I am an expert when it comes to travel planning and, usually, I do a lot of preparation before each of my trips. If you want to ensure stress-free quality time on the road, it is better to make sure everything is in place before you go. Here you’ll find all resources and materials needed to plan and book a trip all by yourself. Where to find cheap flights, how to book accommodation, how to book tours and guides abroad, and what to take with you on a trip. So, what do you need to know?
THE BASICS
Where to find cheap flight tickets?
There are plenty of online resources that help you pick tickets with the best price for your dates. They will select the most optimal trip for you based on where you want to go or give you suggestions if you just wish to travel anywhere.
Momondo
My favorite go-to online search engine. Flexible and easy to use, it shows you the graphs with prices on different travel dates giving you plenty of options depending if you are looking for cheapest or fastest route. Friendly user interface and fun exploring options for flexible travelers, all on this site.
Skyscanner
If you are flexible with your travel dates and open to all experiences, it allows you to find the most affordable ticket from your location to any destination in the world. All you have to do is type “Everywhere” as your final destination and choose where you want to go based on suggested price.
Fly4Free
Air Wander
How to book accommodation?
Booking.com
My first go-to site when I need to find a place to stay for any budget is Booking.com. It has arguably the widest coverage of hotels all over the world. The best part? Often you don’t need to pay any down payment for making a reservation. If you are unsure about your travel plans when you book a trip, I suggest you book your stay here.
AirBnB
Grab an amazing opportunity to feel like a local by renting directly from homeowners. You get the chance to rent an entire apartment or house, so it is great for those traveling in a group. Get 35$ off for your first booking if you new to AirBnb (click icon to claim it).
HostelWorld
Looking for something on a budget? Hostelworld is a massive resource for hostels and budget stays worldwide with a great interactive interface and plentiful comments from users to help you make the right choice.
TripAdvisor
A great resource for cheap hotel bookings with plenty of juicy and very descriptive feedback from users. You know what you are getting!
Agoda
One of the best alternatives on the hotel booking market if you are looking for a hotel in Asia.
Learning a language?
Repeet
Repeet app is a great tool to help you pick up the language skills with use of flashcards. You can create your own sets picking only the relevant phrases and topics that you’d like to practice.
How to book tours?
GetYourGuide
This website is perfect for pre-booking main attraction tickets and avoiding wasting your holiday time standing in long queues. A great place to search for best guides and guided tours! See other people’s feedback and choose only trusted tour operators that others have already tried.
Travel Guides
Lonely Planet
One of my favorite books ever is the ‘World’ by Lonely Planet. This is my source of inspiration and curiosity that I flip over every once in a while wondering where to go next. Lonely Planet is among the most trusted partners when it comes travel guides, giving detailed information on many destinations around the world, covering everything from cities and countries to entire world regions.
THE GEAR
Apple MacBook Pro
For getting work done while being on the road.
Travel Lightweight Tripod
For stable and sharp natural pics.
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS
BlaBlaCar
Want to travel comfortably and save on transportation cost at the same time? BlaBlaCar is a platform connecting drivers with travelers who’d like to join the private ride. You can find people who are going from A to B and pay them to get a seat in their vehicle.
SkyRoam
A sim-free hotspot device that allows you to be connected anywhere in the world and share the internet with other devices. Great for digital nomads hopping between the countries.
MTX Connect
A one-fits-all Internet sim card with equal charges throughout all countries. With MTXConnect, you only need one sim card which you can use in multiple countries for internet data. Easy and comfy.
