I have been a solo woman traveling for 10 + years now! And when I first started to explore the world, travel planning websites were pretty basic. The internet has come a long way since 2010. And all this technology has been game-changing for women traveling independently! Use these 7 travel planning websites to create the trip of your dreams!
Why use a travel planning website? The answer to this question could be endless. But narrowing it down to why it is most beneficial, we can start with finding the best deals! When travel planning, budget is almost everyone’s major factor. This is why using a site to help you find a flight or hotel can be so helpful. Also, more inclusive sites provide suggestions for the best restaurants and attractions in the area.
When booking my trips, I use 9 travel planning websites consistently. Once I have arrived at my destination, there is also 13 must-have travel app for solo females I use every trip. I will start to break down each travel planning site and why these are vital in helping me get from point a to point b.
(Disclaimer: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning if you click on the link and make a purchase, I receive a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you, and you may even receive a small discount. See disclosure for more information.)
9 Travel Planning Websites
On to the actual list of sites that I find most useful. These sites will help you book any trip, whether a road trip, vacation rental, or just a little getaway off the beaten path! Some of these sites have membership reward programs!
Essential Travel Accessories
Kayak
This travel planning website is gold! When using Kayak, I love getting inspired to choose where to go by setting my destination to “anywhere.” Just put your departure city and the dates you want to travel, then add anywhere to your destination choice. Click search, and BOOM, a list of destinations will appear sorted by cheapest option first.
Who doesn’t love finding the best deals and discovering new cities? Using this feature, I have discovered a couple of “off-the-beaten-path” destinations. I can credit my trip to Bari, Italy, and Valletta, Malta, to using Kayak.
Booking.com
I love booking.com for so many reasons! It is not just a site for hotels but vacation rentals too! You can also use this traveling planning website to book airport taxis! I feel like I am always finding the best deals on booking.com!
This site has a nifty loyalty program that saves you money the more you book with them. Genius level one, which is achieved with any two stays within two years, gets you 10% off your account’s life. And, when you complete 5 stays within 2 years, you are upgraded to Genius level 2. In level 2, you are bumped up to a 15% discount and complimentary breakfast and upgrades at some select hotels.
I should also mention the travel community forum on this site. It’s perfect if you plan to visit somewhere in the offseason and want to know if it’s worth it. This sort of travel forum is beneficial for solo females traveling and interested in safety advice.
Get Your Guide
Get Your Guide is a highly rated and user-friendly site and travel planning app. This site is wonderful for getting an overview of the city’s best attractions and tours. The ease of using this site and helpful traveler reviews make it a winner.
Many people often don’t think of a traveler hack using a day tour to get from point a to point b. BUT LET ME BE CLEAR, you can only do this if you travel with a backpack. Showing up for your day tour to another city with your suitcase will not work. I would often travel with a small backpack to the destination city and stay after the tour.
Get Your Guide as a travel planning site has been really terrific. I recommend it over any other travel sites offering similar services.
Omino Travel
I use Omino Travel for on-the-ground transit travel. This includes buses, car rentals for a road trip, or train travel. What I also really love about Omino is the travel planning suggestions.
When you log on to Omino and type in your destinations, it will display search results based on the shortest duration. Having this feature has really shaped some of my travel planning. Sometimes you might think the fastest way to reach your destination is by train, but sometimes it turns out the bus is better or vice versa.
Omino also has a $5 referral program. Sign up and refer a friend, and as soon as they sign up and use Omino, you both get $5!
Direct Ferries
There is something magical about traveling from island to island. For my trips via the open sea, no better site to use than Direct Ferries. This travel planning website will display search results for the cheapest and shortest duration. This way, you are finding the best deals with the optimal travel time.
Direct Ferries has a user-friendly App and friendly customer service. I have used them most recently and had to make some changes to the travel dates. I was able to do this easily on their site without hassle or fees. For ferry transportation options, you can’t go wrong!
Ultimate Travel Planning Guide Books
Wanderlog
A NEW and exciting travel planning app out there is Wanderlog. Wanderlog is especially cool if you are planning a road trip. Use this highly integrated app easily to keep all your travel plans organized.
