Travel Resources

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A complete list of travel resources to help you plan your next trip. These are all of my favorite products and sites that I use for each of our destinations. Visit my Amazon Storefront for one-stop shopping on all of these travel essentials.

Best Travel Websites & Companies For Vacation Planning

Best Deals On Hotels and Vacation Rentals:

Expedia.com

Booking.com

VRBO.com

Trivago (Compares rates from multiple sites)

Best Deals On Flights:

Expedia.com

Trip.com

Best Places to Book Tours & Experiences:

TripAdvisor

Viator

Best Deals on Rental Cars:

Both of the sites below compare prices from all of the major car rental companies to find the best deal:

Discovercars.com
Rentalcars.com

Best Travel Hacks

Radical Storage: If you have to check out of your vacation rental in the morning but don’t have a flight out until the evening, Radical Storage will store your luggage for you. Available in 500 cities, 70 countries and more than 5,000 storage points.

Get Your Guide: Provides experiences in cities all over the U.S. and world. These experiences include skip-the-line tickets to the most popular attractions, immersive food and drink tours, cooking classes, walking tours and bucket list experiences.

Go City: Available in cities across the U.S. and world, Go City eliminates the need to purchase multiple tickets for attractions in one city. They combine all of your reservations into one pass.

Best City Tours & Transportation

Big Bus Tours: Open top bus tours available in 23 cities across the U.S.

Bikesbooking.com: An online booking service for bicycles, motorcycles, scooters and quads all over the world. 50,000 vehicles are available for booking in more than 2,000 locations around the world

My Go-To Sites for Trip Planning:

TripAdvisor

Best Travel Products For Packing

The Top Rated 2 Piece Luggage Set- Samsonite Freeform

This 2 piece luggage set from Samsonite has over 8,000 five star reviews.

Thule Rooftop Cargo Carrier

This Thule rooftop cargo carrier is a fabulous gift for anyone traveling as a family! We use ours for all of our road trips and can fit 5 pairs of skis and poles in it as well!

Apple AirTags

After my luggage was lost for 6 weeks on a flight home from Nashville, I have learned my lesson and will never travel without Apple AirTags in our suitcases. When I was filling out the lost luggage claim form, one of the first questions was “Did your luggage contain an AirTag?” The Apple AirTags connect to your phone via the Find My iPhone app, allowing your phone to track the location of the tag. We put them in key chains inside of each piece of luggage we check.

Packing Cubes

As a family of five, we have to combine our suitcases to save space. Packing cubes have become a must-have travel item for us. Each one of us has a set in different colors. When we arrive at our accomodations, we unpack by handing out each person’s packing cubes. The cubes can go directly into dresser drawers or closets that we are sharing. It helps keep us organized and makes separating clean and dirty clothe easy for the return trips.

Compression Packing Cubes

These compression packing cubes have a special zipper system that compresses them flat when zipped. A huge space saver and great gift for travelers.

Passport Holder With AirTag Compartment

These passport holders come in multiple colors, for each person in your family. The best part is they have a compartment for an Apple AirTag so you can track the location of your passport. Losing your passport is a nightmare any time–but especially when traveling.

Carry On Luggage Backpack

These carry-on luggage backpacks are all the rage! They fit under the airplane seat and count as a personal item for most airlines. The best part is they can fit several days worth of clothes! It also has a USB port to charge your phone. With this carry on luggage backpack being a personal item for under the seat, you can still have a carry on suitcase for the overhead storage, essentially eliminating the need to check a bag!

Luggage Scale

This luggage scale gives you peace of mind that your suitcase is not over the weight limit. Remember to pack it in your luggage to weigh your bags on your return trip.

Travel Hanging Toiletry Bag

This top-rated toiletry bag fits so much! I love the hanging feature, perfect for hanging up on a towel bar in a hotel bathroom. It keeps your toiletries neatly organized and easily accessible as it hangs in the restroom.

