How to Plan Your Trip

A row of longtail boats parked on a stunning beach in Thailand

Planning your trip can be a lot of work! Where do you start? What’s step one? What’s step two? What’s step three? Fret not! This page will give you all the best resources I have for planning your trip from start to finish. These posts go into the nuts and bolts of planning. They will teach you what to do first, second, and third. They will teach you how to narrow down your travel choices, know where to get legit information on the web (besides here), and help you avoid the newbie mistakes I made in the beginning!

Top Articles on Travel Planning

Read more on the topic –>

layout divider

MY FAVORITE TRAVEL RESOURCES

Below are my favorite companies to use when I travel. They are always my starting point when I need to book a flight, accommodation, tour, or vehicle!

  • Skyscanner – Skyscanner is my favorite flight search engine. It searches small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites tend to miss. It is hands-down the number one place to start.
  • Going.com – Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) finds incredible flight deals and sends them directly to your inbox. If you’re flexible with your dates and destinations, you can score some amazing deals and save hundreds of dollars in the process!
  • Hostelworld – This is the best hostel accommodation site out there, with the largest inventory, best search interface, and widest availability.
  • Booking.com – The best all-around booking site. It constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates and has the widest selection of budget accommodation. In all my tests, it’s always had the cheapest rates out of all the booking websites.
  • Get Your Guide – This is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions. It has tons of tour options in cities all around the world, including everything from cooking classes and walking tours to street art lessons!
  • SafetyWing – This site offers convenient and affordable plans tailored to digital nomads and long-term travelers. It has cheap monthly plans, great customer service, and an easy-to-use claims process that makes it perfect for those on the road.
  • Discover Cars – Discover Cars is a car rental aggregator that can help you find the best deals for your next road trip. It pulls data from over 8,000 car rental locations to ensure you always find a great deal!
  • Trusted Housesitters – Trusted Housesitters is a platform that connects you with people in need of pet and house sitters. In exchange for looking after their pets or home, you’ll get access to free accommodation.
  • Top Travel Credit Cards  – Points are the best way to cut down travel expenses. Here’s my favorite point earning credit cards so you can get free travel!
layout divider

Travel Guides I’ve Written

nomadic matt's guide to travel hacking
nomadic matt's guide to paris
nomadic matt's guide to nyc
nomadic matt's guide to iceland
nomadic matt's guide to thailand
nomadic matt's guide to backpacking europe