Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a fantastic global search engine to find comparisons for flights, including budget airlines. My favourite feature is the “Everywhere” option where you can leave your destination open in order to find the cheapest flights to all destinations around you.

You can also search for hotels and car hire. The service is completely free to users and directs you to the airline, hotel, car hire provider or travel agency to complete the booking process.

Momondo

Momondo is another good site I consult for comparing airfares. It's a great starting point to get an idea how much a flight will roughly cost, what the various airlines are on the route and layover times. I usually use a combination of flight comparison engine and then often book on the airline's website itself in the end.

Etihad Airways

Many times it's not a bad idea to check on the airlines' website directly as I described in my trips and tricks about booking cheap flights which can be found here. Etihad is one of my favourite airlines to take for flights from Europe to Southeast Asia and Australia and despite being a highly rated airline, it often turns out they have some very affordable flights!

Airlines will reserve specials for customers who are booking directly over their own website. Sometimes specials are advertised within a few days and only last for a short period of time so it pays off to have a look frequently.

Booking.com

Booking is another resource I use more heavily in Europe as they seem to have the best deals in that part of the world. It's absolutely huge so you can really find any type of accommodation on there – from hostels to luxury villas. I usually browser their customer reviews too before making a decision and cross-check their shiny pictures on other platforms or on Instagram.

Agoda.com

Agoda is one of the fastest-growing online accommodation platforms worldwide, listing hundreds of thousands of hotels, beach resorts, home stays and more. I often use Agoda to book accommodation especially in Asia and the Pacific region as it pulls up the best deals around here. In addition to a booking accommodation you can find millions of authentic hotel reviews so you always know what you can expect.

Trusted Housesitters

One of my most favourite ways to travel long-term is by housesitting. Trusted Housesitters is one of the largest house and pet sitting website and believe it's an awesome concept! You pay a yearly membership to be signed up on the platform and can connect with home and pet owners worldwide who need a sitter when going away on a holiday. In return, you help someone have peace of mind while away and you live in amazing places for free and save on accommodation costs and truly become a local. I absolutely love it and have written about my experience here as well.

You can find house sits in over 70 countries, from townhouses in London to lovely farmhouses in Tuscany, apartments in Sydney and New York to beach homes in Hawaii – the possibilities are endless!

Airbnb

Airbnb is one of my favourite sites when I am looking for something different than a hotel and a more local experience. You can find over a million listings in 190 countries from tree houses to houseboats to Airstream trailers and of course many city apartments.

I have stayed in Airbnb apartments in Sydney, London, Berlin, Vienna, Melbourne, Tokyo, Singapore, Honolulu and many more and loved every single experience! Most time, it works out cheaper than a hotel room, especially when renting for a week+ and you get the local experience too.

Get Your Guide

One of the biggest platforms globally to buy tickets for attractions and tours. Choose from over 33,000 activities in all the popular as well as hidden gem destinations around the world. No matter if you want to climb the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, visit the Empire State Building without queuing up or wanting to join a hop on hop off bus tour in Paris, Get Your Guide has it all, often with great discounts than when you buy tickets directly too.

STA Travel

STA Travel is one of the world's largest travel company for students and young people and I frequently visit their website especially when looking for flights and tours. They offer discounted round-the-world tickets and are quite big on work & travel and volunteer programs. They're always very responsive and helpful, no matter if I email or call one of the shops nearby. I also book my travel insurance over them.

Contiki

Specialising in group trips worldwide for young people, you can visit all 6 continents in over 300 trips with Contiki. Usually, you choose what kind of traveller you are, if you want to discover places in-depth or travel more independently, looking for a sailing or skiing adventure or late nights with endless parties, Contiki is awesome for solo travellers or if you go in a small group, you will surely make new friends from all over fast!

Trip Advisor

A wonderful resource to kick off any trip plan! I mostly look for attractions and tours here and then head to the individual websites and cross-check their reviews with other platforms.

I don't really look for hotels on here but it can be a great resource to find great places to eat.

Skyroam

I never travel without a portable wifi hotspot anymore, simply because a stable wifi connection is essential to me when working online. For any seasoned traveller, it also saves the hassle of finding wifi when arriving at a new destination and you want to order an Uber to get to your hotel. Or you simply don't stay in a place long enough and it doesn't make sense to get a local SIM card. Skyroam gives you wifi globally in over 100+ countries at the push of a button.

You can read more about Skyroam by clicking this link.

Amazon

Whenever I look for new travel gear, backpacks, packing cubes, tech gear, even socks and sports underwear sometimes, I check into Amazon and shop around. Thanks to Prime, delivery is absolute the fastest ever, and now that I am based in Australia, I can even get all the things delivered here through either Amazon AU or the International US store, heck yes!

Lonely Planet

I still sometimes use guidebooks and do like Lonely Planet. However, their forum is probably even better to get the most recent travel tips and I always use their books digitally on my phone or iPad when I am on the go. They usually have great 3-for-2 deals!

SafetyWing

SafetyWing offers travel medical insurance for people from all over the world, while outside their home country.

What makes this travel insurance rather unique is that works like a subscription, you choose a start date through the monthly auto-renewal process you never have to pay upfront if you're traveling for a few months (or years!) and you don't forget to renew if you extend your trip. There's no cap on the travel duration. 

Of course, you can also cancel at any time. It's affordable, starting at $40 for 4 weeks of coverage and also includes home country coverage for visits back home to see family and friends.

Read my full review on SafetyWing travel insurance in my article here.

World Nomads

A provider to consider for your travel insurance, no matter if you are travelling solo or with a group or your family. Travel is essential!

Things can go wrong and stuff happens and you better want to be covered in the case of cases. With World Nomads you get 24/7 emergency assistance and you can get cover out while still at home or when you already started travelling (with most insurances you need to be at home and get cover from the day when you start your trip!), they als0 cover adventure activities like diving, surfing and bungee jumping.