Planning an epic trip can be hard – finding the right resources doesn’t have to be.
No matter your travel style or preferences – we have compiled a complete list of our favorite resources that can help you plan, prep, & enjoy your next adventure.
We also offer a comprehensive travel planning and consulting service to help you prepare and feel confident in your next adventure. Whether you need a whole itinerary planning or just have a few follow up questions – we’re here to help!
If you have any questions, comments, or additional recommendations for us, please reach out – we’d love to hear from you!
Destination Guides + Itineraries
National Parks
Southeast Asia
Packing Checklists
Backcountry Camping
Car Camping – coming soon
Road Trips – coming soon
Backpacking Southeast Asia
Accommodation
Campsites & Public Lands:
Recreation.gov
Recreation.gov is a great resource for finding various federal and state campgrounds & recreation areas around the United States. Almost all national or state parks require users to book campsites through this website – so you’ll likely need to set up an account at some point or another.
The Dyrt
The Dyrt is a great resource for finding both public & private campgrounds around the US. Each campground listed contains user ratings, reviews, and photos to help users find & select the best campground.
Freecampsites.net
Free Campsites is a crowd-sourced database of all of the free (or mostly free) places to camp around the world. We use it to both plan ahead or find last minute camping spots on our trips. It’s probably one of the most helpful resources we use!
BLM Land
If you’re traveling somewhere with a lot of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land like Utah, Oregon, or Montana definitely plan to take advantage of BLM land for camping. Most often, its free with pretty few limitations – you’ll likely just need to fill out a free permit for for each night. Exact information can be hard to find – so just check in at a local BLM office wherever you are to make sure you’re complying with any rules & regulations.
Hostels, Hotels, & Shared Spaces
HostelWorld
Hostelworld is our go-to resource for booking hostels. It’s convenient & easy to use and we love the ability to cancel up to a week in advance. There are always a lot of pictures and reviews so it’s easy to figure out which hostel will be the best fit for your needs.
Airbnb
We use AirBnb when we want the space and privacy of our own place but don’t want to pay the overpriced hotel rate. We also love how AirBnb always gets us a little off the beaten path to check out a new area or neighborhood of a popular city instead of just the typical tourist attractions.
Booking.com
We don’t book hotels often, but when we do we use booking.com. On average, we’ve found the cheapest and most consistent listing compared to other hotel search generators. Plus – we love the tagline: booking.com, booking.yeah!
Couchsurfing
We’ve only couchsurfed a handful of times (it’s a little harder when you’re traveling as a couple!) but we love it for meeting new people and getting a better glimpse of life as a local (plus its easy on the budget!)
Transportation
Turo
Turo is a shared-economy vehicle rental company – basically the AirBnB of cars. Instead of renting a vehicle from a business like Hertz or Enterprise you rent the personal vehicle of another person. It’s way cheaper than renting from an official company and its substantially lower underage fees make it the perfect option for anyone under the age of 25. For $25 off your first rental – click here!
Flight Search Engines
Since we currently don’t have an airline preference (other than what’s cheapest) we tend to use Google Flights, Momondo, and Skyscanner to find the best deals on flights around the world. We usually monitor the flight prices on those three platforms for a few days until we find the best deal & book it wherever its cheapest!
Southwest Airlines
If we’re completing a destination camping trip in the US, Southwest is our go-to airline. In general, the flights are reasonably priced and you can’t beat having a free checked bag for hauling all that camping gear across the country!
Gear
REI
We are firm believers that REI is THE BEST outdoor store on this planet. It’s our go-to resource anytime we are looking to purchase new gear or upgrade our current equipment. From their super knowledgeable staff, to the high quality products they stock, & the no-questions-asked one year return policy – you really can’t ask for more. We could go on and on about REI – but we’ll keep it short… for now.
Backcountry
We love Backcountry for their amazing deals and free two day shipping on most purchases. Deals aside, the best part about Backcountry is the ability to chat live with a “gearhead” who can give you specialized gear advice and recommendations (and sometimes an additional discount!) If you use the chat feature enough – you’ll even get assigned your own personal gearhead who has similar interests & hobbies. Backcountry is a great combination of deals and personalized advice – all accessible from your couch!
Sierra Trading Post
Sierra Trading Post is literally the TJ Maxx of outdoor gear and active wear. Everything sold in the store & online is offered at a steep discount compared to other retailers. You never know what you’re going to find or how long an item will be available – but you know you’re going to get a good deal. We have a physical store nearby and can spend hours looking around without anything specific in mind.
Amazon
You really can’t beat the price and convenience (2 day shipping!) of shopping on Amazon for various odds and ends gear purchases like flashlights, inflatable pillows, and cheap merino wool socks. We are firm believers that not all gear items need to have brand names or come from high-end outdoor retailers – sometimes a cheaper item does the trick!
Insurance
The world is full of uncertainties – even more so when you’re traveling. We never travel abroad without travel insurance. With all the variables involved why would you?
Our favorite travel insurance is World Nomads for its ease of use and strong reputation. Thankfully we’ve never had to use our travel insurance in an extreme/expensive circumstance but knowing we had it provided tremendous piece of mind.
Other reputable travel insurance companies include Safety Wing and Allianz. We haven’t personally used them, but have heard good reviews from other travelers!
Travel Planning + Consulting
Our travel planning and consulting services can help you plan or prepare for your own adventure with ease. Whether you want to go on a bucket list road trip, try out camping for the first time, or even plan a multi-month backpacking trip abroad – we’re excited to make your travel dream a reality!
We know the travel planning process can feel confusing and overwhelming so we’re offering up our 8+ years of outdoor and adventure travel expertise to help you have better travel experiences. Whether you need a full custom itinerary or just have a few clarifying questions about an existing trip – we’re here to help!
Fill out our contact form on our travel planning and consulting page and let’s get started!