Recently I was talking to a friend about some local camping spots and it made me think about the apps / websites I like to use to find anything travel related and I thought I would share them with you! Here’s is a quick rundown of my favourite apps / websites I like to use!
Wiki camps Australia:
Wiki camps is a cool app for your phone, tablet or PC that allows you to find camping areas around Australia. I use this a lot when I’m looking for some inspiration for camping areas and it comes in real handy when you are road tripping and looking for somewhere to camp for the night,in the area you have just arrived. The reviews are submitted by the public, people who have stayed there, sometimes there are photos, it works offline, and the key outlines everything there is to know about the campground. Wikicamps covers all camping areas from free camps to caravan parks and costs around $7.99 with free upgrades, great price for what it offers!
Youcamp.com
Youcamp is a website that connects you with private properties that open their doors to the public to camp on. The new website looks awesome and the search engines takes you to all available properties near the area you are looking for. The site contains all the information you need about the property including how much they charge, what facilities they have, contact details and photos. We have stayed at some of their listed properties and plan on staying on plenty more!
Trip advisor
Most people know about TripAdvisor. It is a platform for reviews of hotels, restaurants etc as well as a place you can make bookings. I use it for the reviews, reading up on what people have to say about a particular hotel or place that I might be planning on staying at or visiting. To be honest I take the reviews with a grain of salt, taking into account what the majority of people are saying, seeing if those things would bother me or affect my experience, before making my decision. There is an app you can download as well that comes in handy.
Booking.com
I love Booking.com. I book the majority of our accommodation when we travel on this site, mainly because of the book now, pay later, free cancellation policy, and the fact that they generally offer the cheapest rates. I have never had any trouble booking (and cancelling) with these guys, and any inquires (they have a contact phone number do you can actually talk to someone!) have been dealt with wonderfully. They also offer reviews of the hotel you are planning to help with your decision and if you sign up with them, they have an App and you can get deals sent to your email.
Sky scanner
Sky scanner is a great site to compare prices of flights. It’s as easy as putting in when and where you want to go, and it will show you the flights available, prices and direct you to the websites to purchase them. I love the fact that I also shows you the cheapest times of the week / month / year to fly to your destination and offer email alerts to tell you of price changes on your preferred flight. A great online tool when looking for flights, it also has an App.
Viator
I seriously love Viator when booking activities / tours while we are away overseas and at home in Australia! They connect you with thousands of experiences, just put in where you are going and they will list all the activities that are available, great if you want to forward plan your trip. I have used this site many times, without any issues, booking day tours and entry into places. The paper work gives you very clear outlines of where to meet, contact details for the company that is running the tour you have booked and outlines the itinerary. The website also includes reviews so you can see what others think of that particular tour. They also have an App!
So there is my list of Apps and Websites I use.
What has been your experience of these sites?
Do you have any others you would recommend?
Safe Travels
Kerrie
Please share!:
This is so helpful. I’m just started to plan our vacation and have never heard of most of them. I like your tip about taking Trip Advisor reviews with a grain of salt. I’ve always been reluctant to read the reviews because I never know if someone is just in a bad mood when they write it or if they really did have a horrible experience. Thanks for sharing this information. I’m looking forward to checking them all out.
I often think that it only the people who have nothing good to say that get on an put in a review. If i like a place/experience I try to put in a positive one to balance it out! I hope the information helps!
I check out TripAdvisor pretty regularly, but yeah, I don’t just pay attention to the stars, I think more about the content of the reviews and how I would likely experience the place. I live in Malaysia and quite a bit of the reviews on Malaysian places sound like they’re from people who didn’t quite know what to expect when visiting this country. I’m used to it, so things that might bother other people don’t bother me.
Yeah! I often think that the only people who put on the reviews are people who have a grip, So i try to balance them out by putting on my positive reviews if I like the experience!
Good info. We live overseas, so some of these will come in super helpful for us, especially when flying home. Thanks for sharing! I will be checking them out!
No worries Brittany!! Definitely worth checking out!
I love SKY SCANNER – I remember using it once to find out where my mom was when she was flying home – and she was telling me that the airplane couldn’t land… Oh man, the altitude drop and then gain made me think: EVERYONE MUST BE THROWING UP right now! hahahaha!
Yeah! its a cool website!I would have hated to be on that flight, I would have been one of the passengers with a barf bag!!
Youcamp and Viator sound like apps I will need when I am in Austrailia next year. I love using TripAdvisor when I am researching where to stay, eat, or what to do when I am out traveling.
They are both great apps! Youcamps gives you alternatives for camping sites and can be more interesting then the run of the mill campgrounds!
Totally going to download some of these right now!
You will not regret it!!
Our coast house is on Stayz. It’s pretty good. Especially when looking for dog friendly accommodation options.
Oh yes!! I haven’t actually used it, but have been on the site looking for schoolies options for the older girls!
Applications look helpful! I should download these.
Sheena
Yes! They are really useful!
Hi Kerrie, do you have recommendations for travel insurance? There are so many many companies out there with varied prices. With all your travelling do you stick with 1 company or change per trip depending on value/price?
Love reading your blog, Insta and Facebook.
To be honest it varies from trip to trip! Sometimes I get the insurance from the company I book flights with and other times I just do a quick research to find something that fits at the time. My next big trip I am using Travel Insurance Direct, I paid online and seems good, the thing is until you have to claim you probably wont know who is the best, and I haven’t (thank goodness!) had to ever claim!!