Travel Planning Guide & Resources
A lot of people take travel planning as a hassle. They wish they could just buy a plane ticket and not worry about anything else. It’s true that quite a few people do that (and I have) but to tell the truth, planning an upcoming trip is one of my favorite activities.
I love studying maps, creating potential itineraries, getting essential knowledge about the country, deciding what I will be visiting… From the comfort of my home, I am projecting myself in my adventure and it’s thrilling!
By scrolling down the page or using the menu below, you will be able to read my general trip planning tips, check out what services I like to use to book my trips and find inspiration from some ready-made itineraries.
Travel Planning Tips
Don’t really know what to do, what to think and how to prepare your next independent trip? We’ve all been there. In the past 15 years planning trip after trip, I have gained quite a bit of experience that I want to share with you, whether you are traveling alone or not.
In the articles below you will find my tips related to travel planning and travel in general. I share some hacks I use to travel better, describe how I go about preparing my trips and talk about staying safe on the road as well.
Tipping Etiquette Around The World
Traveling soon? Take a look at the Internet's most complete tipping guide with an interactive map. Quickly know who you need to tip and how much, without all the fluff. 238 countries & territories are covered.
Some Favorite Travel Resources
I am sharing here some travel-related services I love using, like flights & hotel booking, local transportation, and more!
There are many flight booking websites around these days, but Kayak is my favorite. I often find good deals there and I love their +/- 3 day search option to really have an overview of the best prices.
Booking.com has long been my go-to website for booking accommodation. It is really convenient to use, and it is very easy to cancel a booking if your travel plans change. I also appreciate the small discounts to reward you for using them regularly.
In the past years, I have started using Airbnb accommodations on a couple occasions and was pleased with the experience, so I think it’s definitely worth considering it as an alternative to traditional hotels and hostels.
I came across 12Go.Asia when I was backpacking in South-East Asia and quickly got used to using it to book bus, train and ferry tickets in the main countries of South East Asia. If you are travelling in the region, this site can come in handy!
When I am preparing a road trip, I always go to RentalCars to find a good car to rent for a good price. Everything is intuitive, just show the confirmation when you pick up the car and it’s all good! In addition, if you need to cancel your booking it’s easy get a refund (it happened to me before).
Rome2Rio is a very useful (and well made) website when you are not too sure of what transportation options you have to go from a city to another, and I have used it a few times during my trips.
No need to present TripAdvisor, a goldmine of information when it comes to deciding where to go and what to visit, and read traveler reviews.
Not really related to travel booking, but If you want to protect your privacy online and access country-restricted content, NordVPN is one of the best VPN services out there and the one I have been using for more than 4 years now.
Travel Gear Guides
Don’t know where to start to buy what you need for your next trip? I have written these guides to help you.
I am not going to tell you that you need the absolute latest, most amazing gear in order to have a successful trip. However, it is true that have badly designed, low quality or inconvenient gear can make a big difference while traveling.
We are lucky to live in an era where lots of great things are invented to make our life simpler and good quality equipment is available to most travelers anywhere in the world. And good gear doesn’t have to be expensive.
Check the guides below to choose the best equipment that will make you travel better!
Ready-to-Use Itineraries
I could spend my days creating itineraries. I love looking for the perfect route, the most efficient timing and create the tour that will bring the best memories. I am sharing here detailed itineraries that have worked very well for me and that you can trust.
If you are having a headache trying to make an itinerary for your next trip, just check below if by any chance I cover your destination. These itinerary posts take a long time to write and I invite you to check back regularly as new destinations are added!
