If you want to get the most of every trip without breaking the bank, you need good travel resources. This page features the best travel brands, products, and services that we personally use to find the best travel deals and plan our trips.
Take a look!
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Accommodation
Booking.com is our first (and usually the only) resource when planning a trip and booking hotels and other accommodations. They have one of the biggest selections of hotels and privately rented holiday accommodations worldwide, low rates, and free cancellation on most bookings. It’s my favorite website to search for accommodation because it is extremely easy to use and has lots of searching and filtering options. Nowadays, we book 99,99% of all our vacation stays via Booking.
Alternatively, if you want to find all the best deals for accommodations for your upcoming holiday and compare them all in one place, check out the map below. Simply insert your vacation destination, travel dates, and group size, and you’ll see the best deals for all the available hotels, apartments, and short-term rentals for your stay. Check it out!
P.S. This map now shows the United States, but you can use it to find the best deals for accommodation in any place anywhere in the world!
Car Rental
Rentalcars.com is the world’s biggest online car rental service. Working with local companies, they offer the best prices and service, while at the same time, giving you the best protection and flexibility for booking terms that only a big international company can guarantee. For many years already we book all our car rentals (+insurance) via them, no matter where in the world we are road-tripping.
Travel Credit Cards
A good credit card is essential when traveling. For example, choosing a card without foreign transaction fees will save you a lot of money when traveling abroad. Some cards cover your rental car insurance, saving you hundreds of dollars in one trip. Not even to mention that you can get big sign-up bonuses and rewards that will immediately save money for your next trip. If you live in the USA, you can find the best credit cards for domestic and international travelers here. Check it out!
Tours and Activities
GetYourGuide is the world’s largest online platform for booking tours, tickets, and organized activities. They work with local suppliers to turn your trips into the most amazing experiences. Whether you are looking for an off the beaten path experience in Rome or an unforgettable winter activity in Iceland, or some of the best attractions in Vegas, you will find plenty of choices on GetYourGuide. We book almost guided tours and excursions for our own trips via this website – their prices are the same as anywhere else (and sometimes better), but the cancelation policy and customer support are second to none.
Tiqets is one of the best websites to book entrance tickets for some of the most famous landmarks, museums, and attractions in all major cities worldwide. They also have amazing bundle deals and city cards that can save you a lot of money when planning a city trip. It’s a great one-stop shop for tickets, especially nowadays when many places work with timed entry slots.
Viator is another great resource for organized tours and activities worldwide. You can easily find, compare, and book all kinds of tours anywhere in the world. We sometimes use Viator if a tour isn’t available on GetYourGuide, like for example, this amazing helicopter tour we recently did in Las Vegas.
Hellotickets is a great website to find tickets to the best events for a big variety of destinations worldwide. Whether you are looking to see a musical in London, a Broadway show or a sports event in New York, or a big variety of shows in Las Vegas, you’ll be able to find the best tickets here.
Travel Gear
Amazon is our no. 1 online store for pretty much everything. From travel gear, toys, children’s shoes, and clothing… to home appliances and all our (e-)books – Amazon is our favorite retailer. No wonder we seem to know all the postmen in our area by now… Check the Full Suitcase shop on Amazon for the travel gear that we personally use and recommend.
Everyone has their own guidebook preference. We have two: Michelin Green Guides for planning the trips and Lonely Planet for during the trip. I like the Michelin star rating system – each location is assigned a certain ranking giving you a very good idea of the most interesting places to visit. It’s my first resource when planning our family’s road trips. And Lonely Planet guides have great practical info and hidden gems that help you make the most of every trip and make your trips more memorable.
At home or when traveling, Kindle e-reader is always with us. We have had several of them over the years and like the Paperwhite Kindle the most. It allows you to read in daylight as well as in the dark – perfect when sharing a hotel room with kids. We all read more since we all own a personal Kindle. It’s also a great way to have your kids read more, also when traveling. The battery lasts several weeks and the kids can all read the same book simultaneously. Needless to say, it also saves us lots of baggage space.
If you are somewhat serious about travel photography, you really need a good tripod. Manfrotto has the best quality tripods, heads, lighting, iPhone camera accessories, and bags. We have used several tripods from different brands over the years, but Manfrotto is the whole other league! I have my tripod for over 10 years now, use it extensively, and it’s been worth every cent.