One of the things that I get asked regularly is how we book all of our travel. Below you will find all of the resources and websites we use to research and book all the amazing things we get to do. I will continually update this page as I find new companies that I love and remove ones that I no longer love.
Note that many of these links are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may receive a small commission. Read the full disclaimer here.
Flights
Skyscanner is my go-to site when I start looking for flights. I put in where I’m starting and where I want to go, and it searches lots of different airlines and booking sites to find the best deals. I sometimes even come and do Skyscanner searches when I am feeling itchy feet! I can put in some dates and select the destination as “everywhere” and see the cheapest places I can go!
Just as above, but this version is for the Aussies here to use.
Kiwi.com is another great site to find the cheapest flights. If I am not satisfied by the Skyscanner results, or I just want a double check, then this is where I head.
Accommodation
Booking.com is my absolute favourite site to book my accommodation. I love that most properties have free cancellation, so as soon as I know when I am going away I can book something I can cancel to know I have somewhere to stay, then I can keep looking in case a cheaper property comes up or I simply change my mind
Not all hostels are on Booking.com, but many of them are on Hostelworld, so this is my go-to website to check on hostel prices and availability
Tours
Viator is the largest of the tour resources that I know of. There are tickets and tours on here for almost anything you can think of. I often check here and compare with attraction entry tickets and discovered Viator can sometimes be cheaper than at the venue itself. Viator is also good for airport transfers, wifi hotspots and city tourist passes.
Another great booking site for tours and attractions. I often check this one along side Viator and sometimes find cheaper prices for the same thing on Get Your Guide. Always worth a look.
I found this website when searching for tickets for the Hong Kong Express from the airport to the city, and discovered they were substantially cheaper to purchasing from the station. Klook predominantly sells tours and tickets for Asian destinations. I noticed at some big attractions in Hong Kong (eg: Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car) that Klook ticket holders had their own priority lane. As I was standing in the huge line I was wishing I had purchased my tickets from Klook in advance!
City Pass (US & Canada cities)
City Passes are often a great way to save some money when visiting certain cities. This site has a whole pile of passes for various US and Canadian cities. I came across the site during my research for our North America trip next year, and I hope to use it to pick up a couple of passes.
Getting Around
This is THE BEST website to figure out how to get between two places. We used this all the time during our gap year, sometimes in some really remote places, and we were usually able to figure out what we wanted to do. When doing a search, results for everything comes back – flights, buses, trains, ferries, driving etc. It shows approximate times and prices, and includes links to the websites to give further information.
Google Maps is my favourite tool for getting around on both foot and local public transport. It’s easy to download maps to be used offline too. Yes there are other apps too, but I already had this one, and it did the job well.
We all know how hard it is to find reputable resources selling bus, train, flight and ferry tickets in some parts of Asia. 12Go.com is not only a reliable booking site, they provide lots of information on each destination as well as information on the transport route. There are lots of customer reviews too if you still need further convincing.
Travel Insurance
Cover-More insurance is and Australian based company and this is who I seem to keep on ending up insured with. Every time I go to purchase new insurance I got through the process of checking out different companies, but I keep coming back to Cover-more. I currently have an annual multi-trip policy, that covers all of my trips throughout the year, both internationally and domestically here in Australia.
I have had a few small claims, mostly broken electronics, and the claims have always been as simple as uploading the documents on line, and a couple of weeks later the reimbursement has been in my bank account.
If you are collecting frequent flyer points, Cover-More have an affiliation with Virgin Australia so it’s possible to earn Velocity points if you purchase.
World Nomads are very popular with frequent travellers and I know lots of people who swear by them. They are particularly good if you are already on the road and want to purchase a policy since many policies require purchase before leaving your home country. I would be quite happy using this insurance myself.
Car Hire
I only recently discovered RentalCars.com, but I probably should have known about them years ago as they are easily the best of all the car hire resources. They are part of Booking.com and work in the same way. They check lots of the car hire places all in one easy search. You will sometimes find that it is even cheaper to book through them than direct with the car hire company.
Guide Books, Travel Accessories and More
There is a bricks and mortar QBD store not far from where I live and I tend to check there when I am looking for new books. They have some great online specials though, so its a good idea to check out their website too.
Amazon
Click here for Amazon (US)
Click here for Amazon (UK)
Click here for Amazon (AU)
Amazon pretty much has everything and it’s no surprise that this huge online store is one of my favourite resources, especially now that Australia has it’s own store. Ever since I got myself a Prime membership – for free postage – I have been snapping up bargains all over the place.
A VPN one of the most essential resources for safety during your trip, just like travel insurance. It’s required for protection of data when using all sorts of wifi connections. It’s also great to be able to access some things from home that due to your current location you can’t. These guys offer basic plans for only a few dollars a month, and for peace of mind while you travel, it’s worth it.
Disclaimer: Josie Wanders is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.au, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk