
The number of travel websites and apps has grown enormously, making it harder to know where to start. This guide cuts through the noise and lists the tools we actually use — organised by what you need, from finding a hotel to avoiding ATM fees abroad. No single platform does everything well, so knowing which tool to reach for at each stage of a trip makes a real difference.
What websites and resources do you normally use before and during your trip? The available resources are continuously growing, so here is our updated selection.
Best Travel Websites/Apps
Our selection of websites for travellers, grouped by category:
Accommodation / Hotels
- Booking.com Absolute leader in hotels with the biggest inventory on Earth
- HomeExchange.com Global social network for free home and apartment exchange
- Expedia.com Flights, hotels and holiday deals
- TrustedHousesitters.com Find 5-star dog sitters or care for pets while house sitting (free accommodation in exchange for looking after pets)
- Lastminute.com Late travel deals
- Trivago.com Compare hotel prices from different websites
- Hotels.com Another option for hotels
- Airbnb.com Short-term residential properties (peer-to-peer)
- Hostelworld.com Hostels and cheap options
- TravelSupermarket Compare the best travel deals in one place
- Opodo.com Flights, hotels and car hire
- Trip.com Flights, hotels, tours and car hire. Great prices and service!
- Vrbo.com Holiday homes
- Agoda Accommodation in Asia
Flights / Airports
- Skyscanner.net Find the cheapest flights
- E-Dreams Cheap flights and travel deals
- Airportr Luggage pick-up and check-in service
- Kiwi.com Cutting-edge flight search
- BA Reward Flight Finder Find reward seats with British Airways
- Google.com/flights Find cheap flights in seconds and explore destinations on a map
- Kayak.com Flights, hotels and deals
- Momondo.com More flights
- Flightstats.com Real-time flight status and airport tracking
- Holiday Extras Airport hotels, transfers, parking and lounges
- PriorityPass Independent airport lounge access worldwide
- Compensair Claim up to €600 compensation for flight delays, cancellations or denied boarding
Information
- Wikitravel.org Open source travel guide featuring up-to-date information
- Welove2Ski.com Snow reports and information on where and how to ski
- LonelyPlanet.com Expert advice, travel tips, destination information and books
- ifly.com Airport info, flight status and tracking
- Eater.com Food news and dining guides
- Coolcamping.com Discover the best campsites
- Songkick.com Find gigs and buy tickets
- ResidentAdvisor.net World’s largest independent electronic music magazine
- Xe.com Currency exchange rates
Money & Banking
- freeatm.app Find free ATMs near you — shows cash machines that charge no withdrawal fee. Essential for avoiding fees abroad
- Wise.com Multi-currency account with mid-market exchange rates and low fees. One of the best options for holding and spending in multiple currencies
- Revolut Travel-friendly banking with fee-free spending abroad. See our Best Free Cards for Travel post for a full comparison
Internet
- Airalo.com Digital eSIM marketplace for international travellers. Buy data plans for 190+ countries before you fly
- DrimSim Universal SIM card and free app for travellers
Rent A Car / Airport Transfers
- Discovercars.com Award-winning car rental comparison. Consistently great prices across all major suppliers
- Europcar.com Car and van hire
- Rentalcars.com Find the best prices from over 100 car rental companies
- Easycar.com Cheap car hire by Easyjet
- Hoppa.com Search, compare and book rides all over the world
Reviews
- Tripadvisor.com 1 billion+ reviews covering hotels, restaurants, experiences and destinations
- Google Travel Reviews, photos and ratings integrated with Search and Maps
Storage
- Radical Storage Luggage storage solutions in cities worldwide
Tours
- Viator.com Find and book the best tours everywhere
- GetYourGuide Book tickets for top attractions around the world
- Klook Discover and book experiences in Asia
- Tiqets Tickets to culture and entertainment from your smartphone. No printing, no waiting.
