MOST RECOMMENDED TRAVEL RESOURCES
Welcome to our Best Travel Resources Page, a place where you can find all needed information for your next short getaway, long vacation or anticipated move. We’ve put this page together to share all the travel resources that we regularly use in our life and when moving somewhere new.
All the services and companies we recommend have been tested by us, and we do not recommend anything other than what we tried ourselves.
Throughout the years of adventures, we have booked many flights, cars, hotels, and tours at very reasonable prices. We have flown within the U.S. for less than $50, from the U.S. to Germany for $150, from Ukraine to Thailand for less than $200. We have rented a car in Europe for $4 per week and stayed in luxury hotels for less than a hundred dollars per night.
Chasing the best deals and getting the most value out of each dollar we spend is our favorite thing to do. We are confident the same resources will make your travels easier and save you money too!
Full disclosure: This page contains some affiliate or referral links that we may receive a commission for if you make a purchase. It doesn’t cost you anything extra but helps us keep our site running. Thanks in advance for your support and have fun surfing!
QUICK BROWSE
Click on the links below to move to the section of your interest (you will stay on the same page).
P.S. More resources and tips are added each month, so don’t hesitate to come back and check out what else has been added!
AIRFARE SEARCH SITES:
Google Flights
Google Flights is our favorite resource that helps us find the best available airfare deals online. We love it for a calendar option that allows us to see prices for weeks or months ahead, compare them, and decide what is the best bet.
Also, if you are open in terms of location, google flights is a great tool to use to get an idea of where to fly based on the cheapest price. It has a simple and fast interface.
Expedia
We always use Expedia along with Google Flights. First of all, we go to Google Flights to see what dates and times have better rates. After that, we jump to Expedia to compare prices there.
In some cases, better deals pop up on Google Flights, other times on Expedia. We are using this technique all the time when planning our trips. This is how we found a ticket from Los Angeles, California to Denver, Colorado for $28, from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City for $50, and many other great deals.
ACCOMMODATION WEBSITES:
Airbnb
With Airbnb on the market, we almost stopped staying in hotels. Most of the time rooms or flats found through Airbnb come at the same or lower price as hotel rooms. Booking for a week or month reduces the price even more. There are over a million listings all over the world from trailers to luxury villas. Everyone can find something based on his own budget and likes.
Our favorite part is that we get a chance to meet locals and almost always have kitchen access when booking through Airbnb. Also, when traveling with friends or family, booking an Airbnb room helps to split expenses and have a homie stay.
We feel like everyone should be already on the Airbnb website, but keep meeting people who don’t know much about this wonderful resource. If you haven’t registered yet, you definitely should!
Sign up over our link and you will get $40 in travel credit for your registration. Additionally, $20 off of your first trip if it is of $75 value or more.
Agoda
From our experience, this is the best website for booking accommodation in any Asian country (along with Airbnb). However, we used it to book rooms in Europe too.
Agoda’s website is easy to navigate, often offers good deals, and provides excellent customer service. They helped us a few times in the past to resolve issues with the accommodation we booked through them and even get money back for one of the bad experiences with a hotel in Cambodia. Recommend it 100%!
Hotel Combined – this aggregator pulls and compares information about hotel room rates from top hotel websites, providing you the lowest price possible. They do all the work for you, providing also complete information and reviews on a hotel.
Bed & Breakfast – did you hear about such an establishment as Bed & Breakfast? This is another favorite type of accommodation of ours.
Staying in one of Bed & Breakfasts around the world will always provide you that one of a type of unique experience. All homemade breakfasts are usually included as well as parking, concierge services, wifi and more.
Bed & Breakfast stays are truly special for a lower price than in a hotel. Every place is remarkable and has its own theme.
Depending on where you stay, you’ll always feel like you are either in another country or have been transferred in time. The owner of every Bed & Breakfast will always go out of his way to make your stay comfortable and deliver the care you deserve.
If you have never stayed in Bed & Breakfasts before, we highly recommend to do so and check out this website. If the B&B concept is familiar to you then the same resource will make the entire process of finding your next place easier. It has all detailed information on more than 14,000 bed-and-breakfast properties worldwide.
Kid & Coe – book your perfect family vacation. This website helps families to organize travel with kids. Kid & Cow claims that all properties on their website have been checked by their members for sustainability for travelers.
Hostel World – we are not fans of hostels and typically don’t stay in them. However, we’ve used this excellent resource for booking budget accommodation. They have over 30 thousand listings around the world, including hostels and other budget lodgings. Cancellations are free.
The following two websites can help you sell your booking to somebody else, in case you can’t make it:
roomertravel.com
Are you a budget traveler who is looking for free accommodation? Then check the following travel resources out:
Couchsurfing – who didn’t hear about Couchsurfing, huh? Probably everyone did! We’ve personally discovered this amazing resource just last year. Through this website, we got a chance to meet many beautiful souls around the world, have free accommodation and many times even got free meals from our hosts.
