Every good traveller needs an arsenal of gear, apps and companies at their back to make travelling seamless. I’ve been travelling in one form or other for a decade, and I’ve learnt about how to make travel planning easier.
Every single recommendation below is a company I use to plan my own travels, and I use each one currently.
I will update this resource page continuously to bring you the best resources.
If you would like to ask anything, please email me here.
There are numerous flight comparison tools but this is my Number 1. I rarely use anything else.
It copes with multi-city itineries, has filters for almost eveything, and the results are hard to beat.
These days Kayak can also search for hotels, rental cars and holidays, making it one of the most indispensable Apps around.
Some people love Google Flights, and I mean LOVE it! I’m more of a Kayak fan (see left) but I do use it as a backup to make sure I’m getting the best deal.
One of the features I loved before Kayak had it was the option to have an open ended destination, and filter down to cheap flights.
Nonetheless, it’s still a very powerful tool.
Ryanair gets its fair share of abuse, but I just can’t fault the Airline for cheap breaks. For a European, it’s a must.
Their sales are legendary, and there’s still flights to be had at other times of year for as little as £5.
You can use the website, and the App which I find more useful to book flights and keep your bookings on.
Whilst Ryanair may have the best fares, you can’t fault Easyjet for efficient customer service.
I regularly use both Easyjet and Ryanair, but I find Easyjet flights more calming.
Again, download the App as well as checking out their Website.
Low cost and long-haul, Norwegian revolutionised Transatlantic flights a few years ago.
If I want to go long distance, they’re my first choice of airline for value.
The App is really handy too.
Kayak (see Flights above) has a pretty decent Hotel Search which I use as a last resort when I travel, but the first go-to Apps for accommodation on my phone are Booking.com and AirBnB. I tend to use them in conjunction to find stays. They rarely let me down, and allow me to grab a room on the go in minutes.
Booking.com also has a Map View and a variety of filters that makes it quick and easy to use.
Join AirBnB through my link https://bit.ly/2TVbR5E and get £34 off your first booking
Along with Booking.com, AirBnB is my go-to accomodation App. I use it on the go when travelling. Booking.com has a little bit of an edge sometimes as it now lists more private accommodation as well as hotels, and confirmation is instaneous (sometimes you have to wait on AirBnB for the host to reply).
Still it’s a cracking app with some great finds, many off the tourist track which feel very authentic.
Booking.com lists many hostels, but if I want to stay in shared Accommodation, I always look at Hostelworld as well. It’s much more extensive for the Hostel market.
It has some gems and smaller properties not listed on Booking.com.
Couchsurfing, I personally find, is much better when done in advance. I quite often last minute book Accommodation and I don’t have a huge amount of luck on the App.
I love the ethos though and I know many people who use it religiously. It’s heyday was a few years ago but it’s still a great place to find free accommodation and a new local friend in the areas you’re visiting.
If you like pets and house sitting, this is right up your street. I use it less now as I’m generally not in the mood to spend a huge amount of time in one destination.
However, if you have time and want free accommodation, happy to water some plants and look after an animal or two, this is a great way to see the world at a fraction of the cost.
There is an Annual Membership but then you are free to browse and apply for any house sit.
My first rental car resource. Sometimes it’s hard to get the best price on a rental car so I also use companies direct if I know what I’m looking for. Additionally I often use other resources like Kayak and Ryanair, which also do car rentals.
However, this is still the site that I get most of my car rentals through.
Uber just makes taking a “taxi” so easy. Not sure how we coped in the world before Uber came along. Many taxi drivers have tried to ripped me off round the world, yet I’ve never had any problems with Uber’s transparent pricing – even better no need to have cash on you as everything is worked out by card through the App/
Lyft is my second favourite private transfer app. I use it alongside Uber and tend to go for whichever one is quicker or cheaper. I’ve actually had some of the friendliest Lyft drivers – they were phenomenal in San Diego.
Wanderu works best in some regions like North America, and pretty good across Europe too.
One of the easiest places to find bus journeys, especially on the Greyhound and Megabus networks, but also now has added some trains to their database.
This has to be one of the most infallible travel apps. I use it constantly to navigate across the world, judge timings, find restaurants and attractions, get myself out of being lost in some of the craziest places, and so much more.
