10 Best Travel Planning Resources (I’ve used over the years!)

Jump to Flights | Accommodations | Tours & Activities | Airport Transfers | Getting Around | Trains, Buses, Sea Ferries

Planning a trip? Use my favorite and the best travel planning resources.

Travel planning can be tedious and time-consuming. As the often-designated trip planner and itinerary creator, I’d spend hours scouring the internet to find the best deals for our flights, look for the perfect accommodation, discover the best and most affordable tours and activities that suit our preferences, and ascertain the most cost-effective transportation for our trip itineraries. It took a lot of time from me until I found the best travel planning resources that made my trip planning a whole lot efficient and effective.

And I’d love to share them with you!

By the end of this page, you should have an answer to the question, “What are the best travel planning resources for a hassle-free trip?“

✈️ Flights

Whenever I travel in Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines, I am no longer surprised by flight delays and cancellations. Given this, I’d rather pay for the cheapest option and be less frustrated than when I book a more expensive flight.

1. Airasia

I book flights directly with Airasia for most of my travels within the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

While delays are frequent and, admittedly, their legroom can be more spacious, I still book with them because, together with Cebu Pacific (another low-cost airline in the Philippines), they tend to offer the cheapest flights.

💡 PRO TIP: Subscribe to their mailing list and follow them on socials. Then, wait for their announcement when they’d have a seat sale!

This is how I booked a Manila-Bangkok round-trip ticket for just about 80 USD (vs. 180 USD, which is the cheapest, as of this writing). It’s not a lot, but when you’re traveling on a budget, every cent you can save counts!

But if I don’t have the flexibility to choose the dates, which usually happens when I’m traveling with family and friends who have limited time for vacation, I use flight aggregators like Trip.com to research for the most cost-effective flight to book.

🛌 Hotels & Accommodations

Finding the best accommodation that suits your requirements and budget can be a pain. Before I learned of these tools, I’d spend days scouring the internet for the best options before I finally book!

So, here are the websites I use to find and book accommodations for my next destinations.

Bedroom at Bellevue Panglao, Bohol, that we booked from one of the best travel planning resources for accommodations: Booking.com

2. Agoda

Agoda is very popular in Asia. In addition to hotels, B&Bs, and hostels, their list of accommodations also includes vacation rentals (including apartments, villas, and homes).

When I was just starting to travel, this was the only platform I used to search for and book my accommodations. I love that they offer accommodations at discounted rates— perfect for those who want the best bang for their buck, like me.

💡 PRO TIP: If you’re planning a trip to Asia, I recommend using Agoda. Based on experience, there are LOTS of budget, mid-range, and luxury options that are available in Agoda (especially for accommodations in Asia) but cannot be found in other platforms.

3. Booking.com

Booking.com is one of my go-to travel resources for finding and booking accommodations.

I like that I can filter the listings according to ratings from previous guests (making it easier to sort through possibly hundreds of options), read verified guest reviews (to see other important information that the listing may not have mentioned), and perhaps the most important for me – unlike other platforms, they offer zero booking fees!

4. Hostelworld

If you love meeting other passionate travelers, then Hostelworld may be the best booking platform for you. They offer budget accommodations, like hostels and budget hotels—perfect travelers who love unique experiences.

💡 PRO TIP: Check Booking.com, Agoda, and Hostelworld first before booking. I’d even go as far as checking directly with my chosen accommodation to see where I can get the best rates!

🏞️ Tours & Activities

I love DIY-ing my trips! Most of the time, too, the activities I’m interested in are too off-the-beaten-path that I have to find local contacts in the local community I’d like to visit (e.g., when I went on a journey to experience indigenous art and culture in the Philippines, including meeting the oldest Kalinga traditional tattoo artist, Apo Whang-od, and the Eskaya tribe in Bohol).

When I do book tours in destinations that are a bit more mainstream, I prefer to do them with smaller local suppliers because I know that, for many of them, running these small tours is their only means of earning a living.

But, when I visit foreign places I know very little about, I use these travel resources and platforms to find tours and activities for my next destination:

5. GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide is the platform I use when looking for immersive experiences – which makes it one of the best travel planning resources. If you’re looking for tours run and done by local experts, you may find them on GetYourGuide.

