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Travel is more than just getting up and going. It’s about being knowledgeable so you can travel better, cheaper, and longer. So besides the destination guides above, below you will find links to articles I’ve written that deal with planning your trip and other general advice, so your total vacation is as amazing as it can be. These articles are relevant for any trip, no matter how long!

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Below are my favorite companies to use when I travel. They are always my starting point when I need to book a flight, hotel, tour, or train, or for meeting people!

• Skyscanner – Skyscanner is my favorite flight search engine. It searches small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites tend to miss. It is hands-down the number one place to start.
• Going – Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) finds incredible flight deals and sends them directly to your inbox. If you’re flexible with your dates and destinations, you can score some amazing deals and save hundreds of dollars in the process!
• Hostelworld – This is the best hostel accommodation site out there, with the largest inventory, best search interface, and widest availability.
• Booking.com – The best all-around booking site. It constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates and has the widest selection of budget accommodation. In all my tests, it’s always had the cheapest rates out of all the booking websites.
• Intrepid Travel – If you want to do group tours, go with Intrepid. They offer good small-group tours that use local operators and leave a minimal environmental footprint. And, as a reader of this site, you’ll get exclusive discounts too!
• Get Your Guide – This is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions. It has tons of tour options in cities all around the world, including everything from cooking classes and walking tours to street art lessons!
• SafetyWing – This site offers convenient and affordable plans tailored to digital nomads and long-term travelers. It has cheap monthly plans, great customer service, and an easy-to-use claims process that makes it perfect for those on the road.
• Discover Cars – Discover Cars is a car rental aggregator that can help you find the best deals for your next road trip. It pulls data from over 8,000 car rental locations to ensure you always find a great deal!
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• Top Travel Credit Cards – Points are the best way to cut down travel expenses. Here’s my favorite point earning credit cards so you can get free travel!

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Top 10 Travel Guide Websites [2024]: Time to Get Inspired!

With the overwhelming number of travel guides that exist out there, it's hard to find one that'll satisfy your wanderlust or inspire your next travel. Luckily for you, we've found all of the best places to look for travel inspiration. Keep reading to see all of the best travel guide websites that'll help guide your next travels!

Travel guides help us plan our trips better. But, with thousands of sites claiming to be travel wizards, it can be hard to pick and choose the best travel guide sites that fit your requirements. 

While some like to travel with a paperback guide in hand, others prefer to outsource well-detailed itineraries tailored to our preferences. The pundits, perfectionists, and ardent travelers want to take matters into their own hands and plan trips by themselves. They also need guides and recommendations to help with their research and planning.

Well, folks, worry not because our list of best travel guide websites covers it all. Regardless of where you fall on the travel planning spectrum, you'll find a travel guide that'll inspire and prepare you for your next trip. Use these fantastic travel guides and start planning your trips with Pilot!

10 Top Travel Guide Websites for travel inspiration!

10. lonely planet .

Lonely Planet  is a dominant brand in the travel industry, offering both travel guides and other resources on destinations worldwide. It is mainly geared towards backpackers on a budget. 

Its travel guidebooks, available in both digital and print form, come under a variety of categories such as regions, countries, cities, hikes, treks, etc. They include itineraries, maps for navigation, insider tips from experts, off-the-beaten-path attractions, and other helpful information. 

You can subscribe to their services for a monthly fee of $4.99 or a yearly fee of $39.99. It will give you access to resources on their website and app. You can purchase Lonely Planet books individually too.

Although Lonely Planet is not as resourceful and updated as it used to be, it's still one of the best travel sites to get an overview of destinations. You can also book accommodation and dining options via the website. Check out our full review of Lonely Planet  here . 

• A collection of over 825 guides
• Phrasebooks to learn the local language 
• Covers a lot of destinations worldwide 
• General travel information about countries is free
• Complaints on outdated information
• Unreliable customer service 
• Travel forum "Thorn Tree" is no longer available 

9. Fodor's Travel

Fodor's Travel  is another popular website offering travel guides for destinations around the world. Their specialty is the guidebooks available in both print and eBook versions. They have over 300 travel guides covering more than 7000 destinations. The website also has plenty of information, insider tips, and appealing visual content on different destinations. It's great for inspiration and general information. 

Fodor's forum is a great place to get recommendations, tips, and insider advice that will be useful for your trip plans. It has an active community, so it's more likely that you will receive prompt answers. You have to be a member to access all of its features. 

You can access Fodor's Travel website and forum free of charge. But, the guides have to be bought either from the website or sites like Amazon. On average, prices range from $10-$20. You can read our in-depth review of Fodor's Travel  here . 

• Helpful forum to seek advice
• Good recommendations
• Covers a lot of destinations 
• Incomplete guidebooks (complaints of missing pages)
• Lack of localized recommendations   

8. Rough Guides 

Initially,  Rough Guides  was solely focused on selling travel guidebooks in paperback and eBook formats. These books are still a popular choice among travelers today. They provide:

• Itineraries.
• Background information.
• Maps to help you find the way around.
• Independent recommendations of the writer.
• Detailed regional coverage.

Books are available at varying prices.

At present, Rough Guides also specializes in providing tailor-made travel guides to suit your personal preferences. You can connect with a local expert to create a special itinerary for you by entering your budget, destination, accommodation and dining choices, preferred activities, and other details. Depending on what you need, you can get everything planned and booked by a local expert or only resort to insider tips. The prices vary based on the kind of service you need.

Besides this, you can also find articles on travel advice, top destinations, and other travel-related subjects on the website. So, even if you are planning the trip by yourself, Rough Rides is a good place for inspiration. 

• A wide range of travel guidebooks 
• Personalized itineraries 
• Local knowledge and recommendations 
• Not very user-friendly 

7. ViaHero 

If you are more inclined towards personalized travel guidebooks by locals,  ViaHero  is one of the best to consider. The platform also promises to take the hassle of planning by outsourcing a day-by-day traveling guide from an expert, aka a 'Hero.' The good thing, however, is that you will be updated about every step of the planning.

You can select the destination and review the Heroes available there. Each Hero has a detailed bio outlining their personality, travel specialty, and expertise. You can also check the reviews left by past travelers about them. All you have to do is pick a Hero and specify your requirements. The cost of a customized itinerary is $40 per day. 

The Hero won't be accompanying you, although you will be in touch via email or messaging. ViaHero also posts travel articles for users to read and be informed about the destination(s) they plan to visit. If you want to learn more, check our ViaHero  review . 

• Convenient 
• Travel guides focus on local and uncrowded attractions 
• Quality, well-detailed itineraries 
• Service is available only to limited destinations

6. Frommer's 

Frommer's  remains one of the best travel sites because it is very resourceful for travelers. Frommer's offers guidebooks, podcasts, and the latest travel-related information for wanderlusts. They're also one of the oldest travel guide publishers. 

Its titles cater to a range of travel styles, covering every major destination around the world. Its travel guidebooks are available in both eBook and paperback formats. The books are pretty similar to others in the market.

Frommer's website has a treasure trove of travel content, and you can browse them by 'Destination' or 'Trip Ideas.' There's also a separate section dedicated to travel 'Tips and News.' It is especially helpful as travel rules and restrictions are constantly revised and updated on the pandemic. 

There's also a 'Deals & Bookings' section to help you grab great discounts on accommodation, airfares, cruises, and car rentals. Even if you don't want to purchase travel guides, Frommer's is a good website for updated travel information. 

• Updated travel information 
• Over 350 travel guidebooks 
• Good choice of accommodation
• Guidebooks cover only major highlights 
• Website looks outdated 

5. Tripadvisor 

Obviously, you know  Tripadvisor , famed for both its usefulness and weird reviews. It is a one-stop place to read travel guides, get advice and tips, make reservations, and plan trips.

Tripadvisor is one of the most  popular travel apps  travelers use to seek advice and recommendations from locals or other travelers. It's a great place to find and read reviews – just about any restaurant, hostel, attraction, or different travel experience anywhere in the world. If you can't find a review or discussion about the topic, you can start a discussion in their forum! 

You will also find a lot of content for travel inspiration, including travel guides from ardent travelers and 'Things to Do' lists on different destinations. Besides guides from experts, you can use Tripadvisor to book hotels, tours, activities, accommodation, etc. It's one of the best travel deals websites .

You can also save your favorite places and experiences in a destination and view them on a map. However, if you are looking for a planning tool, we recommend trying a  better travel planner .

• Active travel forum for trip guidance and tips 
• Plenty of user reviews to help your decisions 
• Loads of travel content
• Attractive travel deals 
• A mobile app for convenience 
• Infamous for  fake or biased reviews  
• A glorified checkout cart, not great for inspiration
• Reserving and managing bookings is not always streamlined

4. Localeur 

Localeur  is one of the best travel websites for travelers who want to avoid tourist traps and enjoy local and authentic experiences. It offers useful insights and recommendations from local insiders as opposed to tourists. At present, it covers over 200 destinations and has a user base of 5 million worldwide.

You can find recommendations on everything from road trips to places to eat to shopping tips on the platform. Their local expert base consists of writers, artists, foodies, and other specialists from different fields. It's great to plan your trip and want to cover the best attractions in your itinerary. 

Localeur's main features are only offered to its subscribers. You can go for a lifetime subscription of $150 or a monthly subscription of $10. You get recommendations, personalized travel guides, and two weekly emails for travel inspiration.

But, you can still check out its travel content, featured guides and recommendations, and 'localeurs' for free. Subscription to their newsletter is also free of charge. Read our full review of Localeur  here ! 

• Reliable and quality recommendations 
• Information of local experiences
• Wide range of choices
• Costly subscription 
• Limited destinations
• Recommendations could be biased

3. Atlas Obscura 

Atlas Obscura  is about intriguing people to travel with its attractive and quirky guides and travel content. It publishes stories focusing on nature, science, culture, history, food, and hidden wonders. If you love sights that are hidden, weird, or rare, this travel guide is the perfect choice for you. 

It has an extensive collection of content on unusual attractions and cool dining places in destinations worldwide. They seem to be very informative and attractive to add to the itinerary. The community forums under each destination help you discuss travel-related topics with fellow users. 

Another specialty of Atlas Obscura is their guided tours to amazing places described by them. Most of them are adventure trips to less-traveled places, so there's no doubt that travelers are in a for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The traveling guide website also offers virtual travel experiences. 

Although you can browse travel content for free, membership is mandatory to access experiences and events hosted by Atlas Obscura. There are both monthly and yearly plans to choose from. 

• Amazing and high-quality travel guides 
• Focuses on unique attractions 
• Availability of virtual experiences and guided tours
• Not so much of a place to get travel guides and tips 
• Not ideal if you are looking for guidance on usual tourist spots 
• Paid membership 

2. Travel + Leisure 

Of course, no list of best travel sites is perfect without mentioning this leading travel and leisure magazine. While  Travel + Leisure's  focus is primarily on an exotic holiday destination, high-end vacations, its high-quality content is worthy for every traveler. From best places to travel to best gadgets to carry, it is a very informative source that educates travelers on how to best prepare for an upcoming trip. 

Travel +Leisure provides unique accommodation, dining, attractions in different destinations. You will also find content on the latest travel news, deals, tips, accessories, and inspiration on the site. In the 'Travel Guides' section, you can filter guides based on location, language, the best time to visit, and activities.

Last year, the magazine launched its trip booking and subscription features. The Travel + Leisure Go platform lets you book trips to destinations published on the website and other exclusive itineraries. The travel and leisure magazine's subscribers ($9.95 per month) can enjoy discounts on accommodation and other services. 

• Very informative and updated content 
• Covers a wide range of travel-related topics 
• Convenient trip booking feature
• Travel deals 
• Limited destinations under 'Travel Guides' 
• Doesn't offer detailed travel itineraries 
• Expensive subscription fee

1. Condé Nast Traveller

Condé Nast Traveller is another magazine & travel guide website that caters to luxury travel experiences. The website is a ripe source for travel inspiration, albeit for quite pricey staycations. On the plus side, there's some focus on budget travelers as well. Nevertheless, we think it's one of the best travel guide sites out there with up-to-date information. 

The articles on this travel leisure magazine cover a wide range of topics from best pizza places to shooting locations of famous films to activities for kids while traveling. On the Condé Nast Traveller, you can browse for the best accommodation and dining choices and travel content on style and art. It's a good website for you to get travel ideas from experts in the industry.

You will also find travel news and tips to help you plan and navigate. For those interested, Condé Nast Traveller also offers subscription plans to get its digital and/or print magazine copy delivered to you. The cost varies based on your country.

• Great, informative content 
• Promptly updated travel news
• Focus on unique destinations and attractions 
• Not for budget backpackers 
• No trip booking feature

Pair the best travel guide websites with Pilot.

We hope our list of the best travel websites has satisfied your wanderlust or has inspired you to travel! 

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60 Best travel websites for researching & planning a trip

Researching and planning a holiday is like decorating a room. It’s all about the preparation. (Yes, you can have a great spontaneous holiday, but there’s a lot of luck involved in that…).

In the good old days, before the internet, we relied on travel agents, but in today’s digital world, a wealth of online websites and apps are on-hand to help.

But too many. The choice is overwhelming and the quality and trustworthiness variable.

So which ones are the best? Which ones should you use and for what purpose?

Planning a holiday – even before you book it – involves several steps. We’ve broken down this process and recommended the best tools to use at each stage, to make your research and planning process as simple, painless, fast –and enjoyable – as possible.

Where to go & what to do

1.1 ideas & inspiration.

Discover new places you never thought of going to, wonderful things to see & do on your travels. Add them to your travel bucket list.

Bucket List Travels

Concept: This specialist travel inspiration site works with an impressive list of leading travel writers around the world to recommend the world’s greatest travel experiences. It also offers destination guides, simple itineraries that link the top attractions together, and recommends the best places to stay while you’re there. You can search and filter through the recommendations e.g. to find recommendations by price, or that are suitable for kids. You can also save your ‘finds’ to your travel bucket list.

Pros: the search and filtering is unique amongst travel inspiration sites, and it allows you to sort through the thousands of expert recommendations to find what you want quickly – a huge time saver. The destination guides have curated, not comprehensive recommendations, so they’re effectively handing you a list of great recommendations for when you visit a new destination, i.e. the ‘bucket list’ experiences not-to-be-missed. The adding to favourites is also unique – great for ‘saving for later’ those brilliant experiences or places to stay you come across.

Cons: coverage is limited to only 100 or so destinations, which mainly centres on the UK and western Europe. Non-Europe content is limited (but being added in the near future).

When to use: Use it before any other site to decide on where to go or what to do next, and to get an outline list/itinerary of what you want to do there. Then supplement that with tours & activities from other inspiration sites listed here, especially the ones with the local authentic experiences.

Website : https://www.bucketlisttravels.com/

Concept: Instagram is a social media platform that allows users to share photos and videos with their followers. It’s popular among individuals, influencers, and businesses for promoting their personal brands or products.

Pros: Insta is a great source of travel inspiration, as it allows you to discover new destinations, attractions, and experiences through visually appealing and engaging content. You can follow travel influencers and bloggers for tips and recommendations, discover lesser-known destinations and experiences, find out about local events and festivals, and see how others experience a particular destination, which can provide ideas for your own itinerary.

When to use it: Day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Website : https://www.instagram.com/

Concept: Pinterest is a social media platform that allows users to discover, collect and share images and videos on virtual pinboards. Users can create boards on any topic and save Pins from other users or external websites, as well as search for inspiration and ideas. The platform has over 400 million active users worldwide.

Pros: Like Instagram, it’s a great visual travel inspiration tool, for discovering what to do in the world and specific destinations.

When to use it: For visual searches of potential destinations, and saving ideas (pins) for future trips.

Website : https://www.pinterest.com

Travel & Leisure

This high-end, luxury travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world. Being a magazine, it focuses on the new and topical, so it’s a showcase of the latest and greatest in travel if novelty is your thing.

Pros: It’s top-quality content and genuine expertise from leading journalists and travel writers, with selective, curated recommendations. They have tonnes of round-ups of the ‘world’s best’ too.

Cons: Recommendations can be a bit too curated, missing lots of smaller experiences, and are often outside of the budget of most travellers. It’s primarily a magazine with an online afterthought, so recommendations tend to get buried in long pages of text. The site search turns up articles/posts that you then have to read further, rather than specific recommendations, and you can’t filter anything which is the big time saver.

When to use it: Sign up for their social feeds and newsletters, which often feature great round-ups like: “Best place to…”. Great for day-to-day inspiration and idea generation for your next trip. Bookmark your favourites, or save your ideas to your travel bucket list for the next time you do want to go somewhere special.

Honourable mentions: other great magazines for this include Conde Nast Traveller (featured later) and Wanderlust .

Website : https://www.travelandleisure.com/

Travel blogs

Concept: Travel blogs (too many to mention, but pretty much all the same in format) feature personal experiences, advice, and recommendations, usually written by an individual traveller or group of travellers who share their travel stories, photos, and tips with their audience.

Pros: You can’t beat personal experience when it comes to travel recommendations, and often these experienced author-travellers offer good insights and tips. They’re also usually an interesting, engaging read.

Cons: for planning a trip, blogs are hit and miss. They are written from the perspective of the blogger i.e. where they have just been or what they have just done, so it’s pot luck if that coincides with where you want to go or do next. They are also flat, text articles – you can’t search or filter their recommendations.

When to use it: Follow the ones you like if you enjoy reading such things. Once you have your list itinerary roughly planned out, they’re worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights (if you can find something relevant).

1.2 Top attractions, activities, tours & events

If you’re ready to start planning your trip, and nothing on your travel bucket list fits the bill, take a look at one of these sites to decide:

Concept: See listing above.

When to use: Head to their search results that shows all 100+ destination they cover, then use the filters to select a destination based on cost (cheap v expensive), or theme  (e.g. Science & Nature, Art, History & Culture) etc. You can also handily filter the list according to the best month of the year to visit.

