Having travelled for many years on end, I have come to rely on many excellent websites, apps, resources and services that make the life of a traveller just a little bit easier.

Flights & Transportation

Kiwi

My favorites flight search engine; for tips on how to use Kiwi, see my post on How To Find The Cheapest Flights.

Unique to Kiwi is that it shows you the cheapest time to fly – with added options. It allows you to search to and from multiple possible airports, which streamlines the use and saves you time. Type ‘anywhere’ in the destinations field to find ideas for cheap trips.

The advanced Nomad feature even lets you choose your destination and the length you wish to stay, then provides the cheapest dates to fly.

Momondo

Another great and easy-to-use flight search engine. Use the Flight Insight feature to dig deeper and find cheaper flights. Again, you can read more tips on how to best use these search engines.

Rome2Rio

Easily find out how to get from point A to point B. The best site for finding transport connections and price estimates on flights, buses, trains, taxis, and more.

Secret Flying

Not so secret anymore — this is the place to find crazy airline deals and so-called error fares. These ultra-cheap flights usually do involve multiple stops or departures from obscure airports, but there are some amazing opportunities here for the patient travel hacker.

Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)

Airlines aren’t perfect – and Scott’s Cheap Flights also lets you take advantage of airlines’ mistakes. This website provides its users with prime deals based on airtime, layovers, and costs. Since deals are constantly changing, this is one website where it’s handy to receive emails on new bargains so you don’t miss out.

12Go Asia

The best site for booking any kind of transportation in Asia.

Omio 

My favorite site for booking buses or trains in Europe.

RailEurope

The main site for booking trains in Europe.

Travel insurance

Heymondo

Heymondo offers strong coverage, no deductibles at all, and they have their own streamlined app with 24/7 assistance. They also have some tailored packages for long stay travel or annual multi-trip insurance that are great for longer trips (the annual multi-trip insurance has a maximum trip length of 120 days). 

SafetyWing

Ideal if you’re traveling longer (e.g. round-the-world trips or even permanent nomading). The price can be very low, especially if you’re younger. The catch? Unlike typical travel insurers, it doesn’t offer theft insurance or any other extras, focusing mainly on medical insurance and emergencies. There is also a higher deductible. But if you want no-frills long-term insurance that still covers you for bigger (medical) emergencies, SafetyWing may be an ideal fit for you. 

Flight Aids

The Points Guy

Points and air miles can be a complicated world to navigate. The Points Guy is the prime website for in-depth guides on how to wring every last benefit from your credit card or air miles account. Don’t have an air miles account? You’ll find information here on every possible card to maximize your points.

Onward Ticket

Are you flying one-way? WithOnward Ticket, you can “rent” a flight as proof of onward travel to show to border control or any airline. This takes the stress off of being denied plane boarding or country entry because of not having an exit flight. They will send you a real plane ticket, though it’s valid for only 48 hours and you only pay a small service fee.

SeatGuru

Has seating layouts for every imaginable flight, helping you find the best available seats.

Prepaid debit cards

Revolut and Wise

Many popular travel bank cards have emerged in recent years. My favorites are Revolut and Wise (formerly TransferWise). They both offer debit cards that let you take out up to €200 a month (or your local equivalent) from foreign ATMs without any fees. They also guarantee currency conversions at interbank rates, without adding additional fees on top. If any transactions seem fishy or if you happen to lose your card abroad, you can block it with just a tap on your phone.

Finding Accommodation

Hostelworld

The place to look for hostels, but also cheap B&Bs and budget hotels. User ratings are typically very accurate and reliable. Always look for ones with a high atmosphere rating!

Airbnb

Although Airbnb has had its growing pains, it remains a goldmine for charming local places to stay. 

Agoda and Booking.com

Perfect for finding smaller-scale or family-run hotels, because hotel owners can submit themselves for listing on Booking.com or Agoda, instead of having to sell their beds in bulk to a player like Expedia. Agoda is specialized in Asia, while Booking is great to use anywhere.

Couchers.org

Many veteran travelers agree that Couchsurfing isn’t what it used to be at all. The site where you can stay on people’s couches or spare rooms for free (as a form of cultural exchange and international friendship) went commercial and lost the plot. Couchers.org is trying to build a new community just like it, but better — and it’s run as a non-profit. 

WWOOF

One of the biggest volunteer placement organizations around. The classic WWOOF experience is to get free accommodation on a farm in exchange for doing some chores, though there are all sorts of other placements available.

Travel Guides & Research

WikiVoyage

A free, community-authored travel guide; in essence, it’s the Wikipedia of travel. I mainly use this site to do basic ‘where to go and how to get there’ research, and less so for restaurants or places to stay (as this information is often out of date).

