Preparing for a trip requires a lot of steps from the moment you take the decision until you are on the road. During the entire process, we use a lot of different resources to research, organise and book, but also to keep entertained and connected to the world.
Here is the list of every single website, app and tool we use during our travels, and that we think you might like to try too.
JUMP TO A TOPIC & RELAX!
— RESEARCH —
Travel guides
As much as we love reading blogs and online magazines about our next travel destination, there is nothing compared to holding a book and highlighting in bright yellow all the information we find important. For years we have been using the Lonely planet guides, mainly when travelling to English-speaking countries but when it comes to Latin America and Europe, we prefer using the Footprint handbooks and Rough Guides. We found the historical and overall information more detailed and less commercial.
For those who are able to read French, Jenny would recommend the Michelin Guide Vert. If you don’t, no worries, a few destinations are also available in English. These guides have a lot of good maps and provide more details regarding the destinations’ History, culture and Arts.
Wikitravel
This free online travel guide is based on the same
Yr.no (weather)
This Norwegian website is our go-to when we are looking at the weather forecast ahead of our hikes and day trips. Yr.no gathers information from more than 10 million places around the world and has proved its accuracy to us many times (even in Ireland)! We use this website instead of Accuweather or any other weather channels mainly because you can find places that aren’t available elsewhere.
Try to look for a hiking trail, a mountain peak or a remote region and you will get an hour-by-hour breakdown and also long-term forecast as well as meteorological maps, and sometimes nearby webcams.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is well-known and used. For us, it is a good source to read reviews and decide on a tour agency. However, it’s true we don’t use it to its full potential. We still think it is an excellent tool to research hotels and restaurants in a city or find inspiration for all the things there are to do around a place.
Governmental & Public services websites
Governmental websites are essential to determining the entry requirements depending on your nationality and destination but also obtaining foreign travel advice about health and security. You can also check the requirements on ProjectVisa.
To check the type of vaccines required we use the website Travel Health Pro and NHS to be aware of risks linked to travel such as altitude sickness, yellow fever and malaria.
The Photographer Ephemeris
Photographers, this is the ultimate tool to help you prepare for an exterior photo shoot. Choose your location and date and the tool will provide you with all the ephemeris such as the Sunset, Sunrise, Moonset or Moonrise. The Desktop version is free and you can easily use the map to help you identify the location of the two celestial bodies and their movements depending on the day and hour. The tool is also available for Android and Apple and costs about €3.
Magic Seaweed
Planning on surfing while you travel? Magic Seaweed is the best resource to research tides, swells, wave heights and the best locations for surfing around the world.
Social Media
No surprises here. A good way to prepare for a trip and find inspiration is to use Social Media like Instagram. Just be aware that photos on Instagram don’t always reflect reality… We like to use Facebook Groups to ask questions (or answer if we can) and connect with fellow explorers in the area. The groups proved themselves to be a great source of information, ideal to get quick answers from knowledgeable locals and travellers.
Finally, Pinterest is often as good as Google search to find blogs and websites about a destination. We like using the related keywords at the top to get inspired but also pin the articles and read them later.
— ORGANISE —
TRANSPORT
Discover Cars
If you want to rent a car online, we would recommend using Discover Cars. The best part about Discover Cars is that you get full coverage insurance for less than €7 a day! You can also compare all the companies in the market, choose the type of car you want and see all the most recent customer reviews before making a booking. On the website, you can easily narrow your search price to find the best deal within your budget.
BEST ONLINE CAR RENTAL COMPARATOR – DISCOVER CARS
When booking a rental car in Chile online, we recommend using Discover Cars because they offer Full coverage for less than €7. It is one of the best rental car comparators out there!
Skyscanner
Skyscanner is perfect if you are flexible. You can look for a flight from a specific destination to “everywhere” for any “whole month” or “year”. By doing so, you can be sure to find the cheapest fares and airline companies flying that route.
However, it can happen that the route you are looking at on Skyscanner has not been updated. Don’t be surprised if on the airline’s website, the prices are different or include fees and other taxes initially not mentioned.
Busbud
Busbud is a cross-platform search engine for bus travel. It helps you search and book your bus trip all over the world. We would recommend using it to compare the companies operating the route as well as the prices and time, but to book directly at the bus terminal or on the company’s website to avoid paying unnecessary fees.
Be aware as well that in some countries, most bus companies aren’t online and won’t be mentioned on this website.
Rome2Rio
Rome2rio is a website that helps you find the best itinerary whether you plan on driving, taking a plane, local buses or a mix of all. We like that it also provides the name of some bus companies, the average price and timetable.
Be aware that in certain countries such as Bolivia, most local companies aren’t online. The list provided may not often be exhaustive, but it’s a good base to prepare an itinerary.
Rentalcars.com
This site is perfect to find the cheapest rental car across the world. It compares the main companies and often offers free booking cancellation. We mostly use it to compare prices and head to the car company’s website. We then check the different things included on both sites and choose the more affordable one of course.
Google Flights
Google’s own flight comparison site is a useful tool when you need to organise a trip away. We love the “tracking” functionality allowing you to save a route and receive an automated email when the price fluctuates. thanks to that tool, we managed to get our return flights from Santiago, Chile to Easter Island at their lowest (€300 each instead of the average fee of €700).
The “Date Grid” is also particularly useful if your travel dates are flexible since you can visualise the flight prices off 7 rolling days of the departure and return. You can also check if the “nearby airports” offer cheaper inbound or outbound flights.
Flixbus
If you are travelling in Europe or in the US, we would recommend Flixbus. We have travelled around Europe with this company and have always found good deals (even last minute) and comfortable overnight buses. We use this company which is usually cheaper than Eurolines but also offers routes that are really hard to complete without driving or changing train. We took an overnight bus from Rome, Italy to Ljubljana, in Slovenia for €35 each or from Perpignan to Florence for €25 – hard to beat
Blablacar
Blablacar is a carpooling platform connecting drivers who have space in their cars with people travelling the same way. It is often more affordable than local buses or trains and for the driver, it has the advantage to reduce fuel and toll costs but also keeping entertained with passengers.
The service is mostly used in Europe but is starting to grow in some Latin countries such as Brazil and Mexico.
Uber
Uber is a ride-sharing service that can be used as an alternative to taxis. In many cases, Uber can be safer and cheaper than local taxi services. In several of the big cities in South America, locals told us to use Uber instead of taxis.
It is worth noting that in some countries Uber drivers won’t want to bring you to the airport as it will cause problems with the local taxi mafia or the police. For example, in Rio de Janeiro, the Police will sometimes wait near the airport exits to check that only authorised taxis are operating.
Hitchwiki
Hitchwiki is the Wikipedia for hitchhiking. The user-generated content shares tips and locations for the best hitchhiking spots. We used this to research where the best places were to hitchhike while in Patagonia.
It is a good resource to get ideas, however, it is best to pair this site with your own research and maps to find the best places. Hostel owners can also be very helpful too.
ACCOMMODATION
Booking.com
A platform with a large range of accommodations across the world from campings to hostels, hotels, palaces and guesthouses.
What we like the most is the ability to cancel until the day before on many products but also the “Genius” prices. For this, you will need to sign up and after a few reservations, you will get a minimum 10% discount on a selection of places. It is really worth it.
It is worthwhile knowing that even if you choose the local currency, your reservation will be made in USD, Euro or Pound and calculated automatically by the platform with the current exchange rate. If your trip is a few months later and you preferred paying directly at the property, there could be discrepancies if you pay in the local currency as the owners often use “their” exchange rate from the price on the reservation.
Hostelworld
This website is mostly aimed at budget travellers to find hostels and budget guesthouses. Prices are generally a little bit lower than on Booking but you don’t have the opportunity to cancel online.
You usually need to contact the host and negotiate directly with them according to their house rules. Make sure to read the cancellation policies of the property before you book anything.
However, Hostelworld is really intuitive to use and we never had issues with the exchange rate. We like the review system and scoring, which make the identification of good and bad hostels fairly easy, as well the general atmosphere of the place – whether it is a party place or a more relaxed one.
We mainly use this website in South America to book hostels in large cities but also across Europe and Oceania.
Stay with locals
Couchsurfing is a website that links locals with a spare bed/couch to travellers passing by their city. The service is free but a common thing to do is for the guest to pay for the meal or a drink. For years, it has been seen as a way to meet locals, especially solo tourists. Nowadays, the platform has lost a bit of its genuine purpose with the increase of travellers only looking for a free place to stay.
