7 Travel Websites to Help You Plan Your Next Trip
As Europeans, we used to travel quite a lot by plane and train just before the coronavirus pandemic hit. We both have our families abroad, so travelling often has always been a normal thing for us.
Today we decided to share with you the websites that we ALWAYS use when planning a trip! Take in consideration that because we live in Europe, we might use certain tools and websites that aren’t as common in other places.
So, let’s dive in!
#1 - Skyscanner
Skyscanner is our go-to platform to find the best prices for our flights. It is a global metasearch and comparison website that presents flights, hotels and car-hire options for your destination.
Why do we love this platform?
30 Days Overview
Skyscanner aggregates the lowest prices on the web in both a calendar and chart form, allowing you to check for prices within an entire month. This will help you choose and filter through the cheapest days of the week to fly.
For us it is a really important part of planning our trips, as usually the cheapest day on the calendar will determine the exact day we will start our trip or vacation.
“Everywhere” Search
Probably our favourite feature and the reason why we keep using Skyscanner, over and over.
The “Everywhere” search, as the name suggests, allows you to search for flights to any destination in the world. From your chosen departure point you can look at multiple destinations at once, so you can get inspired and spot the best and cheapest deals.
It’s a fun way to discover new destinations and we find that it opens up so many new travel opportunities!
Pro Tip: Use incognito mode while searching for flights with Skyscanner.
From what we have experienced so far, using incognito mode can significantly lower the price of flights, as it disables cookies and search history, stopping them from being visible to travel companies.
You might also like to check out our full Skyscanner article here!
#2 - Booking.com
Booking.com is our website of choice for booking hotels, resorts or luxurious vacations! We book with them all the time, especially if we are planning a city trip or small stays.
Why Booking.com?
Free Cancellation
This is the one of the main reasons why we use Booking.com, as it has saved us a lot of money in the last years!
We had a lot of hotels already booked for the whole of 2020, most of which were shut down due to the pandemic. Lucky for us, we got to cancel all our bookings for free!
Once you have booked a stay, you will know exactly what the cancellation deadline is.
We could not recommend it enough!
Booking.com Loyalty Program - Genius
This loyalty program is an added bonus for us.
It is divided in two tiers: Genius Level 1 and Genius Level 2.
When you complete 2 stays through Booking.com, you earn the Genius Level 1 status for life. You get 10% of discount on select properties that are part of the Genius program.
Genius Level 2 requires you to complete 5 stays within two years with Booking.
The advantages are:
- 10% to 15% discount at select properties;
- Free breakfast at select properties;
- Free room upgrade at select properties.
We already have the Genius Level 2 status on our account and have already taken advantage of the free breakfast and room upgrade a few times, although these features are not as commonly offered as the discounts.
#3 - Hotwire
Hotwire is our favourite last minute booking option. Even though you can use Booking for late reservations, we find that with Hotwire the discounts tend to be higher, even up to 50%!
You can look up these bigger discounts by selecting the Hot Rate option in the search bar.
When you select this option, you will be presented with three hotels, one of which will be your stay. The catch is that you cannot choose in between them as one hotel will have already been chosen for you, and you will only know which one after you’ve booked.
It can a be a fun way to spice up your trips, but keep in mind that these reservations cannot be refunded, so think carefully before booking!
Pro Tip: There is a way to know which hotel you will be booking before committing to a reservation. Once you have selected an offer with the Hot Rate option, the image on top of the page will be your first hint. Scroll down the same page and you will have access to the Expedia rating: these are the actual ratings of the hotel you will be booked into.
By doing a quick search on Expedia, using the ratings and images as reference, you can determine which of the 3 hotels will be yours!
#4 - Airbnb
Airbnb is a platform that we use when we don’t wish to stay in hotels and want our trip to be a more immersive and authentic experience.
You can choose anything from shared rooms, to apartments and entire houses. You can even go as far as booking castles, house boats and cabins in the forest, so it’s the perfect option if you want to pick a unique accommodation.
Longer stays, normally above one or two weeks, will be cheaper. Monthly stays will have a fixed price and will be the most affordable. Play with the dates when booking a stay, as sometimes even a single day can make a huge difference in the price!
We’ve used this platform many times, and we definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for something different and more authentic than an hotel.
#5 - TripAdvisor Forum
TripAdvisor is my personal favourite research tool. I use it mainly because of their amazing forum section!
It is especially useful when visiting new and unknown destinations, as it allows you to get in-depth information from personal experiences you are unlikely to find through a simple web search.
The Forum gathers information from destination experts and TripAdvisor contributors, that upload regularly on the site. This way you can be sure to always be up-to date with the latest news and tips.
If you’re struggling to find answers to your questions, you can always start a new topic on the forum and you’re sure to receive guiding and useful answers from real travelers!
We’ve used it especially for our trip to Zanzibar in 2019, as information on the destination was scarce at best. We found all the information we were looking for with TripAdvisor’s Forums, from a great taxi company to weather patterns and hidden gems on the island.
#6 - Rome2rio
Rome2rio is a travel search aggregator that gives you an overview of all modes of transportation that are available to and around your destination.
It’s perfect for comparing transport options. It offers information on ticket prices and schedules for buses, trains, ferries and flights, as well as car travel times and budgets.
It’s best used for destinations that are not easily accessible by plane, or that might have sights along the road that you might be interested in exploring.
#7 - Numbeo
Numbeo is a huge database that gives a complete and current overview of costs such as transportation, living, housing, food, restaurants and much more.
It will give you an idea of the difference in costs between your location and your destination. It is especially important for budget planning.
Numbeo can also be an extremely useful tool if you’re considering spending a long time at your destination, or perhaps moving permanently abroad.
Using these websites has made travelling easier for us.
It is the reason we share these tips with you, in the hopes they will give you the same motivation to travel they have given us.
This is Ana and until next time, keep on travelling!
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𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙡𝙚 ?
𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴 !
