Planning
I was planning a month-long trip down the length of Japan using pen and paper, and it wasn’t working out. So I took to the internet and found Wanderlog, and it was a lifesaver. You can plan your itinerary as well as transport and accommodations, with the ability to attach all of your bookings to the plan. Best of all, it’s incredibly intuitive, and took no time at all to learn to use.
You’ve likely heard of Tripadvisor, but we find it is often underutilized. Particularly, searching the forums will answer 99% of our questions about a trip almost immediately. For that 1% left unanswered, you can make your own forum post and, in our experience, get replies the same day.
We also use Tripadvisor as our main way to find restaurants. With bundles of filtering options and viewing by location, we always have a good chance at finding good local food when we’re in a hurry and don’t have time to look around ourselves.
Transportation
Both Skyscanner and Google Flights are great ways to find cheap flights, with many search options and filters at your disposal. I personally think neither service is better than the other, and it’s all down to personal preference. We personally use Skyscanner, only because I’ve been using it for years and I’m more familiar with the interface.
Bookaway is a simple-to-use service to book transport almost anywhere in the world. The thing we like about Bookaway is the ability to see both public and private transport options. (Note that the link above is an affiliate link. We will earn a small commission on any purchases made through the link).
