As a result of my travels and goal of finding the best family holidays Queensland and Australia offers, I have researched and used a variety of travel websites, products and resources to help better plan, execute and of course, document my trips.
After receiving questions from readers and friends about how I go about preparing my travels, I’ve decided to list a collection of my top travel resources.
From transportation, gear, online sites, insurance and more, here is my personal travel resources go-to guide.
TRANSPORT
A top site that focuses on cheap flights is Skyscanner. They’re a leading global travel search site, providing free and instant online comparisons for millions of flights, as well as car hire and hotels.
What’s great about Skyscanner is their flexible search option. You can browse prices across a whole month, or even a year, allowing you to get the best deals.
Another site I go to when researching and booking for lowest airfares is webjet.com. They provide a detailed price comparison of all available carriers for your requested date/s.
TIP: Also when booking, go to seatguru.com to discover which seat is best to book. This site offers passenger reviews on their seat experience.
ACCOMMODATION
One of the most competitive and leading accommodation sites I’ve come across is Booking.com who has some of the best Queensland accommodation for families. This easy-to-use and informative site enable customers to not only search for a variety of accommodation options globally but also helps them to secure the best available price. They also offer 24/7 customer support.
Another competitive and trusted online site I use is Wotif.com when looking for the best family holiday packages QLD offers and Queensland family resorts. They offer deals for millions of rooms, hundreds of airlines and thousands of destination packages. With an easy to browse, book and secure website, the customer reviews are spot on and they have 24/7 customer support on hand as well. I also love their ‘Mystery Hotels’ option, so if you’re unsure of where to book and want a nice surprise then this is a cool booking choice.
Sick of the usual hotel or hostel? Airbnb is the perfect site to find and book unique accommodation around the world. From castles, apartments, bungalows and villas, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace where people list their property for rent. They have a number of rental choices across 34,000 cities and 190 countries.
BONUS: Receive $29AUD FREE credit when you sign-up here.
For budget family accommodation and solo travellers wanting to meet others, hostelworld.com is a must. They are the world’s number one hostel booking website offering accommodation in more than 180 countries including campsites, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs and budget hotels. They also have a strong travel social community and have the largest number of customer ratings and reviews for travellers.
ACTIVITIES AND TOURS
When booking my local attractions, tours and even airport transfers (at times) I always use Viator. They offer an extensively reviewed and tested list of activities, attractions and tours to do at any given destination. You simply purchase the activities you want to do online and then print off your ticket/s. As they play the middleman they save you heaps of time from having to individually research and book each tour operator.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
It may be one of those boring travel expenses but travel insurance is very important. You may think, “nothing ever happens to me when I travel so do I really need it this time”, well yes you do!
Holidaysafe is one of our travel insurance picks as they offer a range of policies and cover to suit any budget and trip such as single-trips, multi-trips, winter sports and backpacker travel. Also, their pregnancy guide is a handy resource as it’s been designed to help expecting mothers be more confident when travelling abroad, and to feel safe with the knowledge that they’re doing no harm to themselves and their baby.
World Nomads is another reliable travel insurer that is designed to cover everything you need. Recommended by many sources including Lonely Planet, they’ll keep you safe and covered for your travels, even if it’s more on the adventurous side (eg. skiing, bungee jumping and white water rafting – yep, all the things kids love to try) And, if you’re planning a family adventure holidays Australia experience, this would come in handy. You can purchase before you leave and even claim or extend your cover while on the road as they offer 24/7 assistance.
TRAVEL BLOGGING
There are a number of web hosting companies out there from Dreamhost, Bluehost and GoDaddy, however, for price and customer service I go with HostGator who is one of the top provides in the industry. What I like about HostGator is they offer 24/7 customer support (telephone, email and instant chat), and have an easy to use interface, video tutorials and FAQ guides.
DEAL: Get 25% off your web hosting with this coupon: STUFFITGOTRAVEL
For managing your website content I go WordPress.org, as it’s the most popular and trusted blogging system on the web with more than 60 million websites choosing to use this CMS. With that many users, comes a strong community of support from FAQs, online forums, question boards and WordPress.org staff on hand to answer queries. It’s FREE to download and comes an easy-to-use interface for formatting and building your content.
With millions of travel blogs on the Internet – it’s never been more competitive to get visitors, be recognised and earn money from your site. A good resource to help you run a successful online travel website is Superstar Blogging, a multifaceted online school. They have courses on travel writing, photography, videography, plus how to run a business. The school features industry experts, renowned writers, photographers, marketers and YouTubers, who share their insight, tips and strategies.
TRAVEL GEAR
GOPRO HERO SILVER (filming)
My only regret with the GoPro is not getting it earlier. It has completely changed the way I take video footage. There are no barriers – I can film underwater, in a car, on a bike, from the air and more. It’s also very light, durable and the footage captured is high quality. Easily my favourite gadget! Here is a video of how I put the GoPro into action.
NIKON D5100 (photography)
It’s essential when travelling to have a good camera to capture all your adventures and experiences. On my travels, I always take my Nikon D5100 to capture those special moments. It has a variety of easy to use settings for both film and photography, capturing excellent image quality, is robust and overall performs strongly.
PACK-IT CUBES (luggage organiser)
To avoid my suitcase from becoming a total mess after been hauled all over the place, I use my Pack-It Cubes set by Eagle Creek. I love having a tidy suitcase and these lightweight, durable and washable zip bags help me do that. Coming in three different sizes I separate items to retrieve easily. From undergarments, socks and belts in one bag to electric cables in another, these pack-it-cubes will help save space and keep your belongs well kept.
RFID BLOCKING ACCESSORIES (fraud protection)
With digital fraud at an all-time high and card skimming becoming a big issue for travellers, one solution I’ve found is Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) blocking accessories.
One brand I like to use to prevent thieves from stealing your personal details such as credit cards, passport and electronic rooms keys is by Eagle Creek. They not only offer RFID blocker bags, wallets, belts and organisers, but I’ve found their range of accessories can also be quiet stylish.
I love and use the RFID Blocker Mini Crossbody bag which is a great day bag for getting out and about on my travels and comes in a variety of colours (eg. blue, black and tan) to match my outfit. So win, win!
FAVOURITE TRAVEL BOOKS
There’s nothing better than reading the travel adventures and stories of others. And, the below books never fail to give me a serious case of wanderlust:
FAVOURITE TRAVEL FILMS & SHOWS
When I’m looking for inspiration and can’t be bothered reading a book, the below Film and TV shows never fail to make me want to pack the car, jump on a plane and travel the world.
FAVOURITE TRAVEL INFLUENCERS
There are a number of travel bloggers and vloggers I follow to get inspiration, plan my family holidays Queensland trips and source handy travel tips and insight from. These include:
Adventurous Kate
Backpack with Brock
Bitten by the Travel Bug
FunForLouis
Gabriel Traveler
Go, See, Write
Hey Nadine
Kombi Life
Wandering Earl
Nomadic Matt
OurOyster.com
Pommie Travels
Sonia’s Travels
Stop Having a Boring Life
The Travel Tart
Tony’s Travels
Traveltelling
vagabrothers
*Disclosure: Please note some of the links listed are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you. The businesses featured are recommended because they have made my travels and planning/research easier. If you have any questions please email me as I’m happy to discuss.