Travel Resources

We’ve spent years and hours planning our trips. And we’ve learned which companies and services provide the best experiences. Having access to the best travel resources can make the difference between travel experiences that provide great memories versus frustration. To help you with your travel planning, we’ve compiled this page that includes a number of our favorite travel resources. Go ahead and start planning your next travel adventure.

Disclosure: Some of the listed travel resources are affiliate links. There is no extra cost to you, but we may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. This helps us to keep this website and our social channels up and running. Read our disclaimer and privacy policy for more information.

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GENERAL TRAVEL RESOURCES

Expedia: Expedia is our number one favorite travel resources tool when we begin planning our trips. Get your flight, hotel, rental car, and vacation package booked conveniently through Expedia.

TripAdvisor: When we seek things to do and places to eat, TripAdvisor is our favorite resource. We rely on users reporting their experiences to guide our travel choices.

HOTELS

Expedia: This is our #1 go to resource for finding and booking hotels. In our experience, we find the best hotel deals overall, especially in America and Europe.

TripAdvisor: Another helpful resource for finding hotels. At times, we’ve found unique quality accommodations through TripAdvisor that were not revealed on other hotel search portals.

VRBO: With over 2 million bookable vacation rentals, Vrbo connects homeowners with travelers looking for something more than a hotel for their trip.

FLIGHTS

Skyscanner: Looking to score amazing flight deals? With Skyscanner’s “Whole Month” and “Everywhere” options, you’ll have no trouble finding the lowest prices on flights across the globe. You can keep your travel plans flexible by selecting “anywhere” as your destination. Skyscanner compares millions of flights, ensuring you’ll always get the most competitive prices.

Google Flights: We appreciate the flexibility of Google Flights and use this resource often, too.

GROUND TRANSPORTATION

Discover Cars: Discover Cars provides hassle-free online car rental bookings. With Discover Cars, the quoted price includes all mandatory fees, taxes, and extras, ensuring there are no unpleasant surprises when you reach the rental desk.

Hertz Rental Cars: With thousands of neighborhood locations, you can find a rental car ranging from luxury sedans, sports cars and zero-emissions EVs to SUVs, trucks, vans and more.

Car Rental Hacks and Tips: Check out our guide to help you have a car rental experience that saves time, money, and stress.

Rome2Rio: Rome2Rio is our go-to website to discover detailed information on various routes from place to place and find out the approximate cost for each option.

FlixBus: Our go-to resource for finding bus transportation, particularly in Europe.

Eurail: Find Rail transit in Europe.

TOURS AND SIGHTSEEING

Get Your Guide – Find, compare, and book sightseeing tours, attractions, excursions, things to do, and fun activities worldwide. With over 60,000 activities listed, you will find something that piques your interest. Take the hassle out of planning and conveniently book and secure your tickets for exciting tours, awe-inspiring excursions, and so much more with GetYourGuide!

Groupon: Save up to 70% on 1000s of local restaurants, shopping, events & more. Find great deals on the best activities & things to do. Great deals for local dining and spas.

Sightseeing Pass: Discover unique Attractions, Bus Tours, Cruises, Walking Tours in places everyone wants to visit. Choose attractions as you go.

Viator offers a wide range of thoroughly vetted listings for various activities and tours. It is a fantastic resource for finding specific tours and activities wherever you may be. With over 100,000 different offers, there is something for everyone, whether you’re interested in food tours, skip-the-line tickets, or full-day experiences in different cities. In addition to tours, Viator also offers services such as airport transfers, wifi hotspots, and city tourist passes.

PACKING

BACKPACKS:
Our advice is to pack as lightly as possible when traveling. We’re big fans of backpacks and have gone on multi-week adventures with just a backpack for each of us. Our go-to backpacks are the Osprey Sirrus 24 for women or the Osprey Stratos 24L for men. These are our preferred backpack sizes, as we can take them on most airlines.

We’ve been using Osprey backpacks for well over ten years and have several packs in various sizes. Their design offers much flexibility and the build quality is great. Each of our packs are still as good as the day we bought them.

LUGGAGE
For carry-on luggage, we’ve moved over to Kenneth Cole Reaction Renegade Luggage. This 20-inch carry-on suitcase is an expandable 8-wheel spinner design in a hard side case.

PACKING CUBES
If you’ve not yet used packing cubes, you’re missing out. We started using these during a 3-week backpacking adventure in the UK and they’ve become part of our standard travel items. Shacke Pak 5-piece Packing Cubes come in multiple sizes and are a great addition to keep clothes organized and tightly packed.

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa: Our favorite travel credit card. It offers big sign-up bonuses. Chase Ultimate Rewards never expire and can be transferred into dozens of different partners’ points systems. It tops our favorite travel resources for credit cards.

Click to apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa.

World Nomads Travel Insurance: World Nomads Travel Insurance offers comprehensive coverage with protection for overseas medical emergencies, evacuation, baggage, and more.

You can easily purchase and claim insurance even after you’ve left home. Renowned for their excellent value, it is our travel insurance company of choice.

Travel Insurance Master: A Great site for comparing travel insurance plans.

Let Travel Insurance Master recommend the best value travel insurance plan for your next trip, so you can get back to the fun part, planning and ultimately enjoying your vacation!

XE Currency Converter: The XE Currency Converter is a handy tool that allows you find out exchange rates between currency from different countries. An app version for your phone offers offline features and automatically updates the most recent foreign exchange rates when you’re back online.

CAMPING RESOURCES

Harvest Hosts: Overnight RV Camping at 4475+ Farms, Wineries, Breweries, Attractions, and More!

Campendium: This is our most frequently used portal to find camping destinations when we travel by RV.

Bluetti Portable Power Generators: BLUETTI Portable Power Stations are the ultimate solution for portable power needs. Equipped with multiple outlets, including AC, DC, carport, and USB, you can conveniently charge all your devices, from phones and laptops to refrigerators, CPAP machines, heaters, and more.

ViAir Air Compressor: The VIAIR 400P-RV Automatic Compressor Kit ensures a safe and hassle-free RVing experience. With this incredible equipment, you can say goodbye to the frustration of finding air for your RV tires. Connect the compressor kit directly to the battery on your truck, and you’ll have more than enough hose to air up your tires effortlessly. It comes with us whenever we travel in our Airstream. It’s the perfect addition for RV enthusiasts seeking peace of mind to keep RV tires adequately inflated.

HIKING RESOURCES

Hiking Lunch Ideas

TECHNOLOGY

Anker power bricks and cables are the ultimate travel companions, allowing you to significantly reduce the size and weight of your backpack. With just a single wall outlet, you can effortlessly charge all your essential devices, from your laptop and GoPro to your phone, camera, and even a power bank.

Anker, a trusted manufacturer renowned for their high-quality cables and power bricks, ensures that you never have to worry about running out of battery during your adventures. Make sure to bring along a power bank as well, with a maximum size of 20,000mAh, allowing you to stay powered up even during long flights. Anker truly enhances your travel experience by keeping you connected and powered wherever you go.

ENTERTAINMENT

Audible: We’re big fans of Audible, an ultimate paradise for audiobook enthusiasts! We always have a book or two on our devices for listening while traveling. It tops our favorite travel resources for entertainment.