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Most Visited Travel and Tourism Websites

Last updated : September 1, 2024

* Some websites ranked in the list above may contain adult content, please use caution when visiting unknown sites.

Most Visited Travel and Tourism Websites Ranking Analysis for August 2024

booking.com is ranked number 1 as the most popular website in the Travel and Tourism category in August 2024. The average amount of time that users spend on the website is 00:08:20 minutes, and they see, on average, 7.61 pages per visit. Pages per visit is a popular engagement metric that is calculated by dividing the total number of website views by the total number of visitors. The bounce rate for booking.com is 34.19%, meaning that 34.19% of visitors leave the website after viewing just one page.

tripadvisor.com and airbnb.com are 2nd and 3rd on the list. In terms of user engagement, tripadvisor.com has an average visit duration of 00:02:45 minutes, an average pages per visit of 3.19, and a bounce rate of 58.1%. Similarly, airbnb.com’s average visit duration is 00:06:49 minutes, its average pages per visit is 14.20, and its bounce rate is 35.07%.

agoda.com is a top Travel and Tourism website that ranks in 4th place. On average, visitors remain on-site for 00:06:00 minutes and 30.34% of those visits bounce after viewing just one page. In addition, the average website pages viewed per visit is 6.23.

Number five on our list is expedia.com, a top Travel and Tourism website. Visitors see 6.47 pages per visit and spend 00:05:56 minutes on the website. The bounce rate for expedia.com is 37.77%.

Come again next month for the updated website ranking & traffic analysis of the most visited Travel and Tourism websites!

FAQs About The Top Travel and Tourism Websites

Question: Which is the most visited Travel and Tourism website? Answer: booking.com is the most visited Travel and Tourism website in August 2024.

Question: Which is the 2nd most visited Travel and Tourism website? Answer: tripadvisor.com is the 2nd most visited Travel and Tourism website in August 2024.

Question: What are the top 5 most popular Travel and Tourism websites in the world? Answer: The top 5 most popular Travel and Tourism websites in the world in August 2024 are: 1. booking.com 2. tripadvisor.com 3. airbnb.com 4. agoda.com 5. expedia.com.

The 50 Best Travel Websites and Travel Resources 2024

March 28, 2024

Here’s my collection of the top 50 travel websites and travel resources for all stages of dreaming, planning, booking and remembering your trip based on decades of professional travel. 

The Best Travel Resources for Booking and Planning Your Trip 2024

As a regular contributor to  The Independent’s 50 Best Travel Websites feature , I know my way around travel websites. As a frequent traveller myself, I practically live on the things.

From dreaming about a trip, planning a trip, writing up a trip and reviewing trips for work, these are the travel resources, online booking sites, search engines and route planners I use to help me get the job done. Booking travel without travel agents has never been easier – even if it doesn’t feel like it at times.

So here’s my list of the best travel websites for 2024. It’s the best time to uncover the best places.

If you book or buy through the links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. However, we only ever recommend things we believe in and use ourselves. We also don’t earn a commission from all of these travel websites. Alas ;-)

The Best Hotel Booking Sites for Special Occasions

To find the best hotels needs a little bit of legwork. If you’re looking for somewhere beautiful to stay with a real travel experience, then try these sites first. If you’re looking for something more practical, jump on down to the next section.

Here are the top travel websites when it comes to boutique hotels:

Design Hotels

Beautiful, stylish and with up to 40% off for members, the chic and sleek Design Hotels website is a firm favourite of mine. Membership is free, quick and easy on the eye.

Best Loved Hotels

Best Loved Hotels gathers together properties from the UK and Ireland that show a real passion for what they do. From countryside manors to city break boltholes, I’ve stayed in several of their properties and have loved each one.

Mr & Mrs Smith

You may be forgiven for thinking this gorgeous collection was all about romance, but beyond finding great places for anniversaries and honeymoons, Mr & Mrs Smith cover great child friendly places too. Not just a website for inspiration, you can book directly on the site.

Small Luxury Hotels

The name says it all. Small Luxury Hotels   collect together independently minded hotels on their website and promise – and deliver – an authentic travel experience.

Leading Hotels of the World

Another website that wears its heart on its sleeve, Leading Hotels of the World gather together more than 375 luxury properties (including resorts) around the world.

MyBoutiqueHotel.com

With a great eye for design, MyBoutiqueHotel.com , as the name suggests, sources boutique hotels from around the world available for direct booking. Properties are combined into an easy on the eye collection, with curated lists for main cities plus the ability to create your own shortlists as you narrow down your choice. Membership is free and the themed lists save hours of research. You’ll find budget and luxury boutique hotel choices and can drill down to those suitable for work, for the kids, for romantic getaways and more.

The Best Hotel Booking Sites for the Best Deals and Specifics

These are the best travel websites for 2024 for booking flight and hotel packages together or for searching for accommodation when you have very specific needs. These online travel agencies let you trawl through thousands of places to stay in the blink of an eye. Plus, several offer exceptional hotel deals for your next adventure.

cozycozy.com

Describing itself as a search engine for accommodation, CozyCozy.com is an exciting newcomer on the hotel booking block. It rounds up offers from hotels, rentals, hostels, treehouses and boats into one easy to use platform. You’ll find the giants, like Booking.com and AirBnB and VRBO, as well as smaller accommodation solutions too. By searching with Cozycozy.com, you can save yourself a lot of time. They won’t cover everything. But they come pretty close.

A few more things to note. They guarantee that the price you see is the price you pay. They have a range of filters that go further than the rest (think searching for a hairdryer or washing machine.) And, my favourite. They have an “unusual” tab that opens up possibilities you may never have known existed. Yurt for one anyone?

Lastminute.com

I’ve grown old with Lastminute.com , originally because I fell in love with the name. But over the years, I still find them useful for last minute city break or resort based holidays (vacation packages if you’re from the US.) They’re an online travel agency with easy to navigate interface and lots of last-minute deals!

Expedia is SO big and all-encompassing that it’s sometimes easy to get lost within the website. But that’s also its strength for when your travel plans don’t fit into the travel sites I’ve mentioned above.

TripAdvisor

The great green travel website can really give you an inside look at a hotel. Yes, some of the reviews are fake but even the bad reviews can be helpful. One person’s “bad review” because there was no nightlife is another’s blissful discovery if they want a quiet, relaxing stay.

Plus, you get the benefit of booking through a trusted source with backup. AND the TripAdvisor community is really helpful if you have specific niggly questions about tourist destinations or are looking for great ideas.

Booking.com

Booking.com offers more search filters for hotels than anything else I’ve come across in the travel industry. When the specifics really matter (rather than the sense of atmosphere or design) then I turn to Booking.com It’s a powerful hotel search engine, with guest houses and self-catering options as well.

Top tips for finding the best travel deals

• Look for off peak options whenever you can.
• Don’t just stick to the big booking websites. Check out the smaller, unique travel websites as well.
• Consider flying from regional airports.
• Have a system! Our handy Travel Toolbox © will help with this.

Finding Great Flight Deals

There is, quite simply, an art to finding a good flight. Not just in terms of cost but also in terms of comfort and connection. It really is a useful life skill to be able to skip the travel agent and find what you want yourself.

With that in mind, check out our guide to the  best flight booking hacks for savvy travellers here.  

Then, get acquainted with the following flight search engines, for both domestic and international flights.

Skyscanner is the travel agent boyfriend or girlfriend with special deals you never had. Skyscanner listens, remembers your birthday, cleans your windscreen and empties the bin even when it isn’t its turn.

Well, OK, it doesn’t do any of that but  it DOES make it very, very easy to look for flights. Instead of forcing you to enter the same details in, or tie you to a date, Skyscanner uses filters and choices that simplify the flight-finding process. You can also search by price and switch currencies between dollars, euros, sterling and more. For both domestic and international travel.

If you have any flexibility in your planning, Skyscanner can let you search through the whole month for the best fare, slide filters for time of day, number of connections, just about anything. The only weak spot is searching for flights with infants, where the system is a little glitchy. Other than that, it’s one of the best airfare sites.

Don’t be put off by the watery name. Kayak is a meta search engine that crawls the web for flights and lets you sift through the results with ease. If you’re committed to finding the cheapest flights, then make sure you check everywhere you can.

Google Flights

Fellow travel professionals swear by Google Flights, although it’s never quite become one of my favourites. The strength of using Google’s software is that it responds quickly to real time changes. Perfect if your flight has just been cancelled because of weather or some other external event and you need to find your way home quickly.

You can even use Siri. “Hey google, give me search results for flights to New York!”

Travel experiences await.

The Best Travel Websites for Driving Holidays

You’re in road trip heaven here. We love road trips and have everything for them. Check out these great resources for planning a road trip.

Your Road Trip Toolkit

• The road trip essentials you need to know about
• The Ultimate Road Trip Planner  with printables and handbook
• 101 fun road trip questions for your next drive
• I nspiring road trip quotes for your instagram caption ideas.

AA Route Planner

This is another travel website that I love for its simplicity. Want to know how to get from A to B? Enter it in the AA Route Planner. It shows you a map and clear journey times in a split second. You can just leave it at that or add in stop off points and adjust for traffic and so on. The only problem is that it only covers driving in Europe.

MapQuest offers fantastic coverage of the United States and is free and easy to use to help plot our road trips.

Google Maps

Google Maps , on the other hand, cover the world. But it’s slightly more fiddly to use. It’s a lifesaver while actually on the road but it’s also useful in planning.

You can save destinations, plot itineraries and tweak public maps for your own trips. And – did you know that you can download maps and directions offline? Indeed, you can. It’s not only an online travel site.

Car Rental Travel Resources

I’ve driven cars all around the world and used all kinds of car rental companies and rental cars. Sometimes needs must but these days, wherever possible, I book through a reputable, international company. Then I look for car rental deals.

Hertz is one of my favourites. It’s so widespread and well-organised. Plus, as an inside tip, if you sign up to their Gold members programme (for free) you can quickly get lots of benefits.

However, for more of a search comparison site, I use Holiday Autos and then open RentalCars.Com in a new tab.

• Don’t forget to download your free copy of our car rental checklist here.

Healthy Tray of Treats Room Service at One Aldwych, Covent Garden

The Best Travel Resources for Health

Centers for disease control and prevention.

Clearly, you should consult your own doctor before you travel. But, the CDC Travel Website is the one my medical friends recommend. So, don’t rely on it entirely. You do need an appointment with a real person. But it’s helpful to get an idea of what vaccinations and medication you are likely to need for certain countries before you decide to book. This applies all the more if your situation has changed due to a recent illness or pregnancy.

The Best Travel Websites for Saving Money

Money saving expert.

Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website firmly focuses its attention on a UK audience. It provides regularly updated and researched guides on essentials from currency exchange to travel insurance and finding cheap flights.

They also crunch the numbers with credit cards, publishing spreadsheets and tables to help you navigate the world of credit card rewards and the best way to save money.

Travel Insurance

I’d always recommend checking out the guide above before you book. But one of my favourite places to go for travel insurance is Heymondo.

Roaming Costs: Airalo

Unless you have roaming fees included in your usual phone package, remember to switch off mobile data when you travel.

Instead, embrace the brilliance of an eSIM. That means, you switch SIM cards without having to physically pop the plastic cover out of your phone using the back of an earring, hoping you don’t lose it before you head home again.

I’ve tested Airalo all across the world, including North America, Europe and the Middle East. It’s fantastic. So quick. So much money saved.

Train Travel Resources

Db rail planner for train travel in europe.

I love the DB site. It covers almost all of Europe and has an English version online travel website that is so easy to use.

National Rail Journey Planner

National Rail itself may be long gone but as a travel website, the National Rail Journey Planner is the best I’ve found to negotiate the different rail networks of the UK.

Eurail (Formerly InterRail)

Forget the sweaty backpacker image. The Eurail network includes First Class rail travel through glossy transport hubs. You can buy a range of rail passes or simply use their maps, itineraries and suggestions to help you plan your rail trip through Europe.

Heathrow Express

This remains the fastest way to reach the city centre of London from London’s Heathrow Airport, as well as Paddington Station, the gateway to the west, southwest and Wales. Using the Heathrow Express website in advance, you can book tickets for as little as  £5.50. Plus, children 15 and under travel for free.

The Elizabeth Line in London

A sneaky little bit of inside info. To save money on the Heathrow Express, take the slightly slower “normal” train from Paddington to Heathrow instead. Costs a fraction of the price and is generally more comfortable.

If you’re looking to travel through Japan, then you can’t miss their high speed shinkansen trains. They’re part of what Japan is famous for. Buy your Japan Rail pass before you go to get the best deals as a tourist.

The Best Travel Websites for Honeymoons and Anniversaries

While you can build your own honeymoon through the travel resources above, niche travel website 101 Honeymoons takes the hard work out of the equation for you. It filters honeymoons by month, interest and family situation, with trusted input from some of the top travel writers in the trade.

My Favourite Cruise Travel Resources

Everyone has different tastes. I prefer smaller cruises with plenty of cultural and adventurous options and excursions. Look for cruise lines which aim to introduce people to the destination and respect local customs rather than just keep people on the ship.

I would highly recommend Avalon Waterways for cruises in Europe and beyond and Uncruise Adventures for small ship cruising in Alaska.

In 2022, I took my first giant cruise with Princess Cruises – and you can read what that was like here.

The Best Tour Companies

It took me years to believe it but sometimes joining a tour, just for half a day, is a great way of connecting with locals and learning new skills.

These days, it’s easier than ever to find just the tour you need as one of the latest trends has become a permanent fixture. In popular destinations, it’s also useful to use these sites to skip the queues and buy your tickets in advance.

You can search for recommendations on travel blogs (ahem) or head straight to the big search sites.

I’ve tested both of these across the world and would highly recommend them:

• Get Your Guide has great cancellation policies and an easy booking process.
• Viator has a huge collection of local guides, transfers from the airport, cooking classes and more.

The Best UK Travel Websites

Self catered cottages.

For ease of use, the app that comes with Sykes Cottages makes it easy to plan a trip away in snippets of down time in a busy life. Quality Cottages sweeps some gorgeous luxury cottages into view in Wales.

Glampingly remains my favourite site for finding quirky yet comfortable glamping spots in Europe. Want to know why? Check out this collection of the best treehouse holidays in the UK.

With a mix of glamping and alternative places to sleep, C anopy and Stars fills in the gaps.

A special, self-catered foodie twist

To add a sense of luxe to your self-catered holiday, order in a gourmet meal from One Fine Dine. This private jet catering company now packages up incredible meals with full instructions on how to finish them off and plate them up. Adds a lovely sense of occasion to a self-catered trip away.

In Conclusion

And one last note. Are you American and wondering why I’m not talking about dream vacation packages? I am, we just call them holidays in the UK. And car rentals are hire cars. And travel guides are, well, travel guides. I guess some things stay the same after all ;-)

Did you enjoy this collection of the best travel websites and travel resources for 2024? Bookmark this list of travel websites on Pinterest for later.

For more travel tips, check out our travel resources on how to plan your next trip here.

Our Favourite Travel Resources for 2024

• Download your FREE pre-trip checklist
• Download your copy of the Ultimate Travel Packing Checklist

Some of the best travel resources can be those you create yourself. Here are some creative travel journal ideas to get you started. Future you will be grateful!

• Internet ›
• Reach & Traffic
• Leading travel and tourism websites worldwide 2022-2024, by monthly visits

Most popular travel and tourism websites worldwide from April 2022 to January 2024, based on average monthly visits (in millions)

Additional Information

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February 2024

April 2022 to January 2024

all devices; based on Semrush, trends data

Other statistics on the topic Airbnb

Accommodation

• Market cap of Airbnb worldwide 2020-2023
• Airbnb revenue worldwide 2017-2023

Leisure Travel

• Revenue of leading OTAs worldwide 2019-2023
• Estimated EV/EBITDA ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment

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Statistics on " Airbnb "

• Estimated EV/Revenue ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment
• Marketing/revenue ratio of leading OTAs worldwide 2019-2023
• Airbnb revenue worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Airbnb revenue distribution worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Airbnb operations income worldwide 2017-2023
• Airbnb net income worldwide 2017-2023
• Airbnb costs and expenses worldwide 2017-2023
• Airbnb costs and expenses worldwide by type 2017-2023
• Airbnb nights and experiences booked worldwide 2017-2023
• Airbnb nights and experiences booked worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Average nights per Airbnb booking worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Airbnb gross booking value worldwide 2017-2023
• Airbnb's gross booking value worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Total global visitor traffic to Airbnb.com 2023
• Number of aggregated downloads of leading travel apps worldwide 2023
• Data collection among global most privacy demanding mobile iOS apps 2023, by type

Other statistics that may interest you Airbnb

Online travel companies

• Premium Statistic Estimated EV/Revenue ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment
• Premium Statistic Revenue of leading OTAs worldwide 2019-2023
• Premium Statistic Estimated EV/EBITDA ratio in the online travel market 2024, by segment
• Premium Statistic Marketing/revenue ratio of leading OTAs worldwide 2019-2023

Company information

• Premium Statistic Market cap of Airbnb worldwide 2020-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb revenue worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb revenue worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Premium Statistic Airbnb revenue distribution worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Premium Statistic Airbnb operations income worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb net income worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb costs and expenses worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb costs and expenses worldwide by type 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb nights and experiences booked worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb nights and experiences booked worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Premium Statistic Average nights per Airbnb booking worldwide 2019-2023, by region
• Premium Statistic Airbnb gross booking value worldwide 2017-2023
• Premium Statistic Airbnb's gross booking value worldwide 2019-2023, by region

Website & app

• Basic Statistic Leading travel and tourism websites worldwide 2022-2024, by monthly visits
• Premium Statistic Total global visitor traffic to Airbnb.com 2023
• Premium Statistic Number of aggregated downloads of leading travel apps worldwide 2023
• Premium Statistic Data collection among global most privacy demanding mobile iOS apps 2023, by type

Further related statistics

• Premium Statistic Total assets of Booking Holdings worldwide 2007-2023
• Premium Statistic Gross bookings of Booking Holdings worldwide 2015-2023, by type
• Basic Statistic Revenue of Booking Holdings worldwide 2007-2023
• Premium Statistic Net income of Booking Holdings worldwide 2007-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of visitors to the U.S. from Russia 2011-2022
• Basic Statistic Travel arrangements: Online purchasing in Great Britain 2019, by demographic
• Premium Statistic Change in number of visitors from Mexico to the U.S. 2018-2024
• Premium Statistic Annual revenue of China Tourism Group Duty Free 2013-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of bookings through Booking Holdings worldwide 2010-2023, by segment
• Basic Statistic Number of Marriott International hotels worldwide 2009-2023

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

• Total assets of Booking Holdings worldwide 2007-2023
• Gross bookings of Booking Holdings worldwide 2015-2023, by type
• Revenue of Booking Holdings worldwide 2007-2023
• Net income of Booking Holdings worldwide 2007-2023
• Number of visitors to the U.S. from Russia 2011-2022
• Travel arrangements: Online purchasing in Great Britain 2019, by demographic
• Change in number of visitors from Mexico to the U.S. 2018-2024
• Annual revenue of China Tourism Group Duty Free 2013-2023
• Number of bookings through Booking Holdings worldwide 2010-2023, by segment
• Number of Marriott International hotels worldwide 2009-2023

Most popular inspiration

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Most popular itineraries

60 Best travel websites for researching & planning a trip

Researching and planning a holiday is like decorating a room. It’s all about the preparation. (Yes, you can have a great spontaneous holiday, but there’s a lot of luck involved in that…).

In the good old days, before the internet, we relied on travel agents, but in today’s digital world, a wealth of online websites and apps are on-hand to help.

But too many. The choice is overwhelming and the quality and trustworthiness variable.

So which ones are the best? Which ones should you use and for what purpose?

Planning a holiday – even before you book it – involves several steps. We’ve broken down this process and recommended the best tools to use at each stage, to make your research and planning process as simple, painless, fast –and enjoyable – as possible.

Where to go & what to do

1.1 ideas & inspiration.

Discover new places you never thought of going to, wonderful things to see & do on your travels. Add them to your travel bucket list.

Bucket List Travels

Concept: This specialist travel inspiration site works with an impressive list of leading travel writers around the world to recommend the world’s greatest travel experiences. It also offers destination guides, simple itineraries that link the top attractions together, and recommends the best places to stay while you’re there. You can search and filter through the recommendations e.g. to find recommendations by price, or that are suitable for kids. You can also save your ‘finds’ to your travel bucket list.

Pros: the search and filtering is unique amongst travel inspiration sites, and it allows you to sort through the thousands of expert recommendations to find what you want quickly – a huge time saver. The destination guides have curated, not comprehensive recommendations, so they’re effectively handing you a list of great recommendations for when you visit a new destination, i.e. the ‘bucket list’ experiences not-to-be-missed. The adding to favourites is also unique – great for ‘saving for later’ those brilliant experiences or places to stay you come across.

Cons: coverage is limited to only 100 or so destinations, which mainly centres on the UK and western Europe. Non-Europe content is limited (but being added in the near future).

When to use: Use it before any other site to decide on where to go or what to do next, and to get an outline list/itinerary of what you want to do there. Then supplement that with tours & activities from other inspiration sites listed here, especially the ones with the local authentic experiences.

Website : https://www.bucketlisttravels.com/

Concept: Instagram is a social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos with their followers. It’s popular among individuals, influencers, and businesses for promoting their personal brands or products.

Pros: Insta is a great source of travel inspiration, as it allows you to discover new destinations, attractions, and experiences through visually appealing and engaging content. You can follow travel influencers and bloggers for tips and recommendations, discover lesser-known destinations and experiences, find out about local events and festivals, and see how others experience a particular destination, which can provide ideas for your own itinerary.

When to use it: Day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Website : https://www.instagram.com/

Concept: Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to discover, collect and share images and videos on virtual pinboards. Users can create boards on any topic and save Pins from other users or external websites, as well as search for inspiration and ideas. The platform has over 400 million active users worldwide.

Pros: Like Instagram, it’s a great visual travel inspiration tool, for discovering what to do in the world and specific destinations.

When to use it: For visual searches of potential destinations, and saving ideas (pins) for future trips.

Website : https://www.pinterest.com

Travel & Leisure

This high-end, luxury travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world. Being a magazine, it focuses on the new and topical, so it’s a showcase of the latest and greatest in travel if novelty is your thing.

Pros: It’s top-quality content and genuine expertise from leading journalists and travel writers, with selective, curated recommendations. They have tonnes of round-ups of the ‘world’s best’ too.

Cons: Recommendations can be a bit too curated, missing lots of smaller experiences, and are often outside of the budget of most travellers. It’s primarily a magazine with an online afterthought, so recommendations tend to get buried in long pages of text. The site search turns up articles/posts that you then have to read further, rather than specific recommendations, and you can’t filter anything which is the big time saver.

When to use it: Sign up for their social feeds and newsletters, which often feature great round-ups like: “Best place to…”. Great for day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Honourable mentions: other great magazines for this include Conde Nast Traveller (featured later) and Wanderlust .

Website : https://www.travelandleisure.com/

Travel blogs

Concept: Travel blogs (too many to mention, but pretty much all the same in format) feature personal experiences, advice, and recommendations, usually written by an individual traveller or group of travellers who share their travel stories, photos, and tips with their audience.

Pros: You can’t beat personal experience when it comes to travel recommendations, and often these experienced author-travellers offer good insights and tips. They’re also usually an interesting, engaging read.

Cons: for planning a trip, blogs are hit and miss. They are written from the perspective of the blogger i.e. where they have just been or what they have just done, so it’s pot luck if that coincides with where you want to go or do next. They are also flat, text articles – you can’t search or filter their recommendations.

When to use it: Follow the ones you like if you enjoy reading such things. Once you have your list itinerary roughly planned out, they’re worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights (if you can find something relevant).

1.2 Top attractions, activities, tours & events

If you’re ready to start planning your trip, and nothing on your travel bucket list fits the bill, take a look at one of these sites to decide:

Concept: See listing above.

When to use: Head to their search results that shows all 100+ destination they cover, then use the filters to select a destination based on cost (cheap v expensive), or theme  (e.g. Science & Nature, Art, History & Culture) etc. You can also handily filter the list according to the best month of the year to visit.

FlightsFrom

Concept: this handy website lists all of the destinations you can fly to from every airport, on what days and with what airline.

When to use it: great for identifying where you can fly to from your local airport, and planning multi-destination trips.

Website : https://www.flightsfrom.com/

Google Flights

Google’s flight aggregator and comparison service consolidates flight schedules from all of the world’s commercial airlines in one place. By entering your dates and departure/arrival airports, you can quickly see who flies there, on what dates and at what times, and the price of the fare. Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

How to use it: The ‘Explore’ function allows you to specify a departure airport and see the cheapest flights to any destination you can fly to from that airport, for certain dates and trip durations – so great if you don’t have a fixed destination in mind. You can also handily add more than one departure airport if you have more than one departure option. (NB FlightsFrom shows you all available flights; Google Flights shows you available flights and their prices). NB Skyscanner has a similar ‘Explore everywhere’ feature, however, it is only available on the app and you can only enter one departure destination).

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/flights

This travel inspiration website provides a wealth of travel content, including destination guides, hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Pros: there’s loads of decent quality content, and their network of experts worldwide have good credentials and specialise in the destinations they write about.

Cons: The recommendations feature in text-heavy pages, making it hard to use for planning. You can’t filter, or save your favourites, and if you site search, you then have to wade through lots and lots of article posts. The content can also be quite random – as if it’s what someone felt like writing at the time, rather than being structured.

When to use it: Once you have your main list drawn up from the other sites listed here, it’s worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights.

Website : https://www.tripsavvy.com/

This global deals site specialises in providing exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences to its 30 million members worldwide (membership is free). They partner with over 5,000 travel suppliers to source cut-price inventory.

When to use it: Sign up for their newsletter, then sit back and let the deals roll in. If you’re price-conscious, or just love a deal, then use their offers to decide on where to go and what to do next. Works best if you’re flexible on dates – most deals will be for when demand is lower i.e. in winter and/or outside of school holidays.

Website : https://www.travelzoo.com

1.3 What to do when you get there: attractions

Now you’ve decided on a destination, what should you do there? What are the top attractions, the must-see-and-dos, and the ‘bucket list experiences not to be missed?

How to use it: Navigate to the destination guide webpage. Our expert writes not only curates the top travel experiences – attractions, activities, tours & events – for you, but also further splits them as either ‘bucket list’ i.e. the not-to-be-missed, or ‘other’ experiences – nice to know about, but only for if you have time/interest.

Also, be sure to scroll through the destination page photo gallery for a pictorial summary.

Google Travel

Concept: Google’s travel planning platform offers a range of tools to help users plan their trips. It includes Google Flights (see later), a hotel aggregator and holiday rentals

For deciding what to do when you go somewhere, type your destination into the search, then click on the ‘Things to do’ side icon for full listings. It tries to list in order of priority/popularity, which mostly works, though it is an auto-generated list. The written descriptions come from Wikipedia, so it lacks that human expertise and it all feels a bit soulless (to me anyway). The interface however is easy to use, and you can add favourites to a trip list.

How to use it: After you’ve been to Bucket List Travels for the curated, expert list, if you feel you need more in your itinerary, and/or you’re worried we may have missed something, then use Google Travel to check the full comprehensive listings and see if there is anything else you want to do.

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/

Lonely Planet

Concept: The original ‘guidebook’ company, they have destination guides for pretty much every place on the planet. Their expert writers, who must specialise in the destination, provide comprehensive listings and recommendations for sightseeing, accommodation and food & drink, plus very detailed logistical and practical information.

How to use it: They’re comprehensive, not curated. They include a lot of minor attractions that the majority of travellers would not want to bother with, and there’s not a lot of imagery, just text. I use them as a cross-check once I have outlined what you want to do. It’s too detailed/comprehensive for researching and planning – unless you’ve got days to spare. Handy to take the book with you, though, for the in-depth local tips when you’re there.

Honourable mentions: all of the guidebooks are broadly similar. Also try Rough Guides , Fodor’s , Frommers’ , Rick Steves (Europe only) and DK Eyewitness .

Website : https://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Tourism Associations

Concept: A local government body, tasked with promoting tourism to the destination, that will provide comprehensive information, advice and recommendations for visitors to both attract and facilitate their visit. Being the local specialist, they should know better than anyone what to see & do, and they often include many smaller, high quality attractions and tours that others will miss. However, the quality of websites is highly variable (best in the most developed, richer nations as you’d expect), and they have to be impartial so there is no curation and little opinion.

How to use it: A great resource when it’s done well. If you’re going to a developed nation, I would say they are a must-visit. Use them to start drafting up your list.

Concept: A video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and view videos on a variety of topics. It attracts billions of monthly active users. There’s a digital tonne of travel content on there, covering every aspect – from destination recommendations to videos on how to book flights.

When to use it: if you’re a visual person, YouTube is a great resource for travel inspiration. It’s jammed packed these days with ‘What to see in X’, with video and image slideshows showing you the top sights. It tends to be top sights only, but a good place to start drawing up your shortlist. It’s also great for travel advice and tips.

Website : https://youtube.com

1.4 What to do when you get there: local experiences

‘Authentic’ experiences enable you to experience the real destination, to experience its culture, to meet its people, and to live like a local. Indeed, many travellers prefer them to crowd-thronged, tourist-spoiled ‘big ticket’ attractions. Here are some resources I use to discover them in my chosen destination:

Air BnB experiences

Concept: This service allows individuals and small businesses to offer unique activities and tours to travellers in over 1,000 cities around the world. Experiences can range from food tours to pottery classes to wildlife safaris, and are designed and led by locals who have expertise in their field.

Pros: Coverage is extensive, and the experiences can be a more immersive and authentic way for travellers to connect with the local culture and community.

Cons: Some of the experiences listed I feel are more for locals than tourists, and it’s tours/classes, so not really attractions you visit like museums.

When to use it: If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with these experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com/experiences

Atlas Obscura

An online travel guide that features unique, offbeat and even bizarre travel experiences – be it unknown/obscure destinations or little-known experiences within well-known destinations. It also offers tours and experiences to some of the destinations featured on the website.

Pros: Once again, this is a site for those seeking off-the-beaten-track, authentic and unusual experiences.

Cons: It’s very niche, aimed at the truly intrepid traveller. If you’re a mainstream tourist, wanting to tick off the main sites, this is not the site for you.

When to use it: If you want to avoid the big tourist sites and experience something unique and different in a destination. If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with the Atlas Obscura experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.atlasobscura.com/

Spotted by Locals

Concept: A travel website/blog that provides insider city tips from locals. Each city ‘guide’ is curated by a team of handpicked city residents, featuring their favourite local spots for food, drinks, culture, and entertainment.

Pros: it’s a great source for finding those authentic local experiences, away from the tourist hoards.

Cons: Recommendations/articles are quite random in subject – and you have to scroll through pages and pages of blog posts. You can’t search or filter by interest for example. Coverage is also limited to only 80 cities.

When to use it: They also don’t cover the big-ticket attractions first-time visitors will want to see, so use this for filling gaps in your itinerary or for second visits once the big ones have been ticked off.

Website : https://www.spottedbylocals.com/

1.5 What to do when you get there: tickets & tours

Get Your Guide

Offers a very similar proposition to Viator (see below). GyG though is Europe-based, so it has much stronger tour options in Europe than the US-based Viator, which conversely has a better US inventory.

Website : https://www.getyourguide.com/

Concept: An online tour ‘aggregator’ combines and lists multi-day organised tours, both small and large group, from all the leading tour operator brands like Intrepid , G Adventures and Exodus. They are to guided tours what Booking.com is to hotels. Search is by destination, so you need to know where you want to go first.

Pros: Listings are comprehensive and up to date, giving you a window on all of the options available that you can search and filter to your specific need.

Cons: Always beware the pricing on aggregators. Operators have learned to use low pricing to get you to click through to them, then load that up with expensive extras and upgrades once you are on their site (or they lie about the price in the first place).

When to use: If you want to go on a guided tour, this is a great place to start. It will tell you who the best tour operators are, what are your tour options, and the prices.

Website : https://www.tourradar.com/

Concept: A ‘tour aggregator’ offers a wide range of tours and experiences in destinations worldwide, through local third-party tour operators. (Think of them as the Booking.com or Expedia of tours). Tours can be anything from 1-hour walking tours to 10-day organised tours. A US-based company (owned by TripAdvisor), it’s much more comprehensive in the US than in Europe.

Pros: They partner with the best local tour operators, so the tour quality is good, and you have someone to complain to if things go awry. The site search allows you to sort through the extensive catalogue quickly.

When to use it: Work out where you want to go, and get a feel for the top attractions, somewhere else, then come to Viator to book tickets and tours.

Website : https://www.viator.com/

1.6 Draft an outline itinerary

Now you know what you want to see & do in your destination, work out a rough day-by-day itinerary to ensure you get to do everything you want to do, with minimal travelling around.

Concept: see listing above.

How to use it: For most destination guides (where it makes sense to do so), our writers have set out simple itineraries of what to do and where to go on each day of a trip. For cities, they are usually 3- and 5-day itineraries (the 5-day version has the same first 3 days, then two additional days on top). They link all of the top attractions together in the most logistically convenient way, minimising travel, and including recommendations for lunch and dinner while you’re there.

Rick Steves Europe

Rick Steves is a travel guidebook author and television personality who specialises in European travel. His guidebooks offer practical advice and recommendations for budget travel, including tips on accommodations, dining, and sightseeing. His approach emphasises cultural immersion and connecting with locals, and his guides often include suggested walking tours and off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Pros: Rick’s guidebooks offer much more in-depth expertise than the others for Europe, with high-quality, well-researched recommendations based on experts with years of experience. The website has great travel forums for asking fellow travellers questions.

How to use it: It’s not a site for researching where to go and what to do. It’s better once you know where you want to go, and really want to drill into the fine detail. However, like Bucket List Travels , the site does have helpful itineraries that set out where to go and what to do day-to-day.

Website : https://www.ricksteves.com/

1.7 Specialist travel

Cruise Critic

The world’s leading online cruise review website and community provides comprehensive reviews, ratings and forums to help you assess cruise vacations. It’s the TripAdvisor of cruises (and not surprisingly, it’s owned by them), so just like with TripAdvisor, don’t believe everything you read.

When to use: We would personally recommend finding recommendations elsewhere e.g. from cruise travel journalists writing for newspapers, magazines or even Bucket List Travels. Then come to this site to check out the reviews of your shortlist.

Website : https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/

Euan’s Guide

Set up by wheelchair user Euan MacDonald MBE, this disabled access review website is the go-to tool for many disabled people wanting to travel in the UK and beyond. It shares accessibility information for venues and the experiences/reviews of other disabled users.

Pros: Helps to solve some of the challenges disabled people face, and gives them the confidence to travel.

Cons: the coverage is mainly UK and Europe, but thankfully is widening to the rest of the world at a pace.

Website : https://www.euansguide.com

We Love 2 Ski

This excellent online resource provides skiers and snowboarders with up-to-date and comprehensive information on ski resorts, conditions, accommodation, equipment, and more. The website features detailed reviews, insider tips, and expert advice on everything related to skiing, as well as an active forum for the ski community to share their experiences and knowledge.

It’s managed by 3 ski experts, with a wealth of expertise between them and who really know their stuff and take pride in keeping the information up-to-date. It’s one of those more genuine sites that care about their advice and is not trying to constantly do the hard sell.

When to use: if you want to go skiing, start here. If you’ve already found somewhere to go or stay, be sure to check what they say about it here before you go.

Website : https://welove2ski.com/

Getting there & around

2.1 flights.

Concept: a flight deal finder service that sends you price and deal alerts on flights. You enter your preferred departure airport and they send you notifications of great deals, and price movements. Tickets are discounted 40-90%, for flights 2-6 months out in Economy, Business and First classes.

How to use it: If you’ve got flexible travel dates, or have a bucket list destination in mind. Sign up and wait for a deal.

Website : https://www.going.com/

Google’s Flights is a flight aggregator that allows you to find and compare flights. It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts. The pricing can sometimes be inaccurate, however, and when you click through, it’s usually for a basic fare without any luggage.

When to use it: Start your flight search here. You may have to add in the extras, then compare prices, or you may not get the cheapest option.

Honourable mentions: Skyscanner and Kayak offer similar services. In my experience, they pretty much have the same inventory. It really comes down to which interface you prefer.

Hopper is one of the US’s most successful travel apps, selling over $4.5B of travel each year. It helps you find the best deals on flights, hotels, home rentals, and car hire by analysing trillions of data points to predict when prices will rise or fall. When you set your dates, you see a helpful calendar showing when prices are highest and lowest, and you can sign up for price alerts.

Their second big USP is their ‘price freeze’ option, where you pay a small fee (5%-15% of the price) to freeze the price for a limited duration (options range up to 3 weeks). If the price goes up, you pay no more; if it goes down, you pay the lower price (like insurance). They also offer Flight Disruption and Cancel for Any Reason Guarantees.

Pros: Simple to use, the most accurate predictor of prices, really helps you get the best deal (if your dates are flexible). The insurance options have been a godsend to many in the recent years of travel disruption and inflating prices. Unlike other flight aggregators like Kayak or Skyscanner they show the different airline fare options within the app, so you don’t get caught by the artificially low basic fare enticing you to click through (see Skyscanner summary).

Cons: None that we can see! It really is an excellent service.

When to use it: Once you know where you want to go, come to the site to get the best deal on flights, car hire and accommodation. Simple as that.

It works best if you’re dates are flexible, so you can pick the cheapest travel dates, and/or if you have time before you book – take out the freeze option and you can be assured that the price will only come down, or sign up for the price alert.

Website : https://hopper.com/

Concept: This flight aggregator, owned by Chinese-backed Trip.com and based in Edinburgh, does the same thing as Google Flights. . It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

When to use it: I’ve not found much difference in pricing to Google Flights, though I much prefer Skyscanner’s user interface. It really comes down to personal choice.

Honourable mentions: US-based Kayak , originating in the US, offers a similar service to Skyscanner.

Website : https://www.skyscanner.net/

The Points Guy

If you’re someone that loves to save on travel using reward points, check out this advisory site by Brian Kelly. As he puts it, it’s ‘your go-to source for all things travel, points, miles, credit cards and more’. His advice covers both where best to earn points, and how best to spend them. There’s both a US and a UK website , with custom advice based on where you reside.

He gives up-to-date advice and tips in this ever-changing, evolving space that cuts through all of the confusion, and helps you find the best deals in the market, and explains how to take advantage of them.

How to use it: Visit here first if you’ve got points to burn, or will have and want to know the best scheme to sign up for.

Website : https://thepointsguy.com/

2.2 Car hire & taxis

Rentalcars.com

A global car rental booking platform that provides customers with access to over 60,000 rental locations in more than 160 countries worldwide. The site enables you to compare prices and features from a wide range of rental companies. Customers can also benefit from 24/7 support and free cancellation on most bookings.

I’ve regularly rented cars via them, and never found a cheaper deal. The customer service and support are also very good. There’s not really a reason to start looking anywhere else.

Website : https://www.rentalcars.com/

It doesn’t really need any introduction… but just for completeness. Founded in 2009, Uber is a ride-hailing service that connects riders with drivers in most major cities around the world. Through the app, you can request and pay for rides, track your driver’s location, and rate the experience.

Uber’s meteoric rise to a global brand can be attributed to solving several customer issues with then-taxi firms: they would find you a ride tell you how long it would take to arrive, how much the fare would be upfront, and sort payment automatically through your account, thus avoiding the need to have enough cash on you.

Other leading ride-sharing apps include Lyft (US and Canada) and Cabify (Spain & Latin America).

2.3 Rail, Bus & Ferry

Concept: Omio is a comprehensive travel search and booking platform that helps users find and book the best deals on trains, buses, and flights across Europe. The website offers a user-friendly interface, with real-time price comparisons and flexible search options to suit individual needs and preferences.

When to use: It’s a great tool for planning and booking multi-modal trips.

Website : https://www.omio.co.uk/

Rail Europe

Concept: Rail Europe is a one-stop-shop for planning and booking train travel in 33 European countries. The website offers a wide range of tickets, passes, and packages for different destinations and budgets, as well as information on train schedules, routes, and stations. Note, they don’t cover local trams and metros, it’s intercity trains only (that includes Eurostar). Enter the destinations you want to go to and they’ll recommend the best value ticket/pass.

For multiple trips, you’ll likely be recommended a Eurail pass. This brilliant invention allows you to travel on over 30 European railway operators and some ferries too. Kids under 11 travel free with an adult.

Website : https://www.raileurope.com/

2.4 Route planning

Google Maps

Who hasn’t used google Maps? And for good reason. Its coverage is comprehensive, it’s simple to use, and it’s is invaluable when you’re trying to figure out how to get from A to B in an unfamiliar place. It shows travel times and distances in multiple transport modes: on foot, bike, by available public transport and by car.

How to use it: use it to help plan upfront your transportation from point to point in your itinerary.

Website : https://www.google.com/maps

Hands down the best service for planning and booking journeys within and between countries. It combines and compares transport options from over 5,000 transportation providers across 160 countries, then recommends the cheapest, fastest, and most convenient routes for different modes of transportation including flights, trains, buses, and car rentals. The website also provides comprehensive travel information. It will quote prices, distances, times, mileage, route numbers, and which companies to book.

Their slogan is “Discover how to get anywhere by plane, train, bus, ferry & car – and it does exactly what is says on the tin.

Website : https://www.rome2rio.com/

Where to stay

3.1 'best' hotels - curated selections.

Whatever you go, there are always thousands of hotel options. These sites do the research work for you and use experts to curate a list of the best, based on location, quality and quality.

How to use it: For all the destinations we cover, we provide you with a curated list of the best hotels – for all budgets, from the mainstream to the unusual.

The selections are made by our writers, who must not only be leading travel journalists, but also specialise in that destination (either living there or visiting frequently). The writers have at least inspected and usually stayed in the properties they recommend.

Conde Nast Traveller

Similar to Travel & Leisure above, this high-end, luxury global travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world.

When to use it: They do great round-ups of the ‘best’ hotels to stay in a destination – but obviously at the top end. If you’re not that price sensitive, start with their shortlist.

Honourable mention: Travel & Leisure, their great rival, also does destination hotel round-ups.

Website : https://www.cntraveller.com/

In my view, it’s the best ‘guidebook’ website for researching and planning a trip online – once you know where you want to go. They simply and helpfully list out a reasonably long short list of things to see & do and places to stay, and rate them each from 1-3, depending on how good they are.

However, like all the guidebooks online, coverage is comprehensive at times, requiring a lot of time and effort to research through it. The website is also swamped with banner ads that are off-putting and annoying.

How to use it: A good place to start your hotel search. They generally do select good options, though it’s more aimed at budget travellers.

Website : https://www.frommers.com/

The Telegraph (Travel)

This long-standing British newspaper does a fine job of curating and rating (out of 10) the best hotels in destinations around the world, for all budgets. The reviews tell you what you want to know – style, location, key amenities – without being overwhelming.

As for Bucket List Travels , selections and reviews are written by top travel writers who have inspected and usually stayed in the property. The number of hotels they recommend is a lot more than Bucket List Travels – and includes ones we certainly wouldn’t include – but it does give you a longer list to start with.

When to use it: if you care about where you stay, and really want one of the best places, this is a great place to start your start for somewhere to stay.

Website : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/

TripAdvisor

The original hotel review site, it has since expanded to become the global platform for reviews (and information) on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and other travel-related businesses. It also offers a variety of travel-related content and resources, including travel guides and forums.

Over the years it has, sadly become increasingly corrupted with fake reviews, but they can’t fake all of them and as long as there are at least several hundred reviews, the score should be reasonably reflective.

When to use it: I personally like to start drawing up a shortlist of places to stay on other sites listed here, then do a quick check of the reviews of each on TripAdvisor. I also filter to see only the negative comments, then look at 1) how recent they are 2) if it is a one-off complaint i.e. someone had a refund request refused and 3) if it is something that can and probably has been fixed e.g. a rude receptionist. Small room sizes, traffic noise from road proximity, and so on – these issues are not easily fixed.

Website : https://www.tripadvisor.com

3.2 Boutique hotel collections

If it’s a boutique hotel you’re after, try one of these specialist sites. They only list high-quality properties that meet their individual criteria.

Design Hotels

As the name suggests, this website offers a curated selection of over 300 independently owned and operated hotels and resorts around the world, each chosen for its unique design and aesthetic. The site emphasizes design and architecture and offers a range of luxury and boutique properties.

Pros: It’s a brilliant resource for finding unique and interesting stays, especially with modern and/or minimalist interiors.

Cons: if you’re not that worried about hotel design, then it doesn’t offer a lot of value other than a list of interesting hotels.

When to use: if you’re interested in design, and prioritise that in your accommodation, then this is a great resource. If it’s not that important, you’re better off elsewhere with a greater selection and better prices.

Website : https://www.designhotels.com/

This boutique hotel booking website offers a carefully curated selection of stylish, unique and independently-run hotels and vacation rentals around the world. They offer in-depth reviews of each property, personalised recommendations, and a friendly, 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The curated selection of unique and stylish properties is exceptional and of a consistently high quality that you can rely on. Each property has been personally inspected by staff. The reviews, from both customers and staff, are honest and in-depth and tell you who it is and isn’t for, rather than pretend everyone’s going to love it.

Cons: There’s a limited number of properties in many destinations, and it is property, not destination, led – meaning is easier to find the place, then decide on the destination rather than the reverse (which may suit).

When to use: if their style of property i.e. unique, high quality, small and independent, is what you like/are looking for, there’s no better resource to use. If they don’t have something in your preferred destination, then look elsewhere, but check first.

Honourable mention: Sawdays offers a similar service, but they’re UK & Europe only.

Website : https://www.i-escape.com/

Mr & Mrs Smith

This first-rate, UK-based hotel booking website curates handpicked, boutique hotels around the world, each personally inspected to meet their high standards of facilities, service and location. The website has in-depth reviews of each property, with insider tips like what are the best rooms to book, without being overwhelming.

There are also exclusive benefits for members like gifts on arrival, or late checkouts, and a 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The standard of hotels is consistently high, so much so that the brand has become a trusted stamp of quality. The booking service and post-sales support is efficient yet very personable, and hotel staff genuinely care about ‘Smith’ customers so you feel very welcome when you arrive.

Cons: They have limited or no options in many destinations. They also can’t match the benefits of the OTA reward schemes like Booking.com .

When to use: The site is great if this is your style of hotel, and you want to be looked after at every step. Limited coverage is only an issue if you are dead set on a destination. If you’re not really that bothered where you go, or at least are open to suggestions, check this excellent site first.

Website : https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/

Secret Escapes

A members-only hotel booking website that offers exclusive deals and discounts on luxury hotels and vacations around the world. The site negotiates special rates with hotels and resorts, available to their members only.

Pros: There some great deals and genuine exclusive discounts to be had, though max discount tends to be 30% (and average of 15%-20%), but still not to be sniffed at. They also do a good job of curation, so you know you’re getting a decent hotel.

Cons: You still need to compare prices to other sites like Booking.com and the hotel’s own website, as there are lots of sneaky tricks and breaking of agreements that going on behind the scenes and you never really know where the best deal is until you check.

When to use: if you know where you want to go, it’s well worth checking in for a deal.

Website : https://www.secretescapes.com/

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

This website has personally visited, verified and vetted every single one of its 520 hotels in more than 90 countries. The criteria for inclusions I small (<50 rooms, non-chain and offering the highest standards of luxury and service.

Pros: it’s an exceptional collection of outstanding hotels, and the brand guarantees a high-quality, luxury stay. Members get 10% off and extra (tiered) benefits like upgrades and late checkouts. Hotels welcome their members with open arms, as they usually spend well, and SMH look after their customers.

Cons: things this good come with a price tag. Many hotels are out of reach of most travellers’ budgets.

When to use: if you’re a discerning, occasionally demanding, traveller, that specifically wants a smaller hotel, this is a great place to start your search. Check other websites though for better prices – even with the 10% off – but if you’re not that price sensitive, it’s nice to book with someone who cares, as opposed to a hotel production line like Booking.com.

Website : https://slh.com/

Tablet Hotels

This New York-based brand, founded in 2000 and well-known across the US, has curated over 3,500 boutique & luxury properties around the world. In 2018, it was purchased by and merged with Michelin.

Similar to Mr & Mrs Smith, they curate a selection based on criteria, offer a full booking service, and exclusive benefits for ‘Tablet Plus’ members like VIP upgrades and free valet parking.

Pros: the curated selection guarantees a measure of quality, and some of the VIP benefits are really nice ones to have and make you feel a bit special.

Cons: You inevitably will pay more than on other sites, and sometimes they overpromise and underdeliver on the VIP experience – much depends on the attitude of the hotel. The criteria for selection is much broader than a Mr & Mrs Smith, so you’re not getting that real consistency of accommodation, and the personal relationship that Smith has with its properties.

When to use: If you want to feel like a VIP and value those benefits over saving a few pennies or cents, then they are worth a look.

Website : https://www.tablethotels.com/

3.3 Home rentals & stays

Launched in 2008 and needing no introduction, this global accommodation powerhouse forever altered the holiday market. Now with more than 300,000 listings in over 190 countries, it has expanded from its original core offering of ‘spare rooms to rent’ to include apartments, treehouses, villas – whatever you can stay in, it’s likely to be on AirBnB.

Pros: the sheer number of options and global coverage means you’re highly likely to find something you want. The site is simple and easy to use, with lots of photographs, user reviews and star ratings.

Cons: The product and website is great, but they don’t really care about customers, and customer service if something goes wrong can be challenging to find.

When to use: whenever you’re looking for something other than a hotel, and/or something more authentic or with a local feel. It’s especially good for families and groups wanting to stay together in one place.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com

Couchsurfing

This global hospitality exchange enables you to stay with a host for free for a few nights – be it sofa or, if you’re lucky, a bed. You simply create a profile, search for hosts, and request to stay with them. Surprisingly, perhaps, it works, and over the years the site has built a loyal following and a strong community of ‘couchsurfers’ who help and support each other, and even organise events around the world.

When to use it: When budget is tight and you just really want somewhere to crash, and/or you’re looking to connect with other travellers and the local community.

Website : https://www.couchsurfing.com/

This upscale holiday home and apartment rental specialist has a large catalogue of privately-owned places to stay, which you can filter by key criteria like price, location, number of bedrooms etc. Each listing is vetted by their team to ensure it meet minimum standards. It’s owned by the Expedia Group.

The quality of homes for rent is exceptional and varied, from lake houses to treehouses, and the search and filtering makes it quick and simple to find something that suits. Customer service is good, much better than AirBnB for example.

Website : https://www.vrbo.com/

Villas of Distinction

Villas of Distinction is a luxury villa rental company that offers an extensive portfolio of properties in over 50 destinations worldwide. They provide personalized service to help clients select the perfect villa for their vacation, and offer a range of amenities such as private pools, chefs, and concierge services to enhance the guest experience.

When to use it: When you’re looking for an independent, self-catering stay in an uber-luxurious villa. It’s top-end, with a price tag to match.

Honourable mention: One Fine Stay offers a similar service.

Website : https://www.villasofdistinction.com/

3.4 Campsites & Hostels

HostelWorld

The hostel specialist is the go-to place for booking budget accommodation in over 170 countries – both dormitory beds and private rooms. The website and mobile app allow you to browse and book from a wide range of hostels, hotels, and guesthouses, with a focus on affordable and social options. There are also offers travel guides, reviews, and a loyalty program for frequent users.

Pros: The UX is really smooth, the inventory (number of options) is much is larger than on the major hotel search engines (OTAs), and it does a much better job of setting out dormitory bed pricing and deal options. There are a number of ‘community’ features that encourage you to connect with fellow travellers.

When to use it: If you’re on a budget or want to meet people when you’re travelling, start here with your accommodation search.

Website : https://www.hostelworld.com/

If you’re looking for something off-grid, preferably unique and unusual – but don’t want to compromise too much on luxury, this website is for you. It’s a directory of for luxury campsites and stays, with various accommodation options ranging from tents to tipis, log cabins to vintage caravans. Coverage is mainly Europe & UK, though they have plans to expand beyond.

