Travel Resources & Recommendations

Aviasales is one of the best metasearch platforms (travel search engine), curating the lowest fares from a huge database of 728 airlines and leading online agencies. I prefer Expedia and Booking.com but this site is especially useful for cheap airfares to Asia and Eastern Europe.

Booking.com is a great site for finding the lowest fares on flights, hotels & resorts, villas, apartments, car rentals, airport taxis, and attractions. I love that it shares unique accommodations (like treehouses and trains), as well as suggesting activities (based on your interests) during your stay.

Expedia is one of the biggest and best online travel agencies for booking flights, accommodations, travel packages, rental cars, activities, and cruises. It was launched by Microsoft in 1996 and offers a “Best Price Guarantee” and a free members rewards program.

Get Your Guide is my runner up to Viator. They offer unique tours, adventures, daytrips, classes and activities, ranging from a “New Orleans Ghosts, Vampires & Voodoo French Quarter Tour” to a “New Orleans Jazz Cruise”.

Hostelworld is one of my favorite resources with 36,000 properties in 178 countries. They have 24/7 customer service and offer 13 million verified reviews. In addition to offering some of the best budget lodging, they also offer “Roamies”, which are budget-friendly small group adventures (hosted by trusted G Adventures) using only local guides. Roamies travels to lesser known places, taking care of all the logistics and arrangements (which can be tough in remote destinations) but still allows flexibility for plenty of independent exploration.

Hotellook is another handy resource for finding lodging. Using 80 reputable booking systems, Hotellook searches 760,000 hotels in 205 countries to find you the best deal. Users can choose their favorite booking site and book directly with them. The site offers reviews, ratings/badges, interactive maps (so you know right where your hotel is located within a city), photos, street views of the property, detailed descriptions, and more.

Insubuy is a well-established, reputable company that provides travel insurance in the U.S. and abroad, including trip cancellation insurance, visa insurance, and medical insurance (including COVID). In this day and age, I recommend travel insurance for most trips and it is best to buy it from a third party rather than from the tour operator or trip company.

Trivago is a cost comparison site, similar to Kayak. It searches more than 200 booking sites to find the best deals on hotels, resorts, inns, and luxury apartments around the world.

Tripadvisor offers reviews given by real travelers who rate their experiences at restaurants, hotels, attractions, activities, and so forth. Tripadvisor has recently added the option of booking directly on their site. This is a really handy and totally free resource (unless you upgrade to Tripadvisor Plus) when planning your trip because you have the benefit of thousands of travelers who have provided honest reviews about their experiences.

Viator is THE resource for finding and booking day trips, tours, activities, attractions, shows, and airport transfers. This is the place to start putting together your trip once you determine your destination(s) and dates. They offer 300,000+ experiences worldwide, including half day activities and multi-day adventures for all ages and interests.

Furthermore, I suggest you search my site for help. I have posted hundreds of travel articles on my blog, Terrance Talks Travel. Additionally, I have shared dozens of travel podcasts via Terrance Talks Travel: Uber Adventures. Furthermore, I have loads of free and cheap travel reports available in my Terrance Talks Travel Emporium.

Amazon is my go-to for everything from travel guidebooks to travel clothes, including good walking socks, luggage, travel pillows, first aid kits, safari vests, and more. Here are my recommendations for essential travel products:

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also an affiliate of the travel companies listed on this page. However, I would recommend them even if I was not an affiliate because I have used most of them for years for booking my own travel.