Travel Resources for Savvy Travelers
We’ve planned many trips over the years and have come to trust and rely on certain companies for travel products and services.
The travel resources below are ones we love and believe in.
We’ve also learned a few tips along the way (e.g., why you sometimes don’t want to book airline tickets with third-parties like Expedia).
These tips are shared below too.
Contents: Trip planning resources
Some links below are affiliate links; we may earn a small commission if you click on them.
Hotels
Booking.com
As professional travel writers, we’re sometime invited to stay at hotels for free or at a discount so we can review them (see all our hotel reviews).
When we pay for hotel accommodation, we usually use Booking.com.
The site has a huge selection of hotels and resorts around the world, and it doesn’t charge any booking fees. Plus, it’s so easy to use.
What we especially like about Booking.com
We like that most properties offer free cancellation and don’t require payment in advance.
(You can often pay less for non-refundable prepayment. But we prefer to pay a bit more for the ability to change our plans.)
Another plus: With Booking.com, once you book a second hotel within two years, you automatically become a “Genius” member.
Depending on your Genius level, you get 10% to 15% off hotel rates, free breakfast and free room upgrades at select properties around the world.
We regularly see lower prices on Booking.com (particularly for upscale hotels), compared to the rates listed on the hotel’s own website.
Hotels.com
Some people prefer Hotels.com and find they get better prices on hotels in Mexico, especially.
Agoda
Agoda is widely used for booking hotels in Asia – we used it successfully to get good rates on hotels on one trip to Thailand. (Interestingly, it’s owned by Booking.com.)
Rates for some hotels in Asia may be slightly less than on Booking.com.
And some people find that the reviews on Agoda are more detailed.
Finding great hotels
So how do we come up with possible hotels we might like to stay at?
We read hotel reviews by The Telegraph (British newspaper), Mr. and Mrs Smith, Condé Nast Traveler, Michelin Guide and Forbes.com.
Google, for example, “best luxury hotels in X city” or “boutique hotels in X country” – these publications and sites often yield articles on great places to stay.
We also scour pictures on Pinterest for hotels that look incredible.
Then we dive deeper and check out reviews of particular hotels on TripAdvisor. If a common theme crops up (like “thin walls” and “noisy”), we’ll give the hotel a pass.
Other hotel booking tips
1) Make sure airport hotels are actually at the airport and have a 24/7 airport shuttle.
2) Check that the hotel is walking distance to restaurants and cafés. You don’t want to be stuck with limited eating options and forced to pay high hotel restaurant prices.
3) Book hotels close to train and subway stations if in big cities, so you can easily get around.
Vacation homes and apartments
Vrbo
If you’d rather not stay in a hotel and would like more space to spread out – plus a kitchen! – check out Vrbo (Vacation Rentals By Owner), owned by Expedia.
We’ve had great success with Vrbo, booking cottages for summer vacations on Salt Spring Island and condo-style units for winter vacations in Kauai.
When we’ve had to cancel, we’ve always received a full refund (no issues).
Having a “home away from home” is especially nice when you’re staying put for a while.
Vrbo is like Airbnb. But Vrbo only offers whole apartment units, cottages and homes.
Vrbo doesn’t offer any single rooms in a house. (This means you don’t have to filter out shared stays when you search.)
Tip: For search filters, we always click “highly rated for cleanliness” plus properties owned or managed by “Premier Hosts” that are rated 4+ stars.
Airbnb
We’re also a fan of Airbnb.
We stayed at several Airbnbs in Victoria, BC – the city where we now live – before moving and buying a home here.
Tips for finding great Airbnbs
1) Pick Airbnbs with great reviews and whose hosts are quick to respond to your emails.
2) Choose Airbnbs that are rented out exclusively as a business (not used personally at all) and ones that are professionally cleaned after each stay.
3) Pick places with Superhosts – this almost always guarantees a good Airbnb experience.
4) Look at at Airbnbs that are Guest Favorites. These are properties with average ratings above 4.9 stars (out of 5) and ones that get great reviews for check-in, cleanliness, accuracy, location, value and host communication.
Cruises
You can score fantastic deals on cruises by booking online with CruiseDirect.
They often beat cruise line prices and sweeten the deal further with perks like onboard credits or discounts on shore excursions.
They’re highly regarded in the travel world, winning numerous awards, including being named the “World’s Leading Cruise Travel Agent.”
Their offerings span a wide range of cruise lines, from ocean-favorites like Holland America and MSC Cruises to luxury options such as Seabourn, Viking Ocean Cruises and Silversea Cruises. River cruises? They’ve got those too.