Website : https://campaglam.com/

3.5 Price comparison

Concept: This Expedia-owned hotel search engine allows you to compare prices from various booking sites for over 1.8 million hotels in more than 190 countries. You can search & filter to discover hotels matching your criteria, then each hotel listing shows the price of a room on the various OTA sites. The site also offers user reviews, ratings, and filters to help you decide.

For all aggregators, the prices are often inaccurate, and not the cheapest option when you click through. The OTAs (like Expedia, Booking.com) have learned over the years how to manipulate them to ensure their listing comes up first with the cheapest price.

When to use it: It’s a good place to start your hotel search, especially when you have specific requirements such that you can use the on-site filters to narrow down the options quickly. If you discover a hotel you want somewhere else, always come and check the prices here before booking.

Note – it doesn’t always include the hotel direct price (so make sure you check separately), and sometimes the prices are inaccurate when you click through.

Honourable mentions: HotelsCombined , owned by Booking.com and the main rival to Trivago, is known for having better deals as they search lesser-known booking sites (though that can come with risks). Both I suspect of bias, however, in pushing Booking.com and Expedia products. Skyscanner also now offers accommodation price comparison, and they have the advantage of being independent and unbiased of the leading OTAs. Kayak also offers price comparison – but they are owned by Booking.com too. I prefer Trvago above the rest purely because they also helpfully show you show the lowest price depending on the ‘deal’ type i.e. cancellable or non, including breakfast etc. which obviously makes a big difference to the ‘cheapest’ price.

Website : https://www.trivago.com

3.6 Accommodation booking

Booking.com

The world’s largest accommodation online booking service that lists over 28 million hotels (and now rentals, B&Bs and hostels) from around the world. They offer a tiered loyalty program called ‘Genius’ The three levels offer 10%, 15%, and 20% discounts (respectively) on bookings at hundreds of thousands of participating locations. They also include priority customer service help, and free breakfast packages or room upgrades when possible.

Pros: The website is easy to use, with excellent filter options, and once you have created an account, you can book within a few clicks. Their inventory is phenomenal, with most hotels in the world signed up. The loyalty program is accessible and with great benefits.

Cons: The loyalty program only applies for a limited number of participating hotels, so you won’t always get the benefits. Hotel websites often still have a better deal, and some don’t release all of their room types to Booking.com so you can’t see these rooms.

Booking.com may also confusingly say ‘sold out’ when there are rooms available still on the hotel website. So always check the hotel website before booking.

When to use it: Start your accommodation search here, and then once you’ve narrowed down the options with the filters, check other sites and the hotel website for a better deal.

Honourable mention: Agoda is essentially a carbon copy of Booking.com – they are owned by the Bookings Holdings Group. Agoda has it’s roots in Asia, and is based in Singapore, so it has more comprehensive Asian content. If that’s where you’re going, it’s worth using.

Website : https://www.booking.com

Concept: same as for Booking.com, with a similar tiered loyalty program, though at time of writing, the tiered benefits are not lifetime like they are with Booking.com. You need to be a regular customer to benefit from the higher tiers – not the case with Booking.com.

Their famous loyalty program of stay 10 times, earn one free reward night – now the basic tier – requires you to book at least once every 12 months or your reward night expires.

Honourable mention: Expedia is essentially a carbon copy of Hotels.com. They’re owned by the same group, and effectively have the same hotel inventory and pricing. There are slight differences in the reward program – I think Hotels.com’s one is better, hence why they got the nudge.

Website : https://hotels.com

HotelTonight

Owned by AirBnB , this mobile app and website offers last-minute hotel rooms at discounted rates. Inventory ranges from budget to luxury, and you can use the filters to specify your location and preferences. There’s also a ‘Rate Drop’ feature that discounts same-day prices after 3pm.

When to use: if you need a last-minute room, it’s definitely worth checking for a deal. However, in my experience, their deals weren’t especially good compared to other standard booking sites – though the ‘Rate Drop’ does deliver discounts.

Website : https://www.hoteltonight.com/

Food, drink & entertainment

4.1 food & drink.

A food and dining news website that provides reviews, guides, and information on restaurants and food trends in various cities across the world. The site offers articles on topics such as dining culture, chefs, industry news, and more. They also feature videos and podcasts related to food and restaurants. The quality of content and recommendations is excellent, and they’ve regularly won awards to their food & wine journalism.

When to use it: Officially it only spans 23 US cities, and if that’s where you’re headed, it’s a good place to check. However, that’s for detailed coverage. For most cities, however, they have a round-up of ‘the best restaurants in X’, covering all price ranges. Just search for it on their site.

Website : https://eater.com

Foodie blogs

Local foodies blog about anything from food trucks to Michelin-starred restaurants. In any destination, especially cities, the food scene changes so fast that almost any corporate website will not keep up. Local foodies are out testing daily, and take pride in keeping their blogs up to date with the latest and greatest. They also cover the smaller, more niche places that only a local would know about.

There are too many to mention, but search for ‘food blogs in X’ by Googling (or Binging) and see who you can find.

When to use: When you want to discover some insider foodie experiences in a destination, and get some good restaurant tips that are not Michelin-starred.

Concept: Increasingly the go-to resource for vegan and vegetarian dining around the world, run by vegans, as the popularity of the movement continues to gather a welcome pace and momentum. The site is also becoming a thriving community hub, with active forums and listings of fellow vegans in local cities that you can message for tips.

When to use it: to discover the best vegan and vegetarian dining options in your destination, or to get tips/advice from the local community.

Website : https://www.happycow.net/

This stalwart former magazine is still the place to go in the digital era for local listings of ‘what’s on’. It provides comprehensive listings, information and reviews on cultural events, concerts, theatre performances, film screenings, and other entertainment in cities around the world.

When to use it: If you’re wanting to book in some entertainment on your trip, this is the best place to start looking.

Website : https://www.timeout.com/

Yelp is a platform that allows you to search for and review local businesses, including restaurants, bars, shops, and other services in 220 cities in 32 countries . It’s best known for restaurant reviews, however – some of the other business listings can be fairly light. As with all review sites, it suffers from fake reviews,  but the volume is sufficient to give you an overall sense of what’s worth a try.

How to use it: I use it to draft a short list of places to try, then cross-check that with other sources and/or my hotel if I’m staying in one. Concierges will give good restaurant tips, but in my experience, the options they give are limited.

Website : https://www.yelp.com

Before you go

Centre for Disease Control

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. The website provides comprehensive information and resources on health and safety topics, including infectious diseases, vaccines, travel health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and more.

When to use it: before you go to a new destination, stop here to check any disease risks and vaccination requirements (you can search by country from the home page). It also has helpful advice for people with special health conditions , and/or doing specialist activities.

Website : https://www.cdc.gov/

5.2 What to take

This global online store is a specialist in all things travel accessories, with over 200 products covering everything from adapters, to travel pillows and luggage security.

How to use it: have a skim before you go. I always end up seeing/buying things I never even knew I needed!

Website : https://go.travel

Packing List Checklist App

A handy app to create packing checklists – a godsend for people like me who always forget their sunglasses. A plethora of packing list apps, I like and use this one before it’s simple, quick – and free. No upgrades needed.

You manually create your own list(s) – you can create multiple different ones, for different holiday types for example – then select from a list of a fairly comprehensive list of suggested items to start you off. Most of the time that will do it, though you can add your own if needed. When it comes to packing, you can tick things off as and when they’re in the case.

How to use it: Next time you get a few free moments, create a packing list. Add to it as and when things pop into your head. Tick them off when you pack.

Website : https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/packing-list-checklist/id1235121075

5.3 Travel planning

TripIt is another travel organising app that allows you to store all of your travel plans in one place. Users can forward their confirmation emails for flights, hotels, and rental cars to the app, which will then create a master itinerary for their trip. The app also provides real-time flight alerts, directions, and travel recommendations.

Website : https://www.tripit.com/web

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The 50 best travel websites

Whether you want to know where to go, how to get there, the finest places to stay or what to avoid at all costs, this list is a treasure trove of information for the trip of a lifetime, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

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The experts:

Mark Hodson founded 101holidays.co.uk , and 101honeymoons.co.uk

Abigail King is a travel writer and blogger, insidethetravellab.com

Srin Madipalli is CEO of Accomable

Julia Buckley is acting head of travel at The Independent

Mathura Premaruban is PR director at Hills Balfour's HB Luxe

Cynthia Drescher is a freelance travel journalist and digital editor

John Walton is an aviation journalist and deputy editor of Runway Girl Network

“If, like me, the idea of queuing for a restaurant while on holiday turns your stomach, this is your website,” says Srin. “With more than 40,000 restaurants to choose from, it’s still the biggest and best – and lets you search for places to eat by district, cuisine and review score, before booking your table for free. It’s particularly handy if you’re travelling through busy cities like London, New York or Sydney, where bagging a table at a peak time in a popular spot can be impossible without a reservation. For European cities including Paris and Madrid, French website, the Fork, is a little fiddlier to use, but does the same job.”

opentable.com

Sky Park Secure

“While no one’s going to get excited about airport parking, the fact remains that the costs – and inconveniences involved – can quickly mount up,” says Abigail. “This site compares more than 300 airport car parks at over 28 airports to help find you the best deal, but the algorithm goes beyond budget alone. Car parks are monitored for quality and the deals include official airport parking and meet & greet options as well as the more economical park and ride end of the scale.”

skyparksecure.com

“So you’ve landed at your destination and you’re overwhelmed with options of what to see, eat, and do, but there are some challenges to accomplishing it all,” says Cynthia Drescher. “Viator offers activities that help travellers get to the heart of the local experience while removing some of the roadblocks. For example, I was in Tallinn and wanted to a see more of Estonia without having to rent a car on my own. Through a Viator experience, I joined a small group daytrip to nearby beaches and hiked through a quarry known for its otherworldly scenery. On my first night in Hoi An, Vietnam, I left all my dinner decisions to a translator and a Viator tasting tour of the best banh mi sandwiches. Greatest idea ever.”

Google Maps

“It might sound obvious, but with its local information, handy satnav directions and downloadable map options, Google Maps is a godsend for the modern traveller,” says John Walton. “There are so many options – walking, driving, transport and more – that you should make sure you have a handle on all of them before travelling.”

maps.google.com

“The last few years have seen a growth in the number of websites and apps that promise to act as a personal travel assistant, but in my experience, this non-travel focused site wins hands down,” says Abigail. “For a monthly or yearly fee, you can submit 20-minute requests by email, phone, text or direct to a 24-hour cyber-team who will spring straight to work. Savour your travel time by allowing someone else to zip through your to-do list: confirm the hotel booking has a cot, find three suggestions for dinner, call to explain flight is delayed, find quickest way to the art museum, and so on. These days, I wonder how I got things done without it.”

fancyhands.com

“Want to figure out how to travel in comfort as well as style? Routehappy (where I used to be Director of Data back in 2014) will help you pick a flight based on whether there’s good legroom, wider seats, new planes, faster wifi, fewer neighbours and a lot more,” says John Walton.

routehappy.com

“This is a flight search engine for people who are flexible on when they fly,” says Mark. “So you can type in a request such as, ‘London to Los Angeles leaving next week under £800’ and see what comes up. If the fares are too high, you can set an email alert that will let you know when the price reaches your budget. It’s intuitive, fun to use and nicely designed.”

“Can't remember the name of your hotel? Simply forward all your email booking confirmations to this nifty planning tool and it will pop them into in one sleek, shareable itinerary, covering everything from flights to restaurants,” says Srin. “It's particularly useful if, like me, you're a bit of a planning nut, or if you have a complex itinerary and plan to venture from place to place.”

“Perhaps one of the best things about travelling to a new place is trying new food and drink when you’re there,” says Cynthia. “Eater is a site that reports on everything from the latest trends in ingredients (and where to try them) to which chefs are opening new restaurants and where. Eater’s fantastic and exhaustive airport dining guides even aid you in deciding what to eat when you’re in between places.”

​Euan’s Guide

“Looking for accessible places to visit? Euan MacDonald, the man behind this eponymous guide, and a fellow power chair user, has dedicated the past four years to digging out the best accessible attractions with unfailingly honest and detailed reviews,” says Srin. “It’s particularly useful for the UK, though more than 30 countries are covered. I particularly like that it goes beyond the usual well known tourist attractions to include more esoteric stuff like pop up festivals, farmers’ markets and little community theatres.”

euansguide.com

“Yes, Hipmunk is a travel search engine for the likes of airfare, hotel rates, and rental cars, but it’s also an innovator in that space,” says Cynthia. "Instead of simply organising results by what’s cheapest, Hipmunk applies an ‘agony‘ filter to show which flights, ranked by length of travel time combined with layovers and price, will be best for your money. They are then displayed on a grid that better represents what part of your day the plans will occupy, in order to help you plan around it instead of giving over an entire day to travel.”

hipmunk.com

“Skyscanner faithfully pulls in airfares into an easy-to-search, easy-to-use flight finder and fare comparison website,” says Abigail. “What sets it apart is the number of ways you can filter your search results. You can narrow it right down to a preferred airline, flight duration and departure time or go wild and search for ‘anywhere in the UK’ to ‘anywhere in France’. It’s an essential part of my travel armoury.”

skyscanner.net

Owners Direct

“There’s a lot to dislike about Owners Direct, starting with the buggy 1990s-style website,” says Julia. “But it’s also a brilliant resource for self-catering accommodation that bypasses the middle man – you’re communicating direct with the owners. Where Airbnb is great for short city breaks, Owners Direct is unbeatable for longer stays – especially in the UK, where most cottages in places like Cornwall rent by the week. It’s part of the HomeAway behemoth (including VRBO) which means that you can also find great places in Europe and the US as well – two of my all-time favourite stays in Greece and California I found on here. Just remember to make sure the person you’re communicating with is the real owner of the property, and bypass the ‘reserve’ button and make an ‘enquiry’ instead – that way, you don’t pay the site the commission fee (about 10%) for putting you in touch.”

ownersdirect.co.uk

Accuweather

“Like a true Brit, I like to keep a keen eye on the weather,” says Srin. “This site is one of the best for travellers, as it lets you home in on off the beaten track destinations, from lesser known Greek islands to villages in northern Thailand. You can see an hour-by hour forecast for on-the-day planning, as well as an extended forecast for the entire month ahead, though the accuracy of this is somewhat doubtful.”

accuweather.com

Canopy and Stars

“Sawday’s was one of the first companies to jump on the glamping bandwagon, and it really shows,” says Julia. “This website is always my go-to if I want something slightly different. Glamping can be grim, but I know that these have all been vetted, and the reviews, though brief, give a great impression of what you’re in for. There’s a huge worldwide selection.”

canopyandstars.co.uk

Google Flights

“There’s nothing better than Google Flights for figuring out your flight options,” says John. “Top tip: if you know your airport codes, you can search to or from up to five airports at a time, which is ideal if you’re within striking distance of several airports or want to hit a region but don’t care which airport you fly into.”

google.com/flights

Time Out London

“I grew up in London, but still feel like I haven’t scratched the surface when it comes to the capital’s myriad attractions,” says Srin. “This regularly updated guide is here to help you out, with comprehensive listings that cover everything from the biggest exhibitions and musicals to roof top bars, new street food hangouts and intimate gigs. I love the regular weekend guides, which always include free things to do.”

timeout.com/london

“A door-to-door travel search engine that shows times, prices and even carbon emissions, whether you plan to fly, drive, take the train, bus or ferry,” says Mark. “For example, it’s a two-hour flight from Gatwick to Venice, but from my front door to Piazza San Marco will take six hours 24 minutes, apparently, including a 41-minute ferry ride to Ospedale, followed by an 18-minute walk. Getting to the Falkland Islands would take me 31 hours 40 minutes. It’s a fun and addictive site, but it can be beaten: it couldn’t find a way from my house to the South Pole.”

rome2rio.com

Google Translate

“I remember when Google first offered its translation service, just over 10 years ago, the results were either dodgy or indecipherable (generally both),” says Srin. “These days it’s pretty slick. I use it for translating websites into English, but it comes into its own when you’re travelling, and are struggling for a word or need to ask a question.”

translate.google.co.uk

Vital Vegas

“There’s nothing like local blogs for finding out the newest openings and trends in a place, but make sure you’re getting a blog that’s free from PR influence,” says Julia. “Vital Vegas is loathed by many Sin City PRs because it consistently breaks the stories they don’t want you to hear about, whether that’s charging for ice in drinks or decreasing the shot size in gamblers’ free drinks. But it also has its finger on the pulse of what’s going on.”

vitalvegas.com

TripAdvisor

“Love it or hate it, TripAdvisor is the daddy of hotel review websites,” says Mark. “Yes, it can be manipulated by unscrupulous hoteliers, but it has such a large bank of hotel reviews that the occasional bad one rarely influences the overall score. And it’s not just hotels – reviews of restaurants and tourist attractions are generally reliable, too. Its smartphone app is particularly good too.”

tripadvisor.co.uk

“If you’re heading to a country that speaks one of the languages Duolingo covers (including, most recently, Japanese) you could do a lot worse to learn the language than this fun language learning app,” says John. “Some of the phrases are delightfully weird, and its AI gets hung up on grammar points occasionally when you might really be preferring to learn vocab, but it’s free, easy and includes oral and listening options.”

duolingo.com

“This is the perfect site for the eco-luxury traveller, ” says Mathura Premaruban. “Founded by Juliet Kinsman, she has travelled the world to bring together the finest luxury and boutique hotels that positively contribute to and change their local communities and ultimately the wider world. It is ideal for those that don’t want to compromise on luxury but still want to be environmentally and socially aware.”

