Travel planning can be stressful, worrying and downright horrible. I hate having to think sensibly about important things as I’d rather just get out there and do it! But, when planning for a year abroad, a long-term trip, a holiday or even a weekend away, there are several resources out there to make your life that little bit easier. Here are my favourite essential travel resources to help plan your trip of a lifetime!
Essential Travel Resources: Destination Planning
I love social media for deciding where to travel to next! Pinterest and Instagram are great for spotting incredible destinations, just scroll through for some destination inspiration!
Personally, I tend to avoid places that are touted as “hot right now”, for example Bali seems to be everywhere at the moment, so I keep my eyes on travel blogs to see where everyone is going and cross that off my list!
Cost can be a deciding factor for many people, especially if you are backpacking on a budget. Europe, Australia and North America are relatively expensive so I tend to stick with cheaper destinations like South America. Budget Your Trip is a useful site with cost estimations for a variety of destinations, and calculates prices based on your trip style (budget, mid-range, or luxury).
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Remember to check if you will need a visa or any other requirements such as certain vaccinations, insurance or proof of onward travel before you book your flights.
In the UK I use: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ for up to date travel advice and entry restrictions.
Americans can use the Department of State website, Canadians click here for Canada’s official government advice, and Australia has Smart Traveller to help.
Apologies if your country isn’t listed here – a quick google search for “(country name) gov travel advice” should bring up the relevant information for your country.
If you need any visas,Embassy Pages has a list of all the embassies and consulates for countries around the world, or use an agency like iVisa to arrange everything for you.
Essential Travel Planning Resources: Safety and Security
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance is the one thing I never travel without. I look for cover for lost or stolen items, baggage, trip cancellation and for adventurous activities like scuba diving. The most important reason to get cover though is for health treatment. Healthcare abroad can be very expensive, so if you have an accident or need any kind of treatment abroad, travel insurance can help you cover the cost of it.
Considering Travel Insurance For Your Trip?
- Unfortunately, things can and do go wrong when you travel. I always buy travel insurance for my trips and was very glad I had insurance when I had my laptop and passport stolen in Ecuador!
- I chose World Nomads Travel Insurance for my recent backpacking trip to Australia and New Zealand. World Nomads offers travel insurance for independent travellers and intrepid families and offers cover for more than 150 adventure sports and activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more. Get a quote, make a claim, or buy or extend your policy while on the road.
As an affiliate, I receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. I do not represent World Nomads. This is information only and not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.
- I have also used SafetyWing which is available for purchase online in 180 countries and you can also buy it while you are already travelling. SafetyWing travel medical insurance is charged on a month-by-month basis so a great flexible choice for digital nomads or if you're not sure of your future plans.
- Alternatively, check out True Traveller if you're based in the UK, or use a comparison site like Travel Insurance Master to find the best cover for you.
Expatriate insurance is also useful for those who are outside of their home country for long periods of time.
Internet Access & Security while Travelling
Internet safety may not be top of your travel list, but it should definitely be on your list! If you are travelling with a smartphone and/or a laptop, I highly recommend arranging a VPN with a decent VPN provider to protect you from unwanted hackers. This is especially important when logging into open wifi networks as we frequently do when travelling.
VPNs help to keep your data safe, private and stops you being tracked on the internet, all of which can happen easily if someone hacks the wifi system you are using.
It is also useful for watching TV from streaming sites as some VPNs allow you to choose the country you are logging in from so websites like BBC iplayer, Amazon prime, Netflix and other streaming sites still allow you to watch as if you were in your own country.
To avoid high roaming charges in the country you’re visiting, you could buy a local sim card, or look at a travel WIFI hotspot like Tep Wireless, which offers unlimited WIFI access for $9.95 per day for up to 5 devices – perfect for streaming!
Travel Planning: What to Pack
For buying any essential items for your backpack I use 
Travel Planning Resources: Flight Searches
I always use Skyscanner to search for my flights. If you still haven’t decided on a destination they also have a cool “to anywhere” feature that you can use to find great deals from your location all over the world. When looking for flights, try to be as flexible as you can, checking for alternative flight dates and nearby airports, to help bring the costs down.
If you plan on travelling for a long period or without fixed travel plans like me, you might find that airlines will ask you for proof of onward travel before they allow you to board the plane. This is more common at airports but can also happen when crossing borders by land too.
Some people say they photoshop an old reservation to show a new date, but if they check up on you there is a risk you will be denied boarding. There are several websites that purport to offer proof of onward travel for you by booking a flight for you on the date you request it and send you a travel confirmation that you can use to show airline check-in agents or immigration officials that you have an onward flight booking.
Then, 24 or 48 hours later they will cancel your booking, leaving you free to travel as you wish. Of course, you still have to make sure you adhere to the conditions of your visa, and not over-stay your time in the country!
I used to use a site called FlyOnward for this service, but their website no longer works. I have been doing some research into alternatives, and have been recommended onwardflights.com or Bestonwardticket.com although I haven’t used any of these myself yet. If you know of any that definitely work please let me know!
