your search.

Note: If you’re headed to the Caribbean, Central or South America, Hawaii, or Mexico, try your search on Funjet’s sister site, Apple Vacations . The destinations it covers are more limited than Funjet’s, but I found that the prices were often a little better. CheapCaribbean.com is also owned by the same parent company, Apple Leisure Group.

Check out Funjet

Book Your Stay With SmarterTravel Hotels

If you’re ready to book your next adventure but don’t want to commit to a prepackaged bundle, you can still save big by booking your hotel stay with SmarterTravel Hotels.

All of the products featured in this story were hand-selected by our travel editors. Some of the links featured in this story are affiliate links, and SmarterTravel may collect a commission (at no cost to you) if you shop through them. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow Sarah Schlichter on Twitter @TravelEditor for more travel tips and inspiration.

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We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.

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How To Plan a Trip: Clark’s Best Travel Tips To Save Money

Most of us have to book travel at some point or another, whether it’s for work, to visit family and friends or just to get away from it all on vacation.

Money expert Clark Howard , a former travel agent himself, has spent decades perfecting the art of planning and booking trips. In this article, we’ll share his secrets and show you how to use all of the available tools to make travel plans that suit your needs at the lowest possible price.

Booking Travel the Clark Howard Wa y

How to plan a trip, how to book flights, how to find a hotel or other lodging.

• How To Reserve a Rental Car

How To Book Bus or Rail Tickets

• How To Select a Cruise

When To Buy Travel Insurance

• Travel the Clark Howard Way

The very first thing you need to do is to make a plan. It can be as simple or as involved as you want it to be. Some people love to fly by the seat of their pants and do minimal planning, while others like to have every minute of an itinerary accounted for before they leave the house.

No matter which type of traveler you are, there are some basic steps you’ll need to take if you want to travel on a budget:

• Select your destination: In some cases, your destination will be selected for you, and there will be no decision to make. Other times, you might have some days off from work and decide you want to scratch a place off your bucket list. Or, if you’re like Clark, you might just wait for a deal to come along and let the destination pick you .
• Figure out your trip length: If you have only a few days off, this might already be decided for you. But if you have some flexibility in your schedule, being fluid with the number of days in your trip could be the key to saving money on travel expenses. And your destination can play into this part of the decision-making. For example, you might be able to do everything you want to do in a smaller city in a day or two, but taking in everything important to you in New York City might take a week or more.
• Research your destination: If you’re going somewhere for the first time, you’ll want to get the lay of the land. Figuring out what you want to accomplish on your trip can help you decide exactly where you want to stay and how you intend to get around. The research process can also help you start figuring out approximate costs of things (lodging, transportation, attractions and meals) so that you can make sure you stay within your budget.
• Know the rules: Policies and procedures can change frequently and quickly. It’s crucial to ensure you have all documents (like a driver’s license, passport and any other required information) before leaving home. Lori Silverman from Team Clark’s Consumer Action Center recommends checking Travel.State.Gov for the latest information on your destination. And also remember to check the latest health-related regulations for your destination at the CDC website .

Once you’ve got the planning part down, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to get to where you’re going. If your destination isn’t within easy driving distance or you simply don’t want to drive, an airline flight is probably going to be your best option.

Booking flights has come a long way since the days when you had to call a travel agent or the airline itself to buy tickets. Now, there are literally thousands of places to turn to book a flight. So how do you find the best price?

Conventional wisdom has held for a while that there is a “perfect” day of the week to book air travel. With the advent of dynamic pricing , that has changed. According to Team Clark’s travel expert, Clara Bosonetto, “Technology has marched on from the days of manually loading new prices. Airfares are now updated constantly and automatically using complex algorithms.”

But it’s still important to have a strategy. Flexibility is the key to landing a great deal. When you have firm travel plans, start gathering airline quotes several weeks in advance , but resist making a purchase until you’ve learned the fare patterns to your destination or until an excellent deal comes along.

We’ve found that the most robust flight search engine is Google Flights .

“Google Flights should be the first website to visit to search domestic and international airfares before you jump over to a specific airline to book a flight,” according to travel expert Clara Bosonetto. “With its many filters, it’s the best site to use when you must fly on a specific airline, must have a nonstop flight, you have a multiple city trip (flying into one city and out of another) or you want to book one-way travel.”

When you search your itinerary, Google Flights will show you options for your selected dates and let you know if the prices are higher, lower or about average for your route. The site also lets you explore fares on alternate dates with its calendar and price graph features.

Once you’ve selected a flight, the site will show you the total cost of your ticket and what’s included with that fare. You’ll also see options for upgraded tickets (if available) and what paying more will get you. If checked bags are not included in your fare, the site will let you know what that will cost you.

When you’re ready to book, Google Flights will send you directly to the airline’s website to complete your transaction.

The site will also let you track prices, which can potentially help you save big on airfare. When you toggle the “Track Prices” button (you must be signed in to your Google account), Google will send you alerts if the price on your selected route changes. It is important to note that fares on Southwest Airlines do not appear on Google Flights.

See our full guide to using Google Flights here.

When it comes to planning where you stay during your trip, there are a lot of options. The increasing popularity of Airbnb and other private accommodation booking services means more choices for travelers.

Still, some people prefer to stay in a hotel when they travel, and Clark has a three-step process for booking a great hotel room on a budget.

1. Book a Refundable Room

“If I’m flying somewhere — you usually book your airfare pretty well in advance — I also book a hotel room at the same time,” Clark says. “I book the best deal I can find for where I’m going but always a refundable room.”

Doing this leaves you the option to cancel the room if you find a better deal in the days leading up to your trip.

2. Search for Better Deals Before Your Trip

That’s where the next step comes in: really doing the research to find the best deal.

“I already know I have a room if I need it,” Clark says. “But I want a deal! So what I do is heavily concentrate on Hotwire and Priceline , two sources where you don’t know where you’re staying until you book nonrefundable.”

Clark understands that some people might be uncomfortable not knowing the name of their hotel before they book. That’s why we published our guide to finding out which Hotwire or Priceline hotel you’re getting before you book .

