best websites for travel

The 50 Best Travel Websites and Travel Resources 2024

March 28, 2024

Here’s my collection of the top 50 travel websites and travel resources for all stages of dreaming, planning, booking and remembering your trip based on decades of professional travel. 

The Best Travel Resources for Booking and Planning Your Trip 2024

As a regular contributor to  The Independent’s 50 Best Travel Websites feature , I know my way around travel websites. As a frequent traveller myself, I practically live on the things.

From dreaming about a trip, planning a trip, writing up a trip and reviewing trips for work, these are the travel resources, online booking sites, search engines and route planners I use to help me get the job done. Booking travel without travel agents has never been easier – even if it doesn’t feel like it at times.

So here’s my list of the best travel websites for 2024. It’s the best time to uncover the best places.

If you book or buy through the links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. However, we only ever recommend things we believe in and use ourselves. We also don’t earn a commission from all of these travel websites. Alas ;-)

The Best Hotel Booking Sites for Special Occasions

To find the best hotels needs a little bit of legwork. If you’re looking for somewhere beautiful to stay with a real travel experience, then try these sites first. If you’re looking for something more practical, jump on down to the next section.

Here are the top travel websites when it comes to boutique hotels:

Design Hotels

Beautiful, stylish and with up to 40% off for members, the chic and sleek Design Hotels website is a firm favourite of mine. Membership is free, quick and easy on the eye.

Best Loved Hotels

Best Loved Hotels gathers together properties from the UK and Ireland that show a real passion for what they do. From countryside manors to city break boltholes, I’ve stayed in several of their properties and have loved each one.

Mr & Mrs Smith

You may be forgiven for thinking this gorgeous collection was all about romance, but beyond finding great places for anniversaries and honeymoons, Mr & Mrs Smith cover great child friendly places too. Not just a website for inspiration, you can book directly on the site.

Small Luxury Hotels

The name says it all. Small Luxury Hotels   collect together independently minded hotels on their website and promise – and deliver – an authentic travel experience.

Leading Hotels of the World

Another website that wears its heart on its sleeve, Leading Hotels of the World gather together more than 375 luxury properties (including resorts) around the world.

MyBoutiqueHotel.com

With a great eye for design, MyBoutiqueHotel.com , as the name suggests, sources boutique hotels from around the world available for direct booking. Properties are combined into an easy on the eye collection, with curated lists for main cities plus the ability to create your own shortlists as you narrow down your choice. Membership is free and the themed lists save hours of research. You’ll find budget and luxury boutique hotel choices and can drill down to those suitable for work, for the kids, for romantic getaways and more.

The Best Hotel Booking Sites for the Best Deals and Specifics

These are the best travel websites for 2024 for booking flight and hotel packages together or for searching for accommodation when you have very specific needs. These online travel agencies let you trawl through thousands of places to stay in the blink of an eye. Plus, several offer exceptional hotel deals for your next adventure.

cozycozy.com

Describing itself as a search engine for accommodation, CozyCozy.com is an exciting newcomer on the hotel booking block. It rounds up offers from hotels, rentals, hostels, treehouses and boats into one easy to use platform. You’ll find the giants, like Booking.com and AirBnB and VRBO, as well as smaller accommodation solutions too. By searching with Cozycozy.com, you can save yourself a lot of time. They won’t cover everything. But they come pretty close.

A few more things to note. They guarantee that the price you see is the price you pay. They have a range of filters that go further than the rest (think searching for a hairdryer or washing machine.) And, my favourite. They have an “unusual” tab that opens up possibilities you may never have known existed. Yurt for one anyone?

Lastminute.com

I’ve grown old with Lastminute.com , originally because I fell in love with the name. But over the years, I still find them useful for last minute city break or resort based holidays (vacation packages if you’re from the US.) They’re an online travel agency with easy to navigate interface and lots of last-minute deals!

Expedia is SO big and all-encompassing that it’s sometimes easy to get lost within the website. But that’s also its strength for when your travel plans don’t fit into the travel sites I’ve mentioned above.

TripAdvisor

The great green travel website can really give you an inside look at a hotel. Yes, some of the reviews are fake but even the bad reviews can be helpful. One person’s “bad review” because there was no nightlife is another’s blissful discovery if they want a quiet, relaxing stay.

Plus, you get the benefit of booking through a trusted source with backup. AND the TripAdvisor community is really helpful if you have specific niggly questions about tourist destinations or are looking for great ideas.

Booking.com

Booking.com offers more search filters for hotels than anything else I’ve come across in the travel industry. When the specifics really matter (rather than the sense of atmosphere or design) then I turn to Booking.com It’s a powerful hotel search engine, with guest houses and self-catering options as well.

Top tips for finding the best travel deals

• Look for off peak options whenever you can.
• Don’t just stick to the big booking websites. Check out the smaller, unique travel websites as well.
• Consider flying from regional airports.
• Have a system! Our handy Travel Toolbox © will help with this.

Finding Great Flight Deals

There is, quite simply, an art to finding a good flight. Not just in terms of cost but also in terms of comfort and connection. It really is a useful life skill to be able to skip the travel agent and find what you want yourself.

With that in mind, check out our guide to the  best flight booking hacks for savvy travellers here.  

Then, get acquainted with the following flight search engines, for both domestic and international flights.

Skyscanner is the travel agent boyfriend or girlfriend with special deals you never had. Skyscanner listens, remembers your birthday, cleans your windscreen and empties the bin even when it isn’t its turn.

Well, OK, it doesn’t do any of that but  it DOES make it very, very easy to look for flights. Instead of forcing you to enter the same details in, or tie you to a date, Skyscanner uses filters and choices that simplify the flight-finding process. You can also search by price and switch currencies between dollars, euros, sterling and more. For both domestic and international travel.

If you have any flexibility in your planning, Skyscanner can let you search through the whole month for the best fare, slide filters for time of day, number of connections, just about anything. The only weak spot is searching for flights with infants, where the system is a little glitchy. Other than that, it’s one of the best airfare sites.

Don’t be put off by the watery name. Kayak is a meta search engine that crawls the web for flights and lets you sift through the results with ease. If you’re committed to finding the cheapest flights, then make sure you check everywhere you can.

Google Flights

Fellow travel professionals swear by Google Flights, although it’s never quite become one of my favourites. The strength of using Google’s software is that it responds quickly to real time changes. Perfect if your flight has just been cancelled because of weather or some other external event and you need to find your way home quickly.

You can even use Siri. “Hey google, give me search results for flights to New York!”

Travel experiences await.

The Best Travel Websites for Driving Holidays

You’re in road trip heaven here. We love road trips and have everything for them. Check out these great resources for planning a road trip.

Your Road Trip Toolkit

• The road trip essentials you need to know about
• The Ultimate Road Trip Planner  with printables and handbook
• 101 fun road trip questions for your next drive
• I nspiring road trip quotes for your instagram caption ideas.

AA Route Planner

This is another travel website that I love for its simplicity. Want to know how to get from A to B? Enter it in the AA Route Planner. It shows you a map and clear journey times in a split second. You can just leave it at that or add in stop off points and adjust for traffic and so on. The only problem is that it only covers driving in Europe.

MapQuest offers fantastic coverage of the United States and is free and easy to use to help plot our road trips.

Google Maps

Google Maps , on the other hand, cover the world. But it’s slightly more fiddly to use. It’s a lifesaver while actually on the road but it’s also useful in planning.

You can save destinations, plot itineraries and tweak public maps for your own trips. And – did you know that you can download maps and directions offline? Indeed, you can. It’s not only an online travel site.

Car Rental Travel Resources

I’ve driven cars all around the world and used all kinds of car rental companies and rental cars. Sometimes needs must but these days, wherever possible, I book through a reputable, international company. Then I look for car rental deals.

Hertz is one of my favourites. It’s so widespread and well-organised. Plus, as an inside tip, if you sign up to their Gold members programme (for free) you can quickly get lots of benefits.

However, for more of a search comparison site, I use Holiday Autos and then open RentalCars.Com in a new tab.

• Don’t forget to download your free copy of our car rental checklist here.

Healthy Tray of Treats Room Service at One Aldwych, Covent Garden

The Best Travel Resources for Health

Centers for disease control and prevention.

Clearly, you should consult your own doctor before you travel. But, the CDC Travel Website is the one my medical friends recommend. So, don’t rely on it entirely. You do need an appointment with a real person. But it’s helpful to get an idea of what vaccinations and medication you are likely to need for certain countries before you decide to book. This applies all the more if your situation has changed due to a recent illness or pregnancy.

The Best Travel Websites for Saving Money

Money saving expert.

Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website firmly focuses its attention on a UK audience. It provides regularly updated and researched guides on essentials from currency exchange to travel insurance and finding cheap flights.

They also crunch the numbers with credit cards, publishing spreadsheets and tables to help you navigate the world of credit card rewards and the best way to save money.

Travel Insurance

I’d always recommend checking out the guide above before you book. But one of my favourite places to go for travel insurance is Heymondo.

Roaming Costs: Airalo

Unless you have roaming fees included in your usual phone package, remember to switch off mobile data when you travel.

Instead, embrace the brilliance of an eSIM. That means, you switch SIM cards without having to physically pop the plastic cover out of your phone using the back of an earring, hoping you don’t lose it before you head home again.

I’ve tested Airalo all across the world, including North America, Europe and the Middle East. It’s fantastic. So quick. So much money saved.

Train Travel Resources

Db rail planner for train travel in europe.

I love the DB site. It covers almost all of Europe and has an English version online travel website that is so easy to use.

National Rail Journey Planner

National Rail itself may be long gone but as a travel website, the National Rail Journey Planner is the best I’ve found to negotiate the different rail networks of the UK.

Eurail (Formerly InterRail)

Forget the sweaty backpacker image. The Eurail network includes First Class rail travel through glossy transport hubs. You can buy a range of rail passes or simply use their maps, itineraries and suggestions to help you plan your rail trip through Europe.

Heathrow Express

This remains the fastest way to reach the city centre of London from London’s Heathrow Airport, as well as Paddington Station, the gateway to the west, southwest and Wales. Using the Heathrow Express website in advance, you can book tickets for as little as  £5.50. Plus, children 15 and under travel for free.

The Elizabeth Line in London

A sneaky little bit of inside info. To save money on the Heathrow Express, take the slightly slower “normal” train from Paddington to Heathrow instead. Costs a fraction of the price and is generally more comfortable.

If you’re looking to travel through Japan, then you can’t miss their high speed shinkansen trains. They’re part of what Japan is famous for. Buy your Japan Rail pass before you go to get the best deals as a tourist.

The Best Travel Websites for Honeymoons and Anniversaries

While you can build your own honeymoon through the travel resources above, niche travel website 101 Honeymoons takes the hard work out of the equation for you. It filters honeymoons by month, interest and family situation, with trusted input from some of the top travel writers in the trade.

My Favourite Cruise Travel Resources

Everyone has different tastes. I prefer smaller cruises with plenty of cultural and adventurous options and excursions. Look for cruise lines which aim to introduce people to the destination and respect local customs rather than just keep people on the ship.

I would highly recommend Avalon Waterways for cruises in Europe and beyond and Uncruise Adventures for small ship cruising in Alaska.

In 2022, I took my first giant cruise with Princess Cruises – and you can read what that was like here.

The Best Tour Companies

It took me years to believe it but sometimes joining a tour, just for half a day, is a great way of connecting with locals and learning new skills.

These days, it’s easier than ever to find just the tour you need as one of the latest trends has become a permanent fixture. In popular destinations, it’s also useful to use these sites to skip the queues and buy your tickets in advance.

You can search for recommendations on travel blogs (ahem) or head straight to the big search sites.

I’ve tested both of these across the world and would highly recommend them:

• Get Your Guide has great cancellation policies and an easy booking process.
• Viator has a huge collection of local guides, transfers from the airport, cooking classes and more.

The Best UK Travel Websites

Self catered cottages.

For ease of use, the app that comes with Sykes Cottages makes it easy to plan a trip away in snippets of down time in a busy life. Quality Cottages sweeps some gorgeous luxury cottages into view in Wales.

Glampingly remains my favourite site for finding quirky yet comfortable glamping spots in Europe. Want to know why? Check out this collection of the best treehouse holidays in the UK.

With a mix of glamping and alternative places to sleep, C anopy and Stars fills in the gaps.

A special, self-catered foodie twist

To add a sense of luxe to your self-catered holiday, order in a gourmet meal from One Fine Dine. This private jet catering company now packages up incredible meals with full instructions on how to finish them off and plate them up. Adds a lovely sense of occasion to a self-catered trip away.

In Conclusion

And one last note. Are you American and wondering why I’m not talking about dream vacation packages? I am, we just call them holidays in the UK. And car rentals are hire cars. And travel guides are, well, travel guides. I guess some things stay the same after all ;-)

Did you enjoy this collection of the best travel websites and travel resources for 2024? Bookmark this list of travel websites on Pinterest for later.

For more travel tips, check out our travel resources on how to plan your next trip here.

Our Favourite Travel Resources for 2024

• Download your FREE pre-trip checklist
• Download your copy of the Ultimate Travel Packing Checklist

Some of the best travel resources can be those you create yourself. Here are some creative travel journal ideas to get you started. Future you will be grateful!

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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 . 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.

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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The 12 Best Websites for Booking Flights at the Cheapest Prices [April 2024]

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Book Direct Through the Airline’s Website

4. priceline, 8. skyscanner, 9. travelocity, 10. google flights, 11. cheapoair, price comparisons, final thoughts.

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Searching for a flight can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many factors: dates, times, price, fare class, airline, and more. Even when you know exactly when and where you want to fly, where should you look for the absolute best price?

Unfortunately, no website consistently has the lowest prices. Most of the popular OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) are usually in the same ballpark for the price, but not all offer the same benefits or search functionality.

We’ve combed through many popular OTAs to compare prices and show you the benefits and drawbacks of each site.

More often than not, booking directly through the airline’s website will give you the best price, or will at least be the same as the OTAs.

Some airlines, like Southwest, won’t even show up on sites like Expedia or Orbitz, so you have to book direct. It can also be the most simple way to book. If a problem arises, you don’t have to deal with a third party to get it resolved.

Another reason to book directly through an airline’s website is to use those frequent flyer miles — hooray for award flights!

Of course, to book through the airline’s website, you first need to know which airline has the best prices. There are lots of travel search engines and OTAs that can help you find the best deals so you know which airline’s website to visit. Some OTAs even offer perks that might make it worth booking someplace other than the airline’s site.

Hot Tip: A card such as The Platinum Card ® from American Express earns an impressive 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with  AmexTravel.com on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.

Momondo is a travel metasearch engine similar to Kayak. The home page displays a simple search box where you can plug in your travel details.

One of the things we love about this site is the visual way it shows you the price trends for your flight. At first glance, you can tell if you could save some money by shifting around your travel dates a bit. It also offers a price tracker and lots of filtering options on the left-hand side of the screen.

Pros and Cons of Momondo

• Great price tracking tools
• Mix & Match fares require you to make 2 separate reservations; this is usually handled “behind the scenes” on other websites

Hot Tip: We cover the ins and outs of finding cheap airfare with this website in our guide to using Momondo .