Travel Planning: Booking Accommodation
When I’m looking for hostels I use Hostelworld to search for accommodation as they usually have the best selection of hostels in any given location, and plenty of reviews from like-minded travellers and backpackers.
You can also find hostels on Booking.com, as well as hotels, holiday apartments and B&Bs, which can sometimes be cheaper than hostels, especially if you are looking for a private room.
If I’m travelling with friends, or am staying in a location for more than a few days I like to check Airbnb too. For short stays it can work out more expensive than a hotel once Airbnb has added on the cleaning and service fees, but for feeling like home it can be worth the extra cost! There are other luxury home rental sites you can check as well to find the perfect fit.
Tripadvisor is also useful for checking hotel reviews and prices for a destination, especially if a hotel is relatively new or doesn’t have many reviews.
Travel Planning Resources: Getting Around
I have recently discovered Uber and love it! The only downside is you need wifi, so if you’re out and about and can find a hotspot it’s great. Register while you are still at home, and your account can be used all over the world – wherever you are, the Uber app will find your location so you can input your destination, it will give you a quote & tell you how long your nearest Uber driver will take to get there.
You then get a message with the driver’s name, picture and license plate so you know who will be coming to pick you up. The best thing is you don’t have to worry about cash as all the payment is done online through their secure system.
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Bla Bla Car car share is useful for getting around Europe, and is growing in other countries too. Rather like Airbnb for cars, people driving a certain route advertise their journey, and if you’re going the same way as them, share their ride and pay a small fee to help them cover their petrol costs. Again, all payment is done online (in Europe at least) so you just arrange a pick-up and drop-off point with the driver and away you go.
Please always bear in mind your own safety when using any peer to peer sites – I only travel or stay with people who have plenty of positive reviews, and I try to let someone know where I will be & with whom.
Travel Planning Resources: What To Do
Lonely Planet Guide Books are great for practical information, and suggested itineraries, either in paperback versions to read at home or as an eBook to read while you’re travelling. Unfortunately, they do get out of date quickly though, or you end up in the same cafes and restaurants as all the other foreigners clutching their own LP book.
I prefer finding travel blogs or specific websites about the destinations, as they are usually more up to date than books. Blogs are awesome for getting more detailed information, and from people you have got to know and trust, so I like a combination of vague itinerary planning with guide books and detailled information from blogs.
As for activities and tours in a destination, I use GetYourGuide and Viator to book everything from food tours to entry tickets and more.
I hope you found this useful – do you agree with my picks, or have I missed your favourite travel planning site? Let me know in the comments below.
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Love most of these sites like Skyscanner, Tripadvisor and Uber. They are my go to apps when traveling and when I am at home – I can always get what I need from them.
I agree totally – planning and packing are the “worst” parts of traveling. Sadly, I can ignore planning at times but packing just had to be done lol. Thanks for these nifty sites for quick searches. I use Skyscanner before even I consider a destination coz flight cost is a big part of my decision making process and their monthly view is just tops!
Super useful tips! I hadn’t even heard of Skyscanner or Flyonward, and those both sound “must haves,” particularly if travel plans are a bit up in the air. Thanks so much for sharing!
I like the idea of Zipkick for food recommendations. I will definitely be checking that one out and downloading the app! And I always make sure I check the Smart Traveller website before I plan a trip anywhere as situations can change constantly.
These are very helpful resources for travel planning. Travel planning is indeed very essential to ensure a smooth experience. We too look for off season time to visit destinations.
These are some nice travel resources. On our latest trips we have been loving airbnb since we work from the road it’s easier to get a more homey feeling place that we can work from if we need to for a day. We also use hotspot to watch netflix while abroad!
I didn’t know that hostelsworld has also boutique hotels, I was avoiding it because I no longer like to sleep in hostels. However, when you search in trip advisor (which you mention it too) it should give you also hotels listed on hostelsworld.
Following up– I used the site and the user experience is just as good as other non-top tiered sites (like eDreams or govolo.nl where I bought plane tickets). The value is definitely worth using this site over other big name sites because the amount of rewards you get. I booked 3 nights in Bruges and have enough points already for 2 free hotel nights else 🙂 🙂
Using Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration is a good idea! I read somewhere (I forget where) that Instagram is the best social media for travel inspiration. I can definitely see why. Have you heard about Bonwi? The user experience is not good at all but it’s this hotel site that offers you a lot of rewards compared to other sites. Anyways, I’m checking that site out now even though it’s a little funky to use. I love Uber! I use it everywhere.
Great list! I adore TripAdvisor and use it to check restaurants, hotels, activities, and more! I prefer to avoid the “hot right now” destinations, too. So I actually avoid the overly popular IG locations, and discover something new.
What a great list! I love travel planning and there are so many references to use for help! I have no heard of zipkik and I’m going to look into it. We aren’t foodies by any stretch but love a good meal as much as the next and especially those favored by the locals! We love trying the local fare.
I only discovered a hotspot recently but it’s perfect for being able to watch TV around the world. I’ve never heard of BudgetYourTrip though – sounds really useful. Will check that out for my next trip