As for when you’re likely to find the best deals on those sites, Clark has a strategy: “I’ll check throughout the time period leading up to my travel, but I especially concentrate one week out and less,” he says. “A lot of times, the best deals are the last few days before you travel.”

Clark also checks other hotel booking sources to compare prices to what he finds on Priceline and Hotwire, including:

• Trivago : a handy hotel comparison site for travelers
• Hotels.com : site that offers a price guarantee and often offers discount codes for room bookings
• Roomer : a hotel site that lets you buy beds from motivated sellers who bought nonrefundable rooms

3. Cancel the Original Booking

The last thing you need to do, assuming you’ve found a better deal, is to cancel your original refundable booking.

“Occasionally that room you booked when you booked your airline deal will be the best hotel deal you’ll find,” Clark says. “But if you do it my way, most of the time you’re going to save big bucks.”

See Clark talk about his three-step hotel booking process in the video below.

If you’re looking for a more unique travel experience, Airbnb , VRB O or the vacation rentals offered through major travel sites such as Tripadvisor or Expedia , might be the way to go. This also applies if you need a larger space, prefer to have your own cooking facilities or if you plan to stay for more than a couple of nights in a destination.

You’ll sometimes get a much better deal by renting a home or condo from a private owner. But take care to know the all-in price before you hit that “Reserve Now” button. In a recent podcast , Clark pointed out that more and more vacation rentals are tacking on fees that end up making the total much higher than you’d expect when you look at the nightly rate.

See our guide for how to book the best — and safest — Airbnbs here.

How To Book a Rental Car

So, you’ve taken care of your flight and lodging plans, but you might need some way to get around on your trip. Some destinations are totally walkable. Others have great public transportation. But if you need a car, there is a strategy to booking a cheap rental.

Here are Team Clark’s six steps to getting a great deal on a rental car.

1. Figure Out What Kind of Vehicle You Need

Whether you get a sedan, SUV or van, you need to make sure the vehicle you rent makes sense for you. Important questions to ask yourself include:

• How many people will be traveling?
• How much, if any, luggage will I need to stow?
• Do I need more than two doors to accommodate car seats or special needs?
• Will I need a vehicle that can handle rough terrain?
• Do I care if the vehicle is a basic model, or do I want something more luxurious?

2. Start Your Research With AutoSlash

The first part of your search for a rental car is a secret to a lot of people, but one that Team Clark has found can save you a lot of money: a site called AutoSlash .

One of the great things about AutoSlash is that the site will monitor the vehicle you select and email you if the price on the rental drops between the time you book and the time you pick it up, allowing you to re-book at the lower price. Read our full review of saving money on rental car bookings with AutoSlash here.

3. Check the Other Aggregator Sites

Once you’ve established the lowest price you can get on your desired vehicle through AutoSlash, it’s time to compare prices on the other sites that aggregate rental car rates. Some of the most popular and trustworthy are:

• Travelocity

4. See if You Can Get a Better Deal Directly From the Rental Car Company

Once you’ve established the best deal available between AutoSlash and the major travel booking sites, head directly to the rental agency to see if it can match or beat the price you’ve already found, either on the agency’s website or by calling on the phone.

5. Book the Best Deal

Generally, with car rentals, you’re just reserving the car and not paying upfront. That means you won’t even have to give up a credit card number to lock in your reservation. It also means that, unlike most airline tickets and hotel reservations, you won’t be penalized if you need to cancel or change your reservation later.

6. Check Back a Week Before Your Trip To See if Prices Have Dropped

Finally, since you’re not locked into your reservation with a credit card, you have one more trick up your sleeve, and it’s one of Clark’s favorite travel tips.

“When I book my flight weeks or months before the actual date of travel, I also book my car rental at the same time,”  he says. “Then a week before my travel date, I re-shop the car rental rate. At least 90% of the time, I find that I can book a new car cheaper at the last minute, so I just let my old reservation go.”

READ MORE: 6 Steps To Getting the Best Car Rental Deal

Whether you don’t like flying or you want to enjoy the landscape, you might decide to travel by bus or train. If that’s your plan, here’s how to find the best deals.

Bus Tickets

There are a number of internet resources for booking bus tickets. Go online to the following bus travel sites:

• Wanderu : This transit website and app specialize in affordable bus and train fares (but also offers flights and hotels) in North America and Europe.
• Gotobus.com : This lists ticket prices for bus rides, bus rentals and hotels. The Deals  tab has some of the most affordable bus tickets around.
• CheckMyBus : CheckMyBus is a travel portal that claims it can save you up to 70% on average and offers the most bus routes worldwide.
• Busbud : Busbud is well-regarded for its comprehensive search results and mobile app. The site, which shows routes in more than 63 countries, also has user-submitted travel reviews for every route. If you search online, you may even be able to find a discount code, which could save you up to 20% on selected travel routes.

Read more about how to find cheap bus fares here.

Train Tickets

When it comes to domestic train travel, Amtrak is pretty much your only interstate choice. The rail carrier covers more than 21,000 miles across 46 states.

If you want to purchase train tickets at the lowest possible price, keep these things in mind:

• Look for discount Saver and SmartFares: Saver Fares are usually web-only specials that require the advance purchase of tickets. SmartFares are weekly discounts that are typically used to fill up trains. The tickets are nonrefundable and subject to availability.
• Seek out discounts: Amtrak offers 50% discounts for children , 10% for seniors , 10% for military personnel and their families and 10% for disabled adults and their companions.
• Check out Amtrak’s Deals page: Amtrak’s Deals page often features buy-one-get-one-free specials and special prices on select routes.
• Sign up for the rewards program: Join Amtrak’s Guest Rewards program , and not only will you get deals sent straight to your inbox, but you earn two points per dollar spent on Amtrak. You can redeem those points for upgrades and free travel.
• Look for special offers at RailServe.com : It has an Amtrak coupons section .

Read more about how to save on domestic train tickets here.

For booking international rail travel, it’s hard to beat UK-based International Rail . Bookings can be made for 66,000 point-to-point routes in Europe, including on Eurostar, French TGV, German ICE, InterCity, EuroCity and Spanish high-speed trains. Rail bookings for other regions include Australia, New Zealand, Asia and South Africa.

How To Book a Cruise

During an episode of his podcast early this year , Clark warned about booking a cruise in 2022 because of still-changing conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. He cited the fact that, depending on COVID restrictions, some ports on your cruise might not allow passengers to disembark. He also pointed out that COVID protocols on some ships can make for a less than optimal cruising experience.

As the pandemic waxes and wanes, so does the availability of cruises and deals. “Now you have to do a lot more picking and choosing,” Clark says, adding that before you can find a good cruise deal, you need to make a couple of adjustments regarding your mindset and travel plans.

“You have to adjust to today’s reality and adjust  how you book  with the flexibility of the ship you go on, and particularly  when you sail to get the best deal,” he says.

It is important to check on current guidelines from the CDC and the policies of individual cruise lines before you book.

Keeping in mind all those caveats, Clark has three primary rules to follow when it comes to booking cruises.

1. Let the Calendar Save You Money

“There are certain cycles through the year when cruise lines have trouble filling all their cabins, and that’s when you steal the great deals,” he says.

So when is typically the best time to book?

“After Thanksgiving but before Christmas kicks off is a bargain time for any kind of travel — and cruises are right in the midst of that,” he says.

Comparison shopping will give you a better understanding of what prices should look like at certain times of the year.

One of Team Clark’s favorite sites for finding last-minute cruise deals is  VacationstoGo.com . (Note: We do not recommend that you book on this site , but it’s a good place to do research.) If you want to compare prices from multiple travel agencies, CruiseCompete.com can also be a good source.

2. Don’t Let Cruise Brand Loyalty Cost You More

Some people are really loyal to cruise line brands, but that can absolutely kill your budget.

Clark’s advice is when planning your trip, venture away from what you know and explore other companies and what they’re about: “Look at things like experimenting with cruise lines you’re not that familiar with.”

Clark does offer this one caution though: “Never book a deal on a cruise just because it’s a deal. You need to really be comfortable that that ship is going to fit your lifestyle, the things that you’re interested in.”

The price won’t matter much if you find yourself on a cruise ship that doesn’t mesh with your expectations. Do the research.

3. Read the Reviews

You should try to get a balanced view of the cruise lines and particular ships you’re interested in, so it’s best to read some reviews.

Clark recommends a site where you can take a deep dive into cruise ship specs as well as deals and booking tips.

“I’d love for you to spend time on CruiseCritic.com , reading about a ship before you book on that ship,” he says. “Additionally, you can look closely at the various individual cabins to make sure you don’t get in a cabin that’s going to be a problem because it’s in a noisy area of the ship, for example.”

Another really helpful tip is to ask family, friends and coworkers if they have any recommendations. And travel agents who specialize in cruises sometimes have the inside scoop on particular ships and itineraries.

Now more than ever, it is important to consider purchasing travel insurance because of the still-changing travel conditions related to COVID-19. There are many different types of travel policies available, but there are two types we recommend that will likely cover most of your needs.

The best policy is one that allows you to cancel for any reason. It happens to be called Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance, and Clark says it’s great because it can you get at least most of your money back no matter why you decide not to make the trip.

Even before the pandemic, Clark recommended getting CFAR insurance for these four types of travel:

• Embarking on a cruise
• Booking a tour as part of your trip
• Traveling on an itinerary that requires prepayment of thousands of dollars
• Purchasing a trip that is non-refundable

“If you book a tour or you book a cruise — those two in particular — if you’re going to lose all your money regardless of why you can’t come, then you need to get insurance,” Clark says.

Clark recommends that you comparison shop for travel insurance that suits your needs at InsureMyTrip . It’s an aggregator site that helps you analyze all of the different choices available.

In addition to a CFAR policy, you may also want to consider travel medical insurance.

“The thing with international travel, which almost nobody knows until it’s a big problem, is that your health insurance usually doesn’t cover you outside the United States,” says Clark.

Read our full article on travel medical insurance here .

Travel the Clark Howard Way: Let the Destination Pick You

Over the years, Clark has used a trip-planning strategy that has allowed him to visit 49 states and almost every corner of the globe without spending a lot of money. His secret is surprisingly simple.

“My #1 rule of travel is buy the deal first and then figure out why you want to go there. By following that simple rule, I’ve been able to visit every continent except Antarctica and every state except North Dakota. And I’ve done it all on a dime.”

In order to accomplish this, Clark does three things that you can do, too.

1. Don’t Pick a Destination

How do you figure out where the deals are? Kayak Explore is a tool that lets you find great airfare deals that fit your budget.

You simply select how much you’re willing to pay and available destinations in your price range pop up on a world map. You can drill down further by season and month of travel.

2. Sign Up for Cheap Flight Services

Another way to approach the question of how to travel on the cheap is to sign up for any of a variety of cheap flight services. Clark likes and subscribes to all three of these to get the early word about the best airfare sales:

• Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights )
• Dollar Flight Club

Going and Dollar Flight Club both operate on a freemium model. You can use a basic version of their services for free, but you have to pay to upgrade in order to access a more robust version of the service. Clark says the upgrade is worth it if you really love to travel.

3. Set Up Fare Alerts

Not everybody can be flexible and let the deal drive their travel plans all the time. If you have a place you know you need to go — maybe a wedding or a family reunion — your best bet is to set up fare alerts.

Fare alerts will let you know when the price on a particular route drops and by how much. This kind of pricing perspective can save you a lot of money.

“They’ll be able to give you historical averages, telling you this fare is lower than normal by X number of dollars,” Clark says.

Try setting up fare alerts on both Google Flights and Kayak to ensure you find the best deal.

Read more about how Clark Howard books travel here.

Final Thoughts

Now that you have Clark’s advice for planning and booking a trip on a budget, you should be ready to pack your bags.

We know the process can be intimidating, especially when you’re going somewhere you’ve never been before. In fact, there are times when we recommend you consult a travel agent for help .

But for the majority of cases, if you follow the steps outlined above, you’ll be on your way to your next adventure without breaking the bank.

All set to go? Find your next vacation destination at a great price over on Clark Deals!

• 14-night Iceland & British Isles cruise from $1,499
• 7-night Italy escape with air & train from $1,389
• 10-night Alaska cruise from $629
• 6-night Azores & Lisbon escape with flights from $1,489

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Tips on booking cheap flights.

Looking for the best time to buy airline tickets to get a cheap flight to everywhere? We’ve got you covered anytime, anywhere. Here’s how to find the best deal for flight booking no matter where you want to go in the world.

Which day of the week is the best day to buy cheap airline tickets?

For both U.S. domestic and international travel, Sundays can be cheaper for airline ticket purchases. Fridays tend to be the most expensive day to book a flight. Booking on the right day of the week could save you up to 6% on your airfare, according to historical data*.

When is the best time to buy airline tickets?

Based on 2020 And 2021 global flight data for Economy tickets, prices usually start to increase 56 days before departure for domestic flights. When traveling internationally, prices usually start to increase 21 days before departure*. Keep in mind that this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule; keeping an eye on prices is a good idea when trying to find the best airfare deals. Compare fares across different airlines, and set up a price alert for your preferred route.

Which are the cheapest days to fly?

Analysis of domestic and international airfare prices shows that flying out on Fridays can be cheaper. Many travelers start their trips on Sundays, so your chances of a lower price are better when departing early in the week instead. Starting your trip on a Friday could be almost 11% cheaper than air travel on Sundays, so book flights online wisely*!

Which is the cheapest month to fly?

The cheapest month to fly can vary depending on where you’re going, so finding the best rates largely comes down to avoiding peak travel times for your destination. If you’re looking for cheap international flights , the most expensive month tends to be February, while the cheapest is November with cheap flights in November offering potential savings of up to 34.6% relative to February. Cheap domestic flights work a bit differently, with March being the most expensive and August being the least expensive with cheap flights in August offering savings of up to 35%*.

How can I find the cheapest flights on Expedia?

Compare cheap airline ticket prices at a glance from a large inventory of carriers on Expedia. You can get cheap flights by staying flexible with travel dates, carriers, and nonstop/layover flights to get the best price. Insider tip: Become a member (it’s free!) to earn rewards back on every booking. We make your travel stress-free and source incredible airfare deals so you can sit back, relax, and start your vacation or business trip.

How can I save money on flights?

Mixing and matching airline tickets and fare types could help save money on airfare to your destination. Easily compare prices for carriers, arrival and departure dates, airplane cabin class, and more when you book with Expedia. Booking your plane ticket on a Sunday, and departing on Friday, could possibly save you money* based on historical data. You can also filter for flights based on your budget, such as looking for cheap flights under $200 specifically.

How can I get cheap last-minute flight deals?

The historical data analysis of flight pricing patterns shows that you can still find amazing airfare deals 3 weeks prior to departure* when traveling domestically. International last-minute flights offer great deals 2 weeks prior to departure if you’re flying premium, but economy travelers may want to strive for no less than 4 weeks out*. Try to stay flexible with travel dates, airports, and nonstop/layover flights to find the cheapest flights on Expedia. Whether you’re planning a quick business trip or a spontaneous holiday with friends, you’ll have your choice of last-minute flights, roundtrip, or multicity flights on Expedia. You’ll find everything you need for your travels all in one place — and all at the right price.

How do I book with Expedia?

Booking your flight with Expedia is easy, as all you have to do is implement your travel dates, departure destination, like flights from Atlanta or flights from Hartsfield-Jackson , and arrival destination into the search. Then, all the available flights for those dates and destinations will appear. You can use search filters to narrow down the results as well based on a variety of factors like the airline, number of stops, departure time, and policies like seat choice and refundable bookings. Additionally, travelers may alter their search for round-trip flights, one-way flights, and multicity flights.

What should I look out for when booking flights?

Several factors go into any flight booking, and you’ll need to keep an eye out for them all to ensure that you get the travel time, luggage policy, airline, and class you want. Consider which airport is closest to your ultimate destination (travelers to Los Angeles may prefer flights to LAX over flights to PSP , and make sure that the flight will accommodate all the luggage you plan on bringing. Additionally, consider the different flight classes including economy flights for functionality and premium flights if you want to enjoy a more relaxing experience.

Where’s the cheapest place to travel?

The cheapest place to travel can be in the same country, like Chicago. Flights to Chicago are fairly affordable no matter where you’re coming from in the continental United States. Flights to Las Vegas tend to be pretty affordable as well. While the Vegas airport isn’t a hub for any major airline, it does have plenty of competition to keep prices relatively low.

Where can I fly for cheap?

Staying within a strict budget still allows you to find plenty of cheap flights, even to destinations like Puerto Rico. In fact, flights to Puerto Rico don’t even require U.S. citizens to have a passport. Flights to Alberta and other destinations in Canada can be fairly affordable as well.

Is it cheaper to buy flights last minute?

Flight tickets can be cheaper at the last minute depending on how late you’re actually booking, where you’re going, and the kind of flight you opt for. For domestic flights with Economy tickets, prices usually start to increase 3 weeks before departure, and 4 weeks for international flights, according to historical data*.

Are fully refundable flights available?

Yes, several fully refundable flights are available and will be labeled as such right on your search results page in green text. You may also filter for fully refundable flights specifically to eliminate all flights from your results that don’t qualify. Just make sure to check the specific policy for each flight before booking.

Why should I book my flight with Expedia?

Booking with Expedia makes finding a flight easy, but that’s just the beginning of everything you can take advantage of. We also offer hotels, car rentals, and even activities that you can purchase with package deals available for travelers planning more than one aspect of their trip at a time. Plus, Expedia offers stunning cheap flight deals that can help you save with ease. As a One Key member, you will earn OneKeyCashTM for every eligible booking that you can use to save on future bookings. Plus, OneKeyCash can be earned on top of airline miles.

