Travel Resources | bumper list of travel tools & services
As I’ve travelled the world for 20 years, I know the importance of having the best travel resources. From booking platforms to travel insurance, I have hand-picked a selection of my favourite travel tools and sites to help you travel smarter.
These are the travel resources I use and love. I would never recommend something I do not believe in.
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FLIGHT Searches
Expedia
You can compare and book flights with lights with Expedia. Search for discounted flight tickets from over 400 standard and budget airlines.
You can also search for car and hotel deals and create your own holiday package.
Travel Supermarket
Use price comparison site Travel Supermarket to search flights from hundreds of travel sites simultaneously to find the best deal on flights and hotels.
Search now to see prices from a huge range of airlines and save big on your next holiday.
SKYSCANNER
You can search for the best cheap flights with Skyscanner. If you have flexibility, you can use Skyscanner to find the cheapest day to fly or month to get to your destination.
You can also use Skyscanner’s ” Everywhere” option to get inspiration.
FLIGHT HACKS
Jack’s Flight Club
Signing up to Jack’s Flight Club email list is completely free. By signing up You will receive cheap flight deals straight to your inbox for as long as you are subscribed!
They also have a paid premium membership option that gives you access to all the deals
Google Flights
Google Flights aggregate flights from major airlines, and when you find a flight you want to book, they take you straight to the airline site.
One of the best features is that Google Flights will show you a flight price graph to see how flights will likely compare over the next few months.
The Points Guy
Check out The Points Guy to get expert advice on hacks on air miles and points.
They have comprehensive beginner’s guide that is designed to help you get to grips with points and miles as well as a newsletter for updates.
Airport Extras
Airport Parking
Save money by booking your airport parking in advance. You can find great airport parking deals online with Holiday Extras.
Get up to 70% off airport parking when you book in advance online. Keep your car secure and safe whilst you are on your holidays in an official airport car park.
Lounges
Why not spoil yourself with airport lounge access before your flight? Lounges don’t have to be super expensive; book online with Holiday Extras to save money.
You can save up to 60% off the normal price of an airport lounge pass when you book in advance online.
Airport Parking
You could also park your car at the airport with Car & Away. It’s the first person-to-person car-sharing service that matches car renters to car owners in a very simple and transparent way.
The service gives airport parking customers the opportunity to ‘rent and earn’ whilst on holiday.
Save money on Travel Bookings
Quidco is the UK’s number one cashback website and has a huge amount of cashback opportunities.
If you are looking to save money on city breaks and travel bookings, they also offer cashback on sites such as booking.com, the Trainline, Europcar and National Express.
Booking Accommodation
Booking . Com
Use Booking.com to find the best hotel deals worldwide.
This hotel metasearch engine searches many hotel websites and then instantly returns the lowest prices
I personally use booking as I like the fact that many properties offer free cancellations before a certain date.
Trip Advisor
One of the most well-known travel brands in the world also offers hotel bookings. Use Trip Advisor to search for great hotel deals that are collated from multiple booking engines.
Get the best hotel room deals from over 1 million hotels and motels worldwide from this popular travel site.
HostelWorld
If you are looking for more budget hostel accommodation for your trip, check out Hostelworld.
You can search for a huge range of affordable youth hostels and cheap hotels in travel destinations worldwide.
There’s also a range of perks when booking with Hostelworld, including flexible booking and no booking fees.
AiRBNB
If you are looking for an alternative to hotels, check out Airbnb.
You can search for apartments, houses, cottages, cabins or even a spare room in someone’s home.
You can also use Airbnb to book quirky accommodations such as treehouses, traditional caravans, cabins and houseboats
Trusted Housesitters
If you’re an animal lover looking to travel the world on a budget, then Trusted Housesitters is recommended.
Sign up as a house sitter and look after someone’s pet whilst they are away.
Sign up for their annual membership plan for unlimited house sits and Membership support.
Couch Surfing
The super-budget accommodation option is Couch Surfing. You can sign up to become a couch-surfing member and then take advantage of all the benefits.
Members can use the couch surfing service to arrange homestays and to also offer homestays to others.
