Playful Rooted

I can’t believe it’s already Monday! How do the weekends fly by so quickly, every time? Ben and I had fun this weekend hanging out with friends, playing Ultimate frisbee in the park, and buying an obscene amount of hot sauce at the grocery store. It’s a sickness.

We’re planning some really exciting trips over the next couple months: The Netherlands in April, Spain in May, and London-Paris-Barcelona-Rome with my parents and brother in June. It’s going to be a busy few months, but I’m so excited for each of these trips!

Since I’m in full planning mode, I thought I’d share some of the websites I use to figure out the big stuff: how to get there, what to do there, where to stay, and what to eat.

How to get there

There are a million different “cheap flights” websites out there, but these are the ones I find most helpful, especially for planning a European trip:

Skyscanner – This is a great site for international travel because you can change the language you want to search in and the currency you want prices to display in. I usually stick to euros, but it can be helpful to see what the cost would be in USD sometimes, too, especially when traveling with other Americans. You can filter on the number of stops, departure time, and journey duration, which is really handy.

Hipmunk – Similar to Skyscanner, the coolest feature about Hipmunk is that you can sort by “Agony,” which automatically combines the best price, shortest length, and fewest layovers.

Routehappy – This one doesn’t necessarily provide you the cheapest possible flight, but it bases its results on “happiness factors” – nicer plane, roomier seat, free wi-fi, outlets, and flyer reviews. If you’ve ever flown for more than a few hours, you know how important those things can be. I’m generally willing to pay a little more for some in-flight perks. You can also sort by cheapest, quickest, and nicest flight experience, depending what you find most important.

One big tip from my deal-savvy husband: Use one of these sites to find the airline and flight that matches your needs, then head to the airline’s website to book directly. It’s often a bit cheaper, and sometimes there are discounts for booking directly from the airline’s site. Also, some airlines (like Southwest, in the States) don’t list their flights on third-party sites, so it’s always worth it to check – you may score a great deal.

What to do there

One thing I’ve learned during the past seven travel-heavy months: figure out what you want to do in the city before you book a hotel. Even if you get a great deal on a place to stay, it’s not always worth it if you have to ride a bus or take a cab to your hotel every time. That time and expense adds up! So figure out your game plan first, then try to find a hotel near your main hangouts.

TripAdvisor – It’s a standard one, but I never plan a trip without consulting TripAdvisor. The reviews and tips from other travelers are priceless! An hour spent reading the reviews of a destination can save you tons of time and money and can help you plan an itinerary you’re really interested in. Plus it’s a great way to discover things you didn’t know existed!

Lonely Planet – I am a huge fan of all things Lonely Planet. Their guidebooks are awesome, and I buy their magazine wherever I can find it (in French or in English!). Their website is no different. Just search for the city you’re traveling to on their beautiful user interface, and you’ll receive loads of recommendations and compilations. And if you’re like me, you can then cross-reference that information on TripAdvisor or a similar site for human reviews. 🙂

Where to stay there

Just like with flights, you can sometimes save a lot of money on a hotel room by booking directly through the hotel’s website. I use the following sites to find the place I want to stay, then I head for the hotel’s website to actually reserve my room.

TripAdvisor (again!) – I really like that you can search based on your hotel needs – best value, family-friendly, luxury, etc. You can also filter by rating, price, and specific neighborhood, which is great when you’re staying in a big city like Paris or London.

HostelWorld – The name HostelWorld is a little deceptive because you can also find hotels, B&Bs, and short-term apartment rentals on this site. HostelWorld has powerful filtering capabilities, allowing you to search by neighborhood, room type, and facilities like luggage storage and reception (which aren’t always a given at a hostel). You can also change the currency that’s displayed, which is very helpful for foreign travel. But the coolest thing about this site is that you can sort the reviews by age range or nationality, allowing you to access the information that’s most relevant for you and your lifestyle. I love this feature!

What to eat there

I almost always plan every restaurant I’m going to visit in advance. I think it’s probably a vegan thing, since walking into a random restaurant and finding a plant-based option can be a total shot in the dark. But since I’m also an obsessive planner, I might do this anyway. The way I see it, I only have so much time and money per city, so I don’t want to waste either by going to a restaurant I won’t enjoy.

HappyCow – As the name implies, a search on this site returns vegan and vegetarian restaurants (or at least veg-friendly ones) in whatever city you enter. There are limited user reviews on this site, so it’s not my absolute favorite, but it’s a good jumping-off point.

Yelp – Before we moved to France, I thought Yelp was strictly for American institutions. Not so! You can enter pretty much any city into the search box and get a ton of results. Yelp is how I found Sésamo, my favorite restaurant in all of Europe so far!

What about you? Do you use these sites for planning trips? Have I missed any good ones?

French word of the day
pinailleur (adj) – persnickety, fussy