6. Klook

Klook is a booking platform for tours and excursions (very popular in Asia) and one of my main resources for travel planning.

I use Klook to research what I can do in my destination, compare prices for similar tours, and read reviews and ratings from fellow travelers who’ve booked the activities I’m interested in – helping me make an informed choice for planning my trip! If you want hassle-free experiences, especially in Asia, I recommend booking with Klook.

7. Viator

Viator is another platform I use when planning for my trips. They offer a wide selection of tours and activities to help you create a memorable trip. Whether you’re looking for walking tours, wine tasting, cooking classes, day trips, or multi-day excursions, you can find them at Viator. If you want to discover different activities, get an overview of the experience, and get insights from your fellow travelers to help you make an informed decision, I recommend checking out Viator – which I find to be one of the best travel planning resources.

💡 PRO TIP: Once you’ve chosen the activities you’d like to do in your next destination, I recommend also asking your accommodation host if they offer or know anyone offering similar tours (or they may have other suggestions, too!). You never know. They might be able to recommend trusted tour guides or organizers who can offer you similar tours for a cheaper price!

🚖 Airport Transfers

Getting to your accommodation from the airport can sometimes be a pain – especially when visiting a foreign location.

While, in the past, I’d be okay to walk or take buses and trains, while having my heavy luggages with me, my back problem now prohibits me from doing this.

This is why I also now check for airport transfers when planning trips.

8. Grab

I tend to use Grab wherever it’s available. I hate haggling and being scammed by taxis or tuk-tuks (very rampant in Southeast Asia), so I always check if they are available in my next destination.

I love that I can find out upfront what I have to pay (no need to haggle). Plus, I can share my trip’s tracking link with my family and friends, which makes me feel more at ease, especially if I’m in a foreign destination.

Its downside is that there’s no certainty that you’d be able to find a ride right away (it depends on the traffic situation + availability of drivers at the time of booking). But if you’re okay with that (I usually check if my arrival time is not during peak hours), then you should definitely consider using Grab for airport transfer.

💡 PRO TIP: If you’re not willing to risk not getting a ride right away, then I suggest booking your transfers beforehand.

I always check with my accommodation if they offer this service (some even offer it for free).

Otherwise, I check the following platforms to see if they have available airport transfers in my destination.

*I always read the fine print and the reviews first before booking. If I’m convinced (or am willing to risk it), then I go ahead and book with them. Otherwise, I usually just always use Grab when it’s available.

🗺️ Getting around

When I was still in my adventurous phase, I didn’t plan much for getting from one city/province to another. I’d usually just ask for information from the locals I met and take it from there. It was fun and exciting (there was even a time that I got to ride on top of an overloaded jeepney!), I admit, and I’m happy that I was able to experience that.

More recently, though, I have tended to plan my trips with as many details as possible. It just makes me less anxious that way.

So, here, I’m going to share with you the best travel resources I use for planning how to commute from one place to another:

9. Google Maps

Google Maps has been a lifesaver. As someone who doesn’t like commuting very much (I’d rather take Grab whenever it’s available), I get to know how to get from one place to another because of Google Maps.

Whether I’m in my home city or visiting a foreign location, I turn to Google Maps to help me navigate my way around my current location.

🚂 Trains, Buses, Sea Ferries

Once you know how to get from one point to another, you can plan and even pre-book your tickets for a hassle-free trip!

10. 12go

If you already know that you’re taking the bus, train, or ferry from one point to another, you can most likely find the available public transportation in 12go.

I like that you can sort them by shortest time, earliest or latest, as well as cheapest.

You can book with them directly if you like, and you can read the reviews of travelers who’ve previously used that service.

💡 PRO TIP: Check the operators’ websites (their names are usually mentioned in 12go listings) and see if you can book directly with them.

Whenever possible, I’d choose to book directly with the operators, as they are often cheaper. Plus, it’s less riskier when you book directly from the providers.

💌 The Wrap Up: Best Travel Planning Resources

That’s it! Thank you for reading this far. I hope that my favorite travel planning resources will help you plan your next trip! They’ve made my life easier and I hope they would do the same for you!