A quick heads-up: Check the specific cruise line’s cancellation policy plus CruiseDirect’s $35 USD cancellation fee per guest (which can be used as a credit against future bookings). Don’t forget travel insurance – it’s your best back-up plan!
Flights
Tips for booking cheap flights
Some money-saving tips for flying?
- Travel mid-week or on weekends.
- Pick budget airlines and pack light, with just a carry-on.
- Opt for red-eye or early morning flights.
Google Flights
We often start looking for flights by checking Google Flights first.
It’s great for getting an idea of prices and the airlines that fly to where you want to go.
We also check directly with the airline website to see what prices they offer and if they have better connections or routes.
Kayak
Kayak is one of the most popular flight (and travel) search engines.
And for good reason.
It’s trusted and reliable, and it’s designed to help you quickly research the best flight options. (You’ve no doubt heard about it!)
Enter your destination and dates, and in just a few seconds, Kayak will compare the airfares from hundreds of airlines and travel sites to come up with the best flight deals.
Clicking through takes you directly to the airline or online travel agency, where you can book your flight and finalize your payment.
If you’re not yet ready to book, Kayak can send you price alerts.
Expedia
For booking the cheapest flights, Expedia is one of the biggest and best online travel agencies.
Flight cancellations and refunds
It’s very tempting to buy your airline tickets through a third-party website or online travel agency like Expedia, especially when you can find better fares through them.
Just be aware that your tickets may be non-refundable. And if you need to make a change, you typically have to go through the seller; the airline may not deal directly with you (much more hassle than contacting the airline directly).
If the airline offers flights for the same price as Expedia, for example, you may be better off to book directly with the airline.
Sometimes you may even prefer to pay more than the lowest price for the ability to change your flights or cancel them for a refund (perhaps with a penalty) – without losing everything.
Because, you know, the best-laid plans of mice and men…
SeatGuru
And don’t forget to check SeatGuru before booking your seat!
It provides seating plans for most airlines and planes. You want to pick a “green” seat. (We personally also like to be closer to the front of the plane.)
Airline reviews
Read some of our airline reviews:
- Emirates Airlines: What’s it like to fly economy class on Emirates Airlines?
- EVA Air: EVA Air economy is pretty good. Their premium economy is even better! We’ll fly with them again.
- Qatar Airways: Fasten your seatbelts and fly with us as we share our experience in economy on Qatar Airways.
Airport lounge access
Priority Pass
Sometimes you just need a break from the airport madness.
If you’re flying first or business class, you’re all set with the airline’s lounge.
But for us regular economy fliers, there’s a welcome solution – Priority Pass.
It gets you access to over 1,500 airport lounges (some just decent, some quite swanky) in more than 600 cities across 148 countries. Enjoy comfy seats, free snacks and drinks, complimentary Wi-Fi and sometimes even showers and spa services!
Some lounges are airline-operated, while others are run by companies like Plaza Premium.
Membership through your credit card
If you have a certain credit card (like some American Express cards), you may already get free Priority Pass membership as a perk.
Priority Pass cost
Otherwise, you can buy a membership:
- Standard: $99 a year (each visit $35)
- Standard Plus: $329 a year (10 free visits, $35 per visit after)
- Prestige: $469 a year (unlimited visits)
Guest visits cost $35.
We have Standard Plus (in Janice’s name) and pay for George as a guest.
Bottom line? We’ve found Priority Pass a lifesaver for long layovers.
Recently, during a 4-hour evening layover in Toronto, we enjoyed comfy seats, a full dinner and a couple of glasses of wine before our connecting flight home to Victoria. We definitely got our money’s worth!
Airport transfers
When we land after a long international flight, we love having a pre-arranged ride straight to our hotel – no haggling over fares or worrying about taxi scams.
Enter Welcome Pickups.
They offer seamless airport transfers in over 100 countries and 350 cities. (They also do personalized sightseeing rides.)
The price is usually similar to, or just a bit more than, a taxi – but it’s a fixed rate, so no surprise detours. Drivers are professional, English-speaking and friendly, and they often offer you bottled water and maybe free Wi-Fi too.
Public transportation: Getting around on the ground
5 Favorite ways to get around within a city
Walk: If we can, we like to walk most places.
Bus, subway, train: For longer distances within a city, check out bus, subway and train transportation options.
Transport pass: Consider a city transport pass. Will it be cheaper than doing multiple bus or subway rides?
Taxis: Don’t assume taxis are always expensive. In some places, cab rides are only a few dollars and worth shelling out for.
Uber: See if Uber is cheaper than a taxi. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.