FlightsFrom

Concept: this handy website lists all of the destinations you can fly to from every airport, on what days and with what airline.

When to use it: great for identifying where you can fly to from your local airport, and planning multi-destination trips.

Website : https://www.flightsfrom.com/

Google Flights

Google’s flight aggregator and comparison service consolidates flight schedules from all of the world’s commercial airlines in one place. By entering your dates and departure/arrival airports, you can quickly see who flies there, on what dates and at what times, and the price of the fare. Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

How to use it: The ‘Explore’ function allows you to specify a departure airport and see the cheapest flights to any destination you can fly to from that airport, for certain dates and trip durations – so great if you don’t have a fixed destination in mind. You can also handily add more than one departure airport if you have more than one departure option. (NB FlightsFrom shows you all available flights; Google Flights shows you available flights and their prices). NB Skyscanner has a similar ‘Explore everywhere’ feature, however, it is only available on the app and you can only enter one departure destination).

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/flights

This travel inspiration website provides a wealth of travel content, including destination guides, hotel and restaurant recommendations.

Pros: there’s loads of decent quality content, and their network of experts worldwide have good credentials and specialise in the destinations they write about.

Cons: The recommendations feature in text-heavy pages, making it hard to use for planning. You can’t filter, or save your favourites, and if you site search, you then have to wade through lots and lots of article posts. The content can also be quite random – as if it’s what someone felt like writing at the time, rather than being structured.

When to use it: Once you have your main list drawn up from the other sites listed here, it’s worth a quick scan for additional tips and insights.

Website : https://www.tripsavvy.com/

This global deals site specialises in providing exclusive offers and one-of-a-kind experiences to its 30 million members worldwide (membership is free). They partner with over 5,000 travel suppliers to source cut-price inventory.

When to use it: Sign up for their newsletter, then sit back and let the deals roll in. If you’re price-conscious, or just love a deal, then use their offers to decide on where to go and what to do next. Works best if you’re flexible on dates – most deals will be for when demand is lower i.e. in winter and/or outside of school holidays.

Website : https://www.travelzoo.com

1.3 What to do when you get there: attractions

Now you’ve decided on a destination, what should you do there? What are the top attractions, the must-see-and-dos, and the ‘bucket list experiences not to be missed?

How to use it: Navigate to the destination guide webpage. Our expert writes not only curates the top travel experiences – attractions, activities, tours & events – for you, but also further splits them as either ‘bucket list’ i.e. the not-to-be-missed, or ‘other’ experiences – nice to know about, but only for if you have time/interest.

Also, be sure to scroll through the destination page photo gallery for a pictorial summary.

Google Travel

Concept: Google’s travel planning platform offers a range of tools to help users plan their trips. It includes Google Flights (see later), a hotel aggregator and holiday rentals

For deciding what to do when you go somewhere, type your destination into the search, then click on the ‘Things to do’ side icon for full listings. It tries to list in order of priority/popularity, which mostly works, though it is an auto-generated list. The written descriptions come from Wikipedia, so it lacks that human expertise and it all feels a bit soulless (to me anyway). The interface however is easy to use, and you can add favourites to a trip list.

How to use it: After you’ve been to Bucket List Travels for the curated, expert list, if you feel you need more in your itinerary, and/or you’re worried we may have missed something, then use Google Travel to check the full comprehensive listings and see if there is anything else you want to do.

Website : https://www.google.com/travel/

Lonely Planet

Concept: The original ‘guidebook’ company, they have destination guides for pretty much every place on the planet. Their expert writers, who must specialise in the destination, provide comprehensive listings and recommendations for sightseeing, accommodation and food & drink, plus very detailed logistical and practical information.

How to use it: They’re comprehensive, not curated. They include a lot of minor attractions that the majority of travellers would not want to bother with, and there’s not a lot of imagery, just text. I use them as a cross-check once I have outlined what you want to do. It’s too detailed/comprehensive for researching and planning – unless you’ve got days to spare. Handy to take the book with you, though, for the in-depth local tips when you’re there.

Honourable mentions: all of the guidebooks are broadly similar. Also try Rough Guides , Fodor’s , Frommers’ , Rick Steves (Europe only) and DK Eyewitness .

Website : https://www.lonelyplanet.com/

Tourism Associations

Concept: A local government body, tasked with promoting tourism to the destination, that will provide comprehensive information, advice and recommendations for visitors to both attract and facilitate their visit. Being the local specialist, they should know better than anyone what to see & do, and they often include many smaller, high quality attractions and tours that others will miss. However, the quality of websites is highly variable (best in the most developed, richer nations as you’d expect), and they have to be impartial so there is no curation and little opinion.

How to use it: A great resource when it’s done well. If you’re going to a developed nation, I would say they are a must-visit. Use them to start drafting up your list.

Concept: A video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and view videos on a variety of topics. It attracts billions of monthly active users. There’s a digital tonne of travel content on there, covering every aspect – from destination recommendations to videos on how to book flights.

When to use it: if you’re a visual person, YouTube is a great resource for travel inspiration. It’s jammed packed these days with ‘What to see in X’, with video and image slideshows showing you the top sights. It tends to be top sights only, but a good place to start drawing up your shortlist. It’s also great for travel advice and tips.

Website : https://youtube.com

1.4 What to do when you get there: local experiences

‘Authentic’ experiences enable you to experience the real destination, to experience its culture, to meet its people, and to live like a local. Indeed, many travellers prefer them to crowd-thronged, tourist-spoiled ‘big ticket’ attractions. Here are some resources I use to discover them in my chosen destination:

Air BnB experiences

Concept: This service allows individuals and small businesses to offer unique activities and tours to travellers in over 1,000 cities around the world. Experiences can range from food tours to pottery classes to wildlife safaris, and are designed and led by locals who have expertise in their field.

Pros: Coverage is extensive, and the experiences can be a more immersive and authentic way for travellers to connect with the local culture and community.

Cons: Some of the experiences listed I feel are more for locals than tourists, and it’s tours/classes, so not really attractions you visit like museums.

When to use it: If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with these experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com/experiences

Atlas Obscura

An online travel guide that features unique, offbeat and even bizarre travel experiences – be it unknown/obscure destinations or little-known experiences within well-known destinations. It also offers tours and experiences to some of the destinations featured on the website.

Pros: Once again, this is a site for those seeking off-the-beaten-track, authentic and unusual experiences.

Cons: It’s very niche, aimed at the truly intrepid traveller. If you’re a mainstream tourist, wanting to tick off the main sites, this is not the site for you.

When to use it: If you want to avoid the big tourist sites and experience something unique and different in a destination. If you’re a first-time visitor wanting to tick off the main attractions, use a site like Bucket List Travels first to find those out and make a preliminary list, then complement what they give you with the Atlas Obscura experiences to add some local flavour and insight to your itinerary.

Website : https://www.atlasobscura.com/

Spotted by Locals

Concept: A travel website/blog that provides insider city tips from locals. Each city ‘guide’ is curated by a team of handpicked city residents, featuring their favourite local spots for food, drinks, culture, and entertainment.

Pros: it’s a great source for finding those authentic local experiences, away from the tourist hoards.

Cons: Recommendations/articles are quite random in subject – and you have to scroll through pages and pages of blog posts. You can’t search or filter by interest for example. Coverage is also limited to only 80 cities.

When to use it: They also don’t cover the big-ticket attractions first-time visitors will want to see, so use this for filling gaps in your itinerary or for second visits once the big ones have been ticked off.

Website : https://www.spottedbylocals.com/

1.5 What to do when you get there: tickets & tours

Get Your Guide

Offers a very similar proposition to Viator (see below). GyG though is Europe-based, so it has much stronger tour options in Europe than the US-based Viator, which conversely has a better US inventory.

Website : https://www.getyourguide.com/

Concept: An online tour ‘aggregator’ combines and lists multi-day organised tours, both small and large group, from all the leading tour operator brands like Intrepid , G Adventures and Exodus. They are to guided tours what Booking.com is to hotels. Search is by destination, so you need to know where you want to go first.

Pros: Listings are comprehensive and up to date, giving you a window on all of the options available that you can search and filter to your specific need.

Cons: Always beware the pricing on aggregators. Operators have learned to use low pricing to get you to click through to them, then load that up with expensive extras and upgrades once you are on their site (or they lie about the price in the first place).

When to use: If you want to go on a guided tour, this is a great place to start. It will tell you who the best tour operators are, what are your tour options, and the prices.

Website : https://www.tourradar.com/

Concept: A ‘tour aggregator’ offers a wide range of tours and experiences in destinations worldwide, through local third-party tour operators. (Think of them as the Booking.com or Expedia of tours). Tours can be anything from 1-hour walking tours to 10-day organised tours. A US-based company (owned by TripAdvisor), it’s much more comprehensive in the US than in Europe.

Pros: They partner with the best local tour operators, so the tour quality is good, and you have someone to complain to if things go awry. The site search allows you to sort through the extensive catalogue quickly.

When to use it: Work out where you want to go, and get a feel for the top attractions, somewhere else, then come to Viator to book tickets and tours.