“The world is so huge, and there are just so many places to go that organising your ‘must visit’ list can be a daunting task,” says Cynthia Drescher. “Well, Hitlist is here to help. Not only does it organise your ever-expanding destinations and allows you to share your picks with friends, but it constantly scrapes for updated airfare data to let you know when ticket prices are a steal. Technically it’s an app, but Hitlist has also rolled out a Google Chrome extension named the ‘Wandertab’ that draws from the company’s wealth of destination and airfare deals to inspire you with destination images and information every time you open a new tab in the browser.”

hitlistapp.com

Holiday Pirates

“Amid all the cheap deals sites, there’s nothing like Holiday Pirates,” says Julia. "It combs the internet to find the very best deals on package holidays, city breaks and flights – even super-cheap ‘mistake’ fares. You can regularly get a week in the sun for about £100 and longhaul flights from around £200. What’s even better is that it often packages up things for you to suggest the best deal, so it’ll tell you to book this flight, that hotel and that hire car individually.”

holidaypirates.com

Weather2Travel

“Some travel brochures and tour operator websites have selected climate information, but it can be misleading,” says Mark. “For detailed climate information about any destination, Weather2Travel is the place to go. It shows everything from humidity levels to sea temperatures, for any month of the year, as well as current conditions and there’s an interactive tool to find your chances of getting caught in a tropical storm.”

weather2travel.com

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

“The leader in the world of special escapes, Small Luxury Hotels of the World is exactly as the name suggests,” says Abigail. “In addition to vetting boutique hotels for you, its membership scheme provides extra perks such as free upgrades, late check-ins and sometimes wine on arrival.”

Flight Aware

“You could use Flight Aware to check if a flight is due to land on time but that would kind of miss the point,” says Srin. “More than anything else, this is a really cool piece of tech. It tracks thousands of aircraft in real time as they cross countries and oceans to reach airports around the globe. On a map it’s mindboggling to look at, and a must for tech and travel geeks alike.”

uk.flightaware.com

“There’s a lot of ski information on the web, much of it badly written or out-of-date,” says Mark. “WeLove2Ski is put together by specialist travel writers and is packed with balanced resort reviews, snow reports and advice on everything from technique to clothing. It’s the best all-round ski website.”

welove2ski.com

“Easy Taxi has changed my life,” says Julia. “I’m not a fan of Uber or other ridesharing apps, but this works by hooking you up with real, licensed cab drivers in 170 cities in the world – and you can pay by credit card or cash. It’s not just about not needing to queue anymore (the taxi comes to you). It has changed the way I travel in South America – in places like Buenos Aires or Rio, where you’re warned to be wary of flagging certain cabs, this provides extra security, and it also helps with language barriers, because you’ve already input your destination into the system.

easytaxi.com

“If I want to know what’s going on in Europe, I go straight to The Local,” says Julia. “It’s a great curated feed of news with nine editions from around the continent, and it also has more fun content – like a recent piece on Italian hand gestures. I love it.”

thelocal.com

Matrix Airfare Search

“This one is definitely for travel nerds,” says Mathura. “This no-nonsense site allows you to plan complex multi-route journeys and find the lowest fare. The only snag is that you can’t purchase directly from ITA Software but if you find a fare you like, you can give the information from this site to your travel agent or airline when making a booking. I spend hours on it planning far-flung trips.”

matrix.itasoftware.com

AA Route Planner

“Available to members and non-members alike, the AA website includes a free route planner that goes beyond the UK into the rest of Europe,” says Abigail. “It’s perfect for checking driving times, distances, and other useful tools include lists on what you’ll need for driving in different countries, from snow chains to fluorescent jackets.”

theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp

Rentalcars.com

“I rent a lot of cars in the US and have never found a cheaper deal than what Rentalcars.com offers,” says Julia. “They’re unbeatable in America (and add on extras, such as free one-way rentals in California and Nevada which is great for road-tripping) and they’re also very strong on UK and Europe rentals. They have excellent customer service too, if anything ever goes wrong. Always my first port of call.”

rentalcars.com

Context Travel

“An afternoon with Context will change your impression of guided tours forever,” says Abigail. “Context recruits academics who are passionate about their subject and who live in the area they’re working in. Thus, you’ll find experts on the Cold War in Berlin and architectural experts tracking down Roman remains in central London. In-depth, informed and interesting, these walking tours are simply outstanding.”

contexttravel.com

CDC Travel Health

“This is THE website my doctor friends swear by when it comes to getting trustworthy travel health advice,” says Abigail. “Of course, you should always consult your own healthcare professional, but this website can give you a crucial heads-up when it comes to working out what vaccines you’ll need. It also provides the latest news on travel health updates country by country and region by region. Essential reading.”

cdc.gov/travel

“Instagram gets a bad rap,” says Julia. “And for good reason – the rampage of tourists visiting sites that have become famous on the ‘Gram and spending more time on their filters than on looking at a destination really grinds my gears. And yet Instagram is still a great place to get inspiration of where to go and what to see. I tend to skip over professional travel Instagrammers for more authentic feeds – I love @jetsetcd , run by a travel journalist who takes amazing photos (fellow panellist Cynthia Drescher), @lisajanemurray who highlights climate change through her photography and @megancstarr , a solo traveller who specialises in Eastern Europe.”

instagram.com

Green Traveller

“If you’d rather not fly – whether you hate the experience or worry about your carbon footprint – Green Traveller is packed with holiday ideas,” says Mark. “There’s everything from yurt camps in the south of France to ski touring in Scotland, all of which you can reach by train, coach or ferry. The site is well-designed and written by expert journalists.”

greentraveller.co.uk

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice Guide

“While it may not be the most exciting recommendation, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website still earns a place on my essential travel checklist,” says Abigail. “Problems abroad change fast and it’s always good to have reliable advice on what you’re dealing with. In addition to the latest security alerts and some travel health advice, you’ll find useful tips on what you can pack in your hand luggage plus the necessary emergency information should the worst occur while you’re away.”

gov.uk/foreign-traveladvice-guide

Spotted By Locals

“Rather than rely on an outdated guidebook, Spotted By Locals allows you to get tips from insiders,” says Mark. “Locals in 40 European cities blog about their favourite restaurants, bars, shops and festivals – it’s like having a friend show you the best spots. You can buy a PDF guide to each city or download the free smartphone app.”

spottedbylocals.com

“A travel currency service is never going to be the most inspiring thing on the web,” admits Srin. “But a few clicks on this site gets you free next day delivery and more bang for your buck than the high street. They’re a young company, and keen to please, so I got a friendly follow up call from their team too. If you travel a lot, I find their prepaid currency cards are handy. You just transfer money from your bank onto the card, and can spend or withdraw it anywhere that accepts Mastercard worldwide.”

“Specialist wheelchair accessible taxis can be ruinously expensive, so this new service is a bit of lifesaver,” says Srin Madipalli. “It costs the same as a regular Uber but wait times are generally longer due to fewer vehicles. It’s not available everywhere but I’ve found good coverage in London, and you can also use it in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto.”

Runway Girl Network

“Runway Girl Network is run by the kind of aviation experts who know when you’ve used a photo of the wrong plane type in a story,” says Julia Buckley. “But it’s different from other aviation websites because it focuses on the passenger experience, rather than intricate geekery – right down to inflight film reviews. Their knowledge is second to none. Also, it’s run by a woman, Mary Kirby, and makes a concerted effort to increase diversity in its coverage, writers and sources – which is the icing on the cake.”

runwaygirlnetwork.com

Travellers Point

“One of the world’s largest travel community sites, Travellers Point features 30,000 blogs and more than 1.4m photos,” says Mark. “It has active forums where you can ask just about anything, plus a neat travel planning widget. Starting up your own blog takes seconds.”

travellerspoint.com

Design Hotels

“As the name suggests, this website relishes good design when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep on the road,” says Abigail. “Design Hotels presents a collection of more than 300 independent hotels in over 50 countries, with benefits for members ranging from discounts on car hire to deals on the hotels themselves. But the real joy lies in uncovering hotels that please the eye, as chrome bedsteads compete with bare brick and thick velvet curtains for the most surprisingly stylish place to sleep.”

designhotels.com

“The idea behind Airbnb is simple: rather than stay at a hotel, you can rent somebody’s spare room,” says Mark. “Since it launched in 2008, it has become a global phenomenon, with more than 300,000 listings in 192 countries. Not just spare rooms, but apartments, family houses, villas, treehouses, you name it. The site is simple and easy to use, with lots of photographs, user reviews and star ratings.”

airbnb.co.uk

The Man in Seat 61

“If you’re planning a rail trip anywhere in the world, Mark Smith should be your first port of call,” says John. “With suggestions for trips as well as clear explanations of what you get in each class or for each railpass, this is an invaluable resource for figuring out how the trains work and how to buy tickets.”

“I came across this cool mapping tool at an accessibility event in Toronto, and was immediately hooked,” says Srin. “Set up by Maayan Ziv, a bit of a rockstar in the disabled community, it uses crowdsourced data to pinpoint accessible locations on an online map. Perfect for when you’re on the go, and want to pop into an accessible café or bar without the faff of having to do tonnes of research or planning in advance.”

accessnow.me

Furthermore

“This blog from posh US gym chain Equinox goes beyond the ‘what to eat’ and ‘where to stay’-style articles to dispense real advice from sport and nutrition professionals for active travellers,” says Cynthia. “Their guide to holistic eateries and traveller-friendly workout studios in Berlin as well as articles that detail healthy ways to spend a layover offer real, creative solutions and insight you don’t typically find on travel sites.”

furthermore.equinox.com

In Your Pocket

“On a trip to Johannesburg last year, this was the only guide I could find that was up-to-date and informative about the city,” says Julia. “Everything else I saw skirted around what there was to offer and treated it as a hub for Kruger National Park, but this really got under the skin. I’ve been a fan of In Your Pocket since then. Whatever the city, they really know their stuff.”

inyourpocket.com

“Hotel websites can be impossible to sift through, and sometimes they can feel like little more than targeted ads,” says Julia. “But that’s where i-escape comes in. It’s genuinely curated, offers a fantastic selection of mainly independent hotels, and has proper, genuine reviews that tell you who this is and isn’t for, rather than pretend everyone’s going to love it. It’s one of the first places I check if I’m going somewhere.”

i-escape.com

Additional research by Sarah Barrell

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The 10 Best Designed Tourism Websites in the World 2022

Mary Ann Ha , Skift

June 15th, 2022 at 2:30 AM EDT

In a frantic attempt to avoid being left behind, official tourism organization websites are doing their best to catch up to the high expectations of the new traveler — tourists of the post-pandemic digital age.

Mary Ann Ha

Almost every tourist these days is making decisions about their travels based on what they see online. From themed trips to budgeted food tours, travelers crave previews of potential destinations and surf the internet to learn anything they can about a new and exciting spot.

Due to intense levels of pent-up travel demand followed by impulsive and impatient post-pandemic travelers, tourism website design is more important now than ever before. The competitive space for well-designed websites is more ambitious, and reliance on digital platforms as a dependable resource for travel inspiration is at an all-time high. Looking at the Gen Z traveler, it’s easy to notice that attention spans have shortened immensely, and tourists are treating trip planning like a shopping experience, picking and choosing elements of their vacations after engaging in a few seconds of appeal.

With that being said, tourism organizations are slowly learning that the old ways simply don’t work anymore — paragraphs of information on the screen, redirection that continues tab after tab, slow and clunky navigational experiences, depressing color palettes, and promotional descriptions of sites that don’t answer any of the truly important questions, especially for a more conscious traveler worried about climate change, and other threats.

After two years of rapidly-evolving digital growth, several websites have succeeded in breaking out of that dull and repetitive cycle. Here is Skift’s 2022 list of best designed tourism websites — ones that hit the spot both visually and navigationally, and are taking note of what the modern traveler wants, how they think, and most importantly, how they behave.

1. Visit Iceland

The clean-cut and minimalistic nature of Nordic graphic design works well to communicate visual appeal, send concise messages with clarity (or humor), and entice further curiosity with minimal effort, especially in the website world. Visit Iceland leads our list with a transitional homepage display, decorated with background images that hover along the page as they overlap and interact with the text on the screen, making the website feel inviting and alive.

As users scroll further down, the website displays excellent examples of utilizing the organized nature of drop-down menus and vertically moving lists. With a clean white background and bold capitalized black font, readers are able to quickly catch sight of what they want to read, without feeling overwhelmed by options. Blog articles of potential itineraries and Iceland travel tips are also organized in a format reminiscent of Youtube, integrated with carousel elements that are easy to view via mobile phone. 

Accessibility to greener travel options within the website is always a plus — Visit Iceland has an entire page dedicated to helping travelers join in on Iceland’s commitment to preserving their nature, including a list of environmentally certified businesses, a carbon footprint calculator, and an easy-to-follow list of tips for sustainable travel in Iceland.

2. Visit California

While the homepage might look typical at first glance, Visit California’s “Experience California” layout is one of the best designs we’ve seen in the tourism website game. Swipe left as soon as you get onto the landing page (a surprising, but not too complicated way to navigate the site, which keeps visitors engaged), and users are immediately whisked into a three-dimensional space to explore what the state of California has to offer to their tourists.

To the new millennial and Gen Z traveler, design and aesthetic can be just as or more important as destination information and travel guidance. Interactive visuals and bold colors speak to the character of California as a vacation spot, filled with globally cultural experiences and advanced businesses in design and technology — adding to the visitor’s impression of what a trip to California could be like. 

As the home of Los Angeles and the land of influencers, Visit California also fully embraces the use of User-Generated Content as a promotional tool, and displays this in an easy-to-digest format.

3. Z ürich Tourism

Speaking of Nordic graphic design and user-generated content, the official website for the city of Zurich is another example of the excellent use of white space. Dedication to sans serif typography, a two-to-three cool tone color palette, and an extremely simplistic, clean layout keeps visitors from feeling overwhelmed and allows for a breathing space to go through all the activities offered on the website. 

Beneath several of the suggested activities, restaurants, and bars, the Zurich website also labels whether the business is open or the service is being offered in real time, a unique feature that can be extremely helpful for travelers who are looking for last minute places to enjoy or spontaneously plan a day trip.

Their user-generated content page is a delightfully neat design, with the page tab linked as a single hashtag in the top menu. The entire page acts as a unified social media feed, making all their social media coverage on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram visually accessible in one view.

3. Visit Brazil

Visit Brazil has all information and links available on their homepage, split into four sections: Experiences, Destinations, Regions, and Travel Information. 

Aesthetically, a framework of yellow is filled with a line-up of action-packed visuals, picture and video, and a section dedicated to Instagram content. They know their visitors, and they recognize that in-your-face video content appeals to those who are looking for some sort of adventure. The video that takes up the entire homepage display keeps visitors engaged at initial glance, and while the website prioritizes promoting their adventurous activities, they balance “fun” with “necessity” and make sure to give easy access to the safety information travelers will need to know when coming to Brazil.

We all know New York City could be its own state, with experience offerings that are equivalent to those of a country.

Set up like a booking site, the NYCgo’s most impressive elements include the UX framework that is deeply familiar to the modern traveler — searching for hotels or accommodations via a search engine reminiscent to short-term rental or airline sites, being able to “like” and save posts or articles for later referral, and of course, a function that offers filtered options to find activities and locations catered to the visitor’s personal preference.

The bold, graffiti-like font that covers the homepage and is used throughout the website is simple, which is a necessary move considering how much text is on the front page. It’s also a great aesthetic choice, a subtle way of speaking to the headlines that cover billboards in NYC. While the website offers slews of information on the homepage, the way it is formatted and presented to the user keeps the aesthetic uncluttered and down-to-earth.

6. Visit Finland

From the logo, to overall design, to choice of font, Visit Finland’s website displays similarities to another extremely popular rental booking site, but when it comes to approachability and visual appeal, borrowing those design elements works in their favor.

The website is a smooth, transparent, and, of course, familiar experience — one that is both modular and linear, showing dedication to navigational simplicity. The design does not shy away from white space and minimalism much like its Nordic counterparts also on this list. Complete use of full-screen photos and stunning imagery is a highlight, as well as the level of scroll-responsive interactivity visitors experience as they explore the site. 

This website also displays various Finnish activities and locations through the save/heart feature, referencing a user experience often seen in online shopping or Pinterest mood boards. The layout feels particularly responsive to the nature of the Gen Zers who spend all their time on social media “saving” posts and ideas.

7. Visit Australia

Like we’ve seen on other websites on the list, the Visit Australia website is hugely loyal to the tile format, which could feel silly if overused, but because the tiles are lined up and sectioned in a cohesive manner, visitors will find it extremely easy to find options for each and every aspect of destination planning. The homepage is lined with left-right carousels of vertical images, appealing to younger generations and optimized for mobile formats.

Drop down menus are also a highlight for this website design. Instead of cluttering the frame with an overwhelming amount of text, the tile format keeps the menu options visually engaging for the user. Integration of beautiful imagery within every step of the user experience shows great dedication towards marketing the destination, which is, ultimately the main purpose of a tourism organization. 

The Visit Australia website offers everything, from itineraries and cultural or geographical activity guides to budgeting and accommodation deals. Recognizing that budget is an important factor for many travelers is also a major plus for any tourism website, as it keeps website visitors within the website instead of browsing other platforms for “best or most affordable deals”. 

Perhaps the highlight of the site is Explore Australia in 8D, an interactive exploratory experience that allows visitors to move through a map of the entire mainland of Australia, including a few islands surrounding the area, and see what each region has to offer, from attractions to lodging and food.