Inter-city bus travel
Busbud is an international travel website that specializes in booking buses between cities in North America, South America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa.
For example, Mexico has a great first-class bus service between cities. It’s often much better, cheaper and quicker than flying. So Busbud is really useful for booking bus tickets here.
(Busbud is a Canadian company, and since we’re proud Canadians, we had to give it a shout-out!)
Omio (for train travel)
Omio is a handy travel platform for searching out, comparing and booking trains, buses and ferries.
It’s especially ideal if you’re booking multiple journeys across different countries, using different transportation modes. For example, it’s great for booking trains in Europe.
They do take a small booking fee, but you can always use Omio for comparison and then book directly to dodge the fee, if you wish.
The Man in Seat 61
Seat 61 is an excellent guide to train travel worldwide – packed with details on routes, schedules, fares and what to expect onboard.
We used it to plan our train journey from Porto to Pinhao on a recent visit to Portugal’s Douro Valley.
Renting a car
Discover Cars
Discover Cars is a reputable search engine platform for car rentals that’s been around since 2013.
They were named the world’s best car rental booking app in the 2024 “World Travel Tech Awards.” Before that, they won the honor of “world’s best car rental booking website” for 4 years in a row.
They’re a price comparison website for renting a car, operating in over 150 countries.
Pop in your dates and where you want to rent a car, and the Discover Cars site will return a choice of different car rental agencies and vehicles (from economy up), along with the best prices.
You’ll find a number of the big-name car rental companies like Hertz, Budget and Alamo showing up, as well as smaller rental options that you’ve probably never heard of.
You’ll also see each car rental company’s rating and links to their rental conditions.
We’ve used Discover Cars. And we find their prices are significantly cheaper than going directly through the car rental company.
For example, in one instance, we could get a Hertz car through Discover Cars for about $150 less (for a 6-day rental) than by booking directly through Hertz.
Now, typically you pay a deposit when you book online with Discover Cars. Sometimes the full amount is required upfront.
(If you book directly through a big-name car rental agency, you have the option of not paying anything upfront – but of course, the rate is more expensive).
You can cancel for free with Discover Cars up to 48 hours before the scheduled pick-up. You’ll receive a credit, valid for up to 3 years, toward another booking with Discover Cars.
Hertz
Hertz is one of the biggest rental car companies, with over 3,700 locations in the U.S. and offices in 150 countries around the world.
You can find offices in cities and places away from airports, which can be convenient if you don’t want to rent directly from the airport.
When booking, you often don’t even have to give your credit card number to reserve – you can choose just to pay at the counter (no prepayment or deposit).
There’s usually also a “Pay Now” option if you want to pay less upfront (with cancellation fees if you cancel more than 24 hours before the pick-up).
Hertz also has a good loyalty rewards program.
As with Discover Cars, we’ve been happy booking with Hertz too.
Car rental insurance
Note that car rental insurance is typically an extra cost.
You might have to pay (or choose to pay) for:
- Collision damage waiver (CDW): To cover loss or damage to the rental vehicle, also called loss damage waiver (LDW)
- Third-party liability insurance: To cover claims for vehicle damage or injury to others
Refunds and early car rental returns
You’ll typically snag great deals and the cheapest prices if you pay in full in advance.
The downside is there’ll either be a cancellation fee, or your payment will be completely non-refundable if you have to cancel in advance. And you usually can’t get a refund for unused days if you have to cut your car rental short after picking up the car.
For example, we booked and prepaid RentalCars.com almost $600 for a rental car in Sicily for six days. (It was a little cheaper than going directly through Europcar, the main car rental company in Sicily.) But we returned the car within 24 hours, upon quickly realizing we were no match for Sicily’s drivers – and requested a refund for the unused rental.
Too bad, said RentalCars.com. There are no refunds for canceling after the arranged pick-up time. It was in the fine print (which we didn’t read.) Ouch!
Many big-name car rental companies even charge you an additional fee (early return fees) for returning the car early!
Enterprise Rent-a-Car is known for having one of the best early return policies. They’ll only charge you for the days you had the vehicle (unless you prepaid in full, then there’s no refund for an early return).
But, of course, you’ll typically pay more for this flexibility than you will by booking through, for example, Discover Cars.
Local tours and attractions
Traveling independently? You might want local experts to show you around in the city or country you’re visiting.
Viator
A TripAdvisor company, Viator is a leading global site for booking local walking, food and other guided tours.
You’ll find more than 300,000 travel experiences on Viator.
GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide is another global platform for booking guided sightseeing and other tours plus adventure activities.
