Looking for the best trip planning websites for your next vacation? Or, on the hunt for the best websites for flight deals, hotel deals, or ways to travel smarter? I’ve got you covered. Here are the top travel planning websites that I repeatedly use for every trip.
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I am so excited to share the best of the best trip planning websites with you!
Every single site listed below are ones that I have used personally and have had continuous positive experiences with.
From the best travel planning websites for hotels, hostels, rental cars, security, and more. Be sure to bookmark this page on your web browser so you can use it each time you plan a trip.
Let’s go!
I love helping my community plan amazing trips. When booking these services, consider booking them through the links below. Without any extra cost to you, you will be supporting This Rare Earth.
Thank you so much!
🏠 Get the best hotel prices here!
🛏️Find a hostel bed here!
🚣 Book your favorite tours and activities here!
🚗 Get the best rental car prices here!
⚠️ Keep your personal data secure here!
⚕️ Get a quote for travel insurance here!
🗣️ Start speaking a new language here!
💻 Shop my top Travel Essentials here!
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Accommodations
Booking.com
I find all of my best hotel deals on this site! Seriously – it is the one I use the absolute most, probably around 90% of the time.
Why? Because a) they are very competitively priced. And b) you can download the app and have all of our bookings on your phone, no matter where you are in the world. Easy.
Booking also covers all levels of accommodations, meaning you can find everything from budget rooms to luxury hotels. And, you’ll even see some rental homes and hostels on there, too.
The website has a “Genius Loyalty Program” that comes with rewards for using their platform. You can get a 10% discount just for signing up! Then, the number of stays you book determines your level and rewards.
Currently, once you book five stays within two years, you have lifetime Genius Benefits of up to a 15% discount at select hotels, free breakfasts and room upgrades. I have personally gotten all of these upgrades at one point or another, so I can confirm that they are real.
Hostelworld.com
Traveling on a budget? Or, just prefer to make friends on the go? Then you should head to the best hostel booking website in the biz.
Hostelworld has an extensive network of listings across seemingly endless countries. Read through extensive reviews so you don’t have any unwanted surprises. Easily see if you can book dorm rooms, private rooms, female-only rooms, and more.
Trivago.com
I have to be honest with you – I almost never use AirBnb nowadays. In the USA, or at least on the west coast, AirBnb prices have been absolutely insane for years now. They are almost never cheaper then hotels and the fees have gotten out of hand.
Enter, Trivago.
Trivago is a site helps travelers compare prices for not only hotels but also alternative accommodations – like vacation rentals and unique homes – in 190 countries.
Filter your search results by price, distance from parks, attractions, or beaches.
If you have also been feeling disappointed by AirBnb lately, give Trivago a try.
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Rental Cars
I use each of the following sites to find the best rental car prices for any trip. I will order them from my most used site to my second most used site.
RentalCars.com
Looking to rent a car for less? RentalCars.com consistently offers me one of the lowest car rental prices in the biz. I compare prices for almost every trip I take, and more often than not, they beat everyone else.
On their site, you can specify the type of car you want and filter them by feature. For example, do you need 4WD? Or a tiny compact car?
Whatever it is you need, you will find it here.
DiscoverCars.com
Newer on the scene, I am a recent user of DiscoverCars. They also offer competitively priced vehicles and every once in a while will beat out the site above.
My advice? Compare both sites’ rates and then book the best one!
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Tours and Activities
I highly recommend two tour booking platforms. They each are more and less strong in different countries. So, I use them both equally, though the one I choose depends on my destination.
GetYourGuide
Get Your Guide is a top trip planning website for booking tours and activities. It is a great place to search what excursions and tours are available in any given destination before arriving.
Get Your Guide has extensive offerings across the globe and they keep adding more. And, you can even purchase gift certificates for friends, too.
Viator
Viator is my other favorite tour booking platform. Again, neither is better or worse in general, but they both have strengths and weaknesses in different countries.
Viator is easy to navigate and has loads of reviews. I’ve used them all over the globe, from Moorea to Tbilisi and more.
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Security
ExpressVPN
I’ve been using ExpressVPN for several years now, and I have no plans to discontinue anytime soon.
VPNs are “virtual private networks.” If you have never used a VPN, consider it to be a “shield” in several ways.
VPNs protect you from being spied on, which helps keep your bank account info and passwords safe. They make it much tougher for unwanted intruders to be able to hack into your network and steal your date. They also protect you from censorship in other countries.
For example, let’s say you want to watch Netflix on a trip to the Middle East. But, the country you are visiting does not allow hold any Netflix rights, or, they don’t hold the same ones you have at home.
Turning on your VPN makes it look like you are in any country that you choose – from the USA to Canada to Brazil to Spain – so that you can access the shows from your home region, even though you are not there.
Bonus, if you run into any issues or technical snags, you can easily reach a representative via chat or phone to find a solution. They are so helpful.
FYI, ExpressVPN works on both your computer and phone! For both internet security and entertainment while traveling, I can’t recommend ExressVPN enough. Love them!
The Best Websites for Travel Insurance
World Nomads
While I don’t necessarily book travel insurance for every trip I take, it is wise to book it for the following:
- trips that involve high risk activities, like bungee jumping, paragliding, and cliff-jumping.
- for trips including trekking and hiking.
- if you are accident prone or headed to a destination with lackluster medical options.
- offering flight cancellation coverage or lost luggage protection.
World Nomads representatives are willing to answer questions about your coverage and – while I have thankfully never needed to file a claim personally – I have heard nothing but good reviews from friends who did.
World Nomads offers simple and flexible travel insurance. Buy at home or while traveling and claim online from anywhere in the world. Get a quote today!
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Safety
Travel.State.gov
I almost always research my destinations on the United States State Department website before traveling.
Here, you can look for any recent security issues within any given destination as well as any safety alerts issued by the US government. You can even look at a visual map that is color-coded to depict levels of safety around the globe.
And, if you are worried about unrest in an area you plan to travel to, consider enrolling in the STEP program to receive specific updates on that country.
Check out these US safety resources here!
The Best Website for Language and Communication
Google Translate
Google Translate is the best site for translating any media in a destination’s language that you cannot read.
I have used this for booking everything from ferries to researching attractions. And, it always makes things much more clear and decipherable!
Google Translate also has an app (check out my best travel apps list here!) so you can translate on the go while in your destination. You can’t beat it!
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Money Matters
XE Currency
I use one site and one site only for currency needs, and that is XE.
It is the best currency conversion app in my opinion, and has been useful to me in just about every country I have traveled to.
In cases where the conversion rate is more complicated or requires mental gymnastics, XE is for you. It’s great to have on hand when you are grocery shopping or counting your change in another currency, among many other situation.
You May Also Like: Long Haul Flight Essentials
The Best Travel Planning Websites for Flights
I have two main website suggestions for flight booking.
Skyscanner
Particularly useful for my friends over in Europe and Asia, Skyscanner is a great resource for cheap flights!
Explore flight information from many different airlines and find affordable routes. You can easily find the quickest route and cheapest route, depending on what your priority may be.
You also can use the awesome “Everywhere” feature in the search box to find flights to destinations you may not have considered. Love that most of all!
Google Flights
I find Google Flights to be better for travel originating in or ending in the United States, over Skyscanner.
I can easily find the best deals to just about every location, and can even search entire region or use the map view. Google Flights is my number one flight research tool for US travel.
Check out Google Flights here!
The Best Trip Planning Websites for Getting Around
Google Maps
You likely are already familiar with Google Maps. But did you know that it was super useful for travel, too?
They have a pretty extensive database across the globe. Personally, I use the app to download offline maps (read more about that here) and to bookmark places I plan to visit.
AllTrails
If you are a hiker, you should definitely be using AllTrails to plan your hikes. It is the most comprehensive website I’ve found for trails within the USA and abroad.
You May Also Like: The Best Hiking Gear for Women
The Best Website for Specialty Food Needs
Happy Cow
For all my vegetarians and vegans out there, this one is a gem!
If you are headed to a destination that is difficult to navigate as a vegetarian or vegan, this website will help.
You can look up restaurants across the entire world and see where you can find a sit down meal. I’ve used it in many countries and find it very helpful.
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So, there you have all my top trip planning websites for just an=bout any destination I am headed!
Are there any other websites that you would add to the list? If so let me know below!
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