*Data specialists from both ARC and Expedia Group analyzed ARC’s global flight data to distil actionable information to help people save money on travel. While it’s impossible to guarantee when to find the lowest prices, after examining the variables, we were able to observe trends. Best day of the week to book and best day of the week to depart is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through August for 2021, sourced from ARC’s global airline sales database. Best month to depart recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through December for 2020, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database. Best time to book recommendation is based on average round-trip ticket prices for January through August for 2021 & average round-trip ticket prices for January through December for 2020, sourced from ARC's global airline sales database. OneKeyCash is not redeemable for cash and can only be used on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.

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How To Pack A Suitcase, According To A Seasoned Traveler

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Learning how to pack a suitcase can make future trips seamless and stress-free. With plenty of helpful packing methods out there, it’s easy to maximize the limited space of your suitcase so that you can bring as much as possible, depending on your itinerary. The best way to pack a suitcase depends on the length of your trip and other factors, such as the season you’re traveling in and your travel style.

For cruises or a one-hotel trip where you won’t be changing accommodations often, you will only need to think about packing and repacking once. However, if you plan on changing hotels and cities often, you will be packing, unpacking and lugging your suitcase around throughout your trip, meaning you’ll need to have a plan in place. No matter your itinerary, we’ve outlined the best strategies to help you pack more strategically, as well as some essential items to make packing as easy as possible.

Best Mattress Sales: Save Up To 50% On An Editor-Approved Bed

The best travel cribs, no matter where your family is headed, what you will need to pack a suitcase:.

• Best Suitcase: Away The Bigger Carry-On
• Best Packing Cubes: Bagsmart Keep Shape Packing Cubes , Eagle Creek Pack-It Tube , JJ Power Travel Shoe Bag
• Best Toiletry Kit: Travelon Compact Hanging Toiletry Kit
• Best Tech Kit: ProCase Electronic Organizer
• Best Cosmetics Bag: Eachy Cosmetic Bag
• Best Jewelry Case: Bagsmart Travel Jewelry Organizer Case

Step 1: Consider The Type of Travel

Before you even open your suitcase, you should think about the kind of trip you’re going on and how much space essential items will take up. If you’re packing for a ski trip , you will need to bring heavier, snow-proof gear—but you can re-wear most of it. On a beach trip, your summer outfits will take up less space, but you will need more of them as you lather on sunscreen and deal with sand and sweat.

Whether you’re flying domestically or internationally also plays a role in how you pack. On a domestic trip, familiar products are easier to find and you don’t need to worry about packing adaptors to charge your electronics. When you’re flying internationally, there may be some necessities that will be difficult or impossible to find abroad.

Step 2: Decide On The Number of Items

After you’ve considered the essentials for the style of your trip, think about how long your trip will be. Short trips can be the easiest to pack for because you can get away with squeezing in a little bit more than you need, while longer trips of two weeks or more are not so bad if you count on doing laundry somewhere along the way. I’ve found that I’m more likely to overpack on a week-long trip when I don’t think I will have a chance to do laundry and want to be prepared for a few different weather scenarios.

Start with this basic breakdown of how many of each item you should aim to pack depending on how long you’ll be traveling for—with optional items included if you’re traveling somewhere you expect to swim. If you plan on hitting the hotel gym or going for a jog or a bike ride, you should also bring along one outfit for working out and a pair of sneakers.

Weekend Trip

For a weekend trip, you really only need three outfits, or four if it’s a three-day weekend. This includes one nice outfit for going out to dinner, but it does not include what you’ll wear on the way to your destination.

• 1-2 bottoms
• 1 dress (optional)
• 1 pajama set
• 1 swimsuit (optional)
• 3 pairs of socks
• 3 pairs of underwear
• 1 pair of comfortable shoes
• 1 pair of “going-out” shoes (optional)
• Toiletry bag with essentials (toothpaste, sunscreen, makeup, etc.)
• Chargers and electronics

On a seven-day trip, you will need to pack clothes that can easily be mixed and matched, while prioritizing items that you can use multiple times, like jackets, jeans and sweaters that can handle multiple wears between washes. Always pack extra underwear and socks on a longer trip, especially if you’re doing a lot of physical activity.

• 2-3 bottoms
• 1-2 dresses (optional)
• 1-2 swimsuits (optional)
• 8 pairs of socks
• 8 pairs of underwear
• 1 pair of comfortable close-toed walking shoes
• 1 pair of sandals or flip-flops (optional)

Two-Week Trip Or Longer

If you’re traveling for two weeks or longer, you should plan to do laundry at some point during your trip so you can pack less and have a fresh start somewhere in the middle of your travels. However, things don’t always go according to plan, so you should still pack more than one week’s worth of clothes just in case.

• 3-4 bottoms
• 2-3 dresses (optional)
• 8-14 pairs of socks
• 8-14 pairs of underwear

Step 3: Choose The Packing Methods And Products To Help You Pack

If you are flying carry-on only, all of your liquids must be in containers no larger than 3.4 ounces and fit in a clear quart-sized bag. If you check your luggage you can bring toiletries that go over this size limit, but you should still pack, wrap and secure them tightly in plastic bags so that if they they leak during transit, the rest of your items will not be ruined.

To keep your toiletries organized throughout your trip, you’ll need a hanging bag like the Travelon Compact Hanging Toiletry Kit . This particular bag is a great choice as it allows you to see everything laid out just how you left it and it’s quick to pack up. However, if you need more space for a large makeup collection, check out the super spacious and customizable Eachy Cosmetic Bag .

Dress Shirts

To minimize wrinkles in your best shirts, use the narrow fold method. Button up the shirt and lie it flat with the buttons facing down. Fold the sleeves across the back of the shirt and then up at a 90-degree angle until the cuffs line up with the collar. Fold the sides to overlap on top of the sleeves, and fold the fest of the shirt up from the bottom until you have a neat square package. You may still have to iron out the folds when you arrive.

To protect your shoes while traveling, pack them in a separate waterproof bag and fill any empty space with socks or other small soft items that will give them extra protection and help them keep their shape. You can use a plastic bag if you’re in a pinch, but these waterproof shoe bags are specifically designed to hold their shape and have an extra pocket to fit a pair of flip flops.

