Planning a UK trip can involve a surprising number of bookings, from finding the right place to stay to organising train tickets, tours and everything else you need along the way.
To make things easier, I’ve put together my favourite travel planning resources in one place. These are the websites and services I regularly turn to when organising trips, whether I’m planning a weekend break in the UK or travelling further afield.
You’ll find my go-to accommodation booking sites first, followed by tour platforms, transport options, useful travel essentials and, finally, flight comparison tools.
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Where to Book Accommodation
Finding somewhere to stay is usually one of the first things I sort out when planning a trip. I tend to compare a couple of platforms before booking, particularly for UK breaks where prices for the same hotel can vary.
My Go-To Accommodation Platforms
Booking.com is one of my first stops when looking for accommodation. It has a huge choice of hotels, B&Bs, apartments, cottages and other places to stay, making it particularly useful when you’re comparing several options in one destination. Guest reviews, maps, photos and filters also make it easy to narrow down the choices before booking.
Expedia is another useful place to compare accommodation prices before committing to a booking. It also offers packages combining different parts of a trip, so it can be worth checking if you’re organising more than just your hotel.
Hotels.com is worth adding to your comparison list when looking for hotels in the UK and overseas. Prices can differ between booking platforms, so if I’ve already chosen a particular property, I’ll often compare the available rates before deciding where to book.
Where to Book Tours and Activities
Once you’ve decided where you’re staying, the fun part is figuring out what you’re going to do when you get there.
Booking ahead can be particularly useful for popular UK attractions, day trips and experiences with limited availability.
Here’s Where I Like To Book My Tours!
GetYourGuide is one of the easiest places to browse tours, attraction tickets and experiences in one place. You can search by destination and find everything from walking tours and food experiences to museum tickets, sightseeing trips and full-day excursions. It’s particularly handy when you’re visiting somewhere new and want to see what’s available without searching for individual tour operators.
Viator has a huge selection of tours and activities around the world, including plenty of options throughout the UK. It’s worth checking for guided tours, day trips, attraction tickets and experiences, particularly if you’re looking for an organised excursion rather than planning everything yourself.
Klook is another platform for booking attractions, tours and activities. It’s particularly useful when travelling in Asia, so while it may not be the first platform you need for a UK trip, it’s one to remember if your adventures take you further afield.
Getting Around
Transport can make a huge difference to how easy a trip feels, especially when you’re exploring several destinations.
For UK travel, trains and road trips are two of the easiest ways to get around, while these additional booking platforms are useful when you’re travelling internationally.
Transportation Recommendations
For UK adventures by rail, Trip.com makes it easy to search routes and compare available train tickets. You can also use it to book rail journeys across Europe, making it a handy option for trips that involve travelling between several destinations without hiring a car.
If public transport isn’t practical for your itinerary, hiring a car gives you much more freedom to explore. Discover Cars compares rental options from different car hire companies, which makes it easier to see what’s available and compare prices before booking. A car can be particularly useful for UK road trips and rural destinations where buses and trains won’t necessarily get you everywhere you want to go.
Omio is useful when you’re trying to work out the best way to travel between two destinations. You can compare different transport options, including trains, coaches, ferries and flights, rather than searching each one separately.
Travel Essentials
There are a few less exciting things to organise before travelling, but getting them sorted in advance can make the actual trip much easier.
eSIMs
Having mobile data as soon as you arrive somewhere makes everything from checking directions to finding your accommodation much easier.
Airalo provides eSIMs for destinations around the world, allowing compatible phones to connect to a local mobile network without having to swap physical SIM cards.
They’re particularly convenient for short breaks and trips involving multiple countries.
Spending Money Abroad
Monzo can be a convenient option for managing your money while travelling and spending in foreign currencies.
Before travelling, check the current charges, exchange rates, withdrawal allowances and any limits that apply to your account so you know exactly what to expect when using your card overseas.
Flight Delays and Cancellations
Delays and cancellations are an unfortunate part of travelling, and there are circumstances where passengers may be entitled to compensation.
AirHelp provides a service that checks potential claims and helps eligible passengers pursue compensation following qualifying flight disruptions.
Eligibility depends on the circumstances of your journey and the applicable passenger-rights rules, so check the current criteria before making a claim.
Finding Flights
Flights aren’t a big part of planning most UK adventures, but they’re obviously useful when you’re heading further afield or travelling to the UK from overseas.
Rather than relying on a single search engine, it can be worth comparing a couple before deciding which flight works best for your trip.
Google Flights
Google Flights is useful for getting a quick overview of routes, airlines, departure times and prices.
If your dates are flexible, you can compare different travel days and use price tracking to keep an eye on a route before booking.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner lets you search flights from a wide range of airlines and travel providers.
It’s particularly handy when you’re flexible about dates or planning a trip involving several destinations, as you can quickly compare different route combinations.
Kiwi.com
Kiwi.com is another option for comparing flight routes and fares.
It can be particularly useful for finding itineraries involving different airlines, although it’s always worth checking exactly how a multi-airline itinerary works before booking, particularly when separate tickets or connections are involved.
Start Planning Your Next Adventure
You don’t need dozens of different websites open every time you plan a trip. These are the travel planning resources I come back to when I need to find accommodation, organise things to do, work out transport or sort the practical details of travelling.
For UK trips, I’d start with your accommodation, then organise any must-do tours and activities, before working out how you’re going to get around.
Once those big pieces are in place, you can sort the smaller travel essentials and start looking forward to the adventure.