Website : https://www.viator.com/

1.6 Draft an outline itinerary

Now you know what you want to see & do in your destination, work out a rough day-by-day itinerary to ensure you get to do everything you want to do, with minimal travelling around.

Concept: see listing above.

How to use it: For most destination guides (where it makes sense to do so), our writers have set out simple itineraries of what to do and where to go on each day of a trip. For cities, they are usually 3- and 5-day itineraries (the 5-day version has the same first 3 days, then two additional days on top). They link all of the top attractions together in the most logistically convenient way, minimising travel, and including recommendations for lunch and dinner while you’re there.

Rick Steves Europe

Rick Steves is a travel guidebook author and television personality who specialises in European travel. His guidebooks offer practical advice and recommendations for budget travel, including tips on accommodations, dining, and sightseeing. His approach emphasises cultural immersion and connecting with locals, and his guides often include suggested walking tours and off-the-beaten-path destinations.

Pros: Rick’s guidebooks offer much more in-depth expertise than the others for Europe, with high-quality, well-researched recommendations based on experts with years of experience. The website has great travel forums for asking fellow travellers questions.

How to use it: It’s not a site for researching where to go and what to do. It’s better once you know where you want to go, and really want to drill into the fine detail. However, like Bucket List Travels , the site does have helpful itineraries that set out where to go and what to do day-to-day.

Website : https://www.ricksteves.com/

1.7 Specialist travel

Cruise Critic

The world’s leading online cruise review website and community provides comprehensive reviews, ratings and forums to help you assess cruise vacations. It’s the TripAdvisor of cruises (and not surprisingly, it’s owned by them), so just like with TripAdvisor, don’t believe everything you read.

When to use: We would personally recommend finding recommendations elsewhere e.g. from cruise travel journalists writing for newspapers, magazines or even Bucket List Travels. Then come to this site to check out the reviews of your shortlist.

Website : https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/

Euan’s Guide

Set up by wheelchair user Euan MacDonald MBE, this disabled access review website is the go-to tool for many disabled people wanting to travel in the UK and beyond. It shares accessibility information for venues and the experiences/reviews of other disabled users.

Pros: Helps to solve some of the challenges disabled people face, and gives them the confidence to travel.

Cons: the coverage is mainly UK and Europe, but thankfully is widening to the rest of the world at a pace.

Website : https://www.euansguide.com

We Love 2 Ski

This excellent online resource provides skiers and snowboarders with up-to-date and comprehensive information on ski resorts, conditions, accommodation, equipment, and more. The website features detailed reviews, insider tips, and expert advice on everything related to skiing, as well as an active forum for the ski community to share their experiences and knowledge.

It’s managed by 3 ski experts, with a wealth of expertise between them and who really know their stuff and take pride in keeping the information up-to-date. It’s one of those more genuine sites that care about their advice and is not trying to constantly do the hard sell.

When to use: if you want to go skiing, start here. If you’ve already found somewhere to go or stay, be sure to check what they say about it here before you go.

Website : https://welove2ski.com/

Getting there & around

2.1 flights.

Concept: a flight deal finder service that sends you price and deal alerts on flights. You enter your preferred departure airport and they send you notifications of great deals, and price movements. Tickets are discounted 40-90%, for flights 2-6 months out in Economy, Business and First classes.

How to use it: If you’ve got flexible travel dates, or have a bucket list destination in mind. Sign up and wait for a deal.

Website : https://www.going.com/

Google’s Flights is a flight aggregator that allows you to find and compare flights. It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts. The pricing can sometimes be inaccurate, however, and when you click through, it’s usually for a basic fare without any luggage.

When to use it: Start your flight search here. You may have to add in the extras, then compare prices, or you may not get the cheapest option.

Honourable mentions: Skyscanner and Kayak offer similar services. In my experience, they pretty much have the same inventory. It really comes down to which interface you prefer.

Hopper is one of the US’s most successful travel apps, selling over $4.5B of travel each year. It helps you find the best deals on flights, hotels, home rentals, and car hire by analysing trillions of data points to predict when prices will rise or fall. When you set your dates, you see a helpful calendar showing when prices are highest and lowest, and you can sign up for price alerts.

Their second big USP is their ‘price freeze’ option, where you pay a small fee (5%-15% of the price) to freeze the price for a limited duration (options range up to 3 weeks). If the price goes up, you pay no more; if it goes down, you pay the lower price (like insurance). They also offer Flight Disruption and Cancel for Any Reason Guarantees.

Pros: Simple to use, the most accurate predictor of prices, really helps you get the best deal (if your dates are flexible). The insurance options have been a godsend to many in the recent years of travel disruption and inflating prices. Unlike other flight aggregators like Kayak or Skyscanner they show the different airline fare options within the app, so you don’t get caught by the artificially low basic fare enticing you to click through (see Skyscanner summary).

Cons: None that we can see! It really is an excellent service.

When to use it: Once you know where you want to go, come to the site to get the best deal on flights, car hire and accommodation. Simple as that.

It works best if you’re dates are flexible, so you can pick the cheapest travel dates, and/or if you have time before you book – take out the freeze option and you can be assured that the price will only come down, or sign up for the price alert.

Website : https://hopper.com/

Concept: This flight aggregator, owned by Chinese-backed Trip.com and based in Edinburgh, does the same thing as Google Flights. . It enables you to find the airlines that fly between your destinations, and available flight times.

Prices and availability are updated in real-time, and you can sign up for price alerts.

When to use it: I’ve not found much difference in pricing to Google Flights, though I much prefer Skyscanner’s user interface. It really comes down to personal choice.

Honourable mentions: US-based Kayak , originating in the US, offers a similar service to Skyscanner.

Website : https://www.skyscanner.net/

The Points Guy

If you’re someone that loves to save on travel using reward points, check out this advisory site by Brian Kelly. As he puts it, it’s ‘your go-to source for all things travel, points, miles, credit cards and more’. His advice covers both where best to earn points, and how best to spend them. There’s both a US and a UK website , with custom advice based on where you reside.

He gives up-to-date advice and tips in this ever-changing, evolving space that cuts through all of the confusion, and helps you find the best deals in the market, and explains how to take advantage of them.

How to use it: Visit here first if you’ve got points to burn, or will have and want to know the best scheme to sign up for.

Website : https://thepointsguy.com/

2.2 Car hire & taxis

Rentalcars.com

A global car rental booking platform that provides customers with access to over 60,000 rental locations in more than 160 countries worldwide. The site enables you to compare prices and features from a wide range of rental companies. Customers can also benefit from 24/7 support and free cancellation on most bookings.

I’ve regularly rented cars via them, and never found a cheaper deal. The customer service and support are also very good. There’s not really a reason to start looking anywhere else.

Website : https://www.rentalcars.com/

It doesn’t really need any introduction… but just for completeness. Founded in 2009, Uber is a ride-hailing service that connects riders with drivers in most major cities around the world. Through the app, you can request and pay for rides, track your driver’s location, and rate the experience.

Uber’s meteoric rise to a global brand can be attributed to solving several customer issues with then-taxi firms: they would find you a ride tell you how long it would take to arrive, how much the fare would be upfront, and sort payment automatically through your account, thus avoiding the need to have enough cash on you.

Other leading ride-sharing apps include Lyft (US and Canada) and Cabify (Spain & Latin America).

2.3 Rail, Bus & Ferry

Concept: Omio is a comprehensive travel search and booking platform that helps users find and book the best deals on trains, buses, and flights across Europe. The website offers a user-friendly interface, with real-time price comparisons and flexible search options to suit individual needs and preferences.

When to use: It’s a great tool for planning and booking multi-modal trips.

Website : https://www.omio.co.uk/

Rail Europe

Concept: Rail Europe is a one-stop-shop for planning and booking train travel in 33 European countries. The website offers a wide range of tickets, passes, and packages for different destinations and budgets, as well as information on train schedules, routes, and stations. Note, they don’t cover local trams and metros, it’s intercity trains only (that includes Eurostar). Enter the destinations you want to go to and they’ll recommend the best value ticket/pass.

For multiple trips, you’ll likely be recommended a Eurail pass. This brilliant invention allows you to travel on over 30 European railway operators and some ferries too. Kids under 11 travel free with an adult.

Website : https://www.raileurope.com/

2.4 Route planning

Google Maps

Who hasn’t used google Maps? And for good reason. Its coverage is comprehensive, it’s simple to use, and it’s is invaluable when you’re trying to figure out how to get from A to B in an unfamiliar place. It shows travel times and distances in multiple transport modes: on foot, bike, by available public transport and by car.

How to use it: use it to help plan upfront your transportation from point to point in your itinerary.

Website : https://www.google.com/maps

Hands down the best service for planning and booking journeys within and between countries. It combines and compares transport options from over 5,000 transportation providers across 160 countries, then recommends the cheapest, fastest, and most convenient routes for different modes of transportation including flights, trains, buses, and car rentals. The website also provides comprehensive travel information. It will quote prices, distances, times, mileage, route numbers, and which companies to book.

Their slogan is “Discover how to get anywhere by plane, train, bus, ferry & car – and it does exactly what is says on the tin.

Website : https://www.rome2rio.com/

Where to stay

3.1 'best' hotels - curated selections.

Whatever you go, there are always thousands of hotel options. These sites do the research work for you and use experts to curate a list of the best, based on location, quality and quality.

How to use it: For all the destinations we cover, we provide you with a curated list of the best hotels – for all budgets, from the mainstream to the unusual.

The selections are made by our writers, who must not only be leading travel journalists, but also specialise in that destination (either living there or visiting frequently). The writers have at least inspected and usually stayed in the properties they recommend.

Conde Nast Traveller

Similar to Travel & Leisure above, this high-end, luxury global travel magazine covers a range of topics including hotels and resorts, airlines, cruises, food and drink, and various travel destinations around the world.

When to use it: They do great round-ups of the ‘best’ hotels to stay in a destination – but obviously at the top end. If you’re not that price sensitive, start with their shortlist.

Honourable mention: Travel & Leisure, their great rival, also does destination hotel round-ups.

Website : https://www.cntraveller.com/

In my view, it’s the best ‘guidebook’ website for researching and planning a trip online – once you know where you want to go. They simply and helpfully list out a reasonably long short list of things to see & do and places to stay, and rate them each from 1-3, depending on how good they are.

However, like all the guidebooks online, coverage is comprehensive at times, requiring a lot of time and effort to research through it. The website is also swamped with banner ads that are off-putting and annoying.

How to use it: A good place to start your hotel search. They generally do select good options, though it’s more aimed at budget travellers.

Website : https://www.frommers.com/

The Telegraph (Travel)

This long-standing British newspaper does a fine job of curating and rating (out of 10) the best hotels in destinations around the world, for all budgets. The reviews tell you what you want to know – style, location, key amenities – without being overwhelming.

As for Bucket List Travels , selections and reviews are written by top travel writers who have inspected and usually stayed in the property. The number of hotels they recommend is a lot more than Bucket List Travels – and includes ones we certainly wouldn’t include – but it does give you a longer list to start with.

When to use it: if you care about where you stay, and really want one of the best places, this is a great place to start your start for somewhere to stay.

Website : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/

TripAdvisor

The original hotel review site, it has since expanded to become the global platform for reviews (and information) on hotels, restaurants, attractions, and other travel-related businesses. It also offers a variety of travel-related content and resources, including travel guides and forums.

Over the years it has, sadly become increasingly corrupted with fake reviews, but they can’t fake all of them and as long as there are at least several hundred reviews, the score should be reasonably reflective.

When to use it: I personally like to start drawing up a shortlist of places to stay on other sites listed here, then do a quick check of the reviews of each on TripAdvisor. I also filter to see only the negative comments, then look at 1) how recent they are 2) if it is a one-off complaint i.e. someone had a refund request refused and 3) if it is something that can and probably has been fixed e.g. a rude receptionist. Small room sizes, traffic noise from road proximity, and so on – these issues are not easily fixed.

Website : https://www.tripadvisor.com

3.2 Boutique hotel collections

If it’s a boutique hotel you’re after, try one of these specialist sites. They only list high-quality properties that meet their individual criteria.

Design Hotels

As the name suggests, this website offers a curated selection of over 300 independently owned and operated hotels and resorts around the world, each chosen for its unique design and aesthetic. The site emphasizes design and architecture and offers a range of luxury and boutique properties.

Pros: It’s a brilliant resource for finding unique and interesting stays, especially with modern and/or minimalist interiors.

Cons: if you’re not that worried about hotel design, then it doesn’t offer a lot of value other than a list of interesting hotels.

When to use: if you’re interested in design, and prioritise that in your accommodation, then this is a great resource. If it’s not that important, you’re better off elsewhere with a greater selection and better prices.

Website : https://www.designhotels.com/

This boutique hotel booking website offers a carefully curated selection of stylish, unique and independently-run hotels and vacation rentals around the world. They offer in-depth reviews of each property, personalised recommendations, and a friendly, 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The curated selection of unique and stylish properties is exceptional and of a consistently high quality that you can rely on. Each property has been personally inspected by staff. The reviews, from both customers and staff, are honest and in-depth and tell you who it is and isn’t for, rather than pretend everyone’s going to love it.

Cons: There’s a limited number of properties in many destinations, and it is property, not destination, led – meaning is easier to find the place, then decide on the destination rather than the reverse (which may suit).

When to use: if their style of property i.e. unique, high quality, small and independent, is what you like/are looking for, there’s no better resource to use. If they don’t have something in your preferred destination, then look elsewhere, but check first.

Honourable mention: Sawdays offers a similar service, but they’re UK & Europe only.

Website : https://www.i-escape.com/

Mr & Mrs Smith

This first-rate, UK-based hotel booking website curates handpicked, boutique hotels around the world, each personally inspected to meet their high standards of facilities, service and location. The website has in-depth reviews of each property, with insider tips like what are the best rooms to book, without being overwhelming.

There are also exclusive benefits for members like gifts on arrival, or late checkouts, and a 24/7 booking service.

Pros: The standard of hotels is consistently high, so much so that the brand has become a trusted stamp of quality. The booking service and post-sales support is efficient yet very personable, and hotel staff genuinely care about ‘Smith’ customers so you feel very welcome when you arrive.

Cons: They have limited or no options in many destinations. They also can’t match the benefits of the OTA reward schemes like Booking.com .

When to use: The site is great if this is your style of hotel, and you want to be looked after at every step. Limited coverage is only an issue if you are dead set on a destination. If you’re not really that bothered where you go, or at least are open to suggestions, check this excellent site first.

Website : https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/

Secret Escapes

A members-only hotel booking website that offers exclusive deals and discounts on luxury hotels and vacations around the world. The site negotiates special rates with hotels and resorts, available to their members only.

Pros: There some great deals and genuine exclusive discounts to be had, though max discount tends to be 30% (and average of 15%-20%), but still not to be sniffed at. They also do a good job of curation, so you know you’re getting a decent hotel.

Cons: You still need to compare prices to other sites like Booking.com and the hotel’s own website, as there are lots of sneaky tricks and breaking of agreements that going on behind the scenes and you never really know where the best deal is until you check.

When to use: if you know where you want to go, it’s well worth checking in for a deal.

Website : https://www.secretescapes.com/

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

This website has personally visited, verified and vetted every single one of its 520 hotels in more than 90 countries. The criteria for inclusions I small (<50 rooms, non-chain and offering the highest standards of luxury and service.

Pros: it’s an exceptional collection of outstanding hotels, and the brand guarantees a high-quality, luxury stay. Members get 10% off and extra (tiered) benefits like upgrades and late checkouts. Hotels welcome their members with open arms, as they usually spend well, and SMH look after their customers.

Cons: things this good come with a price tag. Many hotels are out of reach of most travellers’ budgets.

When to use: if you’re a discerning, occasionally demanding, traveller, that specifically wants a smaller hotel, this is a great place to start your search. Check other websites though for better prices – even with the 10% off – but if you’re not that price sensitive, it’s nice to book with someone who cares, as opposed to a hotel production line like Booking.com.

Website : https://slh.com/

Tablet Hotels

This New York-based brand, founded in 2000 and well-known across the US, has curated over 3,500 boutique & luxury properties around the world. In 2018, it was purchased by and merged with Michelin.

Similar to Mr & Mrs Smith, they curate a selection based on criteria, offer a full booking service, and exclusive benefits for ‘Tablet Plus’ members like VIP upgrades and free valet parking.

Pros: the curated selection guarantees a measure of quality, and some of the VIP benefits are really nice ones to have and make you feel a bit special.

Cons: You inevitably will pay more than on other sites, and sometimes they overpromise and underdeliver on the VIP experience – much depends on the attitude of the hotel. The criteria for selection is much broader than a Mr & Mrs Smith, so you’re not getting that real consistency of accommodation, and the personal relationship that Smith has with its properties.

When to use: If you want to feel like a VIP and value those benefits over saving a few pennies or cents, then they are worth a look.

Website : https://www.tablethotels.com/

3.3 Home rentals & stays

Launched in 2008 and needing no introduction, this global accommodation powerhouse forever altered the holiday market. Now with more than 300,000 listings in over 190 countries, it has expanded from its original core offering of ‘spare rooms to rent’ to include apartments, treehouses, villas – whatever you can stay in, it’s likely to be on AirBnB.

Pros: the sheer number of options and global coverage means you’re highly likely to find something you want. The site is simple and easy to use, with lots of photographs, user reviews and star ratings.

Cons: The product and website is great, but they don’t really care about customers, and customer service if something goes wrong can be challenging to find.

When to use: whenever you’re looking for something other than a hotel, and/or something more authentic or with a local feel. It’s especially good for families and groups wanting to stay together in one place.

Website : https://www.airbnb.com

Couchsurfing

This global hospitality exchange enables you to stay with a host for free for a few nights – be it sofa or, if you’re lucky, a bed. You simply create a profile, search for hosts, and request to stay with them. Surprisingly, perhaps, it works, and over the years the site has built a loyal following and a strong community of ‘couchsurfers’ who help and support each other, and even organise events around the world.