Caretaker – this is a print and online newsletter that offers housesitting and property caretaking assignments. Very similar to trustedhousesitters.com.
The next two websites are our favorite when it comes to volunteering. The first one works better for the U.S. and Canada while the second one in other parts of the world.
Would you like to live with a family taking care of their kids while traveling around and learning about other cultures? Anya was registered on both of the websites mentioned below and had a lot of luck finding families in Europe and the United States.
CAR RENTALS
Discover Cars
This is the only website we personally use in the U.S. This company always offers great deals and flexible cancellation policies.
Examples of our bookings:
– brand new Jeep in Montreal, Canada, and paid only 180 dollars for ten days
– Volkswagen Beetle in Salt Lake City, Utah for 70 dollars for five days
– Chevrolet Sonic in Los Angeles for 30 dollars for three days
– Opel Adam for four weeks for car hire in Spain for $162 with full insurance
GROUND TRANSPORTATION
Uber – in all our travels Uber is our friend. We stopped using taxis and switched to Uber a long time ago. It’s always on time, always enjoyable, and always cheaper than a regular cab.
GrabCar – alternative to Uber, but operates only in South East Asia. We found it to be cheaper than Uber. Cars are modern and clean.
Blablacar – if trains or buses are full, blablacar is a website that’s going to help you get to your next destination on time. This travel network is very popular in Europe, many times costs less than traveling by train or even by bus.
In the beginning, we were a bit skeptical to start traveling with blablacar because it doesn’t run background checks on its drivers. However, every time we book a trip we have a pleasant experience. Many drivers do this for a living, so having positive reviews is extremely important for them. For you to have only good moments as well, check the reviews carefully.
FlixBus – the cheapest bus company to travel in Europe. Prices start from as low as 5 euros per trip. We’ve traveled from Munich to Ljubljana for 12 euros, from Krakow to Lviv for 20 euros, from Vienna to Bucharest for 9 euros. Don’t overlook them when hopping through Europe.
Mitfahren – if you are looking for a shared car, bus, or train in Germany, this website is a great find. Through this website, you can purchase a ticket from another traveler who is not able to make his trip. It works within Germany only.
This is a very convenient service in case no tickets are available in the official ticket booth. It works great during holidays or other busy seasons. Also, many times tickets through this website will cost you less.
Seat61 – this is a great website for searching for trains around the world. What is really cool, it provides pictures of trains, schedules, and details about the tickets. Also, it has lots of links to local railway stations and companies that sell the tickets.
Thalys – purchase fast train tickets between France, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Bahn – a website for finding train deals within Germany only.
NAVIGATION
Google Maps
Probably everyone knows and uses Google Maps to navigate around the cities on foot or by car. We use it every day for getting traffic, transit, bicycling, and terrain information. But we are also loving it for integrated routes and schedules of public transportation companies in most of the cities around the world.
If you download Google Maps in advance, you will be able to use this app offline. You can use it as GPS navigation for driving when there is no Internet around, but the offline mode doesn’t support walking or public transit directions.
TRAVEL PLANNING
BudgetYourTrip – a great travel resource for finding averages and estimates on any destination around the world. This website can give you an idea of how much your trip will cost, so you can start saving money and planning accordingly.
Tripster – what a wonderful opportunity to connect with locals through their offered excursions. On this website, all of them are paid though.
Viator – find tours, tickets, activities, and things to go in a city of your interest. There is so much here!
Tripomatic – unique website with maps showing detailed information on attractions in a particular city around the world.
Groupon – one of our favorite websites for finding amazing deals on pretty much anything you may think of. From daily meal plans and home goodies to luxury yachts and helicopter rides. Are you looking to vacation on a budget, but still receive the best service and quality? Check out Groupon because it has pretty awesome deals on any taste and budget!
LivingSocial – this resource is very similar to Groupon, and offers lots of discounts on travel, dining, attractions, and more. We are always checking Groupon and LivingSocial to compare who offers the best deal. Option vary from week to week, so make sure to track those on a regular basis.
Globalpetrolprices – a great source of the information about gas prices around the world. Especially useful in Europe, where prices differ drastically from one country to another.
Free Walking Tours – put in the google search line and mention the city of interest, and you will be able to find free interesting excursions from locals who are looking to meet travelers. No payment, but tips are appreciated.
Wikivoyage – this source is not only about things to do and how to get around during your next staycation. It offers itineraries, complete information on travel destinations, food, health, shopping, cultural attraction, safety, concerns and so much more.
TRAVEL APPS
WeatherPRO – this App offers unrivaled, high-quality, detailed information on weather around the world.
SplitWise – a wonderful tool that helps you track all shared bills and expenses. You can download it on iPhone, Android, or use it on your laptop. This app splits the bills for you automatically and even tracks who paid his portion and who didn’t.