Because of this, couches are harder and harder to find. Most hosts now, offer to hang out during the day, meet as a way to exchange languages or partake in local Couchsurfing events. Jenny has used this website for years and met a few of her best friends through it!
If you are cycling or walking, you can join the community of Warmshowers. It is specifically oriented to offer a shower or a meal but sometimes hosts also offer a place to stay or pitch your tent. Warmshowers is particularly good in remote places.
House & pet sitting
This is one of our favourite ways to get to know a place we travel to for a long period of time. House and Pet sitting consists of minding a house or animals while the owners are away. Stays can be as short as a weekend and as long as a few months. We mainly use 2 websites to find opportunities around the world: Trusted House Sitters and MindMyHouse.
You will be required to pay a yearly fee for each platform and follow the process to prove your identity. There are generally more offers on THS than on MMH but there is also a lot more demand. We would recommend using the one with the most offer in the area you want.
TRAVEL Insurance
Whether you plan to travel for a short period or in the long term, having an insurance policy is one of the most important things to think about. Travel insurance will cover you in case of illness, or accident, but also lost luggage, flight cancellation, etc. Choosing your insurance policy is essential. As long-term travellers, we can only recommend World Nomads that we used in Latin America. World Nomads offers competitive prices but is also one of the best covers for active backpackers and travellers.
BOOK A TOUR
Viator
Viator is a website to book tours and activities across the world. There is a large panel of offers and we like using it to find ideas of things we probably wouldn’t have thought existed in the area. You can find trips from one hour to a few days long, but make sure, however, to read the reviews before you book anything. Viator gathers a lot of tour providers but doesn’t always check the quality.
Get Your Guide
Get Your Guide offers a large panel of guided tours, just like Viator. It is, however, our favourite site to book tours in Europe! I took a lot of tours with Get your guide in Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Hungary for example and I have never been disappointed. Service has always been excellent, tickets are easily accessible through the apps and post-sales service has always been spot-on with great support! There might be fewer tour choices than on Viator but we think that’s a gage of quality. You can be certain the tours available on GyG have been checked by the team and can be trusted.
VOLUNTEERING
WorkAway and HelpX
WorkAway and HelpX are websites to help you find a project and volunteer for food and accommodation. They are a good way to travel on a budget, learn new skills (or help with yours) and discover a region by sticking around for a few weeks. A yearly fee is mandatory on both websites, WorkAway being a little bit cheaper – it also offers a special price for couples/duos.
Both websites have guidelines about the amount of “work” that should be asked per day and week. Make sure the guest follows the rules properly.
We like there are a lot of volunteering offers across the world but both have become so popular in the past few years that it can be quite hard to get a position in main touristic areas. You’ll probably have more chances to find hostel work or remote farming positions than animal or conservation jobs.
Woofing
Woofing stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and was the first database for work/food & accommodation exchange on the market. It used to be a book you would buy with Organic owner contacts per region.
Nowadays, each country has its own website that you can join to become a Woofer. Note the principle is similar to the previous two platforms but Woofing is only sharing details about Organic farms and aims at people who want to work and live this specific lifestyle. This being said, you can find a lot of these on the WorkAway and HelpX but not the contrary.
— PACKING —
PACK FOR OUTDOORSY BACKPACKING TRAVEL
We mostly do our shopping for hiking gear in Decathlon. The quality is good, the products are cheap and the after-sale really good. We have never been disappointed and still use products bought years ago. In Decathlon you will find anything related to “being active”, whether you are going hiking, cycling, golfing or dancing. This is where we buy our camping gear, yoga mat, gloves, kayak, etc. The brand is principally implemented in Europe but you can find shops in Latin America (Colombia, Brazil), Asia, Africa and the US.
Decathlon mainly sells its own brands, so when we are looking for something specific, higher quality or from a brand we like, we usually use Amazon to receive the product wherever we are in the world. Here are the products we use and would recommend.
│ Backpacks
This is probably the most important product you will have to get if you plan on backpacking. A good backpack is vital. It is your home for the next while and everything you own will be stored in it. It has to be good for your back, practical, and of course not too big. The bigger it is and the more things you will bring with you!