Used by millions, it connects travelers with more than 60,000 tours and excursions around the world.
Choose from a wide range of experiences – everything from guided walking and bicycle tours to cooking classes to pottery lessons with local artisans.
GuruWalk
Free walking tours? Great idea!
GuruWalk runs them in hundreds of cities worldwide – think Barcelona, Boston, Old San Juan (Puerto Rico), Rome, Buenos Aires, Lisbon… The tours are free, but tipping your guide (around 10 to 20 Euros p.p. in Europe) is the norm.
CityPASS
CityPASS bundles the admission fees to some of a city’s best attractions and tours in one low price (saving you up to 30 to 50%). And you get to skip many ticket lines too.
Cities where the pass is offered include New York City (Yeah! We loved visiting the Met Museum and other NYC hot spots with CityPASS), Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Toronto, Orlando, Chicago and more…
Travel insurance
We never travel without travel insurance.
Travel medical insurance covers you if you need emergency medical treatment while traveling out of your country.
It can cover things as simple as getting an ear infection while snorkeling in Thailand and needing to see a doctor for antibiotics. It also protects you in the case of serious accidents or illnesses requiring hospitalization.
What’s covered are your medical expenses.
Then there’s trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance.
This insurance reimburses you for your prepaid (and non-refundable) trip costs if you have to cancel your trip because, for example, you get sick before you go.
It also reimburses you if you have to cut your trip short and fly home if, for example, severe weather cancels your flights or damages your hotel. And if your trip is interrupted, it will pay for you to get home.
Sometimes a travel insurance package includes both the medical expenses component and the trip insurance.
You can also buy just the travel medical insurance separately and the trip cancellation and interruption insurance separately.
Your credit card
You may already have travel insurance coverage through your credit card. Do check the details and limits. For example, if you have a premium credit card, it may cover the first 15 days of your trip if you’re under 65.
SafetyWing
SafetyWing has created a travel medical insurance program, designed specifically for frequent travelers, long-term adventurers and digital nomads.
They pay up to $250,000 in medical care ($100,000 for travelers aged 65 and older). There’s a $250 deductible.
SafetyWing’s travel insurance covers a whole range of adventure sports and activities (including scuba diving for PADI-certified divers), so you can explore your boundaries.
What’s included in their insurance coverage? Some examples:
- Emergency medical treatment
- Emergency dental expenses
- Medical expenses
- Hospital expenses
- Transportation of family member from home country in case of an extended hospital stay
- Medical visits in your home country (up to 30 days; 15 days if your home country is the USA)
- Lost checked luggage
- Trip interruption
- Travel delay
Like most travel insurance policies, certain things aren’t covered, for example, pre-existing conditions. (And SafetyWing doesn’t offer coverage if you’re over 69 years of age.)
Even if you leave home without travel insurance, you can buy it while away.
SafetyWing works like a monthly subscription. It automatically extends every 28 days until you choose an end date.
Medjet
As well as travel insurance, we also have a Medjet membership.
If hospitalized, Medjet will fly you to the hospital of your choice within your home country.
Yes, standard travel medical insurance covers emergency medical evacuation. But it will only cover transportation to the nearest hospital they deem acceptable that can treat you.
After reading about a traveler stuck for weeks in a South African hospital who couldn’t get flown back home to the U.S., we decided to buy peace of mind with Medjet.
It means we can be transported to a hospital back home if we end up in hospital while traveling.
Travel gear
Our travel product reviews
Beach sandals: Find cute flip-flops, comfy water shoes and other lovely beach sandals for women.
Travel sandals: See this selection of the best travel sandals for men and women – they’re stylish and super comfortable!
Water sandals: We’ve also sussed out the best water sandals for women. (Hmmm… Do we have a thing for footwear?)
Men’s footwear: Hey guys! Check out the best flip-flops for men (ones that are comfortable to wear all day long in summer).
Ear plugs: When you’re a light sleeper, you want the best ear plugs for sleeping (these ones are perfect for at-home and traveling).
Essential carry-on items: Check out the carry-on travel essentials you’ll want to take on the plane with you, from the best travel neck pillow to nifty disposable toothbrushes.
Our travel shop
Looking for luggage? Snorkeling gear? Beach stuff? Click here to browse our travel shop.
Looking for more travel stuff?
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Enjoy your trip!
These essential travel resources should help you travel more confidently. Now you know how to better research and book hotels for the best rates, scout out affordable car rentals and more…
And it’s worth repeating: Never overlook the safety net of travel insurance!
Safe and wonderful journeys begin with smart planning. Enjoy!
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About the authors
