Essential Family Travel Resources
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Accommodation
There are several resources we use to book our family accommodation. Some tools are better for research, while others help you narrow in on the best prices. Don’t forget you can also read reviews at TripAdvisor.Com – they even allow click through to booking the hotel too.
We start all our hotel & accommodation searches with this powerful search tool. Not only do they have one of the biggest hotel selections worldwide, but they also offer free cancellation on most bookings. Their search filters, user interface and map search function make it one of the most user-friendly tools – try Booking.com here
New to Booking.com? Join here and get $15USD off your first stay
We have often found Hotels.Com have a larger range of last-minute inventory of hotels, and their 10th night free offer on over 100,000 properties can work out extremely good value for regular travellers – try Hotels.Com here
Compare hotel prices with this powerful comparison tool that looks not only at the different search engines (including Booking.com & hotels.com) but also the hotel itself and smaller agents. Once we have found where we want to stay, we use this tool to make sure it’s the best possible rate – try HotelsCombined.com here
Why not try a direct vacation rental with the specialists in homeowner rentals direct to renters – try Vrbo here.
Car Rentals
Even if you have a favourite rental company or like to tie your car hire to airline points programs, it always pays to use a comparative search engine to make sure you are getting the best deal. It also pays to check the fine print and inclusions / exclusions between search results.
Read our complete guide on how to save on your next car rental top tips on reading the fine print
One of the best search engines we’ve found for car rental deals – Give Discover Cars a try here.
One of the most recognised brands in car hire worldwide, always a great starting point for seeking cost and availability of vehicles worldwide and offering frequent discounts and special offers throughout the year – try Rentalcars.com here.
Great all-in-one tool for searching and paying for your car hire across over 30,000 locations worldwide – try Holiday Autos here.
Book Flights
We typically book our flights directly with an airline, or via an agent who has priced-matched for us.
However, we always initiate the search ourselves using Skyscanner so we can see all the available routes, airlines and estimate cost by playing with dates.
READ our complete guide here on how to book and save on family flights with insider tips and the tricks we use to save.
Other Transportation
Looking for ferry connections on your next vacation? Servicing over 2,850 routes at 691 ports around the world this is the easiest way to cpmpare services and book your next ferry ticket at the cheapest prices – give Direct Ferries a try here.
A one-stop-shop tool for researching and booking your transport and connections in Asia. Compare trains, buses, ferries & taxies in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia & Malaysia. Give Baolau a try here.
Travel Insurance
WORLD NOMADS
Our favourite insurer for intrepid travellers. Competitive pricing and wide coverage around the world to destinations that many others will not touch. We love the flexibility of how you can set up your policy, even allowing you to set up policies after your trip is underway.
Organised Tours
Whilst we encourage independent exploration, we know there are times using a guided tour can provide you with so much more local knowledge, an easy way to get around and often dicounted entry, skip the line tickets.
The world’s largest online platform for booking tours and activities. They cover over 7,000 worldwide destinations and 30,000 activities to choose from. Try out Get Your Guide here.
Experts in tours and experiences in Australia & NZ, this is our go-to resource for day trips down under with excellent up-to-the-minute booking tools. Try Experience Oz here.
One of our favourite ways to see a new city is to hop aboard BIG BUS! The world’s largest open-top city sightseeing service, they operate in 18 major cities. They offer not only an ultra-convenient transport option between major city sights, but they also come with live commentary and added attraction discounts. Try Big Bus advance purchase tickets here (cheaper than buying on the day).
Our favourite tool for discounted tours, skip-the-line tickets, transfers and last-minute deals on worldwide attractions, but particularly popular in Asia with many exclusive discount partners. Their best price guarantee makes them an excellent app choice. Try out Klook here.
The tour booking arm of TripAdvisor and a solid, trusted name in advance purchasing tour and attractions tickets from a wide range of third-party suppliers. Try Viator here.
The classic sightseeing service hop on hop off bus. They offer a mix of multi-lingual commentary and live guides, and in some destinations, even kids commentary. These tickets have a huge range of flexibility and add-on discount offers. Try City Sightseeing here.
UAE Hotel & Attraction Discounts
We have partnered with the following local attractions and hotels to bring you the best possible deals when visiting the United Arab Emirates. We also recommend you download the Entertainer App. with hundreds of 2-4-1 details and discount vouchers, all accessible from your smartphone.
Holidays & Package Deals
Not just for last minute! They provide a great range of heavily discounted package deals throughout the year – try Last Minute here.
A trusted name for DIY package holidays, link your flights, hotels and car hire for huge discounts – try Expedia here.
One of only a few travel organisations with a focus on family groups and able to tailor packages to your needs. A focus on responsible travel & sustainable tourism. Look out for their new National Geographic Family Journeys launching soon. Check out current tour offerings here.
Travel Gear & Essentials
Our absolute starting point for every product search! We love their basket function for holding ideas and wishlists and the ability to compare prices across suppliers, as well as suggested similar products. Their international delivery network is also improving, which is great for expats! Try out Amazon here.
We call it the Chinese version of Amazon, but it’s so much more! Really great for those small commodity-type items, particularly electronics and camping kit with worldwide suppliers.
New customers get an immediate savings coupon. Just check expected delivery times (shipment can be a little slower than Amazon) and that there is Buyer Protection ticked. Definitely worth it for the savings, especially if you buy items in bulk.
Never fly without a lounge again! A priority pass membership gives you access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide, the best travel investment you will make as a frequent traveller!
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