Heatproof Hair Tool Organizer

This heatproof hair tool organizer not only keeps all of your hair tools neatly organized, but it allows you to pack a hot flat iron immediately!

Deep Toiletry Bag for Full Size Bottles

This Narwey hanging toiletry bag is deep to accommodate full sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

Men’s Leather Hanging Toiletry Bag

This top-rated men’s leather hanging toiletry bag is stylish and functional, keeping all of your toiletries organized and easily accessible.

Lay Flat & Go Makeup Bag

I am obsessed with this travel make up bag. It lays flat, so you can easily see and access the contents. With one pull of the drawstring it folds up into a pouch for easy packing.

Travel Jewelry Organizer

This fold-flat jewelry organizer has compartments for necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

Road Trip Bike Carrier

This bike carrier hooks on to the back of the car with ease!

Sturdy Loop Luggage Tags

When I lost my luggage, it had a buckle-style luggage tag on it that came off of it. I now only use the loop-style luggage tags. This set is great, the tags are sturdy but bendable so they can’t snap and the loop style insures it won’t come loose.

Best Travel Products For Photography

GoPro Hero 10

GoPro Hero 10 is another one of our must-have travel items. We use it on beach vacations and for snorkeling, and we use it in the winter for skiing. It takes great quality pictures! For snorkeling, be sure to get the waterproof floating handle accessory.

Digital Point and Shoot with Great Zoom Lens

A compact point and shoot camera with a fantastic zoom lens is an amazing gift for travelers. Both of these cameras take video in addition to pictures. I have the Sony RX100 and was able to take some amazing close up videos of wildlife in Glacier National Park with the zoom lens! It is like having binoculars and a camera all in one! The Canon Point & Shoot also has a fantastic zoom lens.

Travel Video Foldable Drone

A drone takes high quality video and photos with an aerial view, taking vacation photos to the next level! (Literally!) For beginners looking for fun travel videos, the Holy Stone is a great drone for an affordable price. For professionals looking for the next level features the DJI Mini Drone is the top-rated drone.

Best Travel Products For Making Life Easier

Heated Jacket

I love my women’s heated Ororo jacket. It is one of my favorite items! I also have the women’s Ororo heated vest. These are perfect for keeping you warm on cold days. Click here for the men’s heated vest and the men’s heated jacket.

Phone Lanyard

Everyone laughs when I tell them this phone lanyard is hands down my favorite travel find. This is a game changer! I use my phone for pictures and videos and when I’m hiking, or sightseeing, I don’t want to put my camera in my purse or backpack because it is a pain to have to keep taking it out, but I don’t want to have to carry it in my hand the whole time. This lanyard allows your phone to be handy and available with your hands free! I wear it cross-body and it is just perfect! Total game changer! I liked it so much I bought two different ones!

World Travel Adaptor

This travel outlet adaptor kit works for all countries!

Quick Dry Water Sandals

These sandals are our go-to water shoes. They are perfect for rocky beaches and streams. The shoes dry quickly, and are sturdy enough to hike in. These are great for white water rafting, too.

Lightweight Sand Resistant Towels

Lightweight towels are fantastic for taking on any vacation. They fit comfortably in a backpack if you are going on a hike to a waterfall. If we rented a VRBO, we take them to use as beach towels. They also work great as a blanket to have a picnic lunch and we always use them on the airplanes as a blanket. We don’t travel with out them! We have both the Bay Laurel and the Sand Cloud brands. The Sand Cloud is a little thicker and feels like a higher quality, but the Bay Laurel works great, too–just a little lighter weight than the Sand Cloud. We like them both!

Collapsible Travel Cooler

When staying at a hotel or rental home, we always pack our Maelstrom collapsible travel cooler. This is great to pack lunches and drinks for the beach, or to keep drinks cold in the car. It folds flat so can be packed easily in a suitcase. This is one of our travel must-haves.