Kayak is not an OTA. Rather, it’s a travel search engine — making it a great place to start your flight search.

The site compares prices from many websites in a single spot, so you can easily see the cheapest options . Most of the time, you’ll click through to a different site to complete your booking.

Kayak offers the ability to combine 2 one-way tickets (usually on different airlines) in 1 itinerary, which is a great way to save money on your flight. These itineraries can be pretty good deals and something that doesn’t always appear in search results of other websites.

A couple of new features were introduced in early 2024 — Kayak PriceCheck and Ask Kayak. Kayak PriceCheck allows you to upload a screenshot of an itinerary in the Kayak app, and Kayak will compare it to prices on hundreds of other sites to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Ask Kayak is an AI tool that helps you personalize your travel planning.

Pros and Cons of Kayak

• Ability to combine 2 one-way flights on a single itinerary
• Price Alerts to keep an eye on flight prices
• Kayak PriceCheck
• Kayak offers the most benefit when your travel plans are very flexible; many of its most valuable tools help you search for deals, so this site might be less appealing when you have a specific flight in mind

Bottom Line: For more information about Kayak’s travel search tools, check out the complete guide to booking travel with Kayak .

Daily Deals Special: Click here for up to 40% off at Expedia

Expedia is another tried-and-true OTA that people have been using since the 1990s. Back then, Expedia was a go-to source for searching and booking flights. But how does it stack up now?

You aren’t necessarily getting a better deal booking through Expedia, but you aren’t paying any more than you might on the airline’s website.

A nice perk of using Expedia is that it offers a rewards program called One Key. This program offers member pricing plus the ability to earn points for flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, activities, and more.

The One Key loyalty program is also used by Hotels.com and Vrbo.

If you’re a member of an airline’s frequent flyer program, you’ll be happy to know that you can still earn airline miles on a flight booked through Expedia . However, you often won’t be able to earn miles/points toward status or be eligible for seat upgrades.

Pros and Cons of Expedia

• Earn and redeem points through the One Key program
• Booking through Expedia may limit your mileage earned toward elite status
• Your ability to be eligible for upgrades can be limited when you book through Expedia

Hot Tip:  For more information, check out our post about how to use Expedia to find great deals on flights, hotels, vacation packages (and more).

Priceline is a popular OTA that introduced the Name Your Own Price tool and opaque bookings. These types of bookings can offer discounts, but many of the details are hidden until after the booking. The Name Your Own Price tool was discontinued for flights in 2016, so now Priceline operates like most other OTAs .

One of the nice things about searching for flights on Priceline is that it has a nice color-coded calendar, so you can easily see which days offer the lowest prices.

The search results on Priceline are clear and easy to navigate. As you scroll through your search results, you can easily see the cheapest nonstop options and things like flights with no change fees or early bird flights.

Another way to save money is by looking at Priceline’s Express Deals . These opaque bookings are ones where select details of the flight (like the departure, arrival times, or even the airline) are hidden until the booking is complete.

Pros and Cons of Priceline

• Express Deal flights can offer a good discount if you have some flexibility; many of the details of the flight, including airline and arrival and departure times, are hidden until the booking is complete
• Color-coded calendar and easy-to-read search results
• Price Match Guarantee
• Free online cancellation within 24 hours of booking (except for Express Deal flights)
• No rewards program
• Express Deal flights can be good deals, but they can sometimes be even more expensive than a standard booking

Bottom Line: For more information, check out the complete guide to booking travel with Priceline .

Daily Deals Special: Check out Orbitz’s Daily Deals

Orbitz is another reliable OTA that has been around since 2001. One thing that makes this site a little different is that it offers its own rewards program called Orbitz Rewards . You can earn Orbucks when you book hotels, flights, and vacation packages through Orbitz. However, you can only redeem Orbucks for hotels.

When booking a flight through Orbitz, you’ll earn 1% of your purchase price back as Orbucks (or 2% if you use the Orbitz mobile app). If you book a $500 flight, you will earn 5 Orbucks, which is worth $5 toward a hotel booking. Joining the Orbitz Rewards program is free.

Unfortunately, Orbitz sometimes charges a 1% booking fee . Keep an eye out for these on your trip summary page before finalizing your purchase, and factor them into your calculations to see if you’re getting a good deal or not. While earning Orbucks is great, paying a booking fee could wipe out all of the benefits.

Pros and Cons of Orbitz

• Orbitz Rewards lets you earn Orbucks that can be applied to hotel bookings
• 24-hour cancellation policy
• Low Price Guarantee: if you find a lower price for your flight on another website within 24 hours, Orbitz will refund the difference
• Flight booking fees

Bottom Line: For more information, check out our guide to booking travel with Orbitz .

Agoda is an OTA owned by Priceline. This website doesn’t offer much more than a simple search with limited filter options when looking for flights. If you’re looking for unique accommodations such as an apartment or private villa, Agoda is worth checking out, but it doesn’t offer much when searching for flights.

One cool thing about Agoda is that the site is multilingual. You can select your language by clicking on the flag in the top menu bar.

Pros and Cons of Agoda

• Simple search functionality
• Multilingual option
• Limited filtering options for flights

Hot Tip: Agoda has a loyalty program called VIP, but it only applies to hotel stays. For more information, check out our guide to booking travel through Agoda .

Special: See these Hotwire Flight Deals

Hotwire is a popular OTA that has been around for almost 20 years.

The simple home page offers the main search box to input your departure and arrival cities as well as your desired dates of travel.

Hotwire can offer a great deal when booking a hotel along with your flight . Many times during the booking process, you’ll see pop-ups or prompts advertising great savings when booking a hotel at the same time. We tested it, and every time we priced out a Hotwire vacation package deal against purchasing a flight and hotel separately, the package deal was cheaper.

Bottom Line: If you need a hotel in addition to your flight, booking both together through Hotwire can save you money.

Another thing to remember when using Hotwire to find great flight deals is that sometimes a booking fee will be charged.

Pros and Cons of Hotwire

• Package deals that include a hotel stay can save money
• Low Price Guarantee
• Hotwire can sometimes charge a booking fee

Bottom Line: For more details about finding great deals, check out our complete guide to booking travel through Hotwire .

Skyscanner is another travel search engine that does not sell flights directly. It shows you a list of flights and links to the airline’s website or OTA to complete the purchase.

This site excels for travelers with flexibility . In the search box, you can select Explore everywhere  to search for the cheapest destinations on your chosen dates.

If you have a set destination with specific dates, Skyscanner operates like most other travel search sites.

Pros and Cons of Skyscanner

• Flexible searches, including Explore everywhere  and Multi-city search
• Easy to change language and currency
• Price alerts

Hot Tip:  For more information, check out our in-depth piece on Skyscanner . 

Travelocity is yet another OTA that has been around for a while and is very similar to the other websites we’ve been looking at.

On the plus side, there are some nice filtering options to help you find the best flight for your needs. On the downside, prices can change between selection and booking. We did a dummy booking, and by the time we got to the payment section, the flight price had gone up from $157 to $338!

Much like other online travel agencies, Travelocity can also charge booking fees, so keep an eye out for those in the payment section of the booking process.

Pros and Cons of Travelocity

• Price Guarantee: If you find a lower price on an identical itinerary within 24 hours, Travelocity will refund the difference in price
• Free cancellation on flights within 24 hours of booking (on most airlines)
• Travelocity sometimes charges a booking fee
• Prices can change between flight selection and payment

Bottom Line: For more information, check out our guide to booking travel with Travelocity .

Google Flights is not an OTA. Rather, it’s a metasearch engine similar to Kayak. Once you find a flight, Google Flights will link you to the airline’s direct website or an OTA to complete the purchase. It is a powerful search engine built on the ITA Matrix , which was originally developed for travel agents.

This site shows you price trends and how your travel dates could affect the cost of your ticket. Plus, it allows you to track the prices of a route , so you can jump on low prices when they pop up. These features make Google Flights a great tool to help you feel confident that the price you’re getting is a good deal.

Google Flights recently rolled out a price guarantee feature on select flights departing from the U.S. If you book a flight with the price guarantee badge and the price drops, you’ll get a refund of the difference (with a maximum of $500 per calendar year) from Google Flights via Google Pay. However, you can only receive up to 3 price guaranteed refunds at any one time.

Pros and Cons of Google Flights

• Price graph shows you the pricing trends for your route and allows you to see what days might be cheaper to fly
• Price tracking will send you an email when your flight’s price increases or decreases
• Automatic price guarantee on select flights
• Since this search engine is so powerful with lots of options, it could get complicated for a novice traveler

Hot Tip: You can earn frequent flyer miles on flights booked through an OTA, but you might not earn miles toward elite status.

CheapOair is an OTA that offers its own credit card. Before applying for the card, we recommend considering a better travel rewards credit card  for more lucrative and flexible travel rewards.

This site might not be as cheap as you would think. That’s because it can charge expensive “agency fees.” For most flights, the fees can be up to $35; however, once you read the fine print, you’ll see they can actually be as high as $200 per ticket!

In addition, CheapOair charges a fee to change or cancel any ticket, including within 24 hours, which is free on many other sites.

Pros and Cons of CheapOair

• Price Match Promise: CheapOair will refund the difference in price if you find a lower price on the same itinerary on a major OTA within 24 hours of booking
• CheapOair charges hefty booking fees in addition to fees to cancel or change your flight
• Price Match Promise is very limited; the guarantee is only good for identical flights on Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and Travelocity

Bottom Line: CheapOair might not be cheap after all. It advertises low base fares, but it charges booking fees, which usually result in a higher price than the airline’s website. For more information, check out our guide to CheapOair .

Hopper is an app that tries to predict the right time to buy a flight. It claims that using its app can save you up to 40% on flights. The simple interface and color-coded map show you the cheapest and most expensive times to fly to your chosen destination.

You can also set up alerts to watch the prices for your specific dates or watch a whole month if you have flexible travel plans.

Pros and Cons of Hopper

• Easy to use
• Choose to watch prices for a specific trip or choose to watch prices over a whole month
• No ability to search on a desktop
• Few filtering options

Hot Tip: There are many credit cards with travel insurance and extra protections like trip interruption and cancellation protection and baggage delay coverage . We suggest looking at Chase credit cards or Amex credit cards for great insurance coverage.

We searched for a flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York City (JFK) across different travel booking websites to compare pricing head-to-head. Below is the cheapest ticket each website offered.

In this search, we weren’t taking anything other than price into consideration. When you are actually booking a flight, there will most likely be more factors that go into your decision of which flight to book.

In this example, Google Flights, Hopper, and Priceline tied for the cheapest flight cost with Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity coming in just $3 more expensive. CheapOair was by far the most expensive option.

There is no one-stop shop to find the lowest prices on a flight every time. Most OTAs are in the same ballpark when it comes to price.

If you’ve got some flexibility, many of these sites can help you find the lowest-priced travel dates and destinations.

If you prefer a more traditional booking, start out with a travel search engine like Kayak or Google Flights to search all of the other sites. That will give you a good idea of the best website to use to save the most money on your next flight.

Are you a student? Don’t miss our guide to the best websites for cheap, discount student flights .

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For rates and fees of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, click here .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best website to use to book the cheapest flights.

There is no single website that has the cheapest flights all of the time. Most of the travel search engines and online travel agencies all have similar pricing, however you can find some really nice deals when looking at opaque (hidden) bookings or vacation packages.

What is an opaque booking?

An opaque booking hides many of the flight details, including arrival and departure times and the operating airline, until your booking is complete. Many sites including Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity offer these types of bookings.

Will I earn frequent flyer miles when I book through an online travel agency?

Generally, yes, you will still be able to earn frequent flyer miles on flights booked through an online travel agency. However, miles earned to qualify for elite status may be not be awarded unless you book directly through the airline’s website.

What are the best websites to buy cheap flights to Europe?

Your best bet would be to start with a travel search engine like Kayak or Google Flights. You will be able to see prices from many different websites in one place and you can track flight prices to help determine the best time to purchase tickets. Be sure to check out our guide to the best websites to book European vacation packages if you want to bundle your flight with a hotel and/or rental car.

Is it cheaper to book directly on the airline's website?

Often, an airline will offer the lowest prices through its own website. However, you can often save money booking through an online travel agency (OTA) that has the ability to combine flights from more than 1 airline into a single itinerary.

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About Katie Seemann

Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure, Forbes Advisor, and Fortune Recommends.

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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

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16 Best TRAVEL Websites To Check Out In 2023 (for Flights, Hotels, Deals)

Beware! Traveling is highly addictive! Once you try out that gathering the most unforgettable memories of your life can cost very little, you will never want to stay comfy at home. We put together a list of the best travel websites that will help to take the first step and GO!

I promise, it’s feasible and verified by many adventurous travelers around the world. Just think how much of your comfort you are willing to sacrifice; where are your personal borders; and what is your inner, deep reason for this particular travel.

Check out also: Best Travel Apps 2022

Here are the top travel websites that should land in the favorites bar of your web browser to help you with traveling:

SAFETY WING – Best Travel Insurance, monthly plans

• Monthly subscription $42/month
• Live chat support
• Covers Covid-related cancellations and expenses

“Better safe than sorry” – you can’t beat that statement!

Safety Wing recently came up with undoubtedly the best travel insurance plan, called Remote Health . It’s a long-term plan that covers you for pre-existing conditions, cancer, or even in your home country. Ideal for long-term travelers or digital nomads.

They also offer amazing monthly plans for short-term travel that come with very competitive prices, starting at $40.

Check the full comparison of digital nomad insurance plans!

Get Your Guide – One of The Best Travel Websites for Booking Trips and Tours

• Trusted tours in 1000+ cities
• Payment online
• Refund options

Skyscanner for flights

• best flights deals and options
• useful monthly calendar
• deals for accommodation with tickets

Let us be honest: amazingly cheap flight tickets are often the first and yet the most important reason we keep on moving our asses from country to country. Even though we promised our inner selves to settle down for a while.  

Don’t blame yourself. Put the blame on Skyscanner, their mobile app and their delightfully intruding newsletter.

Withlocals – Enjoy Your Trip with Locals

• easy booking platform
• discover cities with locals
• hikes, food tours, walks, historical tours, etc.

One of the fastest-growing travel projects of last year that connects travelers with a local community. You can book amazing trips with locals and visit the most authentic places and experience local life. Your guide will help you to get out of tourists traps and find the real spirit of the places you want to visit.

They have easy to use APP interface, a great review system, and their trips are way more affordable than traditional agency tours. No brainer!

FACEBOOK TRAVEL GROUPS

• Travel Community – general travel FB group
• GirlsLOVETravel   – female-only travel FB group
• Young Travelers Network   – for youngsters/post-millennials
• Families Who Love to Travel – family travel group
• Secret Flying – cheap flight deals
• check the full list of travel FB groups on packslight.com

Almost everybody is on Facebook and in a few FB groups but yet, they still forget to check them when they are looking for tips or answers.