When to use it: When budget is tight and you just really want somewhere to crash, and/or you’re looking to connect with other travellers and the local community.

Website : https://www.couchsurfing.com/

This upscale holiday home and apartment rental specialist has a large catalogue of privately-owned places to stay, which you can filter by key criteria like price, location, number of bedrooms etc. Each listing is vetted by their team to ensure it meet minimum standards. It’s owned by the Expedia Group.

The quality of homes for rent is exceptional and varied, from lake houses to treehouses, and the search and filtering makes it quick and simple to find something that suits. Customer service is good, much better than AirBnB for example.

Website : https://www.vrbo.com/

Villas of Distinction

Villas of Distinction is a luxury villa rental company that offers an extensive portfolio of properties in over 50 destinations worldwide. They provide personalized service to help clients select the perfect villa for their vacation, and offer a range of amenities such as private pools, chefs, and concierge services to enhance the guest experience.

When to use it: When you’re looking for an independent, self-catering stay in an uber-luxurious villa. It’s top-end, with a price tag to match.

Honourable mention: One Fine Stay offers a similar service.

Website : https://www.villasofdistinction.com/

3.4 Campsites & Hostels

HostelWorld

The hostel specialist is the go-to place for booking budget accommodation in over 170 countries – both dormitory beds and private rooms. The website and mobile app allow you to browse and book from a wide range of hostels, hotels, and guesthouses, with a focus on affordable and social options. There are also offers travel guides, reviews, and a loyalty program for frequent users.

Pros: The UX is really smooth, the inventory (number of options) is much is larger than on the major hotel search engines (OTAs), and it does a much better job of setting out dormitory bed pricing and deal options. There are a number of ‘community’ features that encourage you to connect with fellow travellers.

When to use it: If you’re on a budget or want to meet people when you’re travelling, start here with your accommodation search.

Website : https://www.hostelworld.com/

If you’re looking for something off-grid, preferably unique and unusual – but don’t want to compromise too much on luxury, this website is for you. It’s a directory of for luxury campsites and stays, with various accommodation options ranging from tents to tipis, log cabins to vintage caravans. Coverage is mainly Europe & UK, though they have plans to expand beyond.

Website : https://campaglam.com/

3.5 Price comparison

Concept: This Expedia-owned hotel search engine allows you to compare prices from various booking sites for over 1.8 million hotels in more than 190 countries. You can search & filter to discover hotels matching your criteria, then each hotel listing shows the price of a room on the various OTA sites. The site also offers user reviews, ratings, and filters to help you decide.

For all aggregators, the prices are often inaccurate, and not the cheapest option when you click through. The OTAs (like Expedia, Booking.com) have learned over the years how to manipulate them to ensure their listing comes up first with the cheapest price.

When to use it: It’s a good place to start your hotel search, especially when you have specific requirements such that you can use the on-site filters to narrow down the options quickly. If you discover a hotel you want somewhere else, always come and check the prices here before booking.

Note – it doesn’t always include the hotel direct price (so make sure you check separately), and sometimes the prices are inaccurate when you click through.

Honourable mentions: HotelsCombined , owned by Booking.com and the main rival to Trivago, is known for having better deals as they search lesser-known booking sites (though that can come with risks). Both I suspect of bias, however, in pushing Booking.com and Expedia products. Skyscanner also now offers accommodation price comparison, and they have the advantage of being independent and unbiased of the leading OTAs. Kayak also offers price comparison – but they are owned by Booking.com too. I prefer Trvago above the rest purely because they also helpfully show you show the lowest price depending on the ‘deal’ type i.e. cancellable or non, including breakfast etc. which obviously makes a big difference to the ‘cheapest’ price.

Website : https://www.trivago.com

3.6 Accommodation booking

Booking.com

The world’s largest accommodation online booking service that lists over 28 million hotels (and now rentals, B&Bs and hostels) from around the world. They offer a tiered loyalty program called ‘Genius’ The three levels offer 10%, 15%, and 20% discounts (respectively) on bookings at hundreds of thousands of participating locations. They also include priority customer service help, and free breakfast packages or room upgrades when possible.

Pros: The website is easy to use, with excellent filter options, and once you have created an account, you can book within a few clicks. Their inventory is phenomenal, with most hotels in the world signed up. The loyalty program is accessible and with great benefits.

Cons: The loyalty program only applies for a limited number of participating hotels, so you won’t always get the benefits. Hotel websites often still have a better deal, and some don’t release all of their room types to Booking.com so you can’t see these rooms.

Booking.com may also confusingly say ‘sold out’ when there are rooms available still on the hotel website. So always check the hotel website before booking.

When to use it: Start your accommodation search here, and then once you’ve narrowed down the options with the filters, check other sites and the hotel website for a better deal.

Honourable mention: Agoda is essentially a carbon copy of Booking.com – they are owned by the Bookings Holdings Group. Agoda has it’s roots in Asia, and is based in Singapore, so it has more comprehensive Asian content. If that’s where you’re going, it’s worth using.

Website : https://www.booking.com

Concept: same as for Booking.com, with a similar tiered loyalty program, though at time of writing, the tiered benefits are not lifetime like they are with Booking.com. You need to be a regular customer to benefit from the higher tiers – not the case with Booking.com.

Their famous loyalty program of stay 10 times, earn one free reward night – now the basic tier – requires you to book at least once every 12 months or your reward night expires.

Honourable mention: Expedia is essentially a carbon copy of Hotels.com. They’re owned by the same group, and effectively have the same hotel inventory and pricing. There are slight differences in the reward program – I think Hotels.com’s one is better, hence why they got the nudge.

Website : https://hotels.com

HotelTonight

Owned by AirBnB , this mobile app and website offers last-minute hotel rooms at discounted rates. Inventory ranges from budget to luxury, and you can use the filters to specify your location and preferences. There’s also a ‘Rate Drop’ feature that discounts same-day prices after 3pm.

When to use: if you need a last-minute room, it’s definitely worth checking for a deal. However, in my experience, their deals weren’t especially good compared to other standard booking sites – though the ‘Rate Drop’ does deliver discounts.

Website : https://www.hoteltonight.com/

Food, drink & entertainment

4.1 food & drink.

A food and dining news website that provides reviews, guides, and information on restaurants and food trends in various cities across the world. The site offers articles on topics such as dining culture, chefs, industry news, and more. They also feature videos and podcasts related to food and restaurants. The quality of content and recommendations is excellent, and they’ve regularly won awards to their food & wine journalism.

When to use it: Officially it only spans 23 US cities, and if that’s where you’re headed, it’s a good place to check. However, that’s for detailed coverage. For most cities, however, they have a round-up of ‘the best restaurants in X’, covering all price ranges. Just search for it on their site.

Website : https://eater.com

Foodie blogs

Local foodies blog about anything from food trucks to Michelin-starred restaurants. In any destination, especially cities, the food scene changes so fast that almost any corporate website will not keep up. Local foodies are out testing daily, and take pride in keeping their blogs up to date with the latest and greatest. They also cover the smaller, more niche places that only a local would know about.

There are too many to mention, but search for ‘food blogs in X’ by Googling (or Binging) and see who you can find.

When to use: When you want to discover some insider foodie experiences in a destination, and get some good restaurant tips that are not Michelin-starred.

Concept: Increasingly the go-to resource for vegan and vegetarian dining around the world, run by vegans, as the popularity of the movement continues to gather a welcome pace and momentum. The site is also becoming a thriving community hub, with active forums and listings of fellow vegans in local cities that you can message for tips.

When to use it: to discover the best vegan and vegetarian dining options in your destination, or to get tips/advice from the local community.

Website : https://www.happycow.net/

This stalwart former magazine is still the place to go in the digital era for local listings of ‘what’s on’. It provides comprehensive listings, information and reviews on cultural events, concerts, theatre performances, film screenings, and other entertainment in cities around the world.

When to use it: If you’re wanting to book in some entertainment on your trip, this is the best place to start looking.

Website : https://www.timeout.com/

Yelp is a platform that allows you to search for and review local businesses, including restaurants, bars, shops, and other services in 220 cities in 32 countries . It’s best known for restaurant reviews, however – some of the other business listings can be fairly light. As with all review sites, it suffers from fake reviews,  but the volume is sufficient to give you an overall sense of what’s worth a try.

How to use it: I use it to draft a short list of places to try, then cross-check that with other sources and/or my hotel if I’m staying in one. Concierges will give good restaurant tips, but in my experience, the options they give are limited.

Website : https://www.yelp.com

Before you go

Centre for Disease Control

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the United States. The website provides comprehensive information and resources on health and safety topics, including infectious diseases, vaccines, travel health, environmental health, emergency preparedness, and more.

When to use it: before you go to a new destination, stop here to check any disease risks and vaccination requirements (you can search by country from the home page). It also has helpful advice for people with special health conditions , and/or doing specialist activities.

Website : https://www.cdc.gov/

5.2 What to take

This global online store is a specialist in all things travel accessories, with over 200 products covering everything from adapters, to travel pillows and luggage security.

How to use it: have a skim before you go. I always end up seeing/buying things I never even knew I needed!

Website : https://go.travel

Packing List Checklist App

A handy app to create packing checklists – a godsend for people like me who always forget their sunglasses. A plethora of packing list apps, I like and use this one before it’s simple, quick – and free. No upgrades needed.

You manually create your own list(s) – you can create multiple different ones, for different holiday types for example – then select from a list of a fairly comprehensive list of suggested items to start you off. Most of the time that will do it, though you can add your own if needed. When it comes to packing, you can tick things off as and when they’re in the case.

How to use it: Next time you get a few free moments, create a packing list. Add to it as and when things pop into your head. Tick them off when you pack.

Website : https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/packing-list-checklist/id1235121075

5.3 Travel planning

TripIt is another travel organising app that allows you to store all of your travel plans in one place. Users can forward their confirmation emails for flights, hotels, and rental cars to the app, which will then create a master itinerary for their trip. The app also provides real-time flight alerts, directions, and travel recommendations.

Website : https://www.tripit.com/web

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11 BEST Travel Guides for 2024 [Websites & Guidebooks]

* This article contains affiliate links, which help run this site at no extra cost to you.

TL;DR: The two best travel guides are Rick Steves for first time travelers—especially anyone going to Europe—and Bradt Guides for off-the-beaten-path destinations and “Slow Travel.” Both are reliable, will give you ideas for what to do, and help you plan the best trip.

The way we travel has changed drastically in my lifetime. Information is more readily available in the digital age, a massive plus for traveling. 

Everyone, including myself, wants to make the most of every trip abroad. That’s why I love reading travel guide books or online guides. 

Some of these guide books help you get off the beaten path. Others give information on tours you can take on your own to learn the history of a certain destination you’re visiting. 

But which are the best?

After years of reading and doing research, I have found the best travel guides for you to use when planning your next trip abroad!

Note: this article contains affiliate links, which help run this site at no extra cost to you so I can keep providing free travel advice and tips.

Here’s a quick look at our recommendations

• DK Eyewitness
• Bradt Guides
• Rick Steves
• Lonely Planet
• Blue Guides
• Footprint Guides
• Frommer Guides
• Tripadvisor
• Rough Guides
• Moon Travel Guides
• Insight Guides

Table of Contents

#1 DK Eyewitness

DK Eyewitness is one of the best travel guide books on the market today. But they offer more than just travel information. 

After publishing books for over 45 years, DK Eyewitness Books cover everything from travel, science, history, pop culture, and children’s topics.

Their travel guides give the information you desperately need for travel– such as maps, itineraries, accommodations, where to eat, and more! 

I also love how easy their visuals are to look at. I sometimes get lost in their maps and start imagining myself there (I’m a big daydreamer if you can’t tell!).

DK Eyewitness Travel guide books might not be the most in-depth on a particular location, but they help with travel inspiration. 

If you want more information, DK Eyewitness has a podcast called ‘Where to Go,’ which is another excellent way to get your travel information on the go!

• 100+ destinations
• Heavy on history
• It has both outdoor and city guides
• Amazing visuals
• Not as in-depth as other guides

#2 Bradt Guides

A Bradt travel guide is perfect if you’re interested in visiting countries that are less traveled to— written by experienced travelers with fantastic insider tips. 

Bradt travel guide books has a reputation as the “World’s leading independent travel publisher.” They are also the best India travel guide company.

Some unique destinations include Iraq, Sri Lanka, Galapagos Islands, and Grenada. But don’t worry. Bradt Guides also has a British series for those interested! 

Lately, I’ve been striving to travel like a local. Bradt has a ‘Slow Travel’ guidebook series, which I love using these days because it helps me travel like a local. 

The trip ideas are great in detail but might not be for your preferred country to visit. 

Bradt Guides prides itself on being the most comprehensive on the market. Their authors give cultural insights and expressions of interest and knowledge.

You can support Bradt’s Guides even further by subscribing to their Patreon! Here you can pay monthly for a specific tier and earn different things like one free e-book a month.

• More off-the-beaten-path destinations
• Slow travel series
• Has a Patreon page
• Unique style of travel not for everyone

#3 Rick Steves

Rick Steves books are the guide books your mom hands you when traveling to your dream destination in Europe. And that’s a good thing! They’re trusted by many for a reason.

These travel guide books are always up-to-date, thanks to Rick Steves’ research partners. 

Rick’s books will have you feeling like you’re on guided tours! He ensures you’ll have some fantastic cultural experiences. 

I love Europe, but there are many other cultures throughout the world that I’m even more interested in. So, since Rick Steves’ guidebooks are primarily Europe-focused, I’m not as drawn to them.

Also, traveling in Europe long-term can get expensive. His books cater to a more wealthy crowd. 

Pick any European country, and you will have high-quality content on that destination. Rick has visited Europe countless times, and other travel websites can’t compete. 

Rick’s bestseller is his Italy guide, which isn’t surprising. In that guide, he goes over the best places to eat and sleep and how to beat the crowds. 

It’s a good idea to grab a Rick Steves’ book simply for the detailed maps.

• Best guides for Europe
• It gives in-depth information for solo tours
• Perfect for a beginner traveler.
• Catered to upper and middle-class travelers

#4 Lonely Planet

I’m sure you’ve heard of Lonely Planet , as they’ve been a dominant force in the travel scene for quite some time now. Their goal is to make travel planning easy, and they’ve succeeded!  

I loved using Lonely Planet books when I first started traveling. These books helped me up my game as a budget traveler. 

Lonely Planet dominates the internet with a wealth of online resources. While the information they offer online is easy to access, it can be vague. 

You can subscribe to Lonely Planet on their website for free. I’ve done this, but I’ve found that there tends to be some destinations/articles that are low in detail. 

Considering Lonely Planet’s sheer amount of content, it’s not too surprising that they sometimes gloss over details. 

Their claim to fame is their numerous experts located worldwide. These experts cover adventure travel, family holidays, food and drink, and much more. 

Plus, a Lonely Planet magazine is an amazing coffee table piece, am I right?

• Backpacker friendly
• An extensive collection of guides for the entire world
• Free information is available
• Some of their content is outdated or not detailed

#5 Blue Guides

If you love the art and history of Italy, then Blue Guides is for you! People often plagiarize Blue Guide books due to the amount of accurate information each book has. 

With over 14 books on Italy alone, you won’t find more detailed information on a particular destination than with Blue Guides– they deliver it all! 

Italy was the first country that I visited outside of the United States, and I’m so glad that I had a Blue Guide book with me. 

Their award-winning maps and exceptional attention to detail made it feel like I was on a private tour! 

Be aware: there aren’t a lot of online articles from Blue Guides or many countries to choose from, which could be an issue if you like to visit more unusual locations.

Blue Guides’ first publication date was in the early 1900s, so it’s undoubtedly a top guidebook for a travel junkie!

• Helps travelers understand art and history
• Multiple guides on Italy
• Extremely thorough in their research
• Not a lot of destinations

#6 Footprint Guides

Footprint Guides is the go-to source for Latin American travel tips for all budgets! My love for this region of the world has only grown since I started using their books.

Even if Latin America isn’t one of your top destinations, they do offer other print books. All Footprint Guides are written by experts who have lived in that destination. 

Unfortunately, for North American travelers looking to plan a dream road trip, you won’t find much helpful information here, as their focus is decidedly on the south. 

Alongside their practical information, Footprint adds a layer of imagination to their guidebooks, giving them an edge that makes them one of the best travel guide series available today!

• Wide range of budgets
• Specializes in Latin America
• Practical information
• Not much content on the United States

#7 Frommer Guides

Does traveling on $5 per day sound appealing to you? Arthur Frommer thought so when he set out to create his Frommer travel guides . 

Alongside some of the best guidebooks, Frommer also offers other forms of information, including podcasts, online articles, and hotel deals!

I love using Frommer guides on road trips because they help me in many different situations. 

I usually like to have a podcast for when I’m driving , a guidebook on specific destinations while I’m in a hotel room, and online sources when on the go. 

Having Frommer guides in all their varied forms is essential since each one typically doesn’t go into heavy detail. 

If purchasing travel guide books doesn’t interest you, then keeping up to date with Frommer’s online travel guides is the way to go.

• Many styles of information are available
• Updates information frequently
• Offer hotel deals
• It covers only the main details

#8 Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is an online source that most travelers have heard about. It’s unique on this list of travel guides because you interact with other travelers!

If you’re looking for help with trip planning, look no further than the Tripadvisor forum . Here you can talk with fellow travelers about your upcoming trip! 

When I have a specific question that needs answering, I always check Tripadvisor first. They have information on most countries, but some info on the forums can be outdated. 

Tripadvisor is great because it’s free! But they’re more than just a review and forum-based platform; you can also book different travel deals and tours through their website.

Sometimes the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming to click through.  If that sounds relatable, you might want to purchase some guidebooks instead. 

Tripadvisor started the wave of online travel planning. They’re worth browsing, even if you just want to write down a few travel tips!

• Multiple reviews from other travelers
• Travel deals available
• Forum can be out of date
• The massive amount of information can be overwhelming

#9 Rough Guides

Rough Guides has grown into a leader in the travel industry with its amazing travel guidebooks and online travel guides. 

What I love about these books is their authenticity. Their recommendations from locals helped to grow them into who they are today.

It all started with their Greece travel guide, and it quickly blew up. Demand increased for more and more Rough Guide content; they released a guidebook series for people who were eager for more. In 2017, Rough Guides expanded even further.

Today Rough Guides are more than just a travel guide company that sells books. They offer tours, custom-made itineraries, and more! I love using their website when planning my next trip. 

These custom-made itineraries and tours are expensive but for a reason. Rough Guides’ experts are located worldwide to give you the best travel experience ever. 

Rough Guides best selling guides offer a ton of background information and local tips, making them worth the high price!

• Detailed itineraries
• Personal recommendations from locals
• An extensive list of countries
• High prices for tours and custom itineraries

#10 Moon Travel Guides

Moon Guides are my favorite guidebooks for traveling around the United States. Planning that perfect road trip is challenging but Moon Guides makes it easier.

Moon’s travel guidebooks are all about traveling sustainably. I’ve used them countless times in the Americas and have found them super helpful.

But Moon Guides don’t focus on the Americas only– they also offer some of the best travel guides for Japan in particular.

I’ve learned to use these books more for research instead of bringing them on my travels– they don’t always hold up with how rugged traveling can get for me.

Moon’s detailed maps are so good in their guidebooks that I fill my phone library with them. They are easy to read and use, which is what I think makes a good map. 

The best travel tips are from locals, and that’s what Moon’s travel guidebooks bring. They don’t have a fancy touring app or anything, but they don’t need it. 

If you want one of the best travel guides for families, then there’s no better choice than making Moon Guides your tour guide when traveling. 

Find your dream destination, get travel inspiration from their maps, and book that plane ticket.

• Emphasis on the Americas and the Pacific
• Easy-to-understand maps
• Many pages of information solely for hotels/accommodations
• Guidebooks aren’t durable

#11 Insight Guides

Insight is one of the best travel guidebooks on the market for a reason. The beautiful photographs in these travel guidebooks will have you daydreaming for days.

Insight guides are perfect for those history buffs out there like me. They combine great information with also some off-the-beaten-track activities. 

Insight has produced over 200 guidebooks and language books. Their books provide information on nearly any country you can think of (besides Mexico).

I love their books because they also have a mini-series.

During the Covid years, I was in the mood to read a lot. I picked a different destination each week and bought a new e-book. 

I could do this because they only cost five to ten dollars! Most of the best travel guidebooks are double this.   

Besides its guidebook series, Insight offers a handmade trip planned by experts to the destination of your choice. What more could you ask for?!

• Multiple countries in each continent
• Has language guides
• Sells hand-picked vacation packages put together by locals
• Offers mini versions of guides to sell for cheap
• No Mexico guide

Buying Guide: How to Choose the Best Travel Guide

What to Look for in Travel Guides

Is the information up to date.

Picking the best travel guidebooks can be an overwhelming process. But the most important thing to watch out for is making sure the information is up-to-date.

Compared to online sources, guidebook information tends not to get updated as quickly for obvious reasons. 

You don’t want a travel guide taking you to a restaurant that doesn’t exist anymore, do you? No. You want to get off the beaten track but not THAT off that it gets you lost.

Pick Locally-Based Travel Guides

My ideal travel style is meeting locals, living, and eating like a local. I have the best travel experiences when I dive deep into the culture.

The best information about a destination comes from locals. When you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica, wouldn’t you want to consult someone who has lived there for many years?

When you rely on locals’ recommendations, you’ll truly have an experience of a lifetime. 

Know What Type of Traveler You Are

This next tip can be difficult for some, and it can change from year to year. I have gone from being a true budget traveler to somewhere in the middle. 

I used to love history (I still do) and would base my travels around that. Now I seek adventure activities. 

Different types of guides will focus on different things, such as budget travel, adventure, expensive tours, food, or history. 

Finding the travel guide that fits your style will be more beneficial in the long run.

Know Which Destination You Want to Visit the Most

The best world travel guidebooks are often better for certain locations than others. For example, Rick Steves has a reputation for being the best travel guide for Europe and, specifically, the best travel guide for Italy. 

So, choose your travel guide based on which one specializes in the area you’re curious about.

Other Helpful Travel Guides

Travel is a huge industry which means there are more guides than you could ever possibly use. 

If you prefer your travel content in video form, one of the best travel guide Youtube channels is Ryan Shirley . 

His videos showcase the top places to visit in different countries with some of the best drone shots you’ll ever see. 

FAQs About Travel Guides

Should You Even Buy a Travel Guide?

A travel guide has its place. It may seem outdated to use one, but you can find some of the best information in them. 

Some guides take years to make and are very specific in the details they write for certain locations. The maps tend to be better and easier to read in these types of guides as well.  

Which is better: Lonely Planet or Rough Guide?

It depends on the style of travel you prefer. I prefer budget travel and tend to take fewer tours, so I like Lonely Planet. Rough Guide also has amazing tours if you’re interested in those.

What is the difference between Fodor’s and Frommer’s travel guides?

Frommer travel guides are excellent for those who want an easy read. Fodor is typically the better choice if you want more details about your activities. 

Fodor also has one of the best travel guides for Ireland, so check out Fodor if that’s your destination.

Is it better to travel with a tour guide or alone with a travel guide?

The answer differs from person to person! If you want your trip planned, then a tour guide is perfect. Going alone with a travel guide is nice because you can go at your own pace. 

Do people still buy travel guides?

Absolutely! There’s something different about having a travel guidebook to look at rather than scrolling through a website. 

Rick Steves and Bradt are my favorite travel guides.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phillip Anderson

Phillip Anderson is a freelance travel writer, personal trainer, and adventure enthusiast. With years of travel experience under his belt, Phillip is an expert in finding the best deals through travel apps and websites. He knows how to find cheap domestic and international flights, like a flight to Peru for as low as $350.

When looking for cheap accommodations, Phillip combines his knowledge of websites like Airbnb, Booking.com & Hostelworld with more unique sites like TrustedHousesitters, for even more savings. Whether it’s flights, accommodations, or local experiences, he teaches travelers to make informed decisions, ensuring their adventures are both memorable and economical. For more from Phillip, check out his website, JaywalkTheWorld.com.

Planning your next big adventure? Check out these related articles below!

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Best Airbnb Alternatives

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Hi, I'm Mimi! I'm an outdoorsy Californian who has spent over 28 years immersed in the incredible natural beauty that California has to offer. My goal is to inspire others to get out and find their next adventure in California. Whether it’s escaping to an alpine lake in the Sierras, finding peace among the giant redwoods, or road tripping down the PCH, there’s always more to explore in this beautiful state.

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How to Write for 'Travel + Leisure'

Since 1971, Travel + Leisure editors have followed one mission: to inform, inspire, and guide travelers to have deeper, more meaningful experiences. T+L's editors have traveled to countries all over the world, having flown, sailed, road tripped, and taken the train countless miles. They've visited small towns and big cities, hidden gems and popular destinations, beaches and mountains, and everything in between. With a breadth of knowledge about destinations around the globe, air travel, cruises, hotels, food and drinks, outdoor adventure, and more, they are able to take their real-world experience and provide readers with tried-and-tested trip ideas, in-depth intel, and inspiration at every point of a journey.

We tell stories from around the world: stories that are big or small, visually driven or essayistic, first-person or as-told-to or service-oriented.

Our audience is made up of active and passionate travelers — travelers who book an average of seven trips per year, big and small. They're up for anything: adventure, active travel, history, solo trips, luxury, the arts, spa vacations, multi-generational travel, food, wine, RVs, private jets. (Well, some of them take private jets.) Our readers want to learn about people and places around the world, even if they'll never visit those places themselves — to gain a deeper understanding of what's relevant there, and to challenge their own assumptions.

If you want to pitch a story to us, make sure your idea adds something to the conversation. We don't want to have seen that story elsewhere. We love stories about a place that is misunderstood or changing, stories about seeing the world in a new way, and especially stories by writers or photographers who bring a new voice to the conversation about a place or topic.

What We Want From a Pitch

A paragraph encompassing:

• The topic and angle
• The scope of the story
• Why we should cover it
• Why you are the writer for the job
• Whether you've traveled yet
• If not, what kind of editorial support you'd need for travel expenses

If we've never worked with you before, a pitch is your shot at giving us a sense of what your (unedited) writing is like — feel free to show us your voice.

For stories about a particular destination: maybe you have never been to the place before; maybe you went there all the time when you were growing up; maybe you live there now. That part doesn't matter so much as why you are the right person to tell this story, and what particular angle you will bring to the table. For longer, first-person stories, we prefer to have the writer travel on assignment, or write based on a recent trip. If your story will require additional travel, let us know. If you just got back from a trip, or are already planning your own trip, let us know.

If you have never worked with us before, please also include some relevant clips and/or a link to your portfolio. Clips for digital publications are perfectly fine, but if you're pitching print it's also helpful to