By staying with local locals you can often get the best insider information on a destination as well as learning more about the local culture, food and politics.
Holiday Companies
Ice Lolly
If you are looking for a cheap holiday package then check out Ice Lolly. You can compare over 5 million cheap holidays from some of the best travel companies around to find an amazing deal.
Get searching on their site to find low-cost, all-inclusive holidays, city breaks or a great last-minute deal.
Holiday Pirates
HolidayPirates is a travel blog and app that publishes a huge range of holiday offers to destinations around the world.
You can sign up to the Holiday Pirates newsletter to get the cheapest travel deals for hotels, flights and package tours deals sent straight to your inbox.
Jet2 Holidays
Find all-inclusive and last-minute holidays with Jet2Holidays. You can search for amazing holidays deals with a hotel, return flights, transfers and 22kg of luggage.
You can bag a great package deal to sunny destinations such as Cyprus and the Dalaman region of Turkey when you search their site.
Travel Insurance & Travel Money
Travel Supermarket
Having comprehensive travel insurance for your trip is a must for all eventualities.
Check out Travel Supermarket for travel insurance quotes with this huge price comparison site.
With their easy-to-use website, you can compare and save on annual, single and multi-trip travel insurance policies.
Safety Wing
I would also recommend Safety Wing Travel medical insurance. They cover people from all over the world, while outside their home country.
Their Medical insurance includes coverage for if you are in an accident or fall sick and need medical assistance while outside your home country.
Travel Money
For my trips, I like to be organised and order my travel money with a trusted currency provider like the Post Office Travel Money service.
They offer competitive exchange rates and 0% commission when you buy in advance.
They also offer a convenient Travel Money Card that lets you top-up your spending money.
Bus Travel
Megabus
Use Megabus for reasonably priced bus travel around the UK, Europe and the states.
Book in advance online and take advantage of ridiculously cheap bus tickets to a multitude of destinations. They advertise fares for as low as £1 but you would probably have to book a year in advance to bag a fare that low.
Flixbus
Flixbus is one of Europe’s most popular budget coach companies. You can travel between numerous European cities and even travel from the UK into Europe.
You can book your bus ticket directly on their website or purchase your ticket via their handy app. You don’t even need to print it your tickets out which is super convenient for travellers on the move.
Train Travel
Eurail
Eurail is the official online sales site for Eurail Passes. They sell a variety of rail passes for travelling around Europe.
If you are travelling for longer, you can get the Eurail Global Pass that ranges from 5 days to 3 months. You can also buy a One Country Pass if you are just looking for train travel in one European country.
Seat 61
Seat 61 [also known as The Man in Seat 61], is a comprehensive train travel website that covers all aspects of rail travel in Europe.
You can get fantastic tips and insider information on rail travel here.
The entire website is written and maintained by train enthusiast Mark Smith.
Rome2Rio
Discover how to travel between destinations with the Rome2rio website. This useful site is a multimodal transport search engine that also covers a lot of train travel.
You can use this travel site for your long-distance trip planning and for local journey planning.
They cover all manner of plane, train, bus, car and ferry routes across the world.
Car Rental & Group Tours
Europcar
If you are looking to rent a car on your travels why not book one in advance with Europcar?
You can rent a car or van from over 200 locations in the UK, or from 3,300 car hire locations throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, in about 150 countries.
You don’t have to worry about renting a banger either, each rental car in the Europcar fleet is less than six months old.
Each rental car is also cleaned and thoroughly inspected after every rental meaning you will have a lovely clean car to drive around in.
G Adventures
G Adventures are the ideal choice for those looking for small-group tours. They also offer a range of safaris and adventurous expeditions.
Benefits of booking a G-tour include 100% guaranteed departures, sustainable travel experiences and competitive prices for tours. They really are one of my favourite tour companies to travel with.
Contiki
Contiki is the leading tour company for 18-35 year old’s that looking for an organised adventure. They have around awesome 300 trips spanning 6 continents.
Contiki will take care of all aspects of your trip. They will organise all your accommodation, food, experiences and transport. This means you can kick back, relax and focus on exploring the globe.