As much as Peru is receiving growing interest as a travel destination in recent years, the country also seems to be extremely conscious about communicating COVID safety measures and restrictions to potential tourists. The immediate landing page of the tourism website gives visitors easy access to ways to prepare and plan for a trip to Peru from home, beginning with multiple avenues to check and double check updated Covid protocols. Showing this level of diligence to Covid measures not only communicates the fact that Peru takes safety protocols seriously, but also allows for international travelers to cross ‘testing or vaccination requirements’, still a major concern at this time, off their list of potential worries.

The team at Peru Travel also takes advantage of the numerous recognitions, media coverage, and awards that Peru receives as a tourism destination, and pushes that at the forefront of their website design. 

The most exciting part of the website is perhaps the VR page, called Peru 360, where one can “visit” various sites throughout Peru in a virtual reality. While this is a method that has grown in popularity amongst a lot of brands during the pandemic, very few official tourism websites have been successful in offering a well-established experience that feels interactive beyond typical images or videos. 

9. Visit Italy

Italy has long-been a tourist-heavy destination, and the team at Visit Italy knows it. At the forefront of their website are easy ways to search, budget, and book the top tourist attractions through the best deals. Viewers barely need to scroll down the homepage before getting immediate access to the Ticket Carousel, with exact prices listed by attraction or location.

Visit Italy’s website isn’t the most ambitious platform design-wise, but it prioritizes digestible formats, such as buttons for each step in planning or tiled carousels, and feels easy-to-navigate overall, especially considering all the information on their homepage.

It’s clear that the website knows what their visitors need — to beat lines, to get the best prices, and to make the most of their time in one of the most famous cities in the world that Italy has to offer. The site is ideal for the tourist who needs to prioritize planning and booking over aesthetic photo inspirations. The website also acts as a search engine of sorts, and does not shy away from redirecting their visitors to other booking sites or options in order to make the best decisions.

10. Visit Greenland

Visit Greenland’s website also sets up like a familiar search engine site (a trend we are observing across most of the designs on this list) but serves mostly for travel inspiration and local informational purposes. The layout of the website is simple and loyal to the use of white space, which allows for their unique graphic design elements to shine through in this particular design. 

Not only are the three-dimensional illustrations beautiful, but they are also interactive, acting as links to the respective relative pages. 

Aside from engaging geographic and cultural graphics, the website also lines up options of various package tours that lead to external provider links, who are more well-versed in helping potential visitors move forward in their planning and exploration process. Because Greenland is a nature-heavy travel destination, the website focuses on displaying a variety of outdoor activities — based on personal interests or geographical location — in order to prevent travelers from feeling deprived of diverse activities. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Innovative methods in the digital world are getting increasing ambitious day by day and website designs are trying to be as responsive as possible, as to make sure they maintain their presence in the travel planning space.

In addition to the websites on our list, several other tourism organizations are diving into unique measures to gain attention from the ever-so-hungry tourist of the post-pandemic travel world. Interactive games, like Cape Town’s Virtual Game Tourism Campaign , are one of the few ways these organizations hope to attract younger audiences and give a virtual taste of their destination to potential travelers. The Machu Pichu 360 website invites visitors to enter the world of VR and includes auditory stimulants, a step up from the Peru 360 page in our list, that engages both eyes and ears to fill the void travelers have all been experiencing during Covid.

With the competitive space for tourism websites expanding at an increasing speed and mobile apps taking the spotlight from website platforms , tourism organizations and designers will most likely continue to borrow elements of the newly digital world to keep their platforms running.

Tags: climate change , design , digital , gen z , marketing , online travel agencies , pandemic , tourism boards , tourism campaigns , websites

• About the Wonderlusters
• How to Start a Travel Blog
• 300+ Best Travel Websites

300+ Best Travel Websites and Resources in 2020

Travel better and smarter for less with this incredible collection of 300+ of the world’s best travel-related websites and resources . Here are the most visited travel sites from around the world, brought together in one place, categorized by topic and ranked by popularity. You won’t see travel planning as a burden anymore.

Stop wasting time on search engines. Instead, add this page to your favorites! It will become your reference to help you: ⭐ Book flights, hotels and car rentals; ⭐ Know the alternatives in terms of accommodation and travel; ⭐ Plan your next destinations at the best price; ⭐ Find activities for your next destinations; ⭐ Find and share extraordinary travel experiences; ⭐ Save a lot of time and money; ⭐ And much more!

Disclosure Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Your support is truly appreciated.

Booking Platforms (15)

Hotel Booking (8)

Cheap Flights (16)

Car Rentals (16)

Home Sharing (12)

Discount Travels (11)

Airlines (38)

Ridesharing & Carpooling (12)

Hotel Chains (12)

Mile & Points (10)

Trains & Buses (19)

House Swap (4)

Travel Insurance (11)

Hostels (5)

Best Travel Blogs (29)

RV Rentals (7)

Banking & Budget (9)

Trip Planners (8)

Cruises (13)

Travel Forums (7)

Tours & Activities (15)

Travel Communities (7)

Work & Travel (7)

Helpful Travel Sites (12)

Maps & GPS (10)

Useful Travel Apps (10)

Photos & Cloud Storage (7)

How to use this tool?

To refine your results, several options are available to you:

• Use the search box to make a quick find;
• Select any category of interest;
• Filter sites by keyword;
• Locate the ⭐ next to my favorite sites. They won’t disappoint you ?

Note: although most sites are global, some of them are specific to one or more countries.

How were these sites selected?

This compilation of travel resources is the result of countless hours of research that have raised Poly as an expert in travel planning. The flawless world tour he organized for my own family is a testimony to this.

We selected these sites based on the criteria of popularity and added value for our readers.

The site’s popularity

Marketing obviously contributes a lot to making a product or service popular. But without a value proposition, a website can’ t stay at the top for long. The most popular sites therefore generally have a superior service offering that sets them apart from the others.

On this page are listed the most popular websites in every category, which will meet most of your travel needs:

• Your flight, hotel and car rental reservations;
• Your housing and transportation alternatives;
• Your time and money savings options;
• Your insurance and travel fund management;
• Your tools to help you better plan your next trips;
• Your meetings and interactions with locals and other travelers;
• Your need for new inspiration;
• And your other travel-related needs.

The value we bring to our readers

A most popular site is not necessarily the best. Thus, there are some less popular sites that offer a service with a potential to take it to the top of the list .

For your best interest, we have included several less popular sites that you will appreciate, simply because we also appreciate them personally!

How are these lists ranked?

Establishing a ranking of the best travel sites is an intrinsically flawed process, as it is totally subjective. 10 people can do it in 10 different ways.

That’s why we preferred to do it in an objective way, using the Alexa site that ranks websites from all over the world according to traffic.

Is this method reliable? Traffic is one indicator among others. It is not necessarily better than another. Alexa’s traffic measure is by no means the most accurate and is certainly not flawless. But we chose this indicator because it is free and open to the public.

The websites are therefore not ranked in terms of quality, but in terms of popularity. This criterion remains consistent in each list, which implies that the best sites do not necessarily rank first in their respective categories. That said, we are confident that the site samplings in each category do represent the best sites in their category overall.

The traffic of a site can evolve rapidly. Some sites will disappear and other sites that will prove more valuable to travelers will appear, ensuring that you get periodically updated lists. That being said, traffic patterns are not likely to change dramatically. It is therefore quite likely that the lists will not change much from one update to the next.

How to submit a site to these lists?

If you know of essential sites that are not included in these lists, or if you would like to suggest new categories, please feel free to submit them to us via the contact form . If we believe they are relevant here, we will happily add them.

Please note that we will be particularly selective, as this page is not intended to be an exhaustive and worthless travel directory. Please understand, therefore, that we will assess the sites submitted to us according to the same combined criteria of popularity and added value to our readers, in line with the sites currently listed here.

Any comment?

We love hearing from travelers from all over the world. Feel free to tell us how our site has helped you make your travel arrangements easier by commenting below, or by sending us a message on our contact form or via Facebook .

such great information for bloggers I am a professional blogger thanks.

Thank you for the information provided

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TripAdvisor Competitors: 7 Of The World’s Largest Travel Sites

TripAdvisor is a platform on which users can review restaurants, hotels, and airlines as well as book accommodations, activities, or plane tickets.

The company, which is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, was founded in 2000 by Stephen Kaufer and Langley Steinert.

The majority of users that access TripAdvisor do so to get a feeling for whatever location they are about to embark on or read other opinions on hotels, restaurants, airlines, and more. In fact, more than one billion reviews have been published on the platform thus far. 

TripAdvisor now even acts as a point of approval for many venues. For example, restaurants can slap the TripAdvisor logo onto their doorstep to signal that they are favored by many travelers.

The platform, furthermore, hands out yearly awards, dubbed Travelers’ Choice , since 2012. These acknowledge TripAdvisor’s best beaches, destinations, hotels, activities, and restaurants.

TripAdvisor has utilized its popularity among travelers to expand into bookings as well. In 2014, the firm launched its Instant Booking feature which enables customers to directly purchase airline tickets or stays on the platform.

The firm’s success is particularly surprising given that Kaufer and Steinert didn’t actually start TripAdvisor as a travel review site. Instead, they created a travel-related and white label search engine that could be used by other companies such as Expedia.

However, the bursting of the tech bubble as well as 9/11 meant that they weren’t able to get any customers 1.5 years into the business. As fortune would have it, though, they had previously created TripAdvisor.com as a demo site to display to prospective clients what a vertical search engine would look like.

TripAdvisor.com, over time, began to amass reviews and traffic, eventually surpassing the core product in the process. In 2004, IAC (which rebranded into Expedia Group a year later) purchased TripAdvisor for $210 million. Seven years later, TripAdvisor spun out of Expedia and IPO’d on Nasdaq.

Today, TripAdvisor generates around $902 million in annual revenue. The company, which employs over 5,000 people, works together with 8 million businesses across the globe. A plethora of companies, including Viator ($200 million), The Fork ($140 million), LaFourchette, and many more have been acquired by TripAdvisor in the process.

The methodology with which competitors of TripAdvisor are ranked is based on publicly available information. Data points such as revenue, number of listings and bookings, funding and valuation, the amount of reviews, the number of employees, and anything else that might be relevant will be considered.   

We take both booking sites as well as review platforms into account. In fact, almost all prominent booking sites now also feature extensive reviews of the places and services customers can purchase.

It has to be noted that this analysis should not be seen as an endorsement of any of the platforms presented. It is merely a summary of the competition that TripAdvisor is confronted with right now.  

So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the top 7 competitors of TripAdvisor.

1. Google Travel

Google is probably the biggest competitor to TripAdvisor, especially when it comes to the firm’s capability to gather reviews and embed them into its travel product. Google Travel consumers to compare prices and book all types of travel-related items, including flights, hotels, and vacation rentals.

Its advances in travel have begun as early as 2004 when the search giant launched Google Maps. The mapping product now informs a large portion of the activities that Google recommends. Businesses and destinations can also be rated. This is particularly beneficial for mobile usage where Maps comes into play.

Google has since heavily expanded its capabilities in travel. In 2010, for instance, it purchased flight information software company ITA for $700 million. The acquisition enabled them to launch their own flight and hotel booking features.

Google does currently not publicize any traffic or revenue figures for Travel – with good reason. In the past, co-founder Kaufer called out Google for its allegedly anti-competitive practices of favoring its own products.

Many searches are now prominently featuring Google’s own products over TripAdvisor. This, in turn, has forced TripAdvisor to purchase ads on Google so that the traffic continues to flow to the platform. Unfortunately, this severely cuts into TripAdvisor’s profit margins whereas Google can continue to attract users for free.

Source: CNBC , Redeam

Booking.com , the namesake site behind travel’s biggest holding company, offers anything from flights to hotels. The site is available in 43 languages and has closer to 100 million reviews published on it.

It has since tried to expand into TripAdvisor’s turf by prominently featuring travel inspiration pieces on its homepage. Both the activities as well as stays on its platform now contain extensive reviews, which continue to grow as their relevance increases.

The site itself was launched by Dutch university graduate Geert-Jan Bruinsma who became frustrated with the lack of hotel booking options in his home country. When he visited Hilton’s newly launched website for the first time, it immediately clicked – and prompted him to create a copycat version for travelers from and into the Netherlands.

In 2000, he agreed to merge with another site called Bookings Online. The dot-com crash had wiped out many of the funding opportunities previously available to startups like his.

They then acquired the Booking.com domain name soon after. Ironically, Expedia, which is probably its biggest competitor, tried to acquire Booking for close to two years. However, Booking eventually sold to Priceline for $133 million in 2005.

For most of its existence, Booking.com had been part of Priceline. However, in 2018, it rebranded into Booking Holdings to align the company with what it was (and still is) known for: booking online travel. That holding company now encompasses some of the world’s biggest travel brands including Agoda, KAYAK, RentalsCars.com, OpenTable, and more.

In 2021, Booking Holdings, which unfortunately doesn’t break down income figures for its namesake site, generated $11 billion in revenue. Gross bookings were equal to $76.6 billion over that timespan. Booking.com itself employs over 15,000 people across the globe.

Ironically, both Booking, as well as Expedia, are also some of the biggest spenders on TripAdvisor, which primarily makes money via advertising and subscriptions .

Source: Booking.com , CNBC , Booking Holdings , Skift

Expedia is the second-biggest holding company in the travel space right behind Booking. The combined company generates $8.6 billion in revenue (2021) and operates brands such as Hotels.com, trivago, Vrbo, and many more.

However, Expedia’s main site, Expedia.com, is certainly nothing to scoff at either. Expedia.com, just like the other platforms on this list, has added both reviews as well as travel inspiration to its existing offering, which entails booking flights, hotels, and other things.  

Expedia itself was created as a sub-division of Microsoft with the purpose of being promoted on the firm’s MSN portal. Rich Barton, at the time, had just transferred from Microsoft’s CD-ROM division into the multimedia department, which was tasked with expanding the reach of MSN.

Three years after it launched in 1996, Expedia was spun out of Microsoft (the first time Microsoft did something like this) and went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. In 2003, Barry Diller’s IAC acquired a controlling stake in Expedia. Two years later, it spun off its travel division to create Expedia Group.

As previously stated, Expedia vis-à-vis had also owned TripAdvisor for close to seven years until the latter was spun off. This is normally done when investors believe that the company being spun off can create more value by being on its own and portions of its value buried in the firm it is owned by.

Source: Expedia Group , Funding Universe

Airbnb is the world’s largest apartment booking platform. It now boasts six million listings, counts four million hosts, and is available in 100,000 cities and towns as well as 220+ countries across the globe.

Reviews are obviously an integral part of the Airbnb experience as well. They often significantly increase the likelihood of a customer booking a place or experience, which is facilitated via the platform as well.

Airbnb has been subject to dozens of legal battles throughout its existence. Cities across the world claimed that hosts were running illegal hotels and were thus liable to pay taxes. Cities like New York have hammered down on those hosts, sometimes even imposing seven-figure fines on them.  

Other issues that Airbnb has been associated with include alleged (but yet to be proven) rent increases as well as the distribution of apartments (or simply theft). Some hosts have also been caught spying on their guests in the past.  

Airbnb, despite those issues, has been an investor darling throughout its existence. The founders have raised a combined $6.5 billion during Airbnb’s life as a private company.

The firm ultimately went public in December 2020 and is currently valued at over $60 billion. In 2021, Airbnb has generated close to $6 billion in revenue. It employs over 6,000 people worldwide.

In the past, Airbnb has also tried contemplated expanding into other areas of travel including flight bookings. Those initiatives have been (temporarily) abandoned to focus on the firm’s revenue-generating segments.

Source: Airbnb , Crunchbase

5. Trip.com

Trip.com Group is China’s largest travel site with close to 34,000 employees. Travelers can book anything from flights, trains, stays, cars, tours, cruises, activities, and much more.

However, that hasn’t always been the case. Trip.com actually started out as Ctrip and was China’s local answer to TripAdvisor, allowing users to review hotels and other types of venues in the country.

Those early days were particularly tough, especially when the SARS virus decimated travel across the country. However, being one of the first companies in travel gave Ctrip enough of a runway to survive. It certainly helped that the firm went public in 2003, which added enough capital to its balance sheet to weather any future storm.

In 2019, Ctrip rebranded into Trip.com (after it acquired the firm two years prior) to highlight the firm’s greater international ambitions. This has been particularly important given China’s Zero-Covid policy, which has severely restricted travel demand into and out of the country.

Today, over 1.2 million accommodations are available on Trip.com. The holding company behind Trip.com also owns other sites, most notably Ctrip as well as Skyscanner (which it purchased for around $1.6 billion).

In 2021, Trip.com generated $1.1 billion in revenue. Recently, the firm became the first publicly-traded company in China to implement a hybrid work-from-home policy.

Source: Skift , Trip.com

Agoda is another metasearch engine aggregating offerings for stays, hotels, activities, airport transfers, and more. The platform also offers its own rewards program dubbed PointsMAX.

The firm’s founder, Michael Kenny, first arrived in Southeast Asia in 1994 to work for the Arcadia Hotel Group (now Hilton). As the internet began to take shape, he launched various travel-related sites such as PlanetHoliday.com (1997) and PrecisionReservations.com (2003).

Those sites were eventually merged and led to the creation of agoda.com. To help him get the business off the ground, he recruited long-time friend and experienced online entrepreneur Rosenstein as a co-founder. A mere two years after launching, Agoda was acquired by Booking Holdings for an undisclosed amount.

Agoda, even though founder Rosenstein stepped down from his CEO position after 10 years (back in 2018), continues to be one of the world’s most popular booking sites.

It is widely considered the leading platform in Southeast Asia where it continues to have strong roots. The firm’s Bangkok office, for example, continues to be one of the country’s largest.

