There are so many helpful resources to use when you go traveling, you just need to know where to look.
I am often asked how I can afford to travel so much. I also get asked quite often, when I’m on the road if I am a photographer. To answer that, I am most likely just passionate about travel and photography and don’t spend money on other than travel and camera gear. However, I have got some help to make it easier for me.
During my years of traveling, I have found some really useful resources to make traveling easier and improve your travel photography.
On this page, you will find the most useful tools that have helped me travel more and better as well as improving my travel photography skills immensely. I will keep adding new stuff to the list as I come over more valuable resources, I think you could use.
Disclaimer: This page might contain affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase through one of those links, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend services and products that I am confident with. If you have any questions about any of the services or products, don’t hesitate to e-mail me.
Travel guides
Lonely Planet guidebooks
First of all, I want to mention Lonely Planet. They have plenty of useful information and have rescued me more than once.
One time I got on the wrong train in India and ended up having to get off the train at 1 o’clock in the morning to continue in the right direction the day after. Surrounded by 7 Indians on the train trying to help out, one saying this and the other saying that. I got out my Lonely Planet, checked the map and figured out a route that the guys on the train confirmed would be possible. During the train ride, I found a decent hotel in the guidebook to stay the few hours I had to sleep.
The guidebooks have all the information you need about the place, what there is to do and see, where to eat and where to sleep. Their guides include price ranges and descriptions of the positive and negative sides of the places. Written by travelers to travelers.
The Lonely Planet authors are usually travelers that have spent excessive time in the destinations and therefore have an insider’s knowledge of the places they write about. That’s why I find the guides excellent for finding off the beaten path destinations when I don’t have the time to slow travel through my destination to find those places by myself.
Get your Lonely Planet travel guide
Travel blogs
Travel blogs have become more and more helpful these days.
My favorite responsible/ethical travel bloggers are:
Transport and accommodation
Skyscanner
Skyscanner is an invaluable site to search for the best flights. The website searches through a gazillion of options and you will see which ones are the cheapest, fastest and a combination of the two.
Unlike other flight comparison sites, Skyscanner has a user-friendly way of showing the best options with smileys. A green smile means that the flight combination is good; no long layovers neither too short so it is easy to lose the connecting flight. The yellow smiley usually means a long layover etc, while the red smiley could mean a night layover or an extremely short one which makes it easy to miss the connecting flight.
Skyscanner also has an app which is easy to use. In fact, I always look for flights through Skyscanner. My favorite feature is to search for flights “everywhere” and that way I find cheap flights to destinations I maybe wasn’t even thinking about going. That is how I ended up in The Philippines, a country I fell totally in love with.
Another feature that will save you some money is to show the “calendar”. That way you see the cheapest prices marked in green and the expensive ones marked in red. Leaving a day or two before or after you planned can save you hundreds of Euros.
Booking.com
You always need accommodation. I personally prefer to look for a place when I arrive at the destination, but that is not always convenient.
Some countries require that you give the address of the hotel you are staying to let you enter the country. Other times you get to your destination that late at night that the only safe option is to have your hotel booked in advance. Finally, you might be pressured with time which makes it a waste of time to walk around and look for a place to stay.
In the above situations, I usually use Booking .com to find cheap hotels or hostels. I have the mobile app which saves my bookings so I have control over where and when I am staying at all times.
Booking.com is easy to navigate and I have never had any problems with them or the places I have booked through them.
Rentalcars
Rentalcars is a great car rental service that works all around the world.
They have good prices and I have always experienced good service when I have used them.
Aferry
Aferry is a leading source for finding and booking ferry tickets around the world. Their web page is intuitive and easy to navigate. Just write in your wanted ports and dates and you get prices and can book directly.
Travel insurance
World Nomads travel insurance
Travel insurance. Is that necessary? Well, most of the time you are probably fine. But what if you get robbed or what if you get sick and have to go to the hospital? I have to admit, I have usually traveled without any additional insurance. I have life insurance that covers travel, but honestly, I don’t know how much it covers if something goes wrong.
After I started blogging and traveling with laptop and camera gear, I have used World Nomads travel insurance.
What I like about World Nomads is that they are travelers that understand travelers needs and for that reason make the process easy. You can easily log into your account and change your policy as well as you can add additional insurance for electronic devices.
The prices are also good compared to what you get and there are no hidden costs.
For me, this has become a necessity as I travel a lot and always with my gear. The only thing you can’t ensure, though is your files. If they get stolen, you lose them. Therefore, always make sure to have a backup.
Read more about World Nomads travel insurance here.
As an extra bonus World Nomads have the same values as you and me and promote responsible travel. They also have a micro-donation program called Footprints. This gives you the opportunity to donate a small amount to a chosen sustainable project supporting a local community when you purchase your insurance.
