I have a toolbox of my favourite planning tools when working out an itinerary. I’ve had people ask me in the past what websites I use, so I thought I’d write about some of them. None of these places are paying me.
Airlines
Kayak.com – For years, I’ve been a Kayak devotee. It’s great for picking and choosing airlines, manipulating layovers (avoid Denver in January or stretch your Istanbul layover to 22 hours), and combining airlines. It also has a trip manager feature that I use to keep track of all my reservations. You simply forward confirmation emails to them, and they add it to a computerised itinerary, which keeps all your confirmation numbers in one place.
Skyscanner.net – I’ve recently become a fan of Skyscanner. It’s especially useful when you don’t know where you want to go. It allows you to put in countries instead of specific airports, allowing you to find cheaper flights. For example, the first leg of my trip is a flight to Egypt. I was originally torn between flying into Cairo or Alexandria, but it Skyscanner found an easyJet flight to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast for about half the price. The bus ride to Cairo costs about $8.
Overland Transport
Nationalrail.co.uk – For train travel within the UK, there’s no better site than National Rail. It shows you the cheapest options and allows you to book directly with the operators.
Seat61.com – Finding resources about train travel in Africa is incredibly difficult, and Seat61 is pretty much the one-stop shop for info on trains around the world. It’s run by a British train nerd who collects information from his own experiences and those of other travellers. He’s also created some epic rail itineraries like London to Singapore overland.
Wikivoyage – This is a sister project of Wikipedia that has articles on travel destinations all over the world. Usually the pages for each country or city have a section on using public transport to get there. They also include a lot of practical information on visas that has proved useful. It’s not always the most up-to-date source, but it’s usually one of the first places I search. It’s also great if you’re wondering what the main attractions in a city are, especially in Europe.
Lonely Planet Thorn Tree Forum – For obscure, out of the way, and little-travelled paths, there is nowhere better to get information that the Thorn Tree. It’s a congregating point for helpful backpackers and adventurers, most of whom love getting to obscure and difficult destinations. They are more than happy to share their knowledge of transport routes and links in places that are barely on the map. Before posting, search the archive. There’s a 99% chance your questions has already been asked and answered, but sometimes these answers change. Also a good practical resource for visa advice, especially if you’re not applying in the country where your are a citizen.
Rome2Rio.com – These guys maintain a database of bus and train schedules and mix and match combinations when searching. It’s great within Europe, but more difficult within Africa, as buses rarely run on fixed schedules there. Sometimes it picks up bus operators and routes that I’d previously missed.