Use Wanderlog on your desktop or on your phone with the ISO/ Android App. In addition to keeping all your travel plans organized, you can find loads of travel guides created by locals.
Easily export all your saved points of interest into Google Maps! I am very impressed with the overall ease of use and functionality of Wanderlog.
United Vacations
If you are someone planning to travel a lot in your life, do yourself a favor and align yourself with an airline. For me, that airline is United Airlines. I have taken advantage of all the programs that United has to offer and racked up enough points to always fly business or first class!
United Vacations is a great travel planning site where you can grow your mileage account while planning your trip effortlessly!
To get started building your mileage you need to set yourself up for free with an account. Then to take advantage of all the programs to grow your miles, get the United Credit Card! This offer will start you off with THOUSANDS of miles! Possibly enough to actually fly business class to Europe!
Tours By Locals
Booking tour activities with Tours By Locals is a great way to support the city you are visiting. I just love their travel planning website! The platform is really easy to use, with many helpful filters.
You can just put in your travel days and choose the type of tour you would like to filter by. They have Multi-Day, Half-Day, and Full-Day. The reviews of the tour are also very helpful in making a choice on what to do.
Roadtrippers
Roadtrippers is a fantastic travel planning site with some extra helpful features! It’s not just a road trip planner that gives directions. Roadtrippers is an app and a site allowing you multiple ways to organize a trip.
Special features included with Premium Membership – Trip Guides, Voices, Trip Planner, and more!
They are always adding partnerships and offering the best deals! Speaking of Deals, use my promo code and save $5! Code: BTR5QTP Visit the site HERE!
Multi-City Trip Planners
Inspirock
A new website has emerged for planning a multi-city trip, and I am impressed! The company is called Inspirock. The inspiration to see the planet is their slogan.
I’ve had a lot of fun with this travel planning site! You can build multi-destination trips with a few clicks! How it works is you first put in your travel dates and then choose a few activities. The site then plugs in tour activities and hotel booking recommendations. It will produce a whole itinerary with transportation options, etc.
Have you tried it? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments!
Book A Way
Bookaway is a multi-destination trip planner for your transportation options. They have an easy-to-use interface, with additional options such as booking hotels.
I love being able to view the options of what is the cheapest by my preferred method of travel.
Best Guide Books for Multi-City Planning
Google Flights
Google Flights is a great multi-city trip planner. I often start getting ideas for my travels with their search features. It’s free, it’s easy, and I just love it!
Triptile
Triptile is a digital trip planner that does all the work! Start by choosing the destinations and the travel dates. Then Triptile does the rest!
The homepage with a screen of popular travel destination tiles to get the inspiration flowing. Then, you choose cities to add to your trip and start the creation of your dream vacation!
Nology
A new app that works for Apple and Android is Nology. All travel needs met in just one app! Try it out today.
More Travel Planning Websites for Dining Reservations
These days there are so many sites to use for travel planning. Now when it comes to dinner reservations I use many. Here is a list of the sites / apps I use for making dining reservations.
- Open Table– A great site to use for making restaurant reservations
- Resy
- Eat App
- Happy Cow (find vegan restaurants)
Plan a Multi-City Trip to Europe
Planning a multi-city trip to Europe can be tricky. Luckily I made a bunch of mistakes and took notes! Learn all about how to plan a multi-city trip to Europe the right way!
This post talks about the importance of airport transfers and considering the time it will actually take from your day. I will give you pointers on what are the best travel planning do’s and don’t’s!
Best Travel Planners
Traveling Alone For The First Time?
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Chris Pederson says
I like the idea of checking on a website that has restaurants and attractions laid out for me to read about. Vacations are a way for me to escape my boring hometown. To try new food and experiences that I can’t get anywhere else.
Melissa Byron says
It’s exactly why I travel! I love trying new places to eat.
Everett Ives says
Thank you for your comments, I’ve been looking for something that seems to be what you describe as Wanderlog, I’m going to check it out.
Also, only slightly off topic, I travel a lot on business and have been using Expedia but have never really been happy with the service. I see you recommend Booking and I just might move to their service but what I really need is a site that will allow me to organize various bookings into expense reports. With Expedia, preparing a travel expense report is miserable.
Thank you.