Packing Cubes

These essential travel tools make a world of difference when it comes to keeping your suitcase organized, but most people use them wrong. Your first instinct might tell you to put pants with pants and shirts with shirts, but the most effective way I’ve found to use packing cubes—especially on a trip with multiple transfers— is to group clothing by activity.

Keep your day-to-day sightseeing clothes in a separate cube from your going-out-for-dinner clothes or beach-gear cube. When it’s time to get dressed, you’ll have your outfit pre-planned and I also find that it’s also a good way to store accessories. For example, I always bring my favorite microfiber beach towel with me, so I keep this in a separate cube with my swimsuits, a beach dress and a sun hat. When I’m not looking for my beach clothes, it doesn’t get in the way and it doesn’t get lost.

I prefer cubes with some shape, like these BagSmart packing cubes , but I also like to mix it up. I’ve found that the Eagle Creek Pack-It Tube is the best shape for storing my rolled socks and underwear, which I always keep in my carry-on in case my luggage gets lost.

If you love to accessorize, you’ll need a system to prevent your favorite jewelry from getting left behind in random hotel rooms. Instead of bringing along a hard-sided jewelry box which could tangle your necklaces as they get jostled around, try a folding jewelry organizer like this case from BagSmart , available in three sizes.

Electronics

In addition to a good case for your laptop or tablet, you should also have a separate organizer case for all your wires, chargers, portable batteries, and hard drives. If you’re bringing a lot of electronics, protect them with a hard-sided case like this ProCase Electronic Organizer , which has multiple compartments and partitions to keep your gear tangle-free.

Is It Better To Roll Or Fold Clothes In A Suitcase?

If your goal is to fit as much as possible into your suitcase, rolling is the way to go. However, if you need your clothes ready to go as soon as you land and won’t have time for ironing, folding is preferable. The best strategy is to do a bit of both, rolling items like underwear and pajamas, but folding nice shirts and dresses.

What Is The 5 4 3 2 1 Packing Method?

The 5 4 3 2 1 packing method maximizes potential outfit combinations so you can express your personal style. It works by assigning a number to each category of clothing: 5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 shoes, 2 dresses, and 1 bag. It’s a good jumping-off point, but you may need to adjust the numbers for longer or shorter trips.

Why Trust Forbes Vetted

From meticulously testing and reviewing the best luggage to bring with you to the airport to the best packing cubes to keep you organized, we at Forbes Vetted have dedicated ourselves to helping make travel easy. When it came time to put together a guide to packing a suitcase, we applied the same unyielding commitment to ensure that our readers have everything they need on hand to pack for their trips stress-free.

To break down how to pack a suitcase, we tapped the expertise of freelance travel writer Jamie Ditaranto . Along with contributing to Forbes Vetted, Ditaranto has spent the last eight years writing travel content for Condé Nast Traveler , Travel + Leisure , National Geographic and more. She has lived in Mexico, Spain, Portugal and Brazil and has visited all seven continents. As someone who is always packing for a trip, Ditaranto put her first-hand expertise as a frequent packer to the test for this story.

More Packing Guides

• International Travel Packing List
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Paris 2024 Olympics: How to plan a last-minute trip, from Games tickets to accommodation

If you are kicking yourself for not bagging tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics when they first went on sale, all is not lost. A travel expert tells Sky News how sports fans can plan a last-minute trip this summer.

News reporter @jos_franks

Monday 22 April 2024 14:08, UK

As the Paris Olympics draw closer, the hype is increasing - and it's only going to build from here. 

If you are kicking yourself for not bagging tickets when they first went on sale, all is not lost.

There are still ways you can get to Paris to see the Games.

Sky News talks to a travel expert to bring you all you need to know about securing your last-minute trip.

Can I still get tickets for the Olympics?

Yes, it is still possible to get tickets for the Games.

More than 250,000 tickets went on sale on 17 April to mark 100 days until the opening of the Games.

This is the last ticket sale, but tickets are still available for dozens of events.

The first sale involved a lottery and timeslots to buy packs of tickets for events.

In the final stretch of ticket sales, things are a lot simpler.

Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you can see the availability for different events in real time on the website.

While a lot of the final tickets on sale are pretty pricey, there is still the chance to bag a bargain.

Almost 20,000 tickets were put on sale for €24 and it is still possible to get tickets to see football for this price.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are ticket and hospitality packages available that will set you back hundreds of Euros.

What about the Paralympics?

The Paralympic Games will take place from 28 August to 8 September and there are still tickets available from €15.

The booking works the same as for the Olympics - first-come, first-served, with the remaining tickets now available on the website.

Avoid the scammers

Don't get caught out by scammers - make sure you only buy tickets through the official Paris 2024 ticketing website.

It's not too late to book - but don't wait

While the start of the Games is fast approaching, it's not too late to plan a trip - but you should "get booking ASAP", Jessica Dante, travel expert at Love and London, tells Sky News.

The Eurostar is not as "wildly priced" as you might expect, she says, with return fares available for the first week of the Games for under £200 - and the same is true of budget airlines.

But, Ms Dante cautions, "that will invariably only continue to go up" - so book soon rather than hold out for a last-minute deal.

Could there be last-minute deals on accommodation?

Don't bank on it, Ms Dante says.

"I'm always in the camp of just book something so you have it. If something else pops up closer to the time then fine, you can try to make a switch if you've got something that you can cancel.

"But there's also the chance that something might not pop up that's going to be in your price range as well."

While there could be a small wave of accommodation deals open up as people cancel, a lot of accommodation will be non-refundable at least a couple of weeks before the Games, so any cancellations are likely to still be fairly far in advance, she says.

Tips for booking accommodation

There is still "decent availability" for hotels, she says, although some popular spots are already booked up.

Unsurprisingly, cost has a lot to do with location - so look away from central areas and places close to Olympic locations if you are looking to save money.

"The flip side of that is it then means that you're probably going to have to deal with taking the metro and you'll have to pay for the inflated cost of the rides."

The price of metro tickets will almost double during the Games, from €2.10 (£1.80) to €4 (£3.40).

But the surcharge on public transport is unlikely to match the price difference on a more central hotel. Ms Dante advises looking at suburban areas or the outskirts of the city.

What about staying in another town?

Staying in another town entirely and travelling to Paris for events is one option.

But you should consider the pros and cons carefully, Ms Dante says.

There is a looming threat of train strikes. The CGT public servants union has announced plans to strike during the Olympics, which could mean many transport workers walking out.

If you are staying outside Paris, that could scupper your plans to easily travel into the city.

Even if there are not strikes, trains into Paris are likely to be crowded, Ms Dante says.

"You do have to kind of balance that and just be prepared that you might have some difficulty."

Read more: Paris 2024 Olympics: Everything you need to know The Team GB athletes to watch at the Olympics

Can you go to the Olympics and avoid Paris entirely?

The Games may be headlined as Paris 2024, but there are events taking place across the country - and the surfing is even in Tahiti.

The cities of Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Nice, Bordeaux, Nantes and Marseille will host events.

The Olympic ticketing site allows you to filter available events by location, so if you are keen to give Paris a miss you can seek out what is happening in other places.

"They're going to be a little bit less popular than stuff that's right in the centre of Paris, so I think that's a really good option," Ms Dante says.

Consider the Paralympics

The Paralympics often gets overshadowed by the Olympics, but it's a great option if you want to experience the Games, Ms Dante says.

"It's going to be a little bit less crowded, the pricing will be better, probably a little bit more of a relaxed experience."

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Is it worth going to Paris if you don't have tickets to the Games?

Maybe there are no tickets left in your price range, or your favourite event is sold out - is it worth planning a trip to Paris anyway?

"Definitely," according to Ms Dante. "This whole summer it's going to be really buzzy there."

A lot of locals will leave the city, she says. It's French tradition in the summer, but the exodus is likely to be even bigger this year as Parisians flee the crowds - meaning some areas could end up being quieter than normal.

Attractions away from the main Olympic sites could also be quieter than normal, she says.

How to make the most of your trip

If you are keen to combine cultural activities with sporting ones, consider booking a guided tour to big attractions, Ms Dante advises.

That way, you have got your ticket secured and the tour guides will be up to speed on any road closures or access changes that could make your visit more tricky.

Also keep in mind that there will be a lot of security measures in place and getting around the city will take longer than normal.

Related Topics

• Paris 2024 Olympics

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Emirates is dealing with a 30,000 bag backlog as it grovels to customers about its handling of Dubai floods

• Severe flooding caused by the heaviest rain in 75 years brought travel chaos to Dubai Airport last week.
• The ongoing fallout has prompted Emirates boss Tim Clark to issue an apology to customers. 
• 30,000 bags still need to be returned to customers, he said.

Emirates, the Middle East's largest airline, is still trying to return 30,000 leftover bags to customers affected by the torrential rains and flooding that brought Dubai Airport to a standstill last week.

Over the weekend, the airline's president, Tim Clark, acknowledged that Emirates' response to the disruption had been "far from perfect" and apologized to customers.

"I would like to offer our most sincere apologies to every customer who has had their travel plans disrupted during this time," Clark wrote in an open letter posted online on Saturday.

Calling the previous week "one of the toughest for Emirates operationally," he said that the airline had been forced to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more after storms brought the region's highest rainfall in 75 years.

"Flooded roads impeded the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew, and airport employees to reach the airport, and also the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities," Clark wrote.

In total, 1,478 flights had been canceled at the world's second busiest airport by Friday morning, according to Reuters.

While planes remained stuck on flooded taxiways, submerged roads surrounding the airport left some passengers stranded in the airport.

Related stories

To accommodate disrupted passengers, Emirates said it had secured 12,000 hotel rooms and issued 250,000 meal vouchers.

Despite the chaos and a government warning telling people to stay at home, Emirates flight attendants in Dubai were also told to report for duty.

However, Clark acknowledged that many passengers had been frustrated by the congestion, lack of information, and confusion at terminals.

In an effort to handle the ongoing fallout, he said that a task force had been created to sort and return 30,000 pieces of left-over luggage to its owners.

The airline officially resumed regular flight operations at Dubai Airport on Saturday, but warned it would still take several days to clear the backlog.

Non-UAE-based carriers were still facing restrictions over the weekend. Foreign airlines with more than two flights in 24 hours were issued with a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) instructing them to reduce operations by 50%, Indian news agency PTI reported.

According to FlightRadar 24's data , all arrivals and departures were largely running to schedule again on Monday morning.

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates has become one of the most attractive economic hubs in the Gulf region.

Its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil, centered on Dubai as a tourism hot spot, have helped the country position itself as a major player on the world stage. In a sign of its growing popularity, the number of passengers traveling to Dubai Airport increased by 31.7% in the last year.

Watch: Thousands of bags pile up at US airports after flight cancellations

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A Remote Island Draws Thousands of Turtles Each Year. Could It Attract Tourists?

Green sea turtles swim hundreds of miles to nest on a spectacular West African archipelago. Getting there is quite a journey for humans, too.

By Ricci Shryock

Ricci Shryock is a writer and photographer based in Dakar, Senegal.

Each year, thousands of baby green sea turtles clamber across a beautiful, white-sand paradise that is one of the largest hatching sites of this species in the Atlantic, adorably making their way to the sea. There’s one noticeable absence: people.

The spectacular hatching events take place between August and December on Poilão Island, a tiny, uninhabited speck off the coast of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. It is the southernmost island of the 88 that make up the Bijagós archipelago, a UNESCO biosphere reserve . Last year, turtles laid more than 44,000 nests on its 1.4 mile-long beach.

While the masses of turtles seem to have little trouble finding the spot to lay their eggs — some swim more than 600 miles across the North Atlantic — it’s hard to imagine somewhere more challenging for human turtle-lovers to reach.