Booking does currently not disclose revenue numbers for Agoda, which employs over 4,000 people in 30 countries.

Source: Agoda , Skift

Yelp is another review giant that primarily competes with TripAdvisor across its restaurant section. Close to 250 million reviews have been published on the platform thus far.

Users can even reserve restaurants directly on Yelp. Apart from restaurants, users can rate all kinds of services including home services such as plumbers, beauty spas, nightclubs, and many more categories.  

Both Stoppelman and Simmons had previously worked for PayPal before launching Yelp, which Stoppelman conceived when he was in need of a doctor but couldn’t find a suitable one. Yelp, despite its meteoric rise, which culminated in the firm’s IPO in 2012, has also been subject to criticism.  

For example, many business owners have lamented the firm’s predatory practices in the past. They claimed that the platform pressured them into purchasing ads and would otherwise be penalized with bad reviews, which would be more prominently featured. This is particularly ironic given that CEO Stoppelman has frequently called out Google for its own anti-competitive practices.

Today, Yelp generates around $1 billion of revenue on an annual basis. Restaurants remain the firm’s strongest category, which continues to make the firm a formidable competitor to TripAdvisor.

Source: Crunchbase , Fortune , Yelp

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Hi folks, Viktor checking in! Years of experience in various tech-related roles have led me to start this blog, which I hope provides you with as much enjoyment to read as I have writing the content.

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Market Research

Top 15 Best Travel Websites

By Stephen Carter

On: April 9, 2024

Reviewed by: Stephen Carter

Traveling widens your horizons. Along with helping you find new places and cultures, the whole experience of traveling can change your life and perspectives.

We live in the digital age and traveling has become much easier. Now many travel websites offer valuable insights on everything. All you need to do is pack your bag and fly to the next destination.

So today, we have compiled a list of the top 15 best travel websites in the world.

The list was made by combining the details referring to the data from SEMrush’s most visited travel and tourism websites in the world and other similar statistics from Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform.

1. Booking.com

Headquartered in Amsterdam, Booking.com is the top one in the list of 15 best travel websites in the world. It provides travel and accommodation services and is available in 43 languages.

Owned by Booking Holdings, it offers booking facilities for stays, flights, and car rentals among other services. The website has a mobile application which was found to be the most downloaded mobile application in the category of travel agency.

Known as one of the world’s leading digital travel companies, the company aims to make it easier for everyone to travel the world. The website claims to have listed more than 28 million accommodations and offers 24/7 customer service assistance.

One of the attractive features of this website is that you can choose from a variety of options whether it be a luxury beach resort or countryside apartment. The website offers packages with lower rates and instant confirmation facilities.

2. Tripadvisor.com

The second one in the list of top 15 best travel websites in the world is Tripadvisor.com. According to SEMrush’s February 2024 traffic status, this website has a global rank of 403, a country rank of 179, and a category rank of 2 in the travel and tourism section.

Founded in 2000, this is an American company that operates in 40 countries and 20 languages. The website is designed in a way to help you plan a trip from choosing a destination to tailoring the itinerary.

This website is also acclaimed as the world’s largest travel guidance platform where hundreds of millions of people access this website for travel purposes. It helps you find better destinations, hotels, things to do, flights, rental cars, etc.

The platform also allows you to write reviews on the places you visited and post pictures of them.

Every year, the website offers a Traveler’s Choice Award for the best of the destinations based on categories such as beaches, destinations, hotels, restaurants, things to do, etc.

3. Airbnb.com

If you are looking for ideal homestays for your next vacation, Airbnb.com is the place for you. It is an online marketplace where you can find short and long-term homestays and other experiences.

Founded in 2008, this American company acts as a broker between tenants and house owners and makes a commission out of this.

You can find all kinds of homestays that belong to different categories on the platform such as cabins, vineyards, amazing views, beachfront, treehouses, historical homes, camping, lakefront, etc.

You can choose the homestays using filters such as whether you need just a room or an entire home. The platform also helps you to Airbnb your home using the Airbnb Setup section on the website.

4. Americanexpress.com

American Express is a United States-based bank holding company that also offers travel services. It is listed as 5th in the category of travel and tourism by the SEMrush data on the most visited travel websites in the world in 2024.

You can book flights, hotels, and car hire using this platform. To access the services offered, you need to create an account on the website first.

There are many advantages to booking your next destination with American Express Travel Online. If you are a card owner, there are exclusive membership rewards offered for you.

There are different kinds of cards available such as Platinum Card, Platinum Reserve Card, Gold Card, and Platinum Travel Card.

5. Agoda.com

One of the leading travel-tech companies in the Asia-Pacific region, Agoda.com has received much attention since its launch in the market. This online travel agency company is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.

As per their tagline, ‘See the world for less’, Agoda.com has been offering travel and tourism services in a budget-friendly manner. Currently, this platform is available in 39 languages and offers 24/7 customer service support.

The company has offices in 35 markets and is headquartered in Singapore. You can find services such as flights, hotels, homes, transportation, activities, etc from this platform.

It also provides accommodation and flight and activities promotion through the website. Agoda.com has an app that can be accessed through both iOS and Android devices.

6. Ryanair.com

Ryanair is a low-cost airline group based in Dublin, Ireland. It is also known as one of the largest airline groups in Europe which connects over 240 destinations in 40 countries worldwide. The platform also offers travel and tourism assistance in a low-cost manner.

You are allowed to book flights, rent a car, hotels, and book events and activities through this website. It also offers services such as fare finder, route map, destinations, timetable, group travel facilities, etc.

The company was started as a small airline group that connects Waterford to London Gatwick in 1984. Founded as ‘Danren Enterprises’, some of its subsidiaries are Ryanair DAC, Malta Air, Buzz, Lauda Europe, and Ryanair UK.

7. Expedia.com

Owned and operated by Expedia Group, a Seattle-based travel technology company, expedia.com is a travel agency cum metasearch engine website.

It was launched in 1996 by Microsoft and provides services to book flight tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, vacation packages, and even cruise ships. The website helps you to plan and book your whole trip and allows you to choose from a wide range of destinations and facilities.

The parent company, Expedia Group has other similar products such as hotels.com, Travelocity, Vrbo, Hotwire.com, CheapTickets, Trivago, Expedia Cruises, etc.

The platform allows you to choose from different kinds of stays, flights, cars, and packages. It also offers insights on things to do and assists in listing your property for rent.

8. Marriot.com

Marriot.com has a category rank of 3 in the hospitality category of the most visited travel and tourism websites in 2024.

Owned and operated by the parent organization Marriott International, marriot.com offers comprehensive services in the hotel and resort industry.

Started as two motels in the 1950s, the chain grew and now it has over 582 hotels and resorts worldwide. Marriott International now has become a brand leader with 8,700 properties across 139 countries.

A hospitality brand that you can trust, Marriott and its various locations can be accessed through the official website. Just select the region and country, and you will find the major Marriott hotels and resorts in these places.

Known as the largest airline in the world, the title is the abbreviated form of American Airlines. Based in the United States, it has a fleet size of 967 and travels to destinations around 349.

Owned by American Airlines Group, it has an ample network of domestic and international flights. The platform helps you to make plans and itineraries based on your preferences. The airlines offer you luxurious and comfortable travel experiences.

It has an exclusive and personalized experience for long-distance travel known as Flagship First. You can choose from a variety of flight experiences that consist of Business, Premium Economy, Main Cabin, Main Cabin Extra, and Basic Economy.

These flights offer free entertainment and in-flight WIFI plans.

10. Flightradar24

One of the latest trends in the travel and tourism industry is flight tracking. Yes, you heard it right. Earlier we used to track train status or bus arrival and this facility has shifted to the air also.

This is a Swedish-internet-based service that offers you real-time insights on flight tracking and its location on the map.

The platform tracks flights using data from six sources mainly, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, Multilateration, Satellite, US/Canada radar data, FLARM, and Federal Aviation Administration.

This service can be accessed through iOS or Android devices. Over 2,00,000 flights are tricked each day and it has become the number one app on AppStore in 130+ countries.

11. Skyscanner.net

A global leader in travel, Skyscanner is a travel agency and search aggregator company founded in 2003. It is based in Edinburg, Scotland, and is owned by Trip.com Groups.

Recent statistics show that more than 100 million people across the world access their websites or use their apps for travel purposes. It has more than 1200 partners across the world and the mission of the company is to provide effortless travel planning for everyone.

You can explore flights, hotels, and car hires using this platform. Some of the major sections on the website are domestic flights, cities, last-minute deals, airports, airlines, hotels, etc.

You can find millions of cheap flights using a single search window on this website.

12. United.com

United Airlines has a long history in the American airline industry. Founded in 1926, it operates on an extensive network of domestic and international routes that covers all six inhabited continents.

It is the third largest commercial airline fleet in the world with 949 mainline aircraft. You can book flights, packages, hotels, cars, and cruises using this platform. Now if you are not sure where to go, the website also offers interactive maps to find great destinations.

The platform helps you to travel for your next trip by providing extensive information on what to expect, what to know before you go, where is your seating on the flight, etc.

The website is also available as an app that you can use to check in for your flight, track flight status, and binge TV and movies on the go.

13. Trip.com

The parent group of Skyscanner, Trip.com is a Chinese travel service company. Founded in 1999, it is known as the world’s largest online travel agency.

Estimates show that over 400 million users access this website for travel purposes. Available in 19 different languages, Trip.com offers its service in over 200 countries and regions. You can book hotels, flights, trains, cars, cruises, etc using this platform.

The website also provides details on top attractions and tours in all the major cities in the world. Some of these popular cities are Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Orlando, Osaka, and Seoul.

By selecting a destination, you can find all the major attractions in this place. Some of these attraction types include parks, architecture, landmarks, outdoor sports, religious sites, nature, exhibition centers, historic sites, popular spots, fitness, and lifestyle.

14. Makemytrip.com

Founded in the year 2000, MakeMyTrip is an Indian online travel company that offers travel services like hotels, flight tickets, international travel packages, etc.

The latest data on the company shows that it has around 146 active franchises that operate around over 100 cities in the world. The platform has international offices in some of the major cities in the world such as New York, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, Singapore, Dubai, Istanbul, and Bangkok.

The website was founded by Deepak Karla, an alumnus from IIM-Ahmedabad. As per the recent data, the website has around 69 million plus lifetime transacted users and 202k Instagram followers.

The website has covered around 2000 cities through hotel facilities and homestays in 1,250 cities. The mission of the company is to make easy and instant travel bookings and it also offers low-cost flight services.

15. Tiket.com

Based in Indonesia, Tiket.com is one of the largest and most comprehensive online travel companies and was established in 2011. According to SEMrush February 2024 statistics, the website has 53.15 million visitors in the month.

The website helps you to find top attractions, hotels, villas, apartments, events, tours, playgrounds, beauty and fitness facilities. It provides both domestic and international destinations for your next trip.

It helps you find noteworthy vacation ideas around Indonesia and nearby places. Some of these usual destinations dealt by the platform include Bali, Jakarta, Labuan Bajo, Yogyakarta, etc. The website has an app version that can be downloaded using both Apple Store and Google Play Store.

The Bottom Line

One of the biggest advantages of modern technology is its ability to shorten the distance between places and help humans travel beyond borders and limits.

As we have seen here, many websites and platforms help your traveling experience a bit easier. From the ‘deciding the destination’ part to ‘implementing the plans’, these websites can assist you in every way possible.

It caters to every need of you whether you prefer to indulge yourself in some cozy mountains or wish to rewind and relax by listening to the waves on a beach, as these platforms have all kinds of places.

Even though there are multiple choices available to you, it is better to employ your analytical skills and rational thinking to choose the best among them.

Stephen Carter

Stephen Carter is a software technology expert. He writes about market research on various hot topics like cryptocurrencies, explaining how they started. He's good at making complicated tech ideas easy to understand for everyone.

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Best Travel Websites

Close your eyes and imagine being in a place you’ve always wanted to visit. What if you could make that dream a reality? Knowing how to plan and use travel websites can help make a dream trip possible.

We’re going to give you all the best travel websites that specialize in getting you the best rates. You’ll discover the top 10 travel websites to browse for flights, hotels, and unique destinations, learn about the best international travel websites, the best travel websites in Europe, and more.

Let’s start with the top 10 best travel websites 2023 has to offer for great deals:

• Booking On this site , you can get discounts on almost anything, including flights, hotel, cars, activities, and more.
• Expedia One of the most well-known travel websites in the world, Expedia has a robust rewards program with amenities and discounts you won’t find anywhere else.
• Kayak Kayak offers some of the best deals, with rates on full packages, restaurants, cruises, hotels, flights, and rental cars.
• Scott’s Cheap Flights This website is a little different. It offers an email list that tracks flights and their prices. If there is a change in prices, you’ll get an email with information that could save you a lot of money.
• Tripadvisor You’ll find all the information you need with reviews to help you with booking. Have a question about the best way to get from the airport to your hotel? Or whether to choose an all-inclusive option? You’ll find the answer on the  travel forum . Tripadvisor is an all-in-one solution.
• Priceline Priceline finds multiple options for hotels, flights, cruises, and rental cars.  “Bundle and save” vacation packages  are attractive, along with their express deals.
• Hotwire Bundling everything is the draw with this site . That’s where you’ll save money. If your schedule is flexible, book a  “Hot Rate” flight . You won’t know which airline you’re on or your exact flight time until after you book, but you’ll get an unbeatable price.
• Orbitz Orbitz has a reward program that helps with bookings. The site also offers a credit card and dining program.
• Hotels You can get amazing daily deals on hotels that are up to half off the average cost. There is free cancellation on most hotels, and most rooms allow you to pay now or later. This site also has last-minute deals and a rewards program.
• Google Flights Search for the best airfares across all airlines and track prices. You can also book vacation packages and hotel stays.

Unique Travel Websites

If you’re into experiences, doing something off the beaten path is where you might thrive. All over the world, there are places that cater to travelers who are looking for excitement and stories they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

Luckily, there are many unique travel websites designed to accommodate travelers who want something different. Here is a list of travel websites that are worth looking into:

• UnusualHotelsOfTheWorld.com This site helps travelers find unique hotel accommodations for memorable experiences. What makes it unique is that it offers travel ideas, events, and immersion into some of the most unlikely places in the world, including treehouses, igloos, caves, and more.
• AtlasObscura.com This site helps people plan trips to some of the world’s most unique spaces and places on the planet. It offers a membership option and courses that help with immersion into the experiences.
• BlackTomato.com This site has many different once-in-a-lifetime experiences that may be weird to some, but fun to others. This includes building an igloo in Greenland, walking with gorillas in Rwanda, and so much more. For travelers looking for an unusual story to tell years from now, this site can help.
• PrestigeOnline.com This site highlights travel and luxe living but lists 12 unique and unusual places to stay around the world that will appeal to all your senses. Luxury resorts underwater or capsule suites hanging from cliffs are just some of the experiences you can enjoy.

Best Travel Websites for Hotels

When you’re planning a trip, you always think about where you are going to lay your head. For many people, hotel accommodations are one of the most important parts of the entire trip. Knowing where to find the best sites for hotel deals can save time, money, and keep you happy. Here is a list of the best travel websites for hotels:

• Google Hotels This site will help you compare pricing and listings . You can use the hotel page integrated with Google Maps or type in “hotel” and your destination and results will come right up. It also offers suggestions for booking and gives neighborhood summaries.
• Kayak Hotels This easy interface shows multiple types of accommodations and total prices . It offers a lot of information based on type, including resorts, guest houses, rentals, and hotels.
• Booking This is good for finding multiple accommodations at one time . The site also has filters for family-friendly vacations, solo travelers, types of accessibility for the hotels, and different types of lodging.
• Hotels This site lives up to its name, with hotels and many different types of lodging , including the unique. The interface is quick and easy to navigate and offers hotels with free cancellation.
• Priceline When you’re looking for last-minute hotel deals, Priceline is one of the best hotel websites 2023 has to offer. One of the most popular sites in this category, it has a steep discount finder, sends alerts when properties have lower than average prices, and showcases express deals and price breakers.

BEST TRAVEL WEBSITES FOR FLIGHTS

With travel largely back to normal, finding cheap flights is high on the priority list for many travelers. Airlines have capitalized on travelers wanting to get out and go, causing airline tickets to be much higher than normal.

For individuals wanting to travel, finding the best travel websites for flights makes a difference. Here are the top picks:

• Momondo Momondo Flights  is simple and easy to use, with robust tracking tools and mix-and-match fares.
• Kayak Flights Travelers can use Kayak to find prices from many different airlines at the same time to find the cheapest one. They also have hacker fares that bundle two one-way tickets instead of one roundtrip, which is usually cheaper.
• Expedia Flights This is a tried-and-true solution for flights —and it has a rewards program! Travelers can search online or through the app.
• Skyscanner Flights This site doesn’t sell flights but displays a listing of flight availability and their pricing which makes it easier for the traveler to compare.
• Google Flights Google Flights  is a metasearch engine. When you locate the flight you want, the system will redirect you to the airline’s website to complete your purchase. You can also see trends and track the price of an individual route.
• Skiplagged Flights This site searches for inexpensive flights and shows hidden-city ticketing trips in addition to flights on major search engines. Hidden-city flights require travelers to get off at the layover and then catch another flight.

