These are the detail-oriented, money-saving tools I use and recommend for travel resources. Some of these are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission to support this website, at no additional cost to you.
Bookmark this page! To keep all links relevant and up to date, I opted not to give you a pdf or ebook full of links. Bookmark this page to keep coming back to for your list of Ultimate Travel Tools.
Use the below table of contents to jump to your money-saving travel destination.
Hotels
HotelsCombined searches all the sites at once. Then you can see who has the best price.
Kayak works similarly by searching a multitude of sites.
Finally, Hotels.com gives you rewards for each night you stay, which you can then redeem for free hotel nights.
Home Rental
As mentioned above, Booking.com does search for apartment rentals if you’re looking to compare home rental with hotels. If you’re not sure what you want, refer to Choosing a Hotel or a Home Rental Here.
Airbnb is still my number one choice for a home rental. While the fees and taxes have gone up, making the savings not as significant, you can still find unique places you wouldn’t anywhere else. When you want to travel like a local, use Airbnb. If it’s your first time booking, my link will give you up to $55 off.
HomeAway has been around even longer and offers some extraordinary homes.
Villa Rental in Orlando – If you’re visiting the vacation capital of the world, Top Villas has extraordinary home rentals that go above and beyond. Especially if you’re bringing a multi-family, this is the way to go. They have beautiful homes elsewhere too.
Grocery Delivery
If you’re traveling and in a hotel or a home rental, I can’t recommend getting grocery delivery enough. It’s a wonderful way to have snacks and drinks on hand when you’re hanging out in the room. I have used both of the following and have great results no matter where we are.
Travel Planning Books
Lonely Planet has long been considered the expert in Travel books and for good reason. The books are both visually stunning and informative.
I also really like National Geographic’s guidebooks. You know a company that is known for its imagery is going to put out beautiful books.
Flights
There are two price check sites that help you find the best time to go.
Airfare Watchdog is my favorite because it emails you not only the flights you’re tracking but also inspiration based on your home destination. Sign up and set up My Alerts to track when prices go down.
Skyscanner is another site that will search multiple sites for airfare, and create a price alert when ticket prices change. Put in. your destination and dates and sign up with email to get alerts when prices change.
Finally, not sure where to go but want to explore your options? Kayak Explore lets you put in your home airport, and they’ll let you know what various prices are across the world. You can even limit by your budget and duration of flight.
Airport Parking
Can’t get a ride to the airport? I got you. Airport Parking Rates vary just like flight prices do. I like to use Looking 4 Parking to search all the rates.
Car Rental
For Car Rental, I would once again use Kayak to search multiple sites at once.
RentalCars.com is another great site that sometimes nets different prices from Kayak. It’s worth checking to compare sites.
Skip the Line Tours
Viator is by far the best place to get skip the line tickets, around the world. Simply put in your destination in the search bar and discover just how many things there are to do.
Travel Credit Cards
Money.com has put together an ongoing and updated list of the best travel credit cards. These are the cards that reward you for and with travel. Check them out at their site here.
Travel Activity Passes
Depending on where you’re going, there’s a couple of options for activity type passes. Here are my favorites:
Travel Gear
Underseat Luggage
My favorite is the Travelon Underseat Carryon.
Checked Luggage Suitcases
The Samsonite hard side spinner series is lightweight is only 8 lbs, but sturdy and durable. It has a side-mounted TSA lock and comes in fun colors to stand out.
Want the durability of a hard-side suitcase but the flexibility of a soft side, check out this 26″ Hybrid Spinner.
Travel Bags
There’s a lot to consider when you’re purchasing travel bags. For everything outside of luggage, I use the Travelon Bags and accessories found in this post.
Knack Bag
The Knack Bag is the perfect all in one travel and day bag. It has option for clothing, electronics, water bottles, wallet & passport items, laptops, and so much more. Their motto, work and travel, or two bags in one, holds true. I can’t see using much else when it’s just me on a work trip.
Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are essential to fitting everything neatly into your suitcase. I also like to use them to divide our items by day or by person. Either way, these are some of the packing cubes we use or have been recommended to us, all on Amazon.
Baby Gear Rental
Use BabyQuip to get baby gear while you’re traveling. Especially if you’re staying in a home rental, BabyQuip can provide you with a crib, a stroller, toys and so much more.
Road Trip Safety
Make sure when you’re heading out on the road you’re bringing along roadside safety and first aid kit essentials.
Or just go to these all in one kits over building out your own.
Road Trip Travel Ideas
Roadtrippers has been around for years and is a fun site to find everything from roadside attractions to places to eat along your trip.
Camera Gear
Really the best camera you have is the one in your pocket or hand. Use what you’ve got. But if you’re looking for upgrades, choose from these.
- Canon EOS Rebel T7i DSLR
- Sony Alpha a600 Mirrorless Digital Camera
- GoPro Action Camera
- Osmo Handheld Video
- Remote Shutter
- TriPod
- Selfie Stick
- Camera Bags and Straps
You likely won’t need all of these items, but if you enjoy travel photography, these will enhance your photos.
Travel Insurance
I use and trust Axa Travel for all my travel insurance needs.
Camping
- HipCamp – $20 to find the perfect camping site or cabin
- Outdoorsy – Rent A Luxury RV for Less Now. Low on Cost, High On Adventure. Unique Rentals At The Best Price. Easy Booking & No Hidden Fees
- RVShare
Blogging Tools
I included this section as some people have asked how to get started blogging and what to use. These are a few of my must-have tools to create this blog.
- WP Tasty Links – I use this plug in to create seamless links and descriptions across the site.
- WP Tasty Pins – From the same company as above, this allows me to add custom Pinterest descriptions that don’t live in the alt text.
- Tailwind – A must-have tool for scheduling Pinterest Pins.
- Milotree – Get a pop up that directs people to your social media sites.
- Goal Setting Planner – Set big goals and break them down in order to stick to the goals.
- Canva – a must for designing graphics.
- ConvertKit for all my emailing needs.