Travelling is all about the spontaneity of adventure and discovering new things. The excitement of travel is stumbling across the perfect coffee shop, randomly eating at your new favorite restaurant or wandering down a new road and finding a whole new world. However, as incredible as these spur-of-the-moment discoveries are, aimlessly searching for a place to stay in an unfamiliar city can also be unbelievably stressful, annoying and, sometimes, scary. The following websites help make any trip easier to plan whether it be where to eat, stay or visit.

Skyscanner.net

Skyscanner is a travel search engine which helps you find the least expensive flights to and from any location. This site is especially helpful when planning weekend trips while abroad since it compares prices, flights, airlines and airports simultaneously. Skyscanner is also great because it gives you the option to search “everywhere” in order to find the cheapest flight from your current country to anywhere in the world. Who could resist a $40 round-trip flight to Copenhagen?

AirBnB

Given their recent popularity, I think that most people either know what AirBnB is or they’ve used it themselves before. AirBnB is probably the cheapest way to find a place to stay while travelling practically anywhere in the world. Hosts in different cities rent out their homes, apartments or spare rooms to people for the night, the week or even the whole month. What’s also great about AirBnB, besides the affordability, is that most apartments come with a kitchen so you don’t have to eat out every meal while travelling. AirBnB is ideal for travelling on a budget and live like a local at the same time.

Hostel World

Hostel World is another option for finding places to stay while travelling except, as the name suggests, it only gives results for hostels in the area. Every hostel is different but what you can usually expect is communal rooms with bunk beds and maybe a restaurant or bar in the lobby. Staying in a hostel is one of the best ways to meet other travelers and most hostels also have perks like free breakfasts or tours of the area. However, like anything, there are bad hostels and there are amazing hostels. Hostel World gives you tons of reviews on hostels all over the world so that you know what to expect before arriving. And, to make life easier, you can book your stay right from the website.

World of Wanderlust

Worldofwanderlust.com is one of my favorite travel blogs, mostly because of how much information there is to read through. On the website, you can filter posts by destination which makes it even easier to find the best places to visit no matter where you’re going. Looking for the best places to eat in Amsterdam? No worries, there’s a post for that. Best day trips to take from London? There’s a post for that too. Even if you’re not planning a trip anytime soon, World of Wanderlust is the perfect place for travel inspiration.

Rome2rio

Rome2rio is similar to Skyscanner where you enter point A and point B (or even point C, D and E) and it lists transportation options by price. However, unlike Skyscanner, Rome2rio is not limited to solely air travel. It allows for you to compare the costs of travelling by plane, train, car, bus or even hitchhiking. This is another great site to use for travelers on a budget.

Citymapper

Citymapper is an app that I downloaded to my phone the minute that I got to London and it has been an absolute lifesaver. I’m serious; if you are travelling to any city in the future, download this app right this second. Citymapper is a more user-friendly version of the preset Maps app on your smartphone and lists out directions for how to get anywhere within the city with options for public transportation, walking, taxi or combinations of all of the above. This app is especially helpful with navigating public transportation, whether it be the Underground or the bus. If I didn’t have Citymapper, I would probably be lost somewhere down in the London Underground right this very minute. If there’s one thing you do before you travel, get Citymapper.

Lonely Planet

If you want to go old school, Lonely Planet has great travel books for anywhere that you could want to go. Books come with itineraries planned out for you by local experts and gives highlights for every city and country. As they say themselves, “Choose Lonely Planet because… our job is to make amazing travel experiences happen.”

 

Hopefully these websites (and app and book) help to make your travels just a little bit easier. Happy travelling!

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  1. Travel Guide | Travelguide

    […] Shea's Study (Abroad) Guide – Ch. 3: Useful Travel Sites and AppsThe Mirror, on Wed, 10 Feb 2016 09:48:45 -0800Travelling is all about the spontaneity of adventure and discovering new things. The excitement of travel is stumbling across the perfect coffee shop, randomly eating at your new favorite restaurant or wandering down a new road and finding a whole new … […]

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  2. EBay, Travel Sites Hit With Patent Suits Over Menu Bar Tech

    […] Shea's Study (Abroad) Guide – Ch. 3: Useful Travel Sites and Apps Skyscanner is a travel search engine which helps you find the least expensive flights to and from any location. This site is especially helpful when planning weekend trips while abroad since it compares prices, flights, airlines and airports … Read more on The Mirror […]

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