Here is the list of the most active and helpful travel FB groups:

Hotel Tonight  – LAST MINUTE HOTEL DEALS

USE CODE “ VVINCEJ ” to get your 25USD discount (minimum spent 150USD)

REVOLUT – Best Conversion Rates (0% fees)

*TOP* APP for TRAVELERS 2020 & Fastest growing FinTech in Europe

If you are a regular traveler and you haven’t tried REVOLUT yet, then you are missing out a lot. REVOLUT is a fairly new Electronic Money Institution which provides you with some “revolutionary” services.

Having an account with Revolut is for FREE , you just need to pay for the shipping of your debit card. All you need to do is register in the app and order the card. Next step is to link your card with some of your other accounts and TOP up. Topping up is FREE and once your money is on Revolut, then you can take advantages of various features like:

• FREE atm withdrawals up to 400 euros
• Real-time spending tracking in the app
• Best conversion rates / no additional fees / middle conversion rate %

Another great advantage is security because you can top up anytime when you are connected to the internet. That means when you are traveling, you can keep you balance somewhere between 0-100euro and if somebody or some ATM scams you, you won’t lose much. You can also block the card anytime when you are connected to the internet.

RentalCars.com & Booking.com

RentalCars has been offering best car rental discounts for ages!  A few months ago they teamed up with Booking.com and became n.1. rental car search engine. Renting a car can get very expensive addition to your budget while traveling.

Especially when you travel solo or just as a couple. Therefore, RentalCars is your best bet in order to find the best discounts.

Hostelworld

If there is some budget for the accommodation and you wish to enjoy a certain level of being incognito and inner peace, definitely look for the best offers among hostels . Sometimes, they can be pretty expensive, too, but HostelWorld knows what people like us need. Definitely, best website for backpackers!

It can also be a way of securing the first night to skip a lovely sleep on the airport benches. Or, and that is even worse, to spend a night in front of the bus station that usually closes at midnight to 4 am.

In this case, book just the first night and then find some shelter at the locals or meet your potential couchsurfer host on-site.

Homeexchange

Swapping houses is a fabulous two-in-one option. You won’t spend a euro on accommodation, and in the meanwhile will get someone to feed your cat and water your roses while you’re off for traveling. Just make sure to get complete references of the swapper and talk together as much as possible in advance.

I confess it might be risky. But on the other hand, the whole active community of HomeExchange is built on trust . See your swappers` former reviews, where and when he or she stayed and what was written about that. Home insurance can also help to enjoy your days off in peace.

If not quite convinced, check the movie The Holiday for a better imagination to see how much fresh air this can bring into your life. Maybe there are huge positive moves ahead!

AirBnb – Apartments Rental

GET 20USD discount on your first trip

Haven’t you heard of AirBnb? Then you are missing out my friend. AirBnb is the perfect tool to find cheap accommodation that allows you to live in the place you are visiting like a local.

With AirBnb you can rent a room that is being offered by a local, and that sometimes means having a room in a family house where you interact with them on a daily basis. If that is just not your style then you can rent out a private house, flat or whatever you want. the possibilities are endless.

And if you travel as a couple, renting an Airbnb can be sometimes cheaper than staying in a shared dorm in a hostel. Apartments are becoming a popular alternative to hotels for budget travelers.

WORLD NOMADS – Best / Budget Travel Insurance

Nowadays, there is no need to highlight how important is to have insurance when traveling around the world! Not having one can lead to serious budget issues and you can end up “broke” and finish your trip very fast.

World Nomads has been offering their services for a long time and became N.1. global/international insurance for travelers.

Trusted by big brands like Lonely Planet, Inrepid, International Volunteers HQ etc. You should definitely have a look on their website before you go on your next adventure.

SE7EN – Volunteering

If you are willing to spend a portion of a day by teaching or decorating the walls of an art gallery for accommodation in return, this is something for you. SE7EN offers lists of the volunteer projects and allows you to contact hosts directly.

You will be requested to pay 15-euro membership at the beginning, but if there will be no project chosen from your side, they offer a  money return guarantee.

Couchsurfing

Be social, spend some time with your host and he will be glad to point out the best places to go in the area. You might experience the best party with his friends diving completely into the local culture.

Feel free to share something with your host. It doesn’t have to be anything valuable. I often show pictures of my current trip or bring something small and typical from my current hometown.

Being a good host is as demanding as to be a good guest. Tolerance is a must on both sides. But above all, it should be fun.

Couchsurfing has turned into the APP as well and you can also find plenty of events/meetups in almost every country. NEW “hang out” option allows you to create an event in your area very fast and catch up with a bunch of travelers for beers/dinner/walk and share some experience from inspiring travels .

Sleeping in Airports

Raise your hand if you have ever slept at the airport. Sometimes it’s about money but sometimes it’s just that your flight departs just so early in the morning that it doesn’t make sense to travel back and forth for more comfortable sleep.

Long sleepovers on the way, objective circumstances you just can’t affect may also leave you stuck at the airport for many hours. This website gathers reviews and experiences of travelers from airports around the world along with useful airport guides to help you survive a sleepover.

Find out where are the electricity plugs, comfortable chairs, quiet areas, free sofas in cafes, wifi passwords, etc.

Handy extra feature we liked is the list of cities where you can enjoy a tour and get to know a city you’re flying through.

Warning: it’s highly possible you will find yourself searching for long stopovers on purpose.

Similarly to Skyscanner, Kayak tool searches for the cheapest flying options from your current location. It beats Skyscanner in the field of multi-city trips and includes searches for nearby airports with cheaper fares.

So now do not hesitate a moment. You have all that you need for your budget travel!

Expedia.com

Expedia is similar to Booking.com, however, it is occasionally less expensive. Expedia Group, Inc. is an American online travel agency for personal and business travel.

Its websites, “which primarily travel fare aggregators and travel metasearch engines, include Expedia.com, Vrbo (formerly HomeAway), Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, trivago, and CarRentals.com.”

When you book through the app, you can save up to 25% on select hotels while earning double points. Their offers will save you even more money on your vacation, which means you can travel more.

The app has a database of over 500,000 hotels around the world.

— PIN IT 🙂 —

If you made it all the way down here, we would like to thank you for visiting and reading! We hope you’ve found some useful information and you enjoyed this list of best travel websites that we put together with a survey and fellow travel bloggers.

If you have any suggestions for a travel website that we should include in this list please, feel free to suggest in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: you might bump into some affiliate links in this article. Those links help us to earn some commission and support our efforts to run this online magazine. We appreciate your support.

I highly recommend these two couchsurfing communities for female travellers:

Host a Sister – Facebook group where women around the world can find accommodations. Travel Ladies – mobile app connecting women who want to travel with other women who want to host them

Very helpful. One point that I would like to add for future reviews is on the issue of customer service, primarily for travel aggregator sites like Expedia, Travelocity, etc. By and large, many of these sites get good reviews for functionality. But customer service for many of these sites, if something goes wrong or your booking is erroneously cancelled, is NONE EXISTENT. Meaning that if you have to travel on short notice for work or family issues, BEWARE.

Please consider checking & adding this one if you wish! Thanks http://www.YouBookTravelHire.com

Thanks. Will do.

Wow this is all great and so useful! Thank you for this amazing guide. I’m traveling soon and had no idea about 80% of these sites! Thank you!

Travel Huge ( https://www.travelhuge.com ) |

Best Travel Website for Flights & Hotel Bookings.

Its New, But Prices are far better than bookit, Kayak, Skyscanner, Hotwire, Priceline .

I had never used Travel Huge before, but an acquaintance told me about how easy and inexpensive last-minute flights and hotels could be using Travel Huge. I booked two round trips tickets for travel within 21 days of bookings.

Thanks for the tip, we will consider adding it 🙂

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Every travel website claims it can get you the best deal. They claim to search hundreds, nay thousands of other websites. Each one claims to be different.

That’s what makes them so alike.

But there are differences. Here are some of the top travel sites for coupon deals, negotiated-rate hotels, last-minute offers and other circumstances that might arise for your future travels.

For hidden coupon and mobile deals on hotels

For comparing airfares

For negotiated-rate hotels

United vacations.

For risk-takers

For Vegas, baby

Smartervegas.

For flight deals you might otherwise miss

Southwest airlines.

For customized fare-drop notifications

Airfarewatchdog.

For rental cars

Discount usa car rental.

For last-minute ideas

For vacation rentals

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice: 8 pro tips for smart and cheap family travel What every airline reservationist knows that you should, too How to uncover the identity of Priceline and Hotwire mystery hotels before purchasing

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-6.5% Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

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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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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

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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15 Travel Planning Websites For The Savvy Traveler

I have been a solo woman traveling for 10 + years now! And when I first started to adventure around the world, travel planning websites were pretty basic. The internet has come a long way since 2010. And all this technology has been game-changing for women traveling independently! Use these 15 travel planning websites to create the trip of your dreams!

Why use a travel planning website? The answer to this question could be endless. But narrowing it down to why it is most beneficial, we can start with finding the best deals and travel recommendations!

Human-written content, by me, and nearly all original images, unless stated. Posts could have affiliate links to help offset the cost of maintaining this blog. When you click on a link we receive a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you. See Our Affiliate Policy and Advertiser Disclosure for more info.

Often the travel budget is almost everyone’s major factor when booking a trip.

Using a site to help you find a flight or hotel can be so helpful when it comes to saving money.

Also, more inclusive sites provide suggestions for the best routes, restaurants, and attractions in the area.

When booking my trips, I use these 15 travel planning websites consistently. Once I have arrived at my destination, there is also 13 must-have travel app for solo females I use every trip.

I will start to break down each travel planning site and why these are vital in helping me in crafting my travel itinerary.

A trick to save money on travel is by getting a travel credit card and using those points or miles.

15 Travel Planning Websites

Of all the sites I find online planners, these are the ones I find most useful.

The best trip planning website will help you book any trip, whether a road trip, vacation rental, or just a little getaway off the beaten path! Some of these sites have membership reward programs!

Want me to plan your trip?

👩🏻‍💻 Need Help Planning Your Trip? Get a customized itinerary !

This travel planning website is gold! When using Skyscanner, I love getting inspired to choose where to go by setting my destination to “ Explore Anywhere .” A good starting point is to just put your departure city and the dates you want to travel, then add anywhere to your destination choice. Click search, and BOOM, a list of destinations will appear sorted by cheapest option first.

Who doesn’t love finding the best deals and discovering new cities? Using this feature, I have discovered a couple of “off-the-beaten-path” destinations. I can credit my trip to Bari, Italy , and Valletta, Malta, to using Skyscanner .

Booking.com

I love booking.com for so many reasons! It is not just a site to find cheap flights and hotel rooms, but vacation rentals booking site too!

You can also use this traveling planning website to book airport taxis! Your next travel adventure can all be booked within this platform. I feel like I am always finding the best deals on booking.com !

This site has a nifty loyalty program that saves you money the more you book with them. Genius level one, which is achieved with any two stays within two years, gets you 10% off your account’s life. And, when you complete 5 stays within 2 years, you are upgraded to Genius level 2. In level 2, you are bumped up to a 15% discount and complimentary breakfast and upgrades at some select hotels.

I should also mention the travel community forum on this site. It’s perfect if you plan to visit somewhere in the offseason and want to know if it’s worth it. This sort of travel forum is beneficial for solo females traveling and interested in safety advice . 

Get Your Guide

As far as trip-planning websites go, Get Your Guide is highly rated and user-friendly! This site is wonderful for getting an overview of the city’s best tourist attractions and tours. The ease of using this site and helpful traveler reviews make it a winner.

Many people often don’t think of a traveler hack using a day tour to get from point A to point B. BUT LET ME BE CLEAR, you can only do this if you travel with a backpack . Showing up for your day tour to another city with your suitcase will not work. I would often travel with a small backpack to the destination city and stay after the tour.

Get Your Guide as a travel planning site has been really terrific. I recommend it over any other travel sites offering similar services.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance!

Travel insurance is so important in today’s travel environment. Safety Wing provides the best rates for the most coverage. Get a quote in Seconds !

Discover Cars

Would I call a car rental company trip planner website? Probably not exactly, BUT, if you are planning to do driving on your trip its important.

I use Discover Cars for rental cars. What I also really love about Discover Cars is the customer service.

Find the best rates in your destinations by using the search feature. I really love being able to find all the information I need when renting a car abroad on their site!

Ferry Scanner

There is something magical about traveling from island to island. For my trips via the open sea, no better site to use than Ferry Scanner . This travel planning website is a great tool to help shape your travel itinerary.

Search in your home currency and it will display search results for the cheapest and shortest duration. This way, you are finding the best deals with the optimal travel time.

Ferry Scanner has friendly customer service. I have used them most recently and had to make some changes to the travel dates.

I was able to do this easily on their site without hassle or fees. For ferry transportation options, you can’t go wrong!

A NEW and exciting travel planning app out there is Wanderlog. Wanderlog is especially cool if you are planning a road trip. Use this highly integrated app easily to keep all your travel plans organized.

Use Wanderlog on your desktop or on your phone with the ISO/ Android App. In addition to keeping all your travel plans organized, you can find loads of travel guides created by locals.

Easily export all your saved points of interest into Google Maps! I am very impressed with the overall ease of use and functionality of Wanderlog.

United Vacations

One of the best vacation planning websites is United Vacations ! If you are someone planning to travel a lot in your life, do yourself a favor and align yourself with an airline.

For me, that airline is United Airlines. I have taken advantage of all the programs that United has to offer and racked up enough points to always fly business or first class !

United Vacations is a great site for travel planning and growing your mileage account while planning your trip effortlessly!

To get started building your mileage you need to set yourself up for free with an account. Then to take advantage of all the programs to grow your miles, get the United Credit Card!

This offer will start you off with THOUSANDS of miles! Possibly enough to actually fly business class to Europe!

✈️ How to Fly Business Class for Less than Economy

Tours By Locals

Booking tour activities with Tours By Locals is a great way to support the city you are visiting. I just love their travel planning website! The platform is really easy to use, with many helpful filters.

You can just put in your travel days and choose the type of tour you would like to filter by. They have Multi-Day, Half-Day, and Full-Day. The reviews of the tour are also very helpful in making a choice on what to do.

Road Trip Planner- Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is a fantastic travel planning site with some extra helpful features! It’s not just a road trip planner that gives directions. Roadtrippers is an app and a travel planning site that allows you multiple ways to organize trips.

Special features included with Premium Membership – Trip Guides, Voices, Trips Planner, and more! They are always adding partnerships and offering the best deals!

Speaking of Deals, use my promo code and save $5 on your next vacation! Code: BTR5QTP Visit the site HERE!

Multi-City Trip Planning

A new website has emerged for the best trip planner for a multi-city trip, and I am impressed! The company is called Inspirock . The inspiration to see the planet is their slogan.

I’ve had a lot of fun with this travel planning site! You can build multi-destination trips with a few clicks! How it works is you first put in your travel dates and then choose a few activities.

The site then plugs in tour activities and hotel booking recommendations. It will produce a whole itinerary with transportation options, etc.

Viator has some of the best-organized activities for traveling! For planning the best day trips and private tours I would highly recommend having a look,.

I find the platform so easy to use, and I love the customer service. It has been my experience that Viator offers the most options in some of the more remote locations!

When I am traveling in Europe , I always put in my destination city to see what they have to offer!