Group Travel Companies

Using group travel companies to assemble your trip can alleviate all the stress of finding the information yourself. All-inclusive group packages and group travel tours offer new experiences and help you meet new people. These top travel websites are known for accommodating travel groups for adults :

• Intrepid Travel This group takes you all over the world in small group settings. It offers unique experiences and eco-conscious tours that are sustainable, yet memorable.
• Atlas Obscura Atlas Obscura specializes in curating unique trips based on interests. Its group travel is led by experts who understand the concept of done-for-you trips.
• On The Go Tours This company specializes in travel groups for adults over 40 and has been in business for over 20 years. Its trips are tailored for individuals who want to meet other travelers and those who can appreciate authentic experiences. Everything is included and trips are led by expert guides.
• Exodus Travels Known for organizing great travel groups for adults over 50, Exodus Travels specializes in small group sizes and trips that accommodate different styles of travel and flexible booking conditions.

If you’re a solo traveler looking for a travel group to join, check out our curated list of   travel groups that a perfect for solo travelers . 

Best Travel Agency Websites

Getting the best value for your money is key when dealing with travel agencies. It’s important to know what you want before jumping into an obligation. When it comes to choosing the best travel agencies to work with, consider their reputation, how quickly they respond, and if they can find the best pricing. Comparison shop before deciding.

You also want to work with an agency that has a flexible cancellation policy and deals that align with where you want to go. Some of the best travel agency websites   include:

• Booking This is the world’s largest booking website with the ability to book entire trips from the hotel and airfare to the car. It’s also available in over 40 different languages with properties in 207 countries. Without a doubt, it is one of the best travel sites for packages .
• Last Minute LastMinute.com is one of the best travel sites for all-inclusive vacations if you feel like going on a spur-of-the-moment trip. One of the great things about this site is it has gift cards, payment plans, and extra entertainment bookings.
• Expedia Expedia is still one of the most popular travel agency sites out there, with rewards for hotels and cars, luxury travel options, huge savings on packages, and more. When you’re looking for an all-in-one, Expedia should be on the list.
• Hotwire Hotwire has been around for over 20 years and can be great for travelers who just want a discount and don’t really care about the little details. Hotwire features lower prices when using the app.

Be Sure to Explore These Related Resources:

• Travel Tips and Tricks  
• 2024 Travel Destinations
• Group Travel Packages  
• Group Travel Tours
• Travel Abroad Programs 
• Travel Groups for Solo Travelers
• How to Pack a Suitcase More Efficiently

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Top 10+ Best Travel Websites (to Find Deals on your next Adventure!)

By Team RapidAPI // August 21, 2024

When looking at the best travel websites, it is important to weigh the pros and cons. The line from good to great is thin, so it’s difficult to prioritize the best of the bunch. The ten websites and search engines below are standouts in the industry and continue to provide consumers with a reason to explore a new destination.

Related: Best Flight & Travel APIs

Top Travel Sites to Find Deals

10. skyscanner.

Skyscanner is a reliable website that provides solid deals for the patient buyer. It won’t replace any of the big boys on the list, but it still remains a nice option for all in one package. The unique comparison engine does its job without displaying unnecessary information.

• One of the hidden gems to find blockbuster travel deals
• Flight Search engine handles updates to other websites quickly
• Works great as a vacation research tool
• Sources data from multiple online travel agencies & travel agents
• Sparse results will limit its appeal for larger groups

9. Funjet Vacations

The limited options of Funjet Vacations is a turnoff for some, and a lifesaver for others. It sports a simple homepage that offers flight/hotel and hotel/car options. Funjet is the travel website people go to when they already have a heavy itinerary in place.

• A website that gets right down to business without wasting your time
• Options are limited, but clearly laid out for the buyer to see
• One of the easier websites to navigate on mobile
• Prices aren’t always consistent

Browse Travel APIs

8. Cheap Caribbean

This is a surprising inclusion on the list considering how limited the travel scope is. If you can look past that one flaw, CheapCaribbean.com delivers on its promise for deals on that side of the world. No other website on this list can match their all-inclusive packages to the Caribbean.

• Best packages available for the Caribbean
• A popular choice for honeymoon packages
• Beautiful location with a lot to offer
• Not much use if you don’t want to go to the Caribbean

7. TripAdvisor

Tripadvisor is known for its collection of reviews and articles. Believe it or not, you can actually create an entire vacation package on the website! Despite the sometimes-overlooked nature of this feature, Tripadvisor is still considered one of the best in the business.

• Best place to get a general idea of things to do in a particular area
• Moderation team does a good job of removing troll reviews
• Booking options are solid (for casual or luxury travel)
• Also provides car rental options
• Negative trip reviews are sometimes too personal, and not always reliable

Connect to the TripAdvisor API

It’s almost frightening how good Orbitz is since it is the sister site of Expedia. Despite the connection, Orbitz exists for a specific reason on this list- it caters to individual travelers better than Expedia. When you’re looking for one or two tickets, Orbitz is one of the better websites to browse.

• Excels at finding smaller deals
• Makes a good alternative to bigger websites that focus on groups
• Some of the deals are one of a kind
• Deals go fast

Hipmunk joins a long list of travel websites that use a search engine spider to collect booking information from the bigger sites. The difference here is that Hipmunk organizes the information in a way that makes sense. Sometimes, it does a better job than the original website.

Update: Hipmunk is shutting down its operations per TechCrunch

• An almost perfect search engine that puts others to shame
• Filters are easy to manipulate and tabs are simple to search through
• Hipmunk organizes information intelligently so that you don’t get confused
• Some tweaking to the search engine is needed to make it perfect

Connect to the Hipmunk API

One of the forgotten greats in the travel website industry is Kayak. They peaked early by providing deals that not even the best travel websites could match. Once the competition caught up, Kayak went from being legendary to ‘great’.

• Still one of the better websites for travel information
• Prices are competitive during heavy travel times
• The search engine is solid, and most deals will contain accurate information
• The website is a nightmare on older Android/iOS devices. The Kayak Mobile app is strongly recommended

3. Booking.com

Seeing Booking.com at the #3 spot may irk some travelers. The website is known for having incredible deals, but with the worst customer service possible. Buyers that never have to deal with the company’s customer service are highly likely to use the online booking system for future purchases.

Related: Best Flight Booking Websites for 2020

• A truly underrated all-world booking website
• Options extend beyond booking – Buyers can list their properties for rent
• A friendly close-knit community that provides more balanced reviews than Tripadvisor
• Customer service needs an overhaul

Browse Travel APIs Browse a few of the top booking APIs here .

2. Priceline

William Shatner put Priceline on the map, adding a memorable face to one of the best websites in travel. Priceline has always been a top competitor, gathering deals from all over the web. Their best feature is accuracy, even when the website grabs last-minute deals.

• Huge focus on accurate booking information Most recognizable brand on the list The website stays updated and user-friendly for all devices
• Some of the deals are a little behind better ones on other websites

Expedia is one of the most well-known travel websites for a reason. Their bundle options are extensive, with a nice set of customization features to fit every vacation type. It’s safe to say that Expedia covers the most ground when planning a large trip.

• Robust set of options for any vacation
• Deals are always up to date
• The easiest website to use
• Sometimes competitors would have slightly better deals

Wrapping Up

Booking a hotel , flight , or car is a lot easier when using a travel website. It is a time-saver, and with the right connections will also save you money. Enjoy your vacation package by ensuring you did everything possible to make it perfect.

What did you think about our list? Which travel sites are missing from our list? Let us know in the comments below.

Summary: Top Travel Websites for 2020

Relevant and related resources.

• Iata Codes API
• Best Sites for Frequent Flyers
• Best Travel Rewards Programs
• Best Travel Insurance Companies

Team RapidAPI

Reader interactions.

July 21, 2021 at 11:39 am

waystoptrip.com delivered you a lot of about travelling and tourism so you can see and get information.

July 24, 2021 at 7:49 pm

Vntrip is not English website, I have no idea what language is it

Leave a Reply

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The 10 best online travel agencies in 2024

The top 10 online travel agencies.

• Booking.com
• Lastminute.com

Best online travel agencies for business travel

1. travelperk.

Main offerings and features:

• Industry-leading travel inventory
• Flexible booking with FlexiPerk
• Safety alerts with TravelCare
• Integrated travel policy & approval flows
• Centralized invoicing
• Easy & real-time expense reports
• Carbon offsetting with GreenPerk
• 24/7 fast customer support in target 15s
• VAT reclaim
• Integration with 3rd party tools , such as expense management or HR software like Expensify and BambooHR

Save time and money on your business travel with TravelPerk

2. sap concur.

• Works with some of the biggest brands
• Easy tracking and reporting of expenses for expense reports
• Many connected apps, such as Uber and Airbnb for cars and hotels
• One solution for a variety of business travel spending

Click below to compare both platforms’ features and benefits

• Ample integrations
• Award-winning mobile app
• Employee-centric travel management

Click below for a more detailed comparison between both platforms:

Best online travel agencies for leisure travel, 1. booking.com.

• Intuitive booking tool and website
• Flight + Hotel booking for easily planning trips with no cross-referencing travel websites
• Simple car rental options and taxi hire
• Available in over 40 different languages and offers over half a million properties across 207 countries
• You can book experiences in your destination city to entertain you on your travels
• Genius rewards program

• Simple interface and booking tool
• Deals when making more than one booking
• 38 different languages and offers a 24-hour, multilingual customer support service
• Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking
• Millions of reviews to help make your decision

3. Lastminute.com

• Filter hotels according to budgets, star ratings, guest ratings, board types, and more
• ATOL protection on flight + hotel bundles
• Flash sales for last-minute deals
• Payment plans to spread out the cost of travel
• Extra entertainment booking for your trips, like theatrical productions and day trips
• Gift cards for gifting travel

• Expedia rewards for hotels, cars, and more
• Experienced support
• Compare cruise lines
• Big savings when booking flights, hotels, and car rentals
• Operates in nearly 70 countries and in over 35 different languages
• Luxury travel options

• Book hotels, flights, cars, and bundles
• 24/7 support
• Lower prices on the app
• Great last-minute deals for spontaneous travel

6. Bookmundi

Best online travel agencies for flights

1. skyscanner.

• Super flexible booking filters
• Cheaper flights and hotels than other OTAs
• Price alerts for travel routes of interest
• Easy-to-use booking tool and UI
• Hundreds of location and currency options
• One-way, return, and multi-city travel options

2. Kiwi.com

• Simple flight booking tool
• Partnerships with Booking.com and Rentalcars.com
• Discover deals anywhere with the option to open up your search
• Easy-to-use app

How do online travel agencies work?

What are the advantages of booking through an online travel agency.

• Access to comparison tools
• Peer reviews to help you with your decisions
• Flexible cancellation policies
• All your travel in one place
• Local flights and deals

Rewards programs

Comparison tools, peer reviews, flexible cancellation.

Flexiperk: Cancel anytime, anywhere. Get a minimum of 80% of your money back.

One account for all of your travel needs, a local approach to global travel, wrapping up.

Make business travel simpler. Forever.

• See our platform in action . Trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, TravelPerk makes business travel simpler to manage with more flexibility, full control of spending with easy reporting, and options to offset your carbon footprint.
• Find hundreds of resources on all things business travel, from tips on traveling more sustainably, to advice on setting up a business travel policy, and managing your expenses. Our latest e-books and blog posts have you covered.
• Never miss another update. Stay in touch with us on social for the latest product releases, upcoming events, and articles fresh off the press.

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I grew up in Paris. Here are the 12 biggest mistakes I see tourists make when they visit.

I grew up in Paris and often see tourists miss out on my favorite parts of the city.

The famous landmarks are worth visiting, but so are the French capital's quieter neighborhoods.

I wish more tourists embraced café culture and were open to trying authentic French dishes.

Check the major tourist spots off your bucket list, but venture to Paris' quieter neighborhoods too.

Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Many people dream of snapping photos of the Eiffel Tower, wandering through the Louvre, and strolling down the Champs Elysées.

These historic sites and cultural attractions are prerequisites on most first-timers' itineraries for good reason. But if you're seeking an authentic glimpse of everyday Parisian life, I urge you to explore the city beyond its most famous landmarks .

Walk along Canal Saint-Martin and check out the surrounding area's art stores, trendy restaurants, and local shops. The quaint streets are quiet and peaceful during the day, but they become more lively at night as locals grab drinks and mingle.

Don't expect Parisian cafés to be like your local coffee shop — they're about more than getting a caffeine fix.

Cafés are an essential aspect of Parisian culture , and there are few better places to romanticize your life. So when you're in the French capital, sit down at one of the outdoor terraces, sip on an espresso, and people-watch for as long as you'd like.

In the morning, most cafés serve breakfast, which often consists of a sliced baguette, warm tea or coffee, and juice. At night, some turn into bars.

Don't expect Parisian cafés to be the same as your coffee shop at home. Here, you'll rarely find to-go cups, non-dairy milk, or specialty drinks like lattes or iced coffees.

If you order a coffee in Paris, expect your waiter to hand you an espresso. For those who don't drink black coffee, request milk in your coffee by asking for a "café crème" or a cappuccino.

Tourists can still get their familiar to-go cups and lattes at coffee chains , which have larger menus catered to international travelers.

A trip to Paris isn't complete without a stop at the local boulangerie.

When you're in Paris, you'll pass countless French bakeries , known as boulangeries. Do yourself a favor and stop in.

Not only will you be able to taste authentic French bread (ask for a "tradition," which is a hand-formed baguette prepared with a few simple ingredients), but also the pastries will make you want to return each day of your trip.

Delicacies like strawberry tarts, mille-feuilles cakes, and croissants, are ideal treats at any hour.

Bakeries are also a go-to spot for holiday treats. They sell Mother's Day cakes and Easter chocolates. If you happen to be in Paris for Epiphany in January, try a galette de rois, which is a traditional round cake.

Go to the famous museums, but remember that the city has smaller galleries and cultural spaces, too.

The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée de l'Orangerie, and the city's other world-famous museums are spectacular.

However, every single neighborhood in Paris is seeping with culture, and there are so many other galleries and cultural spaces worth adding to your itinerary.

The historic Marais neighborhood, located in the third and fourth arrondissements, is home to some of my favorite art galleries. I go to Galerie Perrotin for contemporary works and Polka Galerie for photography exhibits.

To immerse yourself in the history of French fashion, head west to the Galerie Dior and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent.

Art is all over the streets, so keep your head up as you wander through different neighborhoods.

From the giant murals around the Centre Pompidou to the graffiti covering buildings in Montmartre, street art is all over the city.

You never know where you'll stumble upon an amazing piece of art, so make sure to keep your head up as you walk around the different neighborhoods.

Some tourists only stick to French foods they know, but there are so many delicious dishes to try.

Crêpes, onion soup, and escargots are some of the best-known French dishes around the world, and they're the ones I often see visitors order in Paris.

Those meals are delicious, but they aren't all that French cuisine has to offer. Some of my favorite dishes are beef tartare, pâté de campagne, and roasted duck.

Get out of your comfort zone and try new foods at a traditional bistro or brasserie, where the menu is written on a chalkboard. It's a guaranteed way to experience true French cuisine.

The weather is gray and rainy for most of the year, so make sure to carry around an umbrella.

Many movies and TV shows portray Paris as a city that's sunny and warm all year. Unfortunately, that's far from reality.

The weather in the fall, winter, and spring can be overcast and humid, and I've seen a lot of tourists pack the wrong attire or scramble to find rain gear during their trip.

Don't let the weather deter you, though. If you're planning on walking a lot, just carry a small umbrella with you.

To explore Paris in the sunshine, your best bet is to visit in the summer .

The Métro can be intimidating for first-timers, but it's a wonderful way to get around the city.

Taking public transportation in an unfamiliar city can be scary and confusing. But once you start using the Paris Métro, you'll realize how efficient and reliable it is. It can get you almost anywhere in the city in less than an hour, regardless of your location.

I also recommend downloading the Bonjour RATP app, which lets users search for the most optimal route to their destination.

When you take the Métro , remember that you're in a big city. Avoid traveling during rush hour and keep a close eye on your belongings.

If you're in Paris during an important soccer match, embrace the locals' excitement.

Soccer, referred to as "football" in France, is a big deal here.

Crowds gather in bars, restaurants, and other public spaces to watch matches, especially major ones like the World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.

If you can attend a game at the Stade de France or the Parc des Princes, I recommend doing so. It'll expose you to a new side of French culture that most tourists don't see.

Have a plan in place in case you run into a protest.

Protests are common in Paris, so tourists should be aware of the political climate and local news ahead of their trip.

Law enforcement officials regularly close down subway stations along protest routes and block off streets to contain crowds.

Tourists may want to avoid visiting areas where demonstrations are happening because the protests can sometimes escalate and become violent.

If you do run into one you weren't expecting, I advise turning around, finding the nearest subway station, and leaving the area instead of following the flow of people.

Many tourists don't know that the Seine is one of the city's most vibrant gathering spots in the summer.

If you want to party and meet locals during the summer, the Seine is the place to go.

As soon as the weather gets warmer, Parisians flock to the riverbank to meet friends, listen to music, and enjoy food and drinks. Some areas get so crowded that you have to search for a place to sit.

At a promenade along the water called the Quai Saint Bernard, people gather to practice tango, salsa, and other types of dancing. The atmosphere is laid back and welcoming, so if you go, you'll most likely end the night with some new local friends.

Give yourself enough time to stroll through the parks before they close.

Paris is home to some of the world's most scenic public parks, but most tourists don't realize that a lot of them close before the sun sets.

Arrive in the morning or early afternoon to ensure that you have plenty of time to enjoy the grounds.

If you want to admire classic French architecture, head to the Luxembourg Gardens and lounge on the grass or by the fountain. You can also visit the Palais-Royal garden after exploring the Louvre, which is just steps away.

This story was originally published on August 17, 2022, and most recently updated on September 9, 2024.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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