Travel Resources

No affiliate links (yet, hehe). All the below recommendations are 100% what I find useful and helpful through personal experience.

Flight Price Comparisons

1. Skyscanner
2. Google Flights
3. Kayak

European Train Bookings

1. Trainline – The cheapest train booking system I've found in English to purchase European train travel. It's simple to navigate, and purchasing through the app will sync live train details on the day of travel.
2. Rail Europe – A tad more expensive than Trainline but with a cleaner, more intuitive interface. It's a solid second option for train bookings.

Accommodation Bookings

As a rule of thumb, it's always best to book direct. It's easier to make changes, you get some freebies, and usually the prices are lowest on the web. But, if you're an avid fan of booking platforms, here are my recommendations:

1. Hostelworld – A longstanding booking platform specializing in hostels (though some smaller hotels and "smart homes" have also made their way in. Keeps track of your history, so you can look back on where you've been. Also features a social chat to facilitate "linkups."
2. Airbnb – The business model gets a lot of clout for being lucrative and dismissive of legal rights on both sides (tenant and host), but it has to be said that Airbnb offers some of the most wide-ranging, interesting accommodations on the planet. Some may be super expensive, sure, so I recommend scrolling past the first three pages to find those hidden gems. As long as you and the host are both respectful, all's well that ends well.

Travel Insurance

1. Amex – Has a 24/7 call centre for those emergencies that just can't wait. Pretty speedy responses, and they were very helpful in booking me a business class flight back home after I tore my ACL abroad.
2. Goose (within Canada) – The cheapest option for Canadians. Finding the right number to call in an emergency is kind of unintuitive, but once you get through, I've found the support welcoming. Unfortunately doesn't offer lost luggage coverage. Fortunately offers a single trip top-up option to bundle on top of any existing coverage. 5 stars for convenience – everything can be purchased within minutes in the app.

Travel Cards

1. Wise – The best currency converter platform ever. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive. Exchanging money for low, low rates has never been easier with the Wise debit card.
2. Amex – Who doesn't love those points-for-every-dollar that Amex gives out? The Amex Cobalt is a great credit card for Canadians looking to rack up points on food and travel.
3. [Your local airline card] – Some airlines offer 1:1 points redemption with Amex. Even if they don't, it's always worth it to have a credit card with the airline(s) of your country, especially if you fly a lot.

eSIMS

eSIMS have opened up a world of convenience, and some phones don't even have a slot for physical SIMs anymore.

1. Trip.com – An accidental discovery for me and a very welcome one. Trip.com offers eSIMS at unbeatable prices (think $1.50/day). Check different regional sites of Trip.com because they offer different coverage. I buy mine from the Singapore site.
2. eTravelSim - Outside of Trip.com, this is the cheapest site I've found for eSIMS that work. Remaining data sometimes runs out prematurely on the last day, but otherwise it's a solid platform. I wouldn't recommend buying here for calling minutes, though. Unfortunately, there's no feature to auto-activate the eSIM when you get to your destination.
3. No eSIM / Just buy a physical one – After multiple solo trips around the world, I'm leaning more and more toward the old-school physical SIM card. You get better reception, you don't have to worry about calls not going through, and there's no awkward moment when you realize you have to scan a QR code to activate your eSIM, but the only image you have of your QR code is on your phone.

Image Editing

For on-the-go, mobile-friendly editing power.

1. Meitu (美图秀秀) – The Chinese beauty app you've all heard about. Has a huge range of features like skin-correcting, filters, photo templates, AI repair, and more.
2. Canva – The godsend of graphic design for those who just want an aesthetic layout without the bill.

Activities

1. Get Your Guide – A great resource to search for both group and solo activities in a foreign destination. Many activities are posted by official businesses, but it's site first and foremost for local guides.
2. Airbnb Experiences – A fun section of Airbnb many people don't know about. I've found some great deals through Experiences that I wouldn't have been able otherwise.
3. Flytographer – Professional photoshoots for families, couples, and solo travellers. Headquartered in Vancouver! It's pricey, but the standard of their photos are all pretty high.

Other Resources

Blogging platforms (other than Ghost)

Ghost definitely ranks first in my heart out of all the other platforms I've tried, but in case you don't feel the same, here are the next best options. [insert ghost affiliate]

1. Squarespace – Once you've got the basics figured out, Squarespace is a very intuitive drag-and-drop website builder – no code needed. Designing is limited to "blocks," but it's not a bad choice if you want freedom of design without fear of making it look horrible. Quite pricey.
2. Wix – Way cheaper than Squarespace with all the drag-and-drop freedom to boot. Sometimes too free-ing. You can place anything anywhere in Wix, so use this if you want complete designing freedom.
3. WordPress – Over 40% of websites on the World Wide Web still use WordPress as their base for its wide array of customization options with "plug-ins." You can build literally any type of site with WP. Just be sure to use WordPress.org if you want to completely own your site, not WordPress.com. The site itelf is free; premium plug-ins, templates, and site hosting is where it gets expensive.

Bonus: KadenceWP – Kadence is the best theme for WordPress. It's free (!), super fast, and comes with features like a Table of Contents most developers would only include in premium themes. Tons of customization options.