Travel resources
Plan your trip with the sites we use
Flights, hotels, cars and insurance in one place.
There is a lot to think about when you plan a trip on your own, and we are here to help. This page lists everything you need to plan your trip in a smart and convenient way: from flights and hotels to insurance and guides, only products and services we recommend and use ourselves.
Which should I use?
Flights
Start with BookingBuddy to compare about 8 flight sites at once. For multi-city trips, CheapOair has the simple, effective search we use for our major trips.
See flight sitesHotels in Asia
Agoda: we use it for over 95% of our accommodation bookings in Asia because of the widest selection and the best prices in the region.
Visit AgodaHotels elsewhere
Booking.com: our favorite for developed countries, with great prices and the best cancellation policies, and the most popular site with our European and North American readers.
Visit Booking.comCar rental
Discover Cars compares deals from several companies and quotes prices that include all mandatory fees, taxes and extra costs.
Visit Discover CarsBooking flights
Find the right flight
- Best for multi-city trips
CheapOair
We do not know of a flight site that consistently has better prices than CheapOair. We have booked many flights with them over the years, and their simple but effective search for multiple-city flights is one we use all the time for our major trips.
- Best for comparing prices
BookingBuddy
BookingBuddy is one of our favorite price comparison sites, especially for cheap flights. It is where we usually start, because you can compare 8 flight sites at once, which has saved us time and serious cash over the years.
Booking accommodation
Book your stay
- Best for hotels in Asia
Agoda
We use Agoda for over 95% of our accommodation bookings in Asia. It simply offers the widest selection and the best prices in the region. Our readers consistently book rooms in Asia with Agoda.
- Best for developed countries
Booking.com
By far our favorite accommodation site for travel in developed countries. We have booked rooms on Booking.com for over 10 years: excellent customer service, great prices and the best cancellation policies in the industry. It is also the most popular site among our European and North American readers.
Car rental
Rent a car
- Best for comparing deals
Discover Cars
Discover Cars is one of the leading online car rental reservation sites. It is mainly a comparison site that compares car rental deals from several companies, quotes prices that include all mandatory fees and taxes, and has an excellent customer service record, with a Trustpilot rating of 4.4. It was named the World’s Leading Car Rental Booking Website for 2020 by the World Travel Awards.
- Where public transport is limited
Rentalcars.com
Not all places have good public transport, and a rental car gives you the freedom to explore. This is the other car rental site on our own travel checklist.
Before you go
Insurance, tours and guidebooks
- Travel safely
Travel insurance
Medical emergencies, accidents and flight delays happen. Get a travel insurance plan that covers medical services, lost passports and emergency evacuation before you go.
- Guided day trips
Bus tours
Find the world’s best bus tours when you would rather leave the planning and the driving to someone else.
- Guidebooks
Lonely Planet
We use the best travel guides when we plan, and Lonely Planet is our go-to.