Jenny has had a lot of backpacks other here many years of travel, but she literally fell in love with her last purchase: Lowe Alpine Airzone Trek – 45:55 L. To carry her valuables such as a camera, hard drive and such, she is using the Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW II which has the particularity to have a discreet side pocket for quick access to a DSLR and its lenses. Many times we have been controlled in borders, and never they noticed it! The back is also big enough to go hiking or take an overnight trip. Maybe not made to carry camping gear but good enough for a couple of changes and of course camera/drone gear.
Steven on his side uses a Lowe Alpine Diran 55-65 L – and as a day pack the Lowe Alpine Airzone Trail 30 which has proved itself to also be really useful for hikes and to carry camping gear.
Photography Equipment
- Canon EOS 6D Mark II – A small full frame with a relatively affordable price
- Lens 50mm 1.8 f – Basic lens, good for low light and street photography
- Canon EF 24-105 mm f/4L – Main lens for all types of photo
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 – Zoom but good enough zoom for wildlife photo
- Canon PowerShot G1X Mark III – Our discreet point-and-shoot. Perfect for street photo
- Go pro hero 7 – Small, waterproof and great video quality
- Go Pro grip – provided with our Karma drone and super useful for shacky hikes
— ON THE ROAD —
PODCAST
- No such things as a Fish
- Escape the Zoo
- Joe Rogan Experience
- Serial
- The Daily Meditation Podcast
- Hardcore History
WEBZINE & BLOGS
- Sidetracked
- Medium
- Adventure
- Wired
- Outside Magazine
- Atlas Obscura
- Wait But Why (particularly the Tesla & SpaceX series)
- Perfect Daily Grind &
Spurdge (to find speciality coffee shops around the world)
FAVOURITE APPS
- Map.me – to find your way without an internet connection and bookmark your favourite places
- Netflix – to watch your favourite films and series, even offline
- Pocket – to save articles and read them later offline too
- Google Translate / Duolingo – to learn a language or translate
- XE – to check the currency exchange rate
- Spotify – to listen to music
- Google Drive/Sheet/Photo – to save your important documents/photos and calculate your budget
- WhatsApp & Skype – to keep in contact with friends and family and call anywhere in the world for a few cents.
- Podcast Player – to listen to your favourite podcast
- 1 second a day – to make a movie of your year with one second-a-day videos
- Camera Connect/Lightroom/Snapseed – to download photos from your devices and quickly edit them
- Go Pro/Quik/Youcut – same but for video
- Unfold/StoryArt – to create beautiful Instagram stories
— GET INSPIRED —
BOOKS THAT INSPIRED US TO TRAVEL
- 80 days around the world – Jules Verne
- On The Road – Jack Kerouac
- Wild – Cheryl Strayed
- Into The Wild – Jack Krakauer
- In Patagonia – Bruce Chapman
- Vagabonding – Rolf Potts
- The last days of the Incas – Kim McQuarrie
- The Hitch-hiker’s guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
- The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
- The Little Prince – Antoine de St Exupery
- The Ice People – Barjavel
- The Thanatonautes – Bernard Werber (difficult to find in English)
- Born to Ice – Paul Nicklen
- Amaze – Cristina Mittermeier
- The Motorcycle Diaries – Che Guevara
- Marching Powder – Rusty Young
- The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
- Africa United – Steven Bloomfield
TRAVEL-INSPIRING MOVIES/SERIES
- The Long way around
- Tales by light
- Blue Planet / Planet Earth
- Anything by Jacques Cousteau & David Attenborough
- Departures
- Pasta Grannies
- BackpackerSteve
- Madame Oreille
- Camino Voyage
- The Way
- A Map for a Saturday
- The Beach
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
- Indiana Jones
- Roman Holiday
- Forrest Gump
- 180° South
- L’auberge Espagnole
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About the Author
Jen is the Funder, Author & Photographer behind Talesfromthelens.comJen has lived for the past 15 years across Oceania and Ireland while also travelling in Latin America, North America, and Europe. She has visited more than 65 countries and set foot on every continent in the world! She is a coffee nerd, passionate about photography, wildlife, and outdoor activities.
For more info, check out the About page.