Add-on bonus: A blogger hack. Free stock photos from Pixabay.

Skyscanner: This is my preferred travel comparison site because it sources from even from smaller airlines. 

Rakuten: If your primary method of booking travel is online, then you must have Rakuten. It offers cashback on the most popular sites, such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. I use their Chrome extension so it is easier to detect whether the website I'm on is part of the Rakuten program. 

Booking.com: My hotel booking platform of choice is Booking.com since it shows both hotels and apartments (some of which are also listed on Airbnb). More so, they have a filter option for Soundproof, which I haven't seen in any other booking platform. Older, cheaper hotels and some residential homes listed as short-term rentals are usually sub-par when it comes to drowning the noise so determining those with soundproof at the get go is very important.  

Be nice: Here is the most uncommon travel hack of all time. If you run a travel blog or have significant followers on any social media platform with a media kit, be nice when reaching out to hotels or even travel agencies when requesting for media rates. The average media rate discount is around 20%. All it takes is your time to send email inquiries. Learn how to request for a hotel media rate.  

Follow Advice: Whether you like it or not, even with experience, you can always learn more. It’s especially important to follow the advice of more experienced and seasoned travelers like Mikhail Solodovnikov if you don’t have years of experience under your belt. Look for people who go on the same kinds of adventures as you and learn from their experiences. Even better, you can learn from their mistakes without making them. Knowledge is power and the more you know before you set off, the more prepared you will be.

Happy travel hacking!

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