Venture Pal Lightweight Backpacks

I can’t say enough about these Venture Pal backpacks! We started out with two of them, the 35 L with the front pocket and the 40 L. We used those two on our Hawaii vacation, and we liked them so much we ended up buying three more for the kids for our trip to Glacier National Park. These are great because they are so lightweight, they are comfortable to wear on a hike or for all day sight seeing around a city. They fit a large amount of stuff with out feeling heavy. The 40 L has a waterproof pouch inside of it to put wet items. They also fold inside out into a small zipper pouch for compact packing.

Crossbody Travel Daypack

Great for sight seeing or day hikes. This crossbody backpack can be worn in front or back.

Travel Lighted Makeup Mirror

A compact make up mirror with 3 light settings that folds up to fit flat in your suitcase.

Full Face Snorkel Mask

These full face snorkel masks make breathing natural and comfortable, while also giving you a 180 degree view verses traditional masks. There is no mouthpiece so you can breathe through both your nose and mouth. The dry top system prevents water from entering at both the surface and while submerged.

Waterproof Phone Lanyard

This waterproof lanyard is great for rafting, paddle boarding, boating or if you don’t have a GoPro! This particular brand we love because the plastic does not make the pictures blurry.

Rain Coats

My daughter and I have these rain coats and we love them. They are lightweight yet warm and they are just great raincoats. Rain is never fun on a vacation, but these coats do the trick! My husband loves this Columbia rain coat.

Dual USB Charging Blocks

Dual USB charging blocks are perfect for charging multiple devices. Remember to pack extra charging cords to use in your rental car as well!

Heated Vest & Heated Jacket

The ORORO heated vest and heated jacket is great for cold weather travel or hiking. I have both the women’s vest and jacket and love them! I actually wear the heated vest under my ski coat!

Best Travel Products For Airplane & Flights

AirPods Bluetooth Adaptor

An AirPods Bluetooth Adaptor allows you to connect your AirPods wirelessly to an old fashion headphones jack. This is great for using your AirPods to watch the tv on an airplane or even on a treadmill at the gym.

Sleep Mask with Built In Bluetooth Headphones

Fall asleep easily on the plane with this sleep mask with built in bluetooth headphones.

Airplane Phone Holder

Watch a movie on your phone hands-free on the airplane with this airplane phone holder that hooks onto the seat back.

2 in 1 Airplane Travel Pillow & Travel Blanket

This travel blanket is doubles as a pillow when folded up.

Best Travel Products For Safety

RFID Blocking Wallet

This RFID blocking wallet prevents thieves from scanning your credit cards when in close proximity at popular tourist attractions and airports. This one also comes with a money clip attached.

Easy To Conceal RFID Blocking Hero Neck Wallet

This easy to conceal neck wallet fits under your coat or shirt protecting your passport and cards from any potential pick-pockets.

Portable Door Lock for Hotel Rooms

This portable door lock for hotel rooms makes a great stocking stuffer for any traveler. It gives peace of mind that your door cannot be opened by anyone with a hotel key.

Travel Money & Passport Belt

Protect your money and passport by wearing this belt wallet under your clothes.

Best Travel Products For Hiking Trips

Hiking Shoes

We are not avid hikers by any means, but we have hiked in Hawaii, Glacier National Park and in the mountains of Maryland and West Virginia. These are the Columbia hiking shoes that my daughters and I have. My son and husband have the men’s version. We wore them straight out of the box with no breaking in and had no issues with rubbing. They are comfortable and waterproof!

Hiking Poles

These Trail Buddy hiking poles were a must for a few of the hikes we did in Glacier National Park and we have used them on hikes in the Appalachian Mountains as well. These are helpful for any hike that has an ascent or descent, or stream crossings.

Hiking Socks

These women’schiking socks have extra cushion in them and are incredibly comfortable. My husband and son are big fans of these Innotree hiking socks.

Hydro Flask 40L Water bottle

This is another item that everyone in my family has. The Hydro Flask water bottle keeps ice and water cold for hours! This is a must-have travel item for us.

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