Wiki Overland

An amazing resource if you are planning a road trip. Detailed information on 50+ countries.

Lonely Planet PDF Travel Guides

Still some of the best travel guides around. These days they’re available both in paper and digital versions, and even offered piecemeal as individual chapters in PDF format.

Rough Guides

Their layout takes a bit of getting used to and they can be a bit wordier and history-focused, but unlike Lonely Planet they’ve kept their focus squarely on budget / mid-range travel, usually not bothering to mention luxury resorts.

Atlas Obscura

‘Things to do in…’ lists, but very different from Tripadvisor. Often tries to showcase smaller quirky sights, like some hidden old library or a shop that sells only time travel equipment. Very fun to browse.

Nomadlist

Originally created for remote workers, but the search functionality on Nomad List serves just as well for finding your next travel destination. Every country also has its own forum and Slack-style chatroom, where you can get first-hand information from travellers who are currently staying there.

TripAdvisor

This is the place where pretty much anything gets reviewed: restaurants, hotels, sights, museums, and things to do. One helpful aspect of this is the user generated reviews, although they can tend to be biased or have unreasonable expectations. Even so, it’s a good port of call if you just need some high-level info.

MAPS.me

The first thing that should be said about MAPS.me is that you can always use it offline.  It’s also based on the crowdsourced Open Street Maps, which means it has details that no other maps have. I often find tiny things on there like narrow hiking trails, hidden waterfalls, etc. where other maps just show you an empty void.

Specific Travel Information

Wikiloc and Walkopedia

These fantastic wikis help you easily find walking trails. They are especially useful for developing countries where good trail info is often missing or hard to find, as they’ll try to get you to pay for a private guide instead. Wikiloc also has an app that helps you navigate the trails via GPS, as well as sort trails by rating and difficulty.

AllTrails

Think of this as the TripAdvisor of hikes. Each hike listing tells you the distance, elevation gain, and route type along with a brief description of how to find the trailhead and what to expect on the hike. Users have the ability to comment, upload photos, and rate the hikes which is great to get a feel for what to prepare for.

Sleeping In Airports

Those who are stuck in the airport for a night but don’t want to spend the money on accommodation – there is a website dedicated to sleeping in airports. Sleeping in Airports is complete with tips and tricks on where to find some quiet sleeping spots in specific airports. Aside from just sleeping, it will tell you where you can go to charge your devices or find an airport lounge.

Drive the Americas

A complete guide to all information on road tripping in the Americas, this website is covers everything from traveling with pets to vehicle shipping. Stories from other overlanders give great insight into the unique challenges and adventures on the road. The forums can help as well with any specific questions you might have.  Especially great for the Pan-American highway.

Seat 61

The ultimate site on rail travel around the world! Seat61 breaks down how to travel safely, comfortably, and cost-effectively by skipping the flights and opting for a train, bus, or ferry instead. It has information on travel in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. So pretty much everywhere!

iOverlander

A volunteer-run app, users are able to submit locations for all types of camping – including car camping, paid campgrounds, wild camping locations, and hostels. It is based on GPS coordinates which takes the guesswork out of the equation an takes you directly to the pinned spot. On top of that, if provides further information on where to find a mechanic if you have car trouble, where to get gas, or just find a scenic sunset. In short, everything for your overlanding needs.

Workoutcave

This blog teaches you everything you need to know about staying fit while you’re on the road, focusing on workouts you can do with minimal space, equipment, or time. A great resource especially for the longer-term traveler who may not always have access to a gym.

Sharing Economy

Campspace (formerly Campinmygarden)

Just like like Airbnb but for, you guessed it, camping in people’s gardens. If you’re not keen on diving straight into camping, they also have glamping sites as well as tree houses listed. It’s especially great for the U.K. that has over 200 campsite options, which is more listings over anywhere else on their map.

Blablacar 

Think of it like an international Uber – BlaBlaCar is a rideshare platform that covers longer distances. Use it to get from one city to another, or even between countries in Europe. And not to worry – Blablacar is review based if you’re nervous about being in a car with a stranger.

Trusted Housesitters

House-swapping or housesitting is a way of staying in someone’s house for free, often for a couple of months, in exchange for looking after the house while its owners are away. Although it does come with a yearly fee, that cost is minute in comparison to what you might spend on independent accommodation. Not only that, but you get a whole place to yourself!

Safety and Security

Global Peace Index

While it’s not quite perfect, the Global Peace Index assigns an overall score to each country. Additionally, it will provide you with the scores of militarization, society and security, and domestic and internal conflict. To dig even deeper, you can see a list of full stats that show why any given country is rated what it is.