- UrbanAdventures.com Day and short tours
- TourRadar.com Search, compare and book multi-day tours
- Voyage-prive.com Good deals and packages on quality holidays and luxury trips
Trains
- 12go.asia Best budget travel service for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, India, China, Laos and more
- Trainline Book UK and European rail tickets. The easiest way to apply railcard discounts and find split-ticket savings
- Rail Europe International train and bus routes across 45+ countries in Europe
- Rome2Rio Find out how to get from A to B anywhere in the world — covers flights, trains, buses, ferries and driving, with price estimates and booking links
Trip Planner / Itinerary
- Wanderlog Free AI-powered trip planner. Build day-by-day itineraries, add places from Google Maps, and collaborate with travel companions in real time
- Google Travel Unified platform for flights, hotels and itinerary building. Automatically tracks bookings from Gmail
- Inspirock.com Create a personalised day-by-day itinerary
Weather
- BBC Weather Our favourite forecast site
- Accuweather.com More forecasts
Multiple resources per travel phase

Most people use multiple resources during the different phases of a trip, as there is no single app or website that gives you everything. Knowing which tool to reach for at each stage makes the whole process faster and cheaper.
Let’s divide the trip into a few phases:
Plan
This is where we start looking for options — destinations, dates, companions, and reviews. Advanced travellers check weather forecasts, seasonal events and local festivals at this stage too.
Blogs and reviews are important here. TripAdvisor still leads for structured reviews, but Google is approaching rapidly. AI tools like ChatGPT and Wanderlog are now genuinely useful for first-draft itinerary building.
Search
This is a key phase and there are plenty of players competing for your attention. Skyscanner and Kayak let you search without fixing a date or destination, which is ideal when you’re flexible. Google Flights is also excellent for exploring price calendars across multiple months.
Booking.com remains the leader in hotels, with the largest inventory in the world. Many people compare on Trivago or Google Hotels before booking on Booking.
Buy
At some point you need to commit and pay. Some websites offer the ability to pay in multiple currencies, which opens up a technique called Resident Fares — paying at local prices in the destination’s currency.
Using the right card here matters. In our post “Best Free Cards for Travel,” we compare the top options for spending abroad with zero fees.
Travel
Now the resources you need change. Travel cards become essential — standard bank cards carry hidden charges: foreign transaction fees, ATM withdrawal fees, and poor exchange rates. Our Best Free Cards for Travel post covers this in detail.
For finding free ATMs once you land, bookmark freeatm.app — it shows cash machines near you that charge no withdrawal fee. Our Best Travel Apps post covers the most useful apps while you’re on the road.
Additional travel tips and recommendations
- We recommend Skyscanner for both car hire and flights. It consistently turns up the best prices for both.
- Quidco gives you cash back when you buy from most of the travel vendors above. This referral link gives you £5 to start.
- For mobile apps rather than websites, visit our Best Travel Apps post.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best website to find cheap flights?
Skyscanner is our top pick — it covers virtually every airline and lets you search by whole month or ‘cheapest month’ if your dates are flexible. Google Flights is excellent for exploring price calendars across multiple months. Kayak and Kiwi.com are also worth checking, particularly for unusual routes or self-transfer combinations.
How do I find free ATMs abroad?
freeatm.app shows cash machines near your current location that charge no withdrawal fee. Pairing it with a fee-free travel card like Wise or Revolut means you can withdraw cash abroad without paying anything extra.
Which travel card has no foreign transaction fees?
Wise and Revolut are the two most popular options. Both offer accounts in multiple currencies, real exchange rates, and fee-free spending abroad. See our Best Free Cards for Travel post for a full comparison, including which is better for cash withdrawals vs. card spending.
What is the best website for booking hotels?
Booking.com has the largest hotel inventory in the world and is the most reliable starting point. For Asia, Agoda often has better prices. If you prefer private homes to hotels, Airbnb and VRBO are the leading alternatives. Use Trivago to compare prices across multiple booking sites before committing.
What is the best website for planning transport between cities?
Rome2Rio is the go-to tool for this. Enter any two places in the world and it shows every way to get between them — flights, trains, buses, ferries and driving — with journey times, rough prices, and links to book. It’s particularly useful when you’re not sure whether to fly or take the train, or when travelling in countries where transport options aren’t obvious.
How do I plan a trip itinerary online?
Wanderlog is our favourite free tool — it lets you build a day-by-day itinerary, add places from Google Maps, and share it with travel companions. Google Travel automatically collects your flight and hotel confirmations from Gmail and organises them into a trip view. Inspirock generates a full day-by-day itinerary based on your destination and trip length.
What is the best website for booking tours and activities?
Viator and GetYourGuide are the two market leaders, with millions of experiences across every destination. Viator has broader inventory; GetYourGuide often has more competitive pricing on popular city tours. For Asia specifically, Klook is worth checking. For museum and attraction tickets in Europe, Tiqets is useful for skip-the-line access.
NOTE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.
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