My Top 8 Travel Websites For Booking And Researching

When it comes to booking and researching travel there are a set of travel websites that I consistently use and rely on. These range from websites that can help me save money to ones that help me put together my itinerary. I’m a researcher what can I say. Even when I’m not travelling I look up trips that I could do or want to do and how much they would cost. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve planned a trip for Ben and I that we’ve never taken. Heck, I’ve created about 5 itineraries for our honeymoon already.

It’s important to have a set of travel websites in your roster. While you may not always use them, you know the exist and can access when you need them.

The list I’ve put together below are the ones I use on a regular basis. Of course there are so many travel websites out there that do anything and everything on the sun so this is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope that some of these you’ve never heard of and can start using!

Airbnb

Duh. This website is by far my favourite when it comes to finding unique accommodations around the world. Whether it’s a tiny house in Iceland, or an apartment off the coast of Sorrento, I know I can find cool places. While I have had my share of a bad hosting experience (that’s a post all in itself), I continue to use them because of their amazing customer experience. My only recommendation for those out there – be sure to check and double check all of the details of the person’s listing.

What I would suggest when it comes to looking for an Airbnb apartment is to look as far in advance as possible. Even during off-season travel, the homes on this platform can book up rather quickly. If you want your pick from the cream of the crop, you’re best to start looking ASAP.

Budget Your Trip

The name of this website pretty much speaks for itself. I love this website for when I want to book a vacation to a new country and have absolutely no idea what kind of budget I should work with. It’s pretty easy to use as well which is a plus. All you have to do is type in the country or city that you are going to and it will give you an estimate (in your local currency or theirs). This is the best way to determine how much you should be expected to spend. In the recommended daily allowance, the website will also give you a breakdown of what you can expect to spend per category (transportation, accommodations, etc) so that you can pick and choose the type of budget that best suits your travel style.

The other thing I love about this website is that it provides useful information about the country you’re looking at. You’ll also get a quick glance of the top tourist attractions to check out during your visit.

Rome2Rio

If you haven’t heard of this website by now you’re truly missing out. Rome2Rio is my go-to source when it comes to moving around a country. All you have to do is plug in the city you’re travelling from and the city you’re travelling to and voila! Listed out in front of you is every possible option for your trip. Whether that’s car, boat, plane or train. As an added bonus you’ll even get a rough cost estimate for each one! Mind blown.

Rome2Rio was actually most useful for our trip to Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar. Using the website we determined that it was cheaper, faster and easier to rent a car from Lisbon to the Algarve, take a bus from Faro to Seville and then rent another car from Seville to Gibraltar. No joke, this saved us close to $800.

Cheapoair:

Disclaimer: I don’t actually book flights through Cheapoair. I had a terrible experience with them one time (my flight was cancelled and they never told me – plus they didn’t give me a full refund). For that reason I generally use them as a price checker. I find they have the best and cheapest flight options when I start doing my research. Once I find a flight that I like or that suits my plans I either call a travel agent or book directly through that website (if all fights are with the same airline).

When using Cheapoair you typically have to have a destination and time in mind. I would suggest monitoring the site for a number of days before you decide to book. Also, make sure you use an incognito window or clear your browsing history often.

Google Flights

I don’t know what I did before Google Flights. Like anything Google does, this website is beyond amazing. This may sound odd but I’m usually on Google Flights like once a day. I’m always looking through and searching for the new destinations or to see where would be cheapest to travel to for dates I’m looking at. You can choose to search by city, region, country or continent. While there are many other websites that actually do this, I find that Google flights compared to other travel websites is typically the most accurate.

They also just came out with a new feature where you can track the flights in real time and Google will notify you if the prices are about to go up. Like, what?! Such a game changer when it comes to saving money on booking flights.

Expedia

When I do book hotels instead of Airbnb I usually either use Booking.com or Expedia. The thing I like about using Expedia are the points that I can collect and use in the future. It’s a pretty good rule of thumb to only book travel through websites or companies that work on a points system. In the past year of travel I’ve built up almost enough points already for a free stay.

The other thing I like about Expedia is that it’s not just hotels. The website has literally everything under the sun that you can book. It’s a great resource I find for packages and cruises when I’m curious.

SecretFlying

I’ve only recently discovered this website and so far I’m obsessed. It actually makes it pretty hard to scroll through my Facebook feed these days without seeing unreal travel deals popping up everywhere. The best part about this website is that they are international. It’s not just showing you great deals from American cities, or European ones. You can actually search for amazing travel deals wherever it is that you are in the world.

Disclaimer: going through this site can be addictive. You should also note that most of the deals require you to travel on specific days so if you want to get a great deal make sure you’re open.

TripAdvisor

Last but certainly not least, I refuse to book any sort of hotel or holiday package without checking reviews first. Actually, I won’t even book a tour without looking for reviews. TripAdvisor is my favourite of the travel websites and my one stop shop for any review I’m looking for. They have pretty much every hotel, restaurant or tour package under the sun listed on the website.

While you do have to take some of the bad reviews with a grain of salt, I find it’s typically a good resource when it comes to seeing what a place, activity or destination is really like. It’s also a great way to figure out the best places to stay. Make sure to read the most recent reviews (and more than just one) so you can get a good sense of what the place will be like when you arrive.

There you have it, the top 8 travel websites I use regularly to book and research my future destinations. Have I missed any of your favourite travel websites? I’d love to hear about them!