Check out the reviews from travelers and compare them to other sites, Viator will come out on top!

Google Flights

First, there was Google Maps, now there is Google Flights! Like Google Maps, Google Flights can be used as a multi-city travel planner website. I often start getting ideas for my travels with their search features.

Much like with Google Maps you put in a destination and it suggests several different routes to get there.

What I love most about trip planning websites like Google Flights is you can let it suggest places for you! I just put in my dates and where I am starting from and the trip planning starts to take shape from there.

I save money searching for future trips using Google Flights. The cheap flights stand out if you search with no destination set. I look to see what city comes up as the cheapest and then I research destinations from there. It’s free, it’s easy, and I just love it!

Triptile is an essential tool as a digital trip planner! It does all the trip planning work in minutes.

The homepage has a screen full of popular travel destination tiles to get the inspiration flowing. Then, you choose cities to add to your trip, and start the creation of the next adventure begins!

Get around from city to city by bus! Sometimes it is the fastest way to travel.

I like Flix Bus for the customer service and great website ideal for trip planning!

Google Maps (My Favorite Travel Planning Site)

Chances are you are very familiar with Google Maps. Used by travelers more often than not Google Maps is great when on vacation.

The off-line maps feature is very helpful if you are traveling abroad and don’t have WIFI. You can create your own custom map and save your itinerary-based attractions such as hotels, restaurants, etc.

It might not be an actual travel planner, but it will help you find the best route to your destination.

Looking for the Best Airport Transfer Service?

AirportTransfer.com has the best rates for arranging transportation to your destination!

More Travel Planning Websites for Dining Reservations

These days there are so many sites to use for travel planning. Now when it comes to dinner reservations I use many. Here is a list of the sites/apps I use for making dining reservations.

• Open Table – A one-stop shop to use for making restaurant reservations
• Happy Cow (find vegan restaurants)

Plan a Multi-City Trip to Europe

Planning a multi-city trip to Europe can be tricky. Luckily I made a bunch of mistakes and took notes! Learn all about how to plan a multi-city trip to Europe the right way!

This post talks about the importance of airport transfers and considering the time it will actually take from your day. I will give you pointers on what are the best travel planning do’s and don’t’s!

Free 12 Page

Solo travel digital planner, faq’s.

Google Trips (Google Travel) : This all-in-one travel planning tool allows you to explore flights, hotels, and things to do in a wide range of destinations. It integrates with other Google services, providing personalized recommendations based on your search history and saved places.

Stay In Touch

Melissa Byron, a seasoned solo traveler since 2009, is the founder & visionary behind A Solo Woman Traveling. Drawing from her extensive personal experience globetrotting solo to over 40 countries, she has dedicated herself to a mission: crafting invaluable guides and itineraries for women who embark on solo adventures.

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I like the idea of checking on a website that has restaurants and attractions laid out for me to read about. Vacations are a way for me to escape my boring hometown. To try new food and experiences that I can’t get anywhere else.

It’s exactly why I travel! I love trying new places to eat.

Thank you for your comments, I’ve been looking for something that seems to be what you describe as Wanderlog, I’m going to check it out.

Also, only slightly off topic, I travel a lot on business and have been using Expedia but have never really been happy with the service. I see you recommend Booking and I just might move to their service but what I really need is a site that will allow me to organize various bookings into expense reports. With Expedia, preparing a travel expense report is miserable.

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Which is the cheapest month to fly?

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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?

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What should I look out for when booking flights?

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Where can I fly for cheap?

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This Rare Earth

A travel resource for the adventurous and often-solo female

The 17 Best Trip Planning Websites for Travelers

Tips & Resources , Blog / July 4, 2023 by Monica / Leave a Comment

Looking for the best trip planning websites for your next vacation? Or, on the hunt for the best websites for flight deals, hotel deals, or ways to travel smarter? I’ve got you covered. Here are the top travel planning websites that I repeatedly use for every trip.

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I am so excited to share the best of the best trip planning websites with you!

Every single site listed below are ones that I have used personally and have had continuous positive experiences with.

From the best travel planning websites for hotels, hostels, rental cars, security, and more. Be sure to bookmark this page on your web browser so you can use it each time you plan a trip.

I love helping my community plan amazing trips. When booking these services, consider booking them through the links below. Without any extra cost to you, you will be supporting This Rare Earth .

Thank you so much!

🏠 Get the best hotel prices here!

🛏️ Find a hostel bed here!

🚣 Book your favorite tours and activities here!

🚗 Get the best rental car prices here!

⚠️ Keep your personal data secure here!

⚕️ Get a quote for travel insurance here!

🗣️ Start speaking a new language here!

💻 Shop my top Travel Essentials here!

Table of Contents

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Accommodations

Booking.com

I find all of my best hotel deals on this site ! Seriously – it is the one I use the absolute most, probably around 90% of the time.

Why? Because a) they are very competitively priced . And b) you can download the app and have all of our bookings on your phone, no matter where you are in the world. Easy.

Booking also covers all levels of accommodations, meaning you can find everything from budget rooms to luxury hotels. And, you’ll even see some rental homes and hostels on there, too.

The website has a “Genius Loyalty Program” that comes with rewards for using their platform. You can get a 10% discount just for signing up ! Then, the number of stays you book determines your level and rewards.

Currently, once you book five stays within two years, you have lifetime Genius Benefits of up to a 15% discount at select hotels, free breakfasts and room upgrades. I have personally gotten all of these upgrades at one point or another, so I can confirm that they are real.

Hostelworld.com

Traveling on a budget? Or, just prefer to make friends on the go? Then you should head to the best hostel booking website in the biz.

Hostelworld has an extensive network of listings across seemingly endless countries. Read through extensive reviews so you don’t have any unwanted surprises. Easily see if you can book dorm rooms, private rooms, female-only rooms, and more.

Trivago.com

I have to be honest with you – I almost never use AirBnb nowadays. In the USA, or at least on the west coast, AirBnb prices have been absolutely insane for years now. They are almost never cheaper then hotels and the fees have gotten out of hand.

Enter, Trivago.

Trivago is a site helps travelers compare prices for not only hotels but also alternative accommodations – like vacation rentals and unique homes – in 190 countries .

Filter your search results by price, distance from parks, attractions, or beaches.

If you have also been feeling disappointed by AirBnb lately, give Trivago a try.

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Rental Cars

I use each of the following sites to find the best rental car prices for any trip. I will order them from my most used site to my second most used site.

RentalCars.com

Looking to rent a car for less? RentalCars.com consistently offers me one of the lowest car rental prices in the biz. I compare prices for almost every trip I take, and more often than not, they beat everyone else.

On their site, you can specify the type of car you want and filter them by feature. For example, do you need 4WD? Or a tiny compact car?

Whatever it is you need, you will find it here .

DiscoverCars.com

Newer on the scene, I am a recent user of DiscoverCars. They also offer competitively priced vehicles and every once in a while will beat out the site above.

My advice? Compare both sites’ rates and then book the best one!

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Tours and Activities

I highly recommend two tour booking platforms. They each are more and less strong in different countries. So, I use them both equally, though the one I choose depends on my destination.

GetYourGuide

Get Your Guide is a top trip planning website for booking tours and activities . It is a great place to search what excursions and tours are available in any given destination before arriving.

Get Your Guide has extensive offerings across the globe and they keep adding more. And, you can even purchase gift certificates for friends, too.

Viator is my other favorite tour booking platform . Again, neither is better or worse in general, but they both have strengths and weaknesses in different countries.

Viator is easy to navigate and has loads of reviews. I’ve used them all over the globe, from Moorea to Tbilisi and more.

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Security

I’ve been using ExpressVPN for several years now, and I have no plans to discontinue anytime soon.

VPNs are “virtual private networks.” If you have never used a VPN, consider it to be a “shield” in several ways.

VPNs protect you from being spied on, which helps keep your bank account info and passwords safe. They make it much tougher for unwanted intruders to be able to hack into your network and steal your date. They also protect you from censorship in other countries.

For example, let’s say you want to watch Netflix on a trip to the Middle East . But, the country you are visiting does not allow hold any Netflix rights, or, they don’t hold the same ones you have at home.

Turning on your VPN makes it look like you are in any country that you choose – from the USA to Canada to Brazil to Spain – so that you can access the shows from your home region, even though you are not there.

Bonus, if you run into any issues or technical snags, you can easily reach a representative via chat or phone to find a solution. They are so helpful.

FYI, ExpressVPN works on both your computer and phone! For both internet security and entertainment while traveling, I can’t recommend ExressVPN enough. Love them!

The Best Websites for Travel Insurance

World Nomads

While I don’t necessarily book travel insurance for every trip I take, it is wise to book it for the following:

• trips that involve high risk activities, like bungee jumping, paragliding, and cliff-jumping.
• for trips including trekking and hiking.
• if you are accident prone or headed to a destination with lackluster medical options.
• offering flight cancellation coverage or lost luggage protection.

World Nomads representatives are willing to answer questions about your coverage and – while I have thankfully never needed to file a claim personally – I have heard nothing but good reviews from friends who did.

World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world. Get a quote today!

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Safety

Travel.State.gov

I almost always research my destinations on the United States State Department website before traveling.

Here, you can look for any recent security issues within any given destination as well as any safety alerts issued by the US government. You can even look at a visual map that is color-coded to depict levels of safety around the globe.

And, if you are worried about unrest in an area you plan to travel to, consider enrolling in the STEP program to receive specific updates on that country.

Check out these US safety resources here!

The Best Website for Language and Communication

Google Translate

Google Translate is the best site for translating any media in a destination’s language that you cannot read.

I have used this for booking everything from ferries to researching attractions. And, it always makes things much more clear and decipherable!

Google Translate also has an app (check out my best travel apps list here !) so you can translate on the go while in your destination. You can’t beat it!

Use Google Translate now!

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Money Matters

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XE Currency

I use one site and one site only for currency needs, and that is XE.

It is the best currency conversion app in my opinion, and has been useful to me in just about every country I have traveled to.

In cases where the conversion rate is more complicated or requires mental gymnastics, XE is for you. It’s great to have on hand when you are grocery shopping or counting your change in another currency, among many other situation.

Check out XE now!

You May Also Like: Long Haul Flight Essentials

The Best Travel Planning Websites for Flights

I have two main website suggestions for flight booking.

Particularly useful for my friends over in Europe and Asia, Skyscanner is a great resource for cheap flights!

Explore flight information from many different airlines and find affordable routes. You can easily find the quickest route and cheapest route, depending on what your priority may be.

You also can use the awesome “Everywhere” feature in the search box to find flights to destinations you may not have considered. Love that most of all!

Check out Skyscanner here!

Google Flights

I find Google Flights to be better for travel originating in or ending in the United States, over Skyscanner.

I can easily find the best deals to just about every location, and can even search entire region or use the map view. Google Flights is my number one flight research tool for US travel.

Check out Google Flights here!

The Best Trip Planning Websites for Getting Around

Google Maps

You likely are already familiar with Google Maps. But did you know that it was super useful for travel, too?

They have a pretty extensive database across the globe. Personally, I use the app to download offline maps (read more about that here) and to bookmark places I plan to visit.

Check out Google Maps here!

If you are a hiker, you should definitely be using AllTrails to plan your hikes. It is the most comprehensive website I’ve found for trails within the USA and abroad.

Check out AllTrails here!

You May Also Like: The Best Hiking Gear for Women

The Best Website for Specialty Food Needs

For all my vegetarians and vegans out there, this one is a gem!

If you are headed to a destination that is difficult to navigate as a vegetarian or vegan, this website will help.

You can look up restaurants across the entire world and see where you can find a sit down meal. I’ve used it in many countries and find it very helpful.

Check out Happy Cow here!

So, there you have all my top trip planning websites for just an=bout any destination I am headed!

Are there any other websites that you would add to the list? If so let me know below!

More Trip Planning Resources:

• Long Haul Flight Essentials
• A Pre Travel Checklist for Any Vacation
• The Best Travel Apps
• A Tropical Vacation Packing List for Women
• How To Plan A Roadtrip Alone (Checklist Included!)

• Cabo San Lucas vs San Jose del Cabo Travel: Which Is Better?
• Cancun vs Cabo: Which is Better, Los Cabos or Cancun?
• 10 Tips for Visiting Joshua Tree National Park
• The Ultimate Guide to Visiting El Matador Beach, Malibu
• The Perfect Day Trip to Malibu: A One Day Itinerary [2024]

About Monica

Monica has been a solo female world traveler for over 15 years. She is an expert on outdoor adventures, solo female travel, and off the beaten path destinations. She is the founder of This Rare Earth and is a firm believer that the world is not as scary as the media might have you think! Learn more about her here . Connect with her on Instagram .

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The 10 Best (and Worst) Airfare Search Sites for 2024

Frommer’s regularly pits the best airfare search engines, aggregators, and booking sites against each other in a battle royale to see which can find the lowest price on more than two dozen identical searches for flights. 

This year’s results bring new discoveries. We are excited to announce that none of our new top three—the best of the best—is a household name. We are equally excited to discover that if you’re specifically looking for a last-minute deal on airfare, a fourth website, one that’s not even in our top three, is the best choice. And two former airfare search sites fell out of our Top 10 entirely: This year, both Booking.com and FlightNetwork failed to take off. As for the rest of our Top 10, each one has its pluses and minuses, which we’re about to reveal in our reviews below.

On this year’s list, two sites that previously languished in the bottom half of the reviews have upped their games and zoomed into the top ranks—and one former low performer improved so much that it nabbed the top slot.

We have winnowed down a wide field to the 10 best airfare sites for 2024. Here they are.

We tested 15 sites on 32 itineraries, trying both last-minute flights (leaving in a week) and APEX fares (booked three months out). We covered major gateways (NYC to LAX, LAX to Hong Kong, NYC to Paris) and secondary ones (Philly to Tampa, Chicago to Rome, Miami to Rio). We threw in a curve ball (Dallas to Dubai) and included a flight with no North American legs (London to Barcelona) to see how well each handled Europe‘s wilderness of low-cost carriers.

We also ignored low fares that would be miserable to fly due to excessively drawn-out layovers, too many stops, or flying long detours just to change planes. Basically, we rejected any itinerary that increased total travel time by more than half. Airlines may think those are viable plans, but we don’t.

We then used a rigorous, weighted scoring system that rewarded three points to any airfare search site that found the best fares, two points for second-best, and so on. We also penalized fares with negative points if the price proved to be higher than the average result from all competitors. Fares within 1% of one another were considered equal.

• An aggregator is only as good as the OTAs it canvasses. There are booking engines that sell tickets directly (Hotwire, Kiwi, CheapOAir, etc.). And then there are aggregators, which are sites that do not book tickets but instead search dozens of other booking engines, airfare sites, and OTAs (online travel agencies) and compile the results in one place; travelers then click through to their selection to make the actual purchase on the third-party site that’s actually selling it.

Some of the booking sites that aggregators show you are safer than others. All quality aggregators will remove unreliable ticket sellers from their searches, but problems can slip through. As you should do when you are referred to any unfamiliar company, always do a quick Better Business Bureau check for an unfamiliar airfare seller and search for complaints and red flags. 

Also, some OTAs are prone to dangling lead prices a few bucks below what they will actually offer once you click through, and some misleadingly categorize “direct” flights—which do actually stop, but don't require you to change planes— as “nonstop.” Because prices can change from moment to moment, even the most honorable aggregator may lead you to a site where you can’t find the airfare you were originally quoted. When that happened to us frequently in our review tests, we let you know.

Aggregator Google may be the Titan of online search, but it fumbles when it comes to airfares. 

Google does have some things going for it. It is unbelievably fast, refreshing results even as you key in destinations or change filters. It displays average prices on a popup calendar when you’re choosing dates so you can see at a glance the cheapest days to fly. It also lets you peruse a price grid and price graph on the results page. 

Google’s flight search features a fabulous “Explore” feature that allows you to select major city pairs and find the lowest fare for your dates (plus price trends for the month surrounding it), or just see at a glance how much it roughly costs to fly from your designated airport to dozens of destinations. It is also one of only three sites, including our #1, to feature a filter to include fees for checked and cabin bags in the prices. 

So why is the mighty Google at the back of the pack?

Its price results were all over the place. It found the best fare a grand total of one time, flying from Miami to Rio—but four of our top five sites matched it. Then it tanked on rooting out the absolutely lowest fares for two major routes: NYC to Paris and LA to Hong Kong. Its results for pricier direct flights on those itineraries were just average. 

Google frequently found the exact same flight as many other sites did, but at prices just a little bit higher—often just 5% to 15%, but in some cases bafflingly higher, like the last-minute Dallas-Dubai jaunt on Emirates; Google wanted $673 more than our price champion for that flight, and around $250 more than several other sites found.

After quietly doing away with its Hot Rates (deeply discounted opaque airfares), Hotwire fell out of our ranking after 2017. Now it’s back, but with a huge caveat: Never use Hotwire for last-minute fare. 

Hotwire performed, by far, the worst of any site we tested at last-minute prices, chalking up the highest airfare a whopping six times. The two better-than-average rates it did find were balanced out by a pair of worse-than-average ones on other itineraries. 

Hotwire made up some ground by being flatly average when it came to booking farther in advance. It never found the cheapest overall fare, but it often nabbed lower or even the lowest rates on direct flights.

Beyond that, it failed pretty hard, and we think we know why. Hotwire was the only site that missed big chances to bring no-frills carriers into the mix. On New York–to-Paris, it found a decent $745 fare on Scandinavian, albeit with a stopover—but everyone else found a direct Flybee flight for even less ($666–$687). The best Hotwire could muster for a direct flight: $987 on Norse.

More egregiously, because Hotwire only searches one airport at a time by default, it missed lots of cheaper no-frills flights that were available at nearby alternate airports. Because of that blind spot, Hotwire insisted on a British Airways fare for our London-Barcelona hop that actually cost around four times more than booking a combo of no-frills RyanAir, easyJet, and Vueling from other airports in London—a tactic every other site knew enough to include in results. Hotwire pulled the same face-plant on last-minute fares on the same route; the Air France tickets it offered us cost twice as much as the low-cost carriers in that scenario.

Another mark against Hotwire is its poor set of filters. Along with other problems, it offered no way to indicate a maximum total flight time or layover duration you’d be willing to deal with. That’s pretty much a standard sidebar slider everywhere else. We did like the way its showcases, above the results, how much it would cost to fly on three days to either side of your chosen date.

By the way: If you’re wondering why Expedia (and its corporate siblings, Orbitz and Travelocity) is not on this list, it is because those results are all right here in Hotwire. Expedia now just uses the Hotwire engine for its airfare functions, so if you search Expedia now, you’ve searched Hotwire.

This year,  Hopper , the travel app with an intuitive and colorful interface, tumbled five places from #3. 

When it came to finding cheap airfares, Hopper was a mixed bag. It did well enough on advance-purchase APEX fares, scoring slightly better prices than average about a third of the time. But that decent performance was counterbalanced by a dismal performance in the last-minute category. Hopper got whatever is the opposite of a silver medal, second only to Hotwire in putting up the worst prices the most often. Oddly, the only place where it fared better than average was on our curveball Dallas-to-Dubai itinerary. 

In terms of utility, Hopper still gives its users advice about the best dates to book based on price trends, but that feature used to offer far, far more insight on every flight—it once had bar graphs and historical prices, baggage fees and seat pitches, and the cost of various amenities. Those are all gone, although on the final booking page, Hopper will at least link you to the airline’s own page on baggage regulations and costs (except when that link is broken). 

Some features remain. The calendar for selecting dates is color coded to show the cheapest travel days for two months, so you can easily spot where a bit of flexibility might save you money. In addition to a paltry half-dozen sort-by filters (price, flight duration, number of stops, etc.), Hopper can limit the results to its self-defined categories of Basic (cheapest), Standard (economy fares, but with at least free carry-ons and seat selection), Enhanced (more legroom, priority boarding, free snacks, etc.), plus Premium and Luxury for folks who probably don't need this roundup of the best places to book airfares online. One nice touch: Hopper includes a novel option to limit results to flights with no change fee.

Speaking of fees, Hopper sure does like to pressure you to pay a lot of them for its own add-on services, like freezing a fare for up to 21 days for a sliding scale cost, plus flight protection and cancel-for-any-reason insurances—each of which Hopper, annoyingly, makes you decline on two screens in a row before you can proceed. (On that note, for security’s sake, we always recommend you buy travel insurance from a third party, never from the provider who sells you the trip, in case that provider becomes unreachable.)

We’re not sure what happened to the Czech booking site Kiwi.com to make it tumble from #2 to #7 in less than two years, but the numbers don’t lie. Most of its fares were just a little above or below average, though it did find the cheapest last-minute flights from Miami to Rio and Chicago to Rome. 

What tanked its score was twofold. It performed poorly on advance-purchase direct flights (out of eight itineraries, it scored under average three times and worst of all another three). Kiwi did come up with the cheapest overall fares on NYC to Paris and L.A. to Hong Hong with connecting flights—but then so did most of the sites that outranked it.

Kiwi does have some features to recommend it. It caters to travelers who can be flexible. The default departure date is "anytime," allowing you to see which days are cheapest, and once you do choose a date, pop-up calendars show indicative prices for every day over two months. The results page has a fare grid for three days to either side of your chosen dates, and a trends bar graph showing what prices are likely for a dozen days out (and you can scroll even earlier or later). It’ll even throw in train and bus options, if available, which on our list is unique to Kiwi. It also has the second-best set of filters in the game, rivaled only by our #1. 

But there’s a hitch. We must point out that Kiwi does catch some bad reviews for lackluster customer service when something goes wrong. Frommer’s has received complaints about Kiwi from readers, and few rivals would be jealous of its status with the Better Business Bureau, which fields complaints about its Miami office. Bearing that in mind, some travelers may feel more comfortable using Kiwi to find ideal itineraries but then buy them elsewhere. 

The last time we ran our tests, Priceline lost the precarious grip it had kept on the #10 spot for years and fell off the list entirely. During its time in the wilderness, Priceline evidently cleaned up some of its worst practices. It has vastly improved its filters, provided daily price comparisons on the popup date-picker calendars, and no longer turns up its nose at low-cost carriers. That, plus its solid, if not breathtaking, price performance, has placed Priceline back in good graces and firmly in the middle of the pack.

Overall, last-minute fares were Priceline’s biggest weakness, underperforming even our #7 contender, Kiwi, on that score. It was the advance fares that lifted Priceline to #6. It even pulled off a few nice moves. Priceline alone realized you could shave $40 off a CHI-ROM flight in exchange for a short layover in Istanbul. It was also one of only two tested sites to figure out you could save 35% on a last-minute trip from NYC to L.A. as long as you were willing to endure a brief layover. 

Priceline of course also still offers its original, quirky travel hack: The “Express Deals.” These are opaque fares in which you get to pick your airports and travel dates, but not learn precise flight times, airlines, or stopovers until you pay. Before purchasing, you’ll only know whether it’s a morning, mid-day, or evening takeoff and that there will be “0–1” plane changes. If you are willing to put up with that degree of uncertainty, you can save up to 40%, though the discount is typically more around the 10% mark.

Aggregator Tripadvisor  holds its position in fifth place, proving that while it may no longer be just a platform to vent about travel mishaps, but its airfare results are holding steady. 

Tripadvisor offers the clever cost-saving option to include nearby airports—you never know when Newark-to-Fort Lauderdale will cost half a LaGuardia-to-Miami ticket—and its great set of filters includes one that lets you limit the booking sites it checks to only the names you trust.

What’s holding it back at #5—aside from being annoyingly slow—is that whenever it found the cheapest tickets, or even a better-than-average airfare, so did our top three sites. And those higher-ranked sites pulled off this feat even more often. Tripadvisor also turned in a resoundingly meh performance on last-minute airfares, with overwhelmingly average results nearly across the board. 

The highest ranked OTA on our list, CheapOAir reigns supreme when it comes to last-minute airfares. How good are the airfares it sells? A few rivals managed to find the best price one or two times, but CheapOAir did so an impressive six times. 

However, alongside those six wins, CheapOAir posted three prices that were worse than average (but not the worst). You could say it’s all or nothing with these folks—even more so when it came to advance-purchase fares, where CheapoAir’s performance was all over the place. Put it this way: If we ignored its stellar performance in the last-minute category and scored things based only on buying tickets a few months out, CheapOAir would rank 7th, not 4th. 

A few other quibbles: CheapOAir won the booby prize for Most Annoying Popups—pestering us to "Speak to a travel expert" or pick "Air-hotel package or flights only?" to a vexing degree. It was also the slowest of our bunch, and sometimes pretty glitchy. 

On the plus side, the popup date-picker calendars automatically populate with airfare prices for every day, so you can see at a glance which day is cheapest to fly. CheapOAir also had a handy cheat sheet chart at the top of results showing the costs, both non-stop and cheapest, for the best half-dozen airlines. The filters were also pretty good, including options to show alternate dates and nearby airports (both can be great cost-saving techniques).

Always give CheapOAir a look if you are planning to fly in the immediate future—but then also run the numbers at our top three, just in case.

This decade-old upstart quickly outgrew its travel hacker roots to find a comfortable roost on our ranking among the top three—even when we left out the problematic "Hidden city" fares that were once its calling card. 

Hidden city fares—which you can easily exclude by unticking the box next to the word "SKIPLAGGING"—are tedious to explain but boil down to this: They can sometimes cost less, but you don't get to check any luggage. Most crucially, hidden city fares are against airline rules and can result in unpleasant, pricey consequences or even lawsuits if you're caught. But Skiplagged gives you the option to exclude this controversial type of airfare, which we did for our tests. 

Ironically, the site that named itself for a technique that games multi-leg journeys turned out to be strong on direct flights. Our top three sites were pretty much neck-and-neck when it came to pricing (all excellent at the long game, average on last-minute airfares), so it comes down to their other features.

Skiplagged's delightfully simple graphic interface lets you compare, at a glance, the lengths of trips, including layover durations. When you enter a departure airport or city, the arrival is defaulted to "Anywhere;" if you leave it that way, you get a page of photos with prices for a bunch of tempting getaways all across North America (sadly, though, nowhere else).

Skiplagged’s popup calendars show how much the flight costs on each day over two months, so you can easily see how tinkering with the departure or return can save you money. (On the two sites that placed higher in our review ranking, this feature only indicates price ranges, not precise fares).

We do have a few criticisms. Some of Skiplagged’s seemingly low fares from questionable OTAs were actually higher than the competition once you click over and discover service fees and the like. Skiplagged also lacks robust filters, doesn't disclose baggage fees, and rounds down all the prices—that last complaint is minor since we're only talking about a few cents, but just feels sneaky.

Skyscanner remains one of the best performers on price and essentially tied with #3, Skiplagged, in securing the lowest fares on advance purchase tickets. Skyscanner was consistently average on last-minute bookings—but we give it a shout-out for it nailing the cheapest price by far on a quick getaway from Philly to Tampa, even if it was on Spirit. Something else it shares with Skiplagged: mediocre filters.

This time, Skyscanner earned the edge for a few reasons. You can choose "Explore everywhere" as your destination to get a nice grid of destinations and the cheapest cost to get there. Unlike the similar feature at Skiplagged, which is constrained to North America, if you keep scrolling down on Skyscanner, you will get destinations on other continents as well.

This was also one of the first aggregators to include low-cost airlines, and it continues to innovate by including a star rating for all third-party booking sites (and how many users rated it), which helps with vetting unfamiliar OTAs.

Skyscanner offers the option to include nearby airports and to search for destinations in an entire country rather than just a city. While the initial popup calendars for travel dates do not show, as do some others, the precise prices to fly on alternate days, they do indicate each day’s relative cost category via a color code. Then, once you get to the results page, the tiny "Show whole month" link at the top will provide a page with two months’ worth of estimated prices.

Click here for Frommers' Top 10 Ranking of the Best Hotel Booking Sites

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5 Of The Best Websites For Booking Travel Accommodations

I f you have travel plans coming up, you'll want to reserve your stay well before your departure dates are nearing. In fact, you'll want to do it not too long after you've booked your flight . Delaying this could leave you with limited accommodation options to choose from and have you dealing with steep prices.

The good news is that whether you're looking for a cozy bed and breakfast experience or a stay at a high-end all-inclusive hotel, there are a plethora of travel websites that make it easy to reserve accommodation in a place that suits your exact preferences. While you could always make the booking directly through a hotel's website, using a travel booking website helps you compare your options and check out reviews left by previous customers.

To help you get started, we've put together a list of some of the most preferred accommodation booking websites based on personal experience, user reviews, and the general user-friendliness of the platforms. You'll find a more detailed methodology explaining how we evaluated and selected the websites listed below toward the end of this list.

Read more: How To Speed Up The Internet Connection On Your Android Phone

No stranger to the accommodation booking scene, Airbnb has been offering unique boarding experiences since 2007. What makes Airbnb stand out from other similar platforms is that it allows you to live like a local by booking a room or an entire property in a residential neighborhood. This makes Airbnb accommodations appealing to people who want to experience a destination more authentically.

Searching for a property on Airbnb is fairly straightforward. All you need to do is enter your destination of choice, travel dates, and the number of guests checking in. After you do this, you'll be able to view the relevant listings.

The platform does a good job of showcasing its listings, including a detailed description of the property, pictures to help you understand what the space looks like, and reviews from past guests. While Airbnb, which has listings in around 100,000 cities and towns across the world, is a popular choice for many, a notable downside of using the platform is that guests may sometimes find themselves paying more than they initially expected, thanks to additional charges, like the cleaning fee. 

Still, if you're looking for a unique accommodation experience or have specific needs (for instance, if you'd like access to a full kitchen), an Airbnb listing might be just what you're looking for. The best part is that many Airbnb offers free Wi-Fi like traditional hotels, making them great for workstation purposes.

Hostelworld

Many travelers choose to stay in hostels, and it's no surprise why. Hostels present an affordable alternative to traditional hotels, making them ideal for backpackers and budget-conscious travelers. Beyond the cost savings (which is a major benefit for many), hostels also offer people who like to travel a social environment conducive to meeting and sharing experiences with like-minded folk.

Unlike in the past, hostels today offer relatively flexible accommodation solutions. For instance, if you're traveling with a friend or partner, you could look into reserving a private room. That said, if you're looking for a traditional hostel experience where you bunk with strangers, you'll want to reserve a spot at a reputable hostel. This, fortunately, becomes easy to do when you make the booking through Hostelworld .

When you're on Hostelworld's website, all you need to do is enter the details of your trip to view the hostels in the location. Before you complete your booking, check the property details, the house rules, and the reviews — if everything seems in order, you can proceed with making the payment.

Once you make the payment, Hostelworld offers a 100% booking guarantee. In the event that something goes wrong with your booking, the company will credit your account with the entire deposit you paid and an additional $50 that you can use toward future bookings.

Whether you want to book a traditional hotel accommodation, a private stay, or even long-term boarding, Agoda is a good bet. With a whole host of filters that allow you to specify your preferences in terms of the property type, distance from the city center, and more, Agoda helps you zero in on a property/hotel that works for you.

What's more, the website also allows you to specifically view hotels that are pet-friendly (which is great if you want to travel with your pet ), workstation-friendly, and ideal for groups. This way, you won't have to deal with any unpleasant surprises when you visit the property since you'll have a pretty good idea of what you're getting.

To help you make an informed decision, the platform lists the reviews left by past customers. Agoda's entire mission has been to make travel affordable for its customers. In line with this, the website runs a loyalty program called AgodaCash.

If you book a room at a hotel or property that participates in this program, you get awarded AgodaCash, which you can put toward future bookings to make your next stay more affordable. The only thing to note here is that you won't be able to use your AgodaCash in combination with other offers and rewards. Given this, you'll have to review the promotions available and choose one that offers the most savings.

Booking.com

Booking.com, which was founded almost 30 years ago in 1996, is one of the oldest and most popular online travel booking companies. Like in the case of Agoda, Booking.com makes it easy for you to look up hotel and property listings with its user-friendly interface.

One of the standout features of Booking.com is its trip planner, which is ideal for people who are uncertain about their travel plans. Additionally, the platform is pretty flexible in terms of offering you numerous room types and pricing tiers to choose from. This lets you view and take into consideration the upfront charges for different accommodation types, helping you make a well-thought-out decision.

Booking.com, like the other websites on this list, displays reviews left by previous travelers, so you get an unbiased idea of what the property has to offer. If you still have any specific questions that you would like answered before you complete the booking, you can use the "Ask a question" button that you'll find on the listing page for each property and post your questions.

Operational in over 70 countries with over three million listings, Expedia is a great choice for comparing your options before booking. If you decide to use Expedia as your travel booking partner, it's a good idea to sign up for OneKey, which is Expedia's rewards program.

With this program, you get to earn OneKeyCash for every dollar spent, which you can then use to book eligible hotels, car rentals , flights, and even activities in the future. You also get to save 10% or more with the Member Prices you'll have access to once you sign up for this program. So, if you're a budget-savvy traveler, there's no reason for you not to sign up for OneKey. 

Expedia's website itself is fairly user-friendly. The interface works similar to that of Agoda and Booking.com. Once you enter your details, the listings come up — you can further filter these by the accommodation type, price per night, guest rating, star rating, cancellation options, and more. You also get to view the most frequently asked questions and verified reviews and ratings on the listing page, which ensures complete transparency.

Why These Accommodation Booking Websites Made It To This List

While there are numerous accommodation booking platforms, the ones listed above were chosen primarily based on personal positive experiences with them. Each of these booking partners boasts a user-friendly interface with complete transparency in terms of listing negative and positive reviews. This allows the average traveler to make an informed decision before spending hundreds of dollars or more on a stay.

Additionally, these platforms had favorable ratings and reviews from customers on the mobile-based App Store and Play Store, which is also an indication of how popular they are. Remember that while these platforms are reliable and popular, it's important to do your due diligence regarding the amenities and quality of stay at individual hotels to avoid any unwanted surprises during your trip.

Read the original article on SlashGear .

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Las Vegas Hotels

• OYO Hotel And Casino Las Vegas $27+
• The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower $28+
• Four Queens Hotel and Casino $44+
• the D Las Vegas $45+
• Excalibur Hotel & Casino $47+
• Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino $49+
• Circus Circus Hotel, Casino & Theme Park $52+
• Plaza Hotel & Casino $53+
• Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Las Vegas $58+
• SAHARA Las Vegas $58+
• Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino $62+
• Harrah's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino $62+
• Luxor Hotel and Casino $64+
• Tuscany Suites & Casino $65+
• Rio Hotel & Casino $67+
• The Orleans Hotel & Casino $69+
• Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino $75+
• The LINQ Hotel & Casino $76+
• Horseshoe Las Vegas $76+
• Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino $82+
• The Mirage $90+
• MGM Grand Hotel and Casino $93+
• Treasure Island - TI Hotel & Casino, a Radisson Hotel $95+
• Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Curio Collection by Hilton $99+
• Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino $100+
• New York-New York Hotel & Casino $104+
• South Point Hotel Casino-Spa $116+
• Park MGM Las Vegas $116+
• Paris Las Vegas $124+
• The Berkley, Las Vegas $128+

London Hotels

• Book A Bed Hostels $26+
• Generator London $34+
• Corbigoe Hotel $52+
• Ramada London North M1 $60+
• King Solomon Hotel $68+
• Britannia International Hotel $87+
• Ibis Budget London Whitechapel $100+

Boston Hotels

• Hi Boston Hostel $61+
• Found Hotel Boston Common $101+
• Ramada by Wyndham Boston $153+
• Temple Place Suites $163+
• DoubleTree by Hilton Boston Bayside $167+
• The Revolution Hotel $175+
• 182 Bedrooms near Fenway & Dowtown $189+
• Aloft Boston Seaport District $218+
• Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport $219+

Nashville Hotels

• Millennium Maxwell House Nashville $121+
• Hotel Preston Nashville Airport $129+
• Placemakr Wedgewood-Houston $130+
• Best Western Suites Near Opryland $135+
• Club Hotel Nashville Inn & Suites $139+
• Drury Inn & Suites Nashville Airport $144+
• Radisson Hotel Nashville Airport $147+

San Francisco Hotels

• Hi San Francisco Downtown Hostel $51+
• The Mosser $73+
• Chancellor Hotel On Union Square $114+
• Axiom Hotel $119+
• Handlery Union Square Hotel $124+
• Hotel G San Francisco $126+
• BEI San Francisco, Trademark Collection By Wyndham $127+

New Orleans Hotels

• Ramada by Wyndham New Orleans $68+
• Wyndham Garden Hotel Baronne Plaza $93+
• Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans Canal St. French Quarter $102+
• Maison Saint Charles by Hotel RL $103+
• Best Western Plus St. Christopher Hotel $108+
• Troubadour Hotel New Orleans, Tapestry Collection by Hilton $109+
• Holiday Inn New Orleans-Downtown Superdome $112+

Amsterdam Hotels

• Amsterdam Teleport Hotel $42+
• The Flying Pig Uptown Hostel $51+
• Generator Amsterdam $52+
• Via Amsterdam $54+
• Clinknoord Hostel $54+
• Budget Hotel Tourist Inn $59+
• The Flying Pig Downtown Youth Hostel $61+

New York Hotels

• Hi New York City Hostel $60+
• West Side Ymca $114+
• Central Park West Hostel $161+
• Radio Hotel $171+
• Pod 51 $186+
• Pod Times Square $190+
• Pod 39 $193+
• The Gallivant Times Square $193+
• The Manhattan At Times Square $194+

Orlando Hotels

• Monumental Movieland Hotel $53+
• Grand Hotel Kissimmee At Celebration $55+
• Rosen Inn International $70+
• Avanti Palms Resort And Conference Center $72+
• Avanti International Resort $72+
• Rosen Inn At Pointe Orlando $76+
• Rosen Inn Closest to Universal $76+

Paris Hotels

• St Christopher's Inn Paris - Canal $37+
• St Christopher's Inn Paris - Gare du Nord $41+
• Generator Paris $43+
• Le Regent Montmartre by Hiphophostels $50+
• Hotelf1 Paris Saint Ouen Marché Aux Puces $52+
• The People - Paris Nation $55+
• Auberge Internationale Des Jeunes $60+

Miami Hotels

• Selina Gold Dust $52+
• Motel 6 Miami. Fl $73+
• La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Miami Airport North $84+
• Miami Gardens Inn & Suites $86+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Miami International Airport $91+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miami Airport East $98+
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Miami-Kendall $112+
• Radisson Red Miami Airport $113+
• The Palms Inn & Suites Miami, Kendall, Fl $114+
• Holiday Inn Miami West - Airport Area $119+
• Courtyard by Marriott Miami West/FL Turnpike $123+
• Holiday Inn Miami-Doral Area, An IHG Hotel $125+
• Travelodge by Wyndham Miami Biscayne Bay $126+
• Best Western Premier Miami Intl Airport Hotel & Suites Coral Gables $129+
• Staybridge Suites Miami International Airport $133+
• Life House, Little Havana $136+
• Hyatt Place Miami Airport East $138+
• Hampton Inn Miami Airport East $143+
• Hilton Garden Inn Miami Dolphin Mall $146+
• Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon $148+
• Private Residences At Hotel Arya By Sofla Vacations $152+
• Yve Hotel Miami $154+
• Embassy Suites by Hilton Miami International Airport $155+
• Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel & Executive Meeting Center $155+

Key West Hotels

• Seashell Motel and International Hostel $86+
• NYAH Key West - Adult Exclusive $126+
• Heron House Court - Adult Only $215+
• Southwinds Motel $229+
• Old Town Suites $235+
• The Garden House $245+
• Blue Marlin Motel $258+

Myrtle Beach Hotels

• Polynesian Beach & Golf Resort $56+
• Ocean Plaza Motel $60+
• Oceanfront Viking Motel $61+
• Twilight Surf Hotel Ocean Front $65+
• Holiday Sands North 'On the Boardwalk' $69+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Myrtle Beach $72+
• Palette Resort Myrtle Beach By OYO $81+

Rome Hotels

• Seven Hills Village $28+
• Litus Roma Hostel $28+
• Camping Village Roma Capitol $37+
• Fabulous village $56+
• Happy Village $58+
• Hostel Trastevere $67+
• Generator Rome $73+

Chicago Hotels

• Freehand Chicago $35+
• Chicago Getaway Hostel $46+
• Travelodge by Wyndham Downtown Chicago $103+
• Hotel Versey Days Inn by Wyndham Chicago $113+
• Warwick Allerton Chicago $115+
• Millennium Knickerbocker Chicago $120+
• Hotel Saint Clair - Magnificent Mile $124+
• Hotel Felix $129+
• Congress Plaza Hotel $130+
• The Whitehall Hotel, BW Premier Collection $139+
• Home2 Suites by Hilton Chicago River North $148+
• Club Quarters Hotel Central Loop, Chicago $149+
• Club Quarters Hotel Wacker at Michigan, Chicago $151+
• River Hotel $153+

San Diego Hotels

• Super 8 by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle $85+
• California Suites Hotel $93+
• Best Western Seven Seas $105+
• Mission View Inn & Suites San Diego Sea World - Zoo $107+
• Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle $115+
• Wyndham Garden San Diego near SeaWorld $116+
• Kings Inn San Diego $122+
• Porto Vista Hotel $143+
• Best Western Plus Island Palms Hotel & Marina $160+
• Legacy Resort Hotel & Spa $165+
• Bay Club Hotel & Marina $166+
• Wyndham San Diego Bayside $167+
• Hilton San Diego Mission Valley $171+
• Ramada Suites by Wyndham San Diego $172+
• DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego - Hotel Circle $173+
• Best Western Yacht Harbor Hotel $180+
• Best Western Plus Bayside Inn $181+
• Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Mission Valley/Hotel Circle $183+
• The Dana on Mission Bay $189+
• Humphreys Half Moon Inn $195+
• La Jolla Cove Suites $196+
• The Sofia Hotel $199+

Los Angeles Hotels

• Boutique Hostel $34+
• Freehand Los Angeles $41+
• City Center Hotel Los Angeles $104+
• Rotex Western Inn $108+
• Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles International Airport $108+
• La Quinta Inn & Suites LAX $125+
• USC Hotel $130+
• H by H Hospitality $131+
• The Dixie Hollywood $137+
• Holiday Inn Los Angeles - LAX Airport $138+
• Sonesta Los Angeles Airport LAX $143+
• O Hotel by LuxUrban, Trademark Collection by Wyndham $145+
• citizenM Los Angeles Downtown $146+
• Aventura Hotel $155+

Washington, D.C. Hotels

• Generator Hotel Washington DC $70+
• Days Inn by Wyndham Washington DC/Connecticut Avenue $123+
• Georgetown Residences by LuxUrban, Trademark Coll by Wyndham $148+
• Hotel Harrington $164+
• Citizenm Washington DC Noma $168+
• Beacon Hotel & Corporate Quarters $174+
• Henley Park Hotel $192+

Honolulu Hotels

• Royal Grove Waikiki $110+
• Kuhio Banyan Club $118+
• Pacific Marina Inn $126+
• Ohia Waikiki Studio Suites $127+
• Ewa Hotel Waikiki $130+
• Aqua Aloha Surf Waikiki $143+
• Aqua Palms Waikiki $154+

Cancún Hotels

• Hotel Boutique Casa Mallorca $70+
• Suites Malecon Cancun $71+
• Avani Cancún Airport Hotel $84+
• Wyndham Garden Cancun Downtown $94+
• Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Cancun Airport $107+
• Hilton Garden Inn Cancun Airport $124+
• Courtyard by Marriott Cancun Airport $125+

Barcelona Hotels

• InOut Hostel Barcelona $26+
• Barcelona Pere Tarrés Hostel $29+
• Mellow Hostel Barcelona $30+
• Ideal Youth Hostel $33+
• Bcnsporthostels $35+
• Generator Barcelona $46+
• Casa Gracia $50+

Frequently asked questions about hotels on KAYAK

How does kayak find such low hotel prices.

KAYAK processes and displays results from 2M+ properties and hundreds of third party sites, allowing it to find a variety of hotel prices and options which allow users to save up to 35% on hotels. KAYAK also displays millions of verified reviews so users can see as many available hotel options as possible.

How do I find the best hotel deals on KAYAK?

A simple hotel search at https://www.kayak.com/hotels scans for prices on hundreds of travel sites in seconds. We gather hotel deals from across the web and put them in one place. Then on the search results page you can use various filters to compare options for the same hotel and easily choose the best hotel deal from all of the deals coming straight from the travel sites to your screen, with no extra fee from KAYAK.

What is special about hotel reviews on KAYAK?

All hotel reviews on KAYAK are by verified guests, so you know that what you're reading is legit (and not the bellhop's extended family trying to help boost reservations). With over 134170384 reviews on KAYAK, you can be sure you’re getting the full picture to help inform which hotel room to book.

How do I create a Price Alert to track hotel prices on KAYAK?