Read more about the Footprints project.
Get your insurance with World Nomads here
Travel photography
Nomadic Matts Travel Photography course
Are you sick of coming home from your holidays just to see that your photos didn’t catch the beauty of the place the way you experienced it? I know I was. And I didn’t know what to do better. The camera just didn’t seem to capture the feeling of being there and the depth or the massiveness of the places I explored. That’s why I decided to take a course in travel photography.
Nomadic Matts Travel Photography Course is run by Laurence Norah, a world traveler, and recognized photographer. Among others, he has had his photography featured in major publications like National Geographic, BBC, Fox News, and USA Today. I had done Nomadic Matts Blogging course and was so happy with it that I knew I could trust another course launched by him and whoever he collaborates with.
The course has helped me off automatic mode and made me look at my objective differently. It does not only teach you to manage your camera properly but also helps you with different tips for better composition. In this way, you will understand why your photos turned out disappointing and you will learn how to get the most out of your future travel photos.
The course is a good mix of reading, e-learning videos where Laurence explains how things work, for example photos to show the difference from one function to another and practical homework. Laurence is there to help you through the whole course which you have for life. He gives you feedback on your homework personally and answers any doubts you might have on the road. The course also includes a Facebook group for the members where you can ask questions, post your best photos or your worst for feedback.
The course also takes you through basic editing in Lightroom which is my absolute favorite editing tool.
I have learned so much from this course and would recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their travel photography skills whether it is as a hobby or you want to make it a business.
You can read more about this course and buy it here.
Adobe Lightroom
As I mentioned before, there is no way you can ensure yourself against losing your files, including photos. That’s why I use Adobe Lightroom to store my photos online. It does have a monthly cost, but it is absolutely worth it as I get both the editing I need and the storage for my photos.
The desktop app needs internet to function but is absolutely wonderful to work with once you start to learn the basics. If you don’t want to invest in a Travel Photography Course, there are plenty of YouTube tutorials online you can play around with.
Snapseed
Snapseed is the best app for photo editing on the go. You might not always have your laptop handy to edit in Lightroom. With Snapseed you can do basic editing and the app also has a few good presets you can use.
I was recommended this app by Laurence Norah and loved it from day one!
Essential travel accessories
Metal water bottle
A metal water bottle that keeps water cold up to 24 hours? This has become my best friend when hiking in hot weather! It is also essential when traveling. You can take it whether you go to the beach or discover a new city or town.
Not only does it keep the water cold for the whole day, but it also saves you from buying unimaginable numbers of single-use water bottles.
Most airports have water fountains too, so you can bring your empty water bottle through airport security and fill it up once you get in.
Get your metal water bottle for travel, hiking, and other excursions here.
LifeStraw water bottle with filter
One thing is to bring a water bottle when you travel to buy less plastic bottles. But what about when you travel to countries with unsafe tap water?
For this I bought a LifeStraw Go. I traveled all around Cuba without buying a single bottle of water. I filled it up in the sink in Casas Particulares, in bars, and in bathrooms on the road. It tasted just the same as the tap water at home, and I got no signs of a disturbed tummy.
LifeStraw Go filters remove 99,99% of all bacteria, parasites, and microplastics. And a filter lasts for 1000 liters of water. Yes, that’s right, one thousand liters of water. That means that even though you travel a lot, you won’t have to spend money on a new filter in a while.
This is the best invention ever! I wish I got one way earlier!
A big plus is that Lifestraw works on different life-saving projects around the world to secure clean drinking water. As an example, when I bought my bottle, I also bought clean drinking water for one child for a whole year.
You save money, you save the environment and you help a stranger.
If you want to do all this you can get your LifeStrawGo filter bottle here
Portable charger
Are you sick of running out of battery on your electric devices when you travel? I sure am. Whether I go on a multiday hike or I stay on a remote island where electricity is only available a couple of hours a day, it is incredibly annoying to run out of battery.
How annoying is it to arrive at your destination just to find out the address of your hotel is saved to your phone that is dead? Have you ever had your boarding pass on your phone with a battery that is about to run out?
That’s why it’s essential to bring a portable charger just in case.
Get your portable charger here.
Portable speaker
Whenever I travel, I need to have music around me! In addition to earplugs, I have a small portable speaker that I can bring to the beach or use in the hotel room.
I have a JBL Portable GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker. It is perfect for travel as it is just small enough to carry with you anywhere while the sound is good. Also, I can charge it with my phone charger (I have a Samsung) so I only need to bring one charger.
Get yours here.
If you have any questions about the above resources, please don’t hesitate to email me.