The country’s tourism minister, Alberto Demba Touré, said that access is a main challenge. “We want to increase the tourists who go to the Bijagós,” he said. Last year, UNESCO declared its support for the Bijagós Islands to seek World Heritage List status , which, if successful, would increase its visibility and strengthen its environmental protections.

Turtle conservation programs have become a staple of resorts in many popular destinations, including in Hawaii, Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. Guinea-Bissau may like to capture a meager sliver of that pie, but it would be with steep challenges.

Politically fragile Guinea-Bissau has very little infrastructure and is one of the world’s poorest and least touristed nations. Most flights to Bissau, the country’s sleepy capital on the mainland, require a connection in Lisbon or Dakar, Senegal. Then, from Bissau, it’s a bumpy one-hour drive to the coast, and five to seven hours in a speedboat (depending on the route) to Poilão Island.

A limited number of tourists, usually no more than a dozen at a time, are allowed to visit the Poilão Island, which is part of the João Vieira and Poilão Marine National Park. The island is considered sacred by the archipelago’s residents and no construction is allowed on it.

A plane, to a truck, to a speedboat

Last fall I traveled to Poilão at the height of hatching season to witness the baby turtles make their way from nest to sea, and to see how the local workers monitor and ensure the survival of the tens of thousands of hatchlings each year.

I started in Bissau, a riverside city of half a million, after flying there from my home in Dakar. A few blocks from the presidential palace, people sat at plastic tables under mango trees, listening to music and eating grilled oysters plucked from the roots of the nearby mangroves. Women walked by selling cashew fruit, which has a sour, fermented aroma.

Visitors to Bissau might visit the war museum, in an 18th-century fort and an active military base, to see the mainly Soviet-sponsored weapons used by Bissau-Guinean fighters during the independence war against their Portuguese rulers that ended in 1974.

The next morning, another visitor and I climbed into a truck that took us to the coast. I had booked my Poilão trip with a hotel on one of the islands, Orango Parque Hotel, which arranged boat transport, park fees, meals, a guide and simple accommodations for three nights. The whole arrangement cost about $1,470.

We left the capital’s main paved avenue for potholed small lanes. An hour later, we reached the dock, near an abandoned hotel among the mangroves, where I climbed into a white speedboat.

For three hours, we sped through the open ocean, passing small, mostly uninhabited islands of the Bijagós. We occasionally passed fishermen — half a dozen men in brightly painted, long wooden boats — who waved as we buzzed by.

A stop to meet the priestesses

Eventually, we landed on a beach at the hotel on Orango Island, the largest in the archipelago, where we would spend two nights before continuing the journey. We were shown to our small round houses that contained a single comfortable room, and given a lunch of fresh fish and rice.

Eduardo da Silva, a boat captain and guide at the hotel who grew up on the island, said tourists can learn a lot from the way Bijagós residents interact with nature.

“On Orango, we have always been conservationists,” he said.

One day during my stay, Mr. Da Silva took me to meet the local priestesses . Orango is a matriarchal society; today the priestesses still make decisions about when certain harvests take place and what is allowed to happen on sacred grounds. I offered the women two unlabeled, neon-green bottles of cana, alcohol made from sugar cane, which I had bought for this purpose from a roadside stand when leaving Bissau. After a short ceremony with the cana, the priestesses spoke about how they base their community decisions on what will ensure a continued balance with the environment.

“Conservation can protect what is ours, so that we don’t lose it and so that our children who are born tomorrow can know it,” said Nene Ecane, one of the priestesses, in the Bijagós language via a translator.

Landing on Poilão

When it was time to leave Orango, another speedboat — smaller than the one the day before — drove us through clear waters for two hours. We spotted dolphins and Mr. Da Silva banged his hand on the side of the boat. The dolphins came closer and jumped alongside us.

While most of the speedboat journey from Bissau had been smooth, near Poilão the boat hit rougher waves. It was just before sunset when we landed. Occasional patches of volcanic black rocks, vital for green sea turtles, dotted the small beach.

As we unloaded the boat, a half-dozen workers from the João Vieira and Poilão Marine National Park greeted us, including Tumbulo Garcia Bamba, the park’s adjunct director.

“It’s good for tourists to come and learn and see how we work here for the turtles,” he said. He said he hopes that more attention to the turtles of Poilão will lead people outside of the region to respect the environment.

Mr. Bamba said he had noticed more trash washing up on the island’s shores; the Orango hotel scheduled a clean-up crew for the following week, which is not normally needed. Workers on the islands said many of the products seen among the trash — including bottled water and cosmetics — were not available in Guinea-Bissau and may have come from other parts of West Africa.

“The ocean knows no borders,” said Mr. Bamba.

A mad dash to the sea

Other than our individual tents, which were set up a few dozen feet from the beach, there were few other signs of human life. There is no cell reception.

But we were not alone. All along the beach lay thousands of buried turtle eggs. Every few steps there was another underground sea turtle hatchling family, the park workers told us. Many nests had markers, but not all. We walked gingerly.

The workers, many of whom are from the Bijagós Islands, not only count and monitor the hatchlings, but also help them make their way safely to the sea.

Even though the nests are just 20 or so feet from the ocean, the two-inch-long hatchlings are susceptible to many threats during their brief journey to the water — specifically birds, which wait in the nearby trees ready to snatch them.

We followed the workers throughout the early evening as they dug up nests — sometimes they were chest-deep in sand. They gathered dozens of just-hatched turtles into buckets and held them at the campsite until nightfall and high tide, when it was safer to release them.

A few hours later, in the darkness, the workers took the buckets of turtles back to the beach and let them go. All at once, a few hundred small hatchlings made their mad dash for the safety of the sea. Under the starlight, they used their small front flippers to quickly — and adorably — push their way through the sand to the water.

After the sea turtle release, we sat down for a fresh fish dinner, grilled over an open fire by the hotel staff. The park workers ate next to us, all of us using headlamps and flashlights in the dark.

A laptop, powered by solar panels, blasted a playlist of ’90s and early 2000s love ballads as our dinner soundtrack, giving the evening a surreal feel. It was just us, Usher, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and, beneath a few feet of sand, thousands of baby turtles waiting for their first swim through the waves.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

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