On KAYAK you can create one by signing in and going directly to Price Alerts in your account or you can look for the "Track Prices" button on the top left-hand side of flight results. If you're searching hotels, select "Set Price Alert" at the top right of the hotel results list. If you're on our app, you can get to Price Alerts using the app's navigation menu and follow instructions there.

How do I earn OpenTable Dining Points for hotel stays?

You can now earn between 1,000 - 10,000 points for staying at over 400,000 participating hotels available on KAYAK. Diners can earn points for hotels booked directly on www.kayak.com/diningrewards .

How can I find cheap hotels?

There are some obvious approaches to take to find the cheapest hotel rooms. Hotels that are not in a downtown area, traveling outside of the high season and staying in hotels that are lower star ratings are all generally good ideas. But there are other trends that can help. KAYAK data from the last 12 months has shown the cheapest day to book your room for is January for domestic stays and Saturday for international stays. The month with the lowest average prices was April for stays in the United States and Saturday for international breaks.

When is the best time to book a hotel?

You can often get deals on last minute hotel bookings but how far in advance to book really depends on where and when you’re staying. Based on data for all hotel stays made on KAYAK over the last 12 months, prices remained below the average up to 2 weeks before check-in. For last minute hotel bookings made within a week of your arrival, the cheapest time to book was 4 days before check-in.

Can I book other types of accommodation on KAYAK?

Yes! There are lots of other accommodation types than just hotel rooms. You’ll find Beach hotels, Boutique hotels, Budget hotels, Hotels with a casino, Family friendly hotels, 5 stars hotels, Luxury hotels, Pet friendly hotels, Hotels with a pool, Hotels for couples and Hotels with a spa, the perfect accommodation for your needs.

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Travel Insurance

Cheapest travel insurance of April 2024

Mandy Sleight

Heidi Gollub

“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

Updated 9:52 a.m. UTC April 11, 2024

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Editorial Note: Blueprint may earn a commission from affiliate partner links featured here on our site. This commission does not influence our editors' opinions or evaluations. Please view our full advertiser disclosure policy .

WorldTrips is the best cheap travel insurance company of 2024 based on our in-depth analysis of the cheapest travel insurance plans. Its Atlas Journey Preferred and Atlas Journey Premier plans offer affordable travel insurance with high limits for emergency medical and evacuation benefits bundled with good coverage for trip delays, travel inconvenience and missed connections.

Cheapest travel insurance of 2024

Why trust our travel insurance experts

Our team of travel insurance experts analyzes hundreds of insurance products and thousands of data points to help you find the best travel insurance for your next trip. We use a data-driven methodology to determine each rating. Advertisers do not influence our editorial content . You can read more about our methodology below.

• 1,855 coverage details evaluated.
• 567 rates reviewed.
• 5 levels of fact-checking.

Best cheap travel insurance

Top-scoring plans

Average cost, medical limit per person, medical evacuation limit per person, why it’s the best.

WorldTrips tops our rating of the cheapest travel insurance with two plans:

• Atlas Journey Preferred is the cheaper travel insurance plan of the two, with $100,000 per person in emergency medical benefits as secondary coverage and an optional upgrade to primary coverage. It’s also our pick for the best travel insurance for cruises .
• Atlas Journey Premier costs a little more but gives you $150,000 in travel medical insurance with primary coverage . This is a good option if health insurance for international travel is a priority.

Pros and cons

• Atlas Journey Preferred is the cheapest of our 5-star travel insurance plans.
• Atlas Journey Premier offers $150,000 in primary medical coverage.
• Both plans have top-notch $1 million per person in medical evacuation coverage.
• Each plan offers travel inconvenience coverage of $750 per person.
• 12 optional upgrades, including destination wedding and rental car damage and theft.
• No non-medical evacuation coverage.

Cheap travel insurance for cruises

Travel insured.

Top-scoring plan

Travel Insured offers cheap travel insurance for cruises and its Worldwide Trip Protector plan gets 4 stars in our rating of the best cruise travel insurance .

• Worldwide Trip Protector offers $1 million in emergency evacuation coverage per person and a rare $150,000 in non-medical evacuation per person. It also has primary coverage for travel medical insurance benefits, which means you won’t have to file medical claims with your health insurance first.
• Cheap trip insurance for cruises.
• Offers a rare $150,000 for non-medical evacuation.
• $500 per person baggage delay benefit only requires a 3-hour delay.
• Optional rental car damage benefit up to $50,000.
• Missed connection benefit of $500 per person only available for cruises and tours.

Best cheap travel insurance for families

Travelex has the best cheap travel insurance for families because kids age 17 are covered by your policy for free when they’re traveling with you.

• Free coverage for children 17 and under on the same policy.
• $2,000 travel delay coverage per person ($250 per day) after 5 hours.
• Hurricane and weather coverage after a common carrier delay of any amount of time.
• Only $50,000 per person emergency medical coverage.
• Baggage delay coverage is only $200 and requires a 12-hour delay.

Best cheap travel insurance for seniors

Evacuation limit per person

Nationwide has the best cheap travel insurance for seniors — its Prime plan gets 4 stars in our best senior travel insurance rating. However, Nationwide’s Cruise Choice plan ranks higher in our best cheap travel insurance rating.

• Cruise Choice has a $500 per person benefit if a cruise itinerary change causes you to miss a prepaid excursion. It also has a missed connections benefit of $1,500 per person after only a 3-hour delay, for cruises or tours. But note that this coverage is secondary coverage to any compensation provided by a common carrier.
• Coverage for cruise itinerary changes, ship-based mechanical breakdowns and covered shipboard service disruptions.
• Non-medical evacuation benefit of $25,000 per person.
• Baggage loss benefits of $2,500 per person.
• Travel medical coverage is secondary.
• Trip cancellation benefit for losing your job requires three years of continuous employment.
• No “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) upgrade available.
• Missed connection coverage of $1,500 per person is only for tours and cruises, after a 3-hour delay.

Best cheap travel insurance for add-on options

AIG offers the best cheap travel insurance for add-on options because the Travel Guard Preferred plan allows you to customize your policy with a host of optional upgrades.

• Travel Guard Preferred upgrades include “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage , rental vehicle damage coverage and bundles that offer additional benefits for adventure sports, travel inconvenience, quarantine, pets, security and weddings. There’s also a medical bundle that increases the travel medical benefit to $100,000 and emergency evacuation to $1 million.
• Bundle upgrades allow you to customize your affordable travel insurance policy.
• Emergency medical and evacuation limits can be doubled with optional upgrade.
• Base travel insurance policy has relatively low medical limits.
• $300 baggage delay benefit requires a 12-hour delay.
• Optional CFAR upgrade only reimburses up to 50% of trip cost.

Best cheap travel insurance for missed connections

TravelSafe has the best cheap travel insurance for missed connections because coverage is not limited to cruises and tours, as it is with many policies.

• Best-in-class $2,500 per person in missed connection coverage.
• $1 million per person in medical evacuation and $25,000 in non-medical evacuation coverage.
• Generous $2,500 per person baggage and personal items loss benefit.
• Most expensive of the best cheap travel insurance plans.
• No “interruption for any reason” coverage available.
• Weak baggage delay coverage of $250 per person after 12 hours.

Cheapest travel insurance comparison

How much does the cheapest travel insurance cost.

The cheapest travel insurance in our rating is $334. This is for a WorldTrips Atlas Journey Preferred travel insurance plan, based on the average of seven quotes for travelers of various ages to international destinations with a range of trip values.  

Factors that determine travel insurance cost

There are several factors that determine the cost of travel insurance, including:

• Age and number of travelers being insured.
• Trip length.
• Total trip cost.
• The travel insurance plan you choose.
• The travel insurance company.
• Any add-ons, features or upgraded benefits you include in the travel insurance plan.

Expert tip: “In general, travelers can expect to pay anywhere from 4% to 10% of their total prepaid, non-refundable trip costs,” said Suzanne Morrow, CEO of InsureMyTrip.

Is buying the cheapest travel insurance a good idea?

Choosing cheaper travel insurance without paying attention to what a plan covers and excludes could leave you underinsured for your trip. Comparing travel insurance plans side-by-side can help ensure you get enough coverage to protect yourself financially in an emergency for the best price. 

For example, compare these two Travelex travel insurance plans:

• Travel Basic is cheaper but it only provides up to $15,000 for emergency medical expense coverage. You’ll also have to pay extra for coverage for children.
• Travel Select will cost you a bit more but it covers up to $50,000 in medical expenses and includes coverage for kids aged 17 and younger traveling with you. It also offers upgrades such additional medical coverage, “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage and an adventure sports rider that may be a good fit for your trip.

Reasons to consider paying more for travel insurance 

Make sure you understand what you’re giving up if you buy the cheapest travel insurance. Here are a few reasons you may consider paying a little extra for better coverage. 

• Emergency medical. The best travel medical insurance offers primary coverage for emergency medical benefits. Travel insurance with primary coverage can cost more than secondary coverage but will save you from having to file a claim with your health insurance company before filing a travel insurance claim.
• Emergency evacuation. If you’re traveling to a remote location or planning a boat excursion on your trip, look at travel insurance with a high medical evacuation insurance limit. If you are injured while traveling, transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility could cost in the tens to hundreds of thousands. It may make sense to pay more for travel insurance with robust emergency evacuation coverage. 
• Flexibility. To maximize your trip flexibility, you might consider upgrading your travel insurance to “ cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage . This will increase the cost of your travel insurance but allow you to cancel your trip for any reason — not just those listed in your policy. The catch is that you’ll need to cancel at least 48 hours before your trip and will only be reimbursed 50% or 75% of your trip expenses, depending on the plan. 
• Upgrades. Many travel insurance plans have optional extras like car rental collision and adventure sports (which may otherwise be excluded from coverage). These will cost you extra but may give you the coverage you need. 

How to find the cheapest travel insurance

The best way to find the cheapest travel insurance is to determine what you’re looking for in a travel insurance policy and compare plans that meet your needs.

 “Travel insurance isn’t one-size-fits-all. Every trip is different, and every traveler has different needs, wants and concerns. This is why comparison is key,” said Morrow.

Consider the following factors when comparing cheap travel insurance plans.

• How often you’re traveling. A single-trip policy may be the most cost-effective if you’re only going on a single trip this year. But a multi-trip travel insurance plan may be cheaper if you’re going on multiple international trips throughout the year. Annual travel insurance policies cover you for a whole year as long as each trip doesn’t exceed a certain number of days, usually 30 to 90 days. 
• Credit card has travel insurance benefits. The best credit cards offer perks and benefits, and many offer travel insurance-specific benefits. The coverage types and benefit limits can vary, and you must put the entire trip cost on the credit card to use the coverage. If your trip costs more than the coverage limit on your card, you can supplement the rest with a cheaper travel insurance plan.
• The coverage you need. When looking for the best travel insurance option at the most affordable price, only buy extras and upgrades you really need. A basic plan may only provide up to $500 in baggage insurance, but if you only plan to take $300 worth of clothes and accessories, you don’t need to pay more for higher coverage limits.

Is cheap travel insurance worth it?

Cheap travel insurance can be worth it, as long as you understand the plan limitations and exclusions. Taking the time to read your policy, especially the fine print, well before your trip can ensure there won’t be any surprises about what’s covered once your journey begins.

“If a traveler is looking for coverage for travel delays, cancellations, interruptions, medical and baggage — a comprehensive travel insurance policy will provide the most bang for their buck,” said Morrow. But if you’re on a tight budget and are only worried about emergency medical care and evacuation coverage while traveling abroad, stand-alone options are cheaper.

Before buying travel insurance, you should also consider what your health insurance will cover. 

“Most domestic health insurance plans, including Medicare, will not cover medical bills abroad,” said Morrow. Even if you’re staying stateside, you may find value in an affordable travel insurance plan with medical coverage if you have a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). 

A cheap travel insurance plan is better than none at all if you end up in a situation that would have covered some or all of your prepaid, nonrefundable trip expenses.

Methodology

Our insurance experts reviewed 1,855 coverage details and 567 rates to determine the best travel insurance . From those top-scoring travel insurance plans, we chose the most affordable for our rating of the cheapest travel insurance.

Insurers could score up to 100 points based on the following factors:

• Cost: 40 points. We scored the average cost of each travel insurance policy for a variety of trips and traveler profiles.
• Medical expenses: 10 points. We scored travel medical insurance by the coverage amount available. Travel insurance policies with emergency medical expense benefits of $250,000 or more per person were given the highest score of 10 points.
• Medical evacuation: 10 points. We scored each plan’s emergency medical evacuation coverage by coverage amount. Travel insurance policies with medical evacuation expense benefits of $500,000 or more per person were given the highest score of 10 points.
• Pre-existing medical condition exclusion waiver: 10 points. We gave full points to travel insurance policies that cover pre-existing medical conditions if certain conditions are met.
• Missed connection: 10 points. Travel insurance plans with missed connection benefits of $1,000 per person or more received full points.
• “Cancel for any reason” upgrade: 5 points. We gave points to travel insurance plans with optional “cancel for any reason” coverage that reimburses up to 75%.
• Travel delay required waiting time: 5 points. We gave 5 points to travel insurance policies with travel delay benefits that kick in after a delay of 6 hours or less.
• Cancel for work reasons: 5 points. If a travel insurance plan allows you to cancel your trip for work reasons, such as your boss requiring you to stay and work, we gave it 5 points.
• Hurricane and severe weather: 5 points. Travel insurance plans that have a required waiting period for hurricane and weather coverage of 12 hours or less received 5 points.

Some travel insurance companies may offer plans with additional benefits or lower prices than the plans that scored the highest, so make sure to compare travel insurance quotes to see your full range of options.

Cheapest travel insurance FAQs

When buying travel insurance, cheapest is not always the best. The most affordable travel insurance plans typically offer fewer coverages with lower policy limits and few or no optional upgrades. Add up your total nonrefundable trip costs and compare travel insurance plans and available features that cover your travel expenses. This strategy can help you find the cheapest travel insurance policy that best protects you from financial loss if an unforeseen circumstance arises.

Get the coverage you need: Best travel insurance of 2024

According to our analysis, WorldTrips , Travel Insured International and Travelex offer the best cheap travel insurance. Policy coverage types and limits can vary by each travel insurance provider, so the best way to get the cheapest travel insurance plan is to compare several policies and companies to find the right fit for your budget.

A good rate for travel insurance depends on your budget and coverage needs. The most comprehensive travel insurance plan is usually not the cheapest. But cheap trip insurance may not have enough coverage or the types of coverage you want. Comparing different levels of coverage and how much they cost can help you find the best cheap insurance for travel. 

The average cost of travel insurance is between 5% to 6% of your total travel expenses for one trip, according to our analysis of rates. However, you may find cheaper travel insurance if you opt for a plan with fewer benefits or lower coverage limits. How much you pay for travel insurance will also depend on the number of travelers covered, their ages, the length of the trip and any upgrades you add to your plan.

Travel insurance covers nonrefundable, prepaid trip costs — up to the policy coverage limits — when your trip is interrupted or canceled for a covered reason outlined in your plan documents. Even the cheapest travel insurance policies usually provide coverage for:

• Medical emergencies.
• Trip delays.
• Trip interruption.
• Trip cancellation.
• Lost, stolen or damaged luggage.