You can download offline maps for the destinations you are visiting ,so not even lack of reception is an issue.
Flexplus is my number 1 account for anyone British who likes to travel. It costs £13 a month and comes with the following:-
– A debit Card with no worldwide transaction fees (Pay and Use ATMs anywhere with no fees)
– Worldwide Travel Insurance for trips up to 31 days
– UK and European Brekadown Cover
– Mobile Phone Insurance
Get in contact with me here if you want to switch and we can both receive £100
Coupled with a Flexplus Account and debit card (left), the Nationwide Select Credit Card – now the Member Credit Card – gives you no fees on transactions around the world, just a simple Visa conversion for that day.
The combination of Flexplus Debit Card and Member Credit Card are a killer combination.
The Transferwise Borderless Account and App are stunningly simple, and you can couple it up with a Debit Mastercard.
The borderless account gives you accounts in UK, Europe, USA, New Zealand and Australia – great if you want to work abroad.
Plus you can transfer money around the world in different currencies for clear fees listed at time of transfer.
Personally I think this account puts Monzo, Revolut and Caxton to shame.
If you’re British, there aren’t many cards around to travel hack (unlike our American neighbours). However, there are the options of American Express, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
The Virgin Credit Card is my favourite way of getting airmiles. Chose from two cards, one with an annual fee and one without, giving you 0.75 or 1.5 miles for every £1 purchase. Plus from April 2020 this comes with no overseas fees when used to pay in Euros as well as GBP.
G Adventures are my joint favourite tour operators for small group travel across the globe.
If you don’t want to go alone, or independently, G has hundreds of trips to choose from and you’re pretty much guaranteed to come home with new friends and an amazing experience to tell.
Intrepid Travel are stallwarts in the small group travel world. Like G Adventures, their trips make travelling the globe and meeting new friends effortless.
I’ve personally been on Intrepid and G Adventures trips and can’t recommend either enough.
Go Outdoors are one of my first port of calls for anything gear related. Hiking, Camping, Cycling, Running – they’ve got you covered.
If you’re into big peaks or Arctic expeditions, they’re not specialist enough for those Everest suits, but for general mountaineering and outdoor activities they’ve got you sorted.
Throw in their price promise and you’re good to go!
It seemed like Decathlon came out of nowhere. Their own brand Wedze is not to be sniffed at. They consistently sell decent gear for less than you would find should you get a “named” brand.
I’ve been impressed with some of their hiking and climbing gear at a fraction of the price.
Osprey make great value, good quality backpacks.
So much so that I now own a Farpoint 70l, Farpoint 40l, Centauri 22 and Aether 70l.
You can definitely find great backpacks for more money, and worse backpacks for less, but Osprey seem to tow the line well between value and quality.
Sportpursuit are great. Join their email list and then every day they will send you some cracking discounts on sports gear, clothing and footwear.
Currently my fave choice of Skis. Kastle skis are hand made in Austria, although the family owned company were bought out in 2018, and there are concerns the quality of workmanship may disappear (as they did when Stockl were bought out).
However I can say that skis bought up to 2019 are an absolute joy to ski on, and worth every penny.
These is what’s in my photography toolkit at the moment. I’ve given up heavy D-SLRs and Mirrorless Cameras in favour of the compacy Sony RX100vi.
This is the Mark 6 version of the camera, and it comes at a premium price for a compact.
If you need an expert camera then it may not be for you, but for amateurs and those wanting great photos from a tiny body, you can’t go wrong with this investment. Also shoots some great video footage too.
This is my favourite vlogging camera at the moment, the DJI Osmo Pocket.
Photos are nice but nothing off a normal camera phone these days. However, the video really excels. It’s not an action cam and it’s not waterproof without a case, but if you want to vlog or city footage… or anything where you don;t need to physically strap an action cam to you, this is hard to beat.
For travelling you may want to check out the DJI Mavic Mini. However, this is still my fave drone, the old Mavic Air. It was the first portable drone on the market and although dated, you can now pick up some fairly good deals on them.
The Fly More Combos are no brainers – if you want to experiment, you need extra batteries for a decent day’s filming.