Trip Essentials: The Travel Tools I Use

These are the travel tools I return to when planning independent trips: flights, accommodation, local transport, ferries, tours, mobile data, insurance and money abroad. I do not use every service on every journey, and I do not assume one provider is automatically best everywhere. The point of this page is to give you a practical shortlist so you can compare the options that matter for your own trip.

Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. If you book or sign up through one of them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. That does not change the price you see or which tools I include.

Bartolomé Island, Galápagos, Ecuador

My Travel Tools at a Glance

Flights

I use Trip.com as one of my main starting points for flight searches. It is particularly useful when I am piecing together longer trips with several airlines or looking at routes across Asia, although I still compare the final fare, baggage rules and ticket conditions before paying.

Accommodation

For hotels and guesthouses, Booking.com is usually my first stop because I know the platform well and use it across very different kinds of trips. I also check Agoda, particularly in Asia, and Expedia when it gives me a useful alternative.

Rental Cars

When a road trip makes more sense than public transport, I use Discover Cars to compare providers. The headline price is only the beginning: I pay attention to deposit size, mileage, fuel policy, insurance exclusions and where the car must be collected.

Tours and Activities

I prefer travelling independently, but some experiences are easier or simply better with a guide. I compare Viator and GetYourGuide for wildlife trips, food tours, specialist guides, boat trips and excursions where arranging transport independently adds unnecessary friction.

Ferries and Other Transport

For island trips, ferry schedules can shape the entire itinerary. I use Direct Ferries and Ferryhopper to compare routes and operators, then build the itinerary around the sailings that work.

This matters particularly in places such as the Greek islands and the Azores, where a route that looks obvious on a map may not work smoothly on the day you need it.

Japan’s Shinkansen network — the best transport choice always depends on the route.

eSIMs and Mobile Data

This is one category where I would not choose a provider before choosing the destination. Coverage depends on the local network, routing, 5G access, plan length and how much data you need.

I regularly compare Nomad, Airalo and Yesim, but the useful answer is often country-specific rather than brand-specific. My travel eSIM guide is the better starting point if you want to compare providers rather than buy the first plan you see.

VPN

I use a VPN mainly on unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks and when travelling in countries where access to everyday services can be restricted or inconsistent. NordVPN is the service I currently link to here.

Travel Insurance

Insurance is the section where I would be most cautious about copying someone else’s recommendation. Age limits, trip length, medical exclusions, cancellation cover, excesses and country of residence can completely change whether a policy is suitable.

SafetyWing is one option worth comparing for eligible travellers, but I would always read the current policy wording against your own trip rather than treating any travel-insurance brand as universally suitable.

Money and Payments Abroad

I use Wise for international transfers and currency conversion, while N26 is useful for everyday card spending and managing travel expenses from the app.

Whichever card you use, check the current ATM fees and exchange-rate terms, and be wary of dynamic currency conversion when a terminal offers to charge you in your home currency.

Miradouro de Santa Luzia, Lisbon.