Travel Resources

Itinerary

• ideeli - Travel deals in a members-only online community
• Tripbase – Choose the type of activities you’re interested in and the site recommends destinations
• TripIt – Keep all your travel itinerary in one place! Can link to your email.

Learn About Your Destination

• BBC Country Profiles – General overview of countries and current news.
• CIA World Factbook - General overview of countries and current news.
• The Economist: Country Overviews - General overview of countries and current news.
• Lonely Planet – Great overview about traveling to a location.
• National Geographic Traveler Magazine – News and information about a variety of locations. Beautiful pictures too!
• Tripeezy – Ebook travel guides.
• Triposo - Interactive travel guides for mobile devices.

The Journey

• Airfare Watchdog – Keeps on an eye travel deals and your specific destination.
• Amtrak – US (and a little of Canada) train travel.
• Bing Travel – Tells you if plane tickets will increase or decrease in price to a specific destination.
• CheapOAir - Travel deals.
• Eurail – European train travel.
• Expedia – Flights, car rentals, hotels, vacation packages, etc.
• FareCompare – Compares a variety of sites for flight deals.
• Greyhound – Bus travel in North America.
• Hipmunk – Flights and hotel deals.
• Hotwire - Flights, car rentals, hotels, vacation packages, etc.
• International Rail – Information about train travel globally.
• ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search – Flight search based on dates and events in the area.
• Kayak – Compares flight prices from a multitude of sites.
• Megabus - Mega cheap bus deals in the US, Canada and the UK.
• Momondo – Price comparison for flights.
• Priceline – Flights, car rentals, hotels, vacation packages, etc. Can name your price; you must buy if there are matches.
• Rail Europe – Sells individual tickets, sometimes discounted and rail passes.
• skyscanner - Search engine for low-cost airlines.
• Travelocity - Flights, car rentals, hotels, vacation packages, etc.
• Travel Hacking Cartel – Earn frequent flyer miles.
• TravelZoo - Find great travel deals.
• WebbyPlanet – Travel deals.
• Yapta – Tracks flight prices.

Accomodation (see also The Journey section)

• airbnb – Rent apartments, houses or rooms from real people.
• Bed and Breakfast World – Global search and booking for bed and breakfasts.
• Caretaker - Housesitting.*
• CouchSurfing – Stay at locals homes.
• HomeExhange – Housesitting.*
• HostelBookers - Hostel deals.
• Hostelworld – Hostels search.
• Hostels.com - Hostels search.
• Hostelling International – Many hostels welcome all ages.
• HouseCarers - Housesitting.*
• MetroGuest - Rent a house or apartment.
• MindMyHouse - Housesitting.*
• Servas - Opportunity to meet and stay with locals.
• Tripping - Stay at locals’ houses and get a cultural exchange experience.
• TrustedHousesitters – Housesitting.*

*For more information about housesitting, see Hectik Travels’ Housesitting 101 and 201 blog posts.

Money

• Xe.com - Exchange rates.
• X-Rates.com - Exchange rates.
• Budget Your Trip - Information about travel costs. It’s possible to track your own trip.

Food

• EatWithaLocal - Eat with a local at their home or restaurants.

Packing

• OneBag – A lot of information about packing lightly.
• The Ultimate Packing List – Video and list  for backpackers.

Travel Insurance

• HTH Worldwide
• IMG: International Medical Group

Community-Built Travel Guides

• Gogobot - Advice about places, restaurants and accommodation. Connects to friends via Facebook and Twitter.
• Indie Travel Podcast – Ask travel questions and make friends around the world.
• TripAdvisor - Reviews for accommodations and restaurants.
• Wikitravel - The Wikipedia of travel.
• Yelp - Reviews of restaurants, business and other services. For the United States.

Solo Travel

• Fodors Solo Travel Forum – Tips and tricks.
• Singles Travel International – Finds you a roommate.
• Solo Travel Network – Tales and tips from solo travelers.
• Solo Traveler Blog - Tips and articles about traveling solo.
• Thorn Tree Travel Forum – Tips and tricks.
• Travel Chums – Find and connect with travelers who want to go to the same destinations.
• Women Traveling Together – Offers tours retreats and getaways.

Articles

• Safety Tips for Traveling Worldwide (MSN)
• $9 Dollar Airfare and 9 Other Travel Hacks (MSN Money)
• Beginner’s guide to reducing travel anxiety (Lonely Planet, Feb 2011)
• Best Smartphone Apps for Travel (Hipmunk, July 2011)
• The Gender Gap in Travel: Myths and Revelations (The New York Times, September 2011)
• Solo Female Travel, Trust and the Art of Fitting In (Legal Nomads, September 2011)