It’s that time again, Travel Tuesday!  Do you ever wonder where people start when planning a trip?  I know I do!  I’m always curious and interested in knowing how people decided on where they’re going, where they’re staying, and how they decided what restaurants to visit and what attractions to put on their must-see list.

Today I’m sharing my top 4 travel sites that I use when I’m planning a trip of my own!

1. ThePointsGuy.com: The Points Guy’s site is outstanding for all types of travel questions.  I use his site to make sure I’m on top of all of the potential hotel and airline award point opportunities, but I also use it as a resource when trying to decide where to visit and where to stay.  TPG has tons of hotel reviews (and airline reviews) from all across the U.S. and around the world.  And the best part about the reviews, it’s TPG’s policy to never announce that he himself or anyone on his team is visiting the property, and no one on the TPG team accepts free nights’ stays etc.  So you know that the reviews are always unbiased.
    
2. TripAdvisor.com: I used to think TripAdvisor was a hokey site where people were essentially paid to write a review and/or a site where people would sign on to rave about (or hate on) some chain restaurant they visited while on vacation.  But over the last year, I’ve come to love TripAdvisor!  If for nothing else, it’s a great place to start when you know what city you’ll be visiting.  It’s a great way to see what the top restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and attractions are in a particular city.  You can also get a sense of what type of people are frequenting these places by reading the reviews.  If you’re looking for a quiet, unique spot for dinner, you probably don’t want to visit the place that everyone is raving about because it’s SUPER kid friendly.  You get my point.
    
3. NomadicMatt.com: Nomadic Matt’s site is chalk full of travel advice, but my favorite part of his site is the Destinations tab. He has highlighted every country that he has visited on a map.  You can easily hover over the map and click on the spot you’re interested in visiting.  He then provides a quick overview of things you need to know about traveling in that particular country/area.  He also provides a list of cities that he has been to within the country, which you can click on to explore the average lodging costs, transportation costs, what you can expect to spend per day, and a list of the top things to do in each city.  It’s easy to read, and especially helpful when you’re planning on visiting a new country as he provides a nice overview of must see attractions.
    
4. Airbnb: If you’ve been a reader for a while, you know I LOVE Airbnb.  (Here are my thoughts on using Airbnb while traveling abroad.)  I love it for the obvious reason of having a more authentic experience by staying in the home of a local of where ever you are visiting, but I also love to explore the site when I’m first planning a trip.  By reading property reviews for the city that you’re visiting, you can really get a grasp on what the highlights are in the city.  The property reviews will generally describe how close the Airbnb is to certain attractions whether that be the beach, a popular shopping district, historic museums, etc.  If you don’t have an Airbnb account, you can use this link to create one, and when you book your first stay, you’ll receive a $40 credit (and I’ll receive a $20 credit) #winwin!
    

Are there any sites that you go to every time you’re planning a fun trip?!  I’d love to know!  Leave a comment below to tell me about it!

*You can always find all of my travel posts under the Travel tab at the top of the page! 

On another travel note, interested in learning more about my favorite credit card that I use for travel (earn 2x points on any travel purchase!)?!  Check out this post and compare my favorite card with other travel cards here!

Disclaimer: If you click and/or sign up for a credit card through certain links on this site or any of my related social media platforms, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase.  As always, all opinions are my own.