If you’re anything like me, there’s always another trip on the horizon. And whether it’s a week away with flights book and bags (almost) packed, or whether it’s the trip of a lifetime many years away, you might as well have some fun looking forward to it! Here are a few of my favorite sites for finding off-the-beaten-path adventures, scoring great discounts, and making transportation easy and hassle-free.
1. RoadTrippers.com
If you’re planning on driving on vacation – whether cross-country or just across a state line – you need to check out Roadtrippers. Simply input your starting and stopping destination, and it’ll find amazing places for you to stop along the way, from waterfalls and swimming holes to roadside attractions and haunted hotels. You can filter to show only destinations interesting to you, like “viewpoints” or “quirky hotels,” or input how far off your direct route you’re willing to drive to make a stop. I’ve used this multiple times going cross-country and found it was essential for finding unique destinations, breaking up the monotony of driving, and helping me explore brand new areas of the country.
The service is free, thorough, and even has ratings for each stop to help you determine if other roadtrippers thought they were worth the trip.
2. TripHobo.com
Another itinerary planner, TripHobo has an international focus and offers a curated option. If you don’t want to manually search through and add your own things to do, you can choose “let TripHobo suggest a plan,” and it’ll fill your days with the most popular attractions and sites. Plus, it suggests the best route for getting from one site to another and the best order in which to visit them, which can help you get the most in on a limited timeline. It features an easy drag-and-drop interface, and will tell you if you’re trying to fit too much into one day, or if you have time to add extra sites. once your itinerary is done, you can share it with others or save it (with directions) to your phone for offline use
3. Kayak Explore
I know, I know: you’re thinking Kayak is outdated and has obviously been replaced by Google Flights. And, well, yeah. But Kayak EXPLORE is different. If you know what month you want to travel and you have a set budget, but you don’t know where to go, use KayakExplore. You just input your max budget and in which month you’d like to travel (as well as your home airport) and KayakExplore will show you a map of all the places you can afford. Did you know you can fly from California to southern Vietnam for less than $550? You do now.
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted. – Bill Bryson –
4. Viator.com
Okay, you’ve chosen your destination – let’s say Italy. And you’ve got some ideas on what you want to do there, like a gelato-tasting tour. But let’s be real: you don’t know what the best gelato shops are, and you definitely have no idea which ones are local favorites or which have secret flavors on certain days. That’s why Viator is great – it has really unique tours in locations across the world, like a gelato tasting bike tour of Bologna or overnight camping in a Central American jaguar reserve (don’t get eaten.) The tours are usually lead by locals and have online reviews to ensure they’re legit. Plus, booking on Viator ensures if for some reason the trip doesn’t happen or something goes wrong, you’ll be refunded. In many countries, you may pay in advance for something in cash and never get your money back if it doesn’t materialize. That’s why Viator’s robust and varied events are a great option – and can help you find once-in-a-lifetime tours. Night food tour in Bangkok, anyone?
5. Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet books are the ultimate in real, candid travel guides for young people. The website is just like the books, only you can read about any country you want, and it’s free.
If you want to have some fun with it, type in the name of a random country, and click “experiences.” You may discover a place you’ve never heard of, or stumble on the best travel photography you’ve ever seen.
In addition to “fun” trip planning elements, Lonely Planet also has segments on country-by-country travel safety, a survival guide with all you’d need to know, and even recommended reading about the country. You can spend a lot of time on this trip planning everything from the ultimate backpacker excursion to a luxury European ski trip, and the information is in-depth, accurate, and informative. Enjoy.
What other sites do you recommend? Let me know in the comments!
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