Travel Planning
Travel Planning
I am often asked for advice on where to book a cheap flight, how to find accommodations and how to go about planning a trip. I put together this list of the resources I presently use while traveling full-time. Every company on this list I have used personally.
Flights
This is my go to site for flights. What’s cool about this site is the ability to search everywhere to decide on a location based on cost. The everywhere function allows you to search by the month so that you can find the cheapest day to fly out. Another thing I like about the site is its inclusion of budget airlines in places like Europe and Asia that you won’t find on some of the other search sites.
This is another one of my go-to websites for flight searches. One of the reasons I like Momondo is its ability to see how the price of a flight changes for the week via a bar graph. The bar graph tells you the price of the flight for the day you’ve chosen and will display the prices across the entire week showing you if the price is higher or cheaper by flying out 1 or 2 days later.
Unlike the other flight search sites above that send you to another site to actually purchase the ticket, at Expedia you book the flight directly through them. what I have found is that prices at Expedia are similar but usually a few dollars more that other sites. What I really like is their 24 hr cancellation policy that allows you to cancel your booking within 24 hrs without any fees.
Choosing your seat
Have you ever booked a plane ticket and although you may have the option of choosing your seat during your booking, other than a simple map of the seats available you have NO idea what your seating arrangement really looks like. I use Aero Lopa for every flight I book that’s over 3 hours long. The site allows me to put in flight number, airline and destination to get a full 3D look at the actual seat I will pick to accurately see its configuration on the aircraft. This has been a game changer for me on long flights.
Have you ever booked a plane ticket and although you may have the option of choosing your seat during your booking, other than a simple map of the seats available you have NO idea what your seating arrangement really looks like. I use Aero Lopa for every flight I book that’s over 3 hours long. The site allows me to put in flight number, airline and destination to get a full 3D look at the actual seat I will pick to accurately see its configuration on the aircraft. This has been a game changer for me on long flights.
Accommodations
This is my go to site for booking accommodations wherever I am in the world. I can find everything from large hotels to guest houses and family run home stays.
This should be your first site to visit if you are traveling to Asia as they have the largest selection of accommodations in Asia I’ve come across. I use it for other countries as well and I find the prices are competitive with the other sites.
Love it or hate it, there are some awesome homes to be had on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. I have used it in the past to book a monthly stay in an apartment as well as renting a room in someone’s home. All my experiences have been great and I love the variety that is available.
Travel Insurance
When researching travel medical insurance when I left the U.S to travel full-time, I was a bit disappointed with some of the large popular insurance sites like World Nomads. As a traveler over 50, the insurance premiums were typically 50% higher than a traveler who was between 35-40, regardless of actually physical health. Ageism rears its ugly head throughout the travel space. Below are the insurance companies I found in my research that there was only about a 10% difference for travelers over 50 with no major pre-existing medical conditions.
When researching travel medical insurance when I left the U.S to travel full-time, I was a bit disappointed with some of the large popular insurance sites like World Nomads. As a traveler over 50, the insurance premiums were typically 50% higher than a traveler who was between 35-40, regardless of actually physical health. Ageism rears its ugly head throughout the travel space. Below are the insurance companies I found in my research that there was only about a 10% difference for travelers over 50 with no major pre-existing medical conditions.
