One of the downsides that comes with suffering through what seems like the longest winter ever is…passport envy. I’m not sure if it’s from listening to the ‘beach day’ tales of friends who live in warmer climates or drooling over the curated travel images from Travel Noire but, I’ve never wanted to get out of town more in my life.
But because I can’t just get up and go, I’ve been obsessed with researching travel deals and planning my next trip. And never being one to keep all of the good stuff to myself, here are 11 travel resources I found that could help you save some money and cure your passport envy:
1. The Flight Deal Newsletter
The Flight Deal newsletter sends out a daily alert with curated flight deals from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Chicago that are 6 cents per mile or less. Just this week they featured a round trip flight from New York to BRAZIL for $254 with taxes included. Insane!
2. TravelZoo’s Top 20
TravelZoo’s Top 20 is a weekly list of the best travel and entertainment deals published by TravelZoo. The site also provides around the clock access to local and international deals that you’ll want to jump on. I’ve used it to do a lot of cool things around NYC, such as check out a new spa and go on a whale watching adventure.
3. Travel Noire
Travel Noire is a beautifully designed platform featuring cultivated insights from a global community of black travelers. They have over 80 curators who send in dispatches from around the world with info on the best places to see, stay, eat and explore. Plus, they recently launched their Travel Noire Academy which gives you access to courses designed to make you a more savvy traveler.
4. and 5. Living Social and Groupon
Living Social and Groupon are popular deal-of-the-day websites that offer a ton of deals on local food, entertainment and destination deals.
6. Kayak
Kayak is one of the largest travel search engines available that can help you find and book cheap flights, hotels, vacations and rental cars.
Airfare Watchdog provides airfare deals, cheap flights, & money-saving tips from our airfare experts. (One can never have too many resources to help lower the cost of airfare!)
8. HostelWorld
HostelWorld is an online search engine that helps you find backpacker hostels and cheap hotels around the world. It also provides hostel reviews, city guides, sightseeing, entertainment and backpacking tips.
9. Gilt City
Gilt City is the local lifestyle site from Gilt Groupe that offers memorable adventures and exclusive offers, all at insider prices.
10. Airbnb
Airbnb is a website for people to rent out lodging, including private rooms, entire apartments, castles, boats, manors, tree houses, tipis, igloos, private islands and other properties which could end up being less expensive or more convenient than traditional lodging options.
11. Lyft
Lyft is a mobile app that facilitates ride-sharing by letting people who need a ride request one from drivers nearby who have a car. Unlike traditional taxis, Lyft drivers do not charge fares, but receive ‘donations’ from their passengers. Lyft currently operates in 19 domestic cities and has plans to expand internationally. In many cases, catching a ‘Lyft’ can be less expensive than using Uber, with its surge pricing or a traditional cab service.
What other resources are you using to plan your next stay- or vacation? Drop them into the comment section below!