Alternative Lodging
Camelot – become a live in guardian of a vacant property
Castle and Palace Hotels – a directory of castles and palaces to stay at
Couch Surfing - stay with locals who are willing to host travelers
Farm Stay – stay on farms or ranches
Home Exchange – swap homes with another traveler
House Carers – house-sit or find a house-sitter
Unusual Hotels of the World – a directory of quirky and unique places to stay around the world
AIRPLANES
Find The Best Airfare
I find airfare hunting one of the least fun parts of travel planning, but a little time spent in this area can lead to big savings.
Adioso - ability to set alerts for prices below a set $ amount, contextual searching (Austin to NYC under $300)
Airfare Watchdog – set a low fare alert and get updates by email when the price matches your need
Hipmunk - simple to use, graphs out your airfare & airline choices for easy comparison
Google Flight Search - easy to use, multiple airline, great sorting options
Kayak – flexible date search, ability to search for vacation packages
Expedia - general flight search or flight/hotel/car package search
Orbitz - general flight search or flight/hotel/car package search
Travelocity - cute gnome, good sales, general flight search & vacation package search
Priceline - Bid on airline tickets or use conventional airfare search
Yapta – Track flight prices before you buy and after you buy so that you can get a refund if the airline drops the price
Research Airlines & Airports
SkyTrax – independent traveler reviews of airlines and airports
Airlikes – airline & airport reviews
The Guide to Sleeping in Airports – individual reviews of airports with best and worst lists (just in case)
Layover Guide – what to do if you have a layover (by airport)
Frequent Flyer Miles
Travel Hacking Cartel - helps you earn miles and gives advice on how to use them
FlyerGuide – pretty much an encyclopedia of frequent flyer information
GoMiles – keep track of your frequent flyer miles
Award Wallet – frequent flyer miles tracker
Credit Card Tune-Up – online calculator that helps you pick the best rewards card for your spending profile
Flyer Talk – great forums to discuss frequent flyer miles and offers
Find the Best Seat on the Plane
SeatGuru
SeatExpert
SkyTrax
AUTO
Rentals
Auto Europe – Discount Car Rentals in Europe
Kemwel – car rental in Europe
Gear & Products
Minimus.biz – travel sized products
The Versalette – one piece of clothing 15 ways to wear it (discontinued but you can sign up to find out if a new company will be making this)
Platy Soft Bottle
Grid It – organize small items for packing
MONEY
Simple Travel Budget Planning WorksheetDaily Travel Budget Planning Worksheet.