Numbeo

The travel cost and cost-of-living website Numbeo also has an extensive crime survey that includes some specific crowdsourced data on the local perceptions of crime and safety. Each country shows safety stats of walking alone during daylight versus night, which can be especially helpful for travelers in a new city.

LastPass and 1Password

Both websites are great to securely store logins for websites and apps. Each offer free and paid options to store your passwords safely. Storing all your passwords in one place may seem like a risk, but it’s not that simple – these websites use two-factor authentication as well as encryption to keep your passwords secure.

Budgeting

Priceoftravel and Budget Your Trip

Both are great for finding estimated daily budgets and concrete information on the cost of food, accommodation, and other expenses around the world.

I Hate Taxis

Great site for finding information on fair taxi fares around the world, as well as how to avoid touts, scammers, and so on.

Online Communities

Nomadic Matt’s Forums

Matt Kepnes runs one of the biggest and longest-running travel blogs. Since 2015, it’s also been home to a forum community where you can ask tips and advice to other travellers. It’s a friendly and well-moderated place, and thanks to its positive and more helpful tone I think it might well be the heir to Thorn Tree’s throne.

Reddit

The subreddits /r/travel and /r/backpacking are excellent resources for general and destination-specific travel tips. /r/travel regularly nominates a Destination of the Week, and by looking up these country-specific threads in the archives you can unlock a gigantic wealth of information.

Local Guides

WithLocals

This platforms connect travellers with individual local guides, in much the same way Airbnb does for rooms and apartments.

GetYourGuide

Think a canal cruise in Amsterdam is expensive? Think again. Getyourguide connects you with amateur tour guides who will charge less than the pricey tour groups, but still provide you with an excellent cultural experience. This site also features skip the line tours for popular attractions like the Louvre or Empire State Building.

EatWith

Want to take a cooking class in Rome or have a Jewish Shabbat dinner cooked for you in Tel Aviv? Eat With links tourists with locals to experience authentic cuisine of the destinations you visit. While most of the destinations are in Europe, you’ll be able to find food connections all over the world.

Volunteering and Work

HelpX

For an online listing of hosts who will offer accommodation in exchange for short-term work, HelpX is a good start. You can search based on the region of a country, although there is no search bar if there is specific work you’re looking for. There is both a free and paid option, but at just 20 Euros for 2 years, it’s a vast savings in comparison to what you would otherwise spend on accommodation.

Workaway 

Similar to HelpX, Workaway has a more user friendly interface, albeit a higher fee at $42 USD per year for one person. However, there is a search bar that allows you to narrow down the job type and location. Don’t care where you work? Search for hosts on a global scale! It also provides a calendar of what months the host needs help which takes out some of the guesswork.

Upwork and Fiverr

Both connect freelancers with all kinds of one-off jobs. Upwork tends to be very competitive to start out unless you have specific skills and references, but if you’re tenacious enough, it can be a great source of income. If you opt to using Fiverr, this can be nice because it’s always a fixed payment so you know exactly how much you’ll be making no matter how fast you get the job done.

Working Traveller

A skill based word trade website, Working Traveller is specifically for building references and improving your skills. This is extremely helpful for if you want to hone in on something particular and have referrals for work experience when you go back home. Even better, this website is free to start with, and only $10 per year if you want to contact hosts without a limit.

Job Monkey

Specifically, Job Monkey is for finding the coolest jobs. If you’re the type to get bored easily, this is perfect to find a seasonal job that’s more out of the box. Job Monkey will mainly guide you in the right direction to searching job boards, but it’s the perfect way to start your filtering.

Remote OK

Exactly as it sounds, this job engine is for finding work that is location independent. Listings will show if the job is for any location, a specific time zone, or a certain country. Typically all it takes is uploading your resume to an open position making the application process quick and simple.

Language Learning

Duolingo and Memrise

Both language learning tools have a similar goal: To help you learn a language for free. They have courses you can follow along with games that don’t make you feel like you’re learning, and community forums where you can ask questions and learn with others.

 

Visas

Visa HQ

Depending on your nationality and destination, you can often get a visa-on-arrival. In cases where this is not possible, or when you want to stay longer, be sure to check Visa HQ. For a fee, they can sort out everything for you, so that you don’t have to go to an embassy and do all the paperwork yourself.

Visalist

Consider all your visa headaches gone for good! Visa list allows you to input your home country, and from there you can see where you can travel to visa-free, and for how long. For the countries you do need to apply for, it provides a link if you’re able to do so online. Visas aside, it will tell you any additional documents you need to bring with you, such as vaccination proof or registration.

 

 


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