However, if you’re looking to save on travel insurance, you can shop for a policy that only has travel medical insurance and does not include benefits for trip cancellation .

Even when you buy cheap travel insurance, you can often use upgrade options to customize your policy to meet your specific needs. 

Some common travel insurance add-ons you may want to consider include:

• Rental car damage coverage. 
• Medical bundle.
• Security bundle.
• Accidental death and dismemberment coverage.
• Adventure sports bundle.
• Pet bundle.
• Wedding bundle.
• “Cancel for work reasons” coverage.
• “Interruption for any reason” (IFAR) coverage.
• “Cancel for any reason” (CFAR) coverage .

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy . The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Mandy is an insurance writer who has been creating online content since 2018. Before becoming a full-time freelance writer, Mandy spent 15 years working as an insurance agent. Her work has been published in Bankrate, MoneyGeek, The Insurance Bulletin, U.S. News and more.

Heidi Gollub is the USA TODAY Blueprint managing editor of insurance. She was previously lead editor of insurance at Forbes Advisor and led the insurance team at U.S. News & World Report as assistant managing editor of 360 Reviews. Heidi has an MBA from Emporia State University and is a licensed property and casualty insurance expert.

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The 11 Best Travel Safety Devices, Tested By A Frequent Solo Traveler

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Even amidst the thrill of adventure, travel exposes you to certain risks, from minor inconveniences like a flight delay to more serious threats, like a stranger breaking into your hotel room. Fortunately, the best travel safety devices, ranging from personal safety alarms to door stoppers and anti-theft bags , are built to keep you out of harm’s way.

The best travel safety devices are built to keep you out of harm’s way, helping you avoid both minor ... [+] inconveniences and serious threats.

Over the last decade, I’ve visited roughly 100 countries—many of them solo. My experiences traveling alone helped me learn the importance of being mindful of one’s safety while on the go. After testing many gadgets and tools all over the world, I’ve narrowed down 15 of the best travel safety devices that all travelers should know about.

The 8 Best Scalp Treatments To Soothe, Hydrate And Balance

The best kids glasses online, according to parents and experts, best travel safety devices, at a glance:.

• Best Personal Safety Alarm: She’s Birdie Personal Safety Alarm
• Best Door Stopper With Built-In Alarm : AceMining Door Stopper Alarm
• Best Portable Door Lock : AceMining Portable Door Lock
• Best Luggage Tracker : Apple AirTag
• Best RFID-Blocking Travel Wallet : Zoppen Multi-Purpose RFID Blocking Passport Holder Travel Wallet
• Best Anti-Theft Bag: Pacsafe Women's Citysafe Cx Anti Theft Convertible Backpack
• Best TSA-Approved Luggage Lock: Master Lock Combination Luggage Lock
• Best Portable Lock Box : SafeGo Portable Indoor/Outdoor Lock Box
• Best Travel First-Aid Kit: Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Hiker Medical Kit
• Best Travel Carbon Monoxide Detector: Kidde Carbon Monoxide Detector

Best Personal Safety Alarm

Alerts others that you need help.

She's Birdie

She's Birdie Personal Safety Alarm

Weight: 2.08 ounces | Dimensions: 3 x 1.5 x 1 inches | Special features: TSA-friendly, fits on your keychain or luggage

Roughly the size of a key fob, She's Birdie is a discreet yet powerful wearable panic button that offers peace of mind whether you're out for a run or strolling through a new city. Pulling the pin activates a piercing alarm and flashing strobe, instantly alerting those nearby. Reinsert the pin to deactivate the alarm when you feel safe. It's a swift and effective means of summoning help and drawing attention to any situation. 

Best Door Stopper With A Built-In Alarm

Deters criminals from breaking in, acemining door stopper alarm.

Weight: 3.68 ounces | Dimensions: 5.45 x 1.8 x 1.52 inches | Special features: Made of stainless steel but lightweight and easy to pack

This simple but effective door stopper prevents unauthorized visitors from entering your room by reinforcing the door. If someone attempts to tamper with your hotel room door (even by putting pressure on it), the stopper emits a 120-decibel alarm (for context, that's about as loud as a jet plane taking off ). Set-up is easy—just shove it in the gap between the ground and the bottom of your door, like you would any other door stopper—and it’s powered by a 9-volt battery. 

Best Portable Door Lock

No breaking and entering here, acemining portable door lock.

Weight: 4.2 ounces | Dimensions: 6 x 1.65 x 0.3 inches | Special features: Easy to install or remove, without any tools

Not all door locks in hotel or Airbnbs are break-in-proof. As a portable and lightweight solution, this handy door lock reinforces a door’s existing locking mechanisms on the handle so the door can’t be opened from the outside, whether with a key card or a traditional key. It’s easily installed in seconds and doesn't require any tools—just slide the metal piece into the slot of the door lock, close the door and clip the red portion into one of the holes (there are two, ensuring it'll fit any size door). Keep in mind that this gadget only works on inward-opening doors—so it’s not the best fit for double doors or doors that slide or swing outward.

Best Luggage Tracker

Keeping tabs on your valuables, apple airtag 4 pack.

Weight: 0.39 ounces | Dimensions: 1.26 x 1.26 x 0.31 inches | Special features: Built-in speaker plays a sound to help you locate lost items

A tiny bit larger than a quarter, Apple’s AirTag devices use Bluetooth tracking to help you quickly locate your baggage, no matter where it is, or keep tabs on anything that’s valuable or important to you, from your purse or wallet to your camera bag or even a pet (put it on the collar). The AirTag uses Apple’s Find My network to share its location securely and has a speaker function to set out a signal, making it easier to find. For Samsung loyalists, I recommend the SmartTag2 , and for even more options, check out our guide to the Best Luggage Trackers .

Best RFID-Blocking Travel Wallet

Keeping your cards secure, zoppen multi-purpose rfid blocking passport holder travel wallet.

Weight: 6 ounces | Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.7 x 1 inches | Special features:

Thieves don’t need your physical credit card to make charges on it—they can nab your personal information by scanning devices that emit Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) signals, essentially pickpocketing you electronically. Similarly, they can skim the data from your passport (because, like credit cards, they have microchips in them), which they could use to steal your identity. A RFID-blocking wallet is made from a material that blocks the signals, effectively creating a shield from digital theft around your cards and IDs. This pick from Zoppen comes in more than 30 colors and features pockets for your passport, boarding pass, eight credit cards, one SIM card, cash, coins and a pen. 

Best Anti-Theft Bag

Stylish and discreet with excellent safety features, pacsafe women's citysafe cx anti theft convertible backpack.

Weight: 0.99 pound | Dimensions: 13.4 x 10.2 x 4.7 inches | Special features: RFID-blocking, converts from a backpack to a purse

From hidden compartments and lockable zippers to slash-proof materials and RFID-blocking pockets, Pacsafe's anti-theft backpacks is one of my favorites to travel with. To thwart determined thieves, this bag is reinforced with lightweight steel mesh you can’t cut through and the shoulder straps are reinforced with wire, which means it can be secured to tables or chairs if needed. Its ability to fold down into a handbag makes it particularly versatile—you can wear it as a backpack during the day and a purse at night. Bonus: the bag is water resistant, easy to clean and has a five-year warranty. 

Best TSA-Approved Luggage Lock

Keeps suitcases locked up tightly, master lock padlock.

Weight: 0.21 ounces | Dimensions: 0.55 x 1.57 x 4.16 inches | Special features: Can be set with 1-word combination or numbers depending on the style

I reviewed multiple locks for our Best TSA-Approved Luggage Locks guide, and the best option overall is this one from Master Lock. Made with heavy-duty steel, it's simple to operate but hard to break into, and because it features a two-inch shackle, it fits everything from suitcases to equipment boxes. It comes in two styles for travelers—one with a word combination and another with a numeric combination.

Best Portable Lock Box

A mini lock-box you can take on the go, safego portable indoor/outdoor lock box safe.

Weight: 1 pound | Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 7.5 inches | Special features: Water-resistant, suitable for indoor-outdoor use

Most hostels and Airbnbs do not have a lock-box or safe in the room. Similarly, there are scenarios where you might want a bit more protection for your belongings, such as when you're at the beach by yourself and want to keep your items secure while you take a swim. SafeGo’s portable lock box is a small, secure repository for storing passports, jewelry, cash and electronics. It has a flexible steel cable that allows you to secure it around most fixed objects and a lock that opens with a three-digit code of your choosing or a key. It's rust, water and impact-resistant, making it more tamper-proof. As an added bonus, it offers earphone or charger access, so you can listen to music or charge your phone while it's locked away.

Best Travel First-Aid Kit

For aillments and injuries on the road, adventure medical kits mountain series hiker medical kit.

Weight: 7.2 ounces | Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.5 x 3 inches | Special features: Compact, easily fits into a fanny pack

Accidents can happen anywhere, and having essential medical supplies on hand can provide immediate relief or assistance until professional help is available. This compact option from Adventure Medical Kits is small enough to toss in your bag while still covering most minor injuries and ailments. It includes trauma pads, butterfly bandages, antiseptic wipes and medical tape for bleeding; elastic bandages for sprained ankles; common medications for allergic reactions, itching, pain, fever, inflammation and diarrhea; and a first-aid guide to help you administer care. It also includes moleskin, which is great for blisters. The nylon bag is organized with injury-specific pockets, so you'll be able to find what you're looking for easily and quickly. 

Best Carbon Monoxide Detector

Keeps you safe in rentals and hotels without this tool, kidde carbon monoxide detector.

Weight: 0.635 ounces | Dimensions: 2.75 x 1.5 x 4.5 inches | Special features: Battery back-up, plugs into wall outlet, emits a 85-decibel alarm

In many places around the world, it's not a requirement for hotel rooms or short-term rentals to have a carbon monoxide detector. Having one of your own could help save your life. Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless poisonous gas, which, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention , is produced any time you burn fuel in stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges or furnaces. This option from Kidde simply plugs into a standard outlet (if you're traveling internationally, don't forget an adapter) but also has a battery backup. When it senses carbon monoxide, it emits a 85-decibel alarm. 

Best Home Security System

Monitor your home when you're away, ring floodlight cam and ring video doorbell.

Weight: Varies | Dimensions: Varies | Special features:

While this isn’t a product you’ll pack in your suitcase, Ring’s video doorbell and floodlight camera help you monitor your home from anywhere in the world. With the smartphone app, you can check in on your property in real-time and if Ring's motion sensors and cameras detect any suspicious movements or unexpected visitors, you'll be immediately notified. Additionally, the visible presence of security cameras and alarms can act as a powerful deterrent to potential burglars.

Why Trust Forbes Vetted

The Forbes Vetted travel team has researched, written and published dozens of articles about the very best products for travel, from the best luggage for your next trip to the best carry-on backpacks that fit into an airplane’s overhead bin. When it came time to identify the best travel safety devices, we applied the same unyielding commitment to ensure that our readers feel safe no matter where their travels take them.

We examined each contender on this list, closely examining use cases and testing them out on multiple trips. To make the cut for our travel safety device list, products were required to be versatile and compact, allowing them to be used in a variety of situations while also being lightweight enough to toss into your backpack, carry-on or personal item.

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Fjords, Pharaohs or Koalas? Time to Plan for Your Next Eclipse.

If you can’t get enough of totality, or missed out this time, you’ll have three more chances in the next four years in destinations like Iceland, Spain, Egypt and Australia.

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By Danielle Dowling

Are you still a little giddy from the magical moments of totality during Monday’s solar eclipse? Or did clouds swoop in to block your view? Maybe you just couldn’t make it to the path of totality this time. No matter what, the question now is “ Where and when will it happen again?”

“People who have never seen it before, the first words out of their mouth after the totality ends is ‘I’ve got to see another one, this is incredible, this is unbelievable.’ That is when you become addicted to these things and end up traveling no matter where the next one is,” said Joseph Rao, an eclipse chaser and guest lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium.

So, if like Mr. Rao, you’ve developed a raging case of umbraphilia — the love of eclipses — you’ll have three chances over the next four years to see the moon blot out the sun. The first, on Aug. 12, 2026, will start above Greenland, then strafe the west coast of Iceland and move along the Atlantic Ocean and over Spain. Almost a year later, on Aug. 2, 2027, another will skirt the Mediterranean coast of North Africa then cross Egypt and part of the Arabian Peninsula. The third, on July 22, 2028, will cut across Australia and the southern tip of New Zealand.

Future Eclipses

Eclipse chasers will have several more chances this decade to view a total solar eclipse .

Last week, as Victoria Sahami , the owner of Sirius Travel , was preparing to guide a group of tourists in Mazatlán, Mexico, for Monday’s big event, she was also planning for these other upcoming eclipses. Ms. Sahami joined the ranks of the eclipse-obsessed when she witnessed one in Venezuela in the 1990s. “Like many people, I was hooked. There was no going back,” she said.

Total solar eclipses happen fairly regularly — about every one to two years — in locations scattered around the world. “That’s the great thing about them: You wind up in places that you don’t normally go,” Ms. Sahami said.

A major spoiler is weather, which will be a big variable in the 2026 eclipse — one Greenland, Iceland and Spain will see.

“Iceland normally has a lot of cloud during that time of year,” said Paul Maley , who runs Ring of Fire Expeditions . “The data shows Spain to have the higher good-weather prospects of all three. However, the sun is low in the sky and the eclipse ends as the sun hits the horizon at sunset.”

Because of Iceland’s mercurial meteorology, Ring of Fire Expeditions is going all in on Spain, with a 10-day excursion on the mainland. Sirius Travel is offering not only a five-day trip to Majorca but also an eight-day tour around Iceland. It will be based in Reykjavik, and the itinerary will remain flexible on the day of the eclipse so the tour can easily pivot toward the location with the least cloud cover. Ms. Sahami recommends the trip for those who already have a few eclipses under their belt and would be happy just to take in the sights of Iceland if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

The 2027 eclipse, on the other hand, promises to be truly stellar: Luxor, Egypt — the site of numerous ancient temples as well as the Valleys of the Kings and Queens — sits right in the middle of the path of totality and will be bathed in darkness for a full 6 minutes 23 seconds. Weather-wise, it is what Ms. Sahami called “a slam dunk.” “You know you’re going to see it. You know that you’re not going to get any clouds,” she said.

But for all its potential, those considering Egypt should be aware that the State Department has a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” warning for the country because of the risk of terrorism.

The 2028 eclipse will darken the skies over Sydney, Australia, for 3 minutes 49 seconds. It will be the first time the city has experienced a total solar eclipse since 1857. Ms. Sahami has her eyes on a trip based out of there, while Mr. Maley has chartered a cruise ship off the northwest coast of Australia. It will be winter there, he said, but that isn’t likely to mean bad eclipse-viewing weather.

If you want to see any (or all) of these eclipses, you should get started on planning and booking now, particularly if you want to sign up for a trip organized by a tour company. One of Sirius Travel’s excursions to Luxor is already full.

Scrutinize refund policies and look into insuring your trip. Several companies will fully refund your deposit if you cancel a year in advance. A lot can happen, Ms. Sahami said, “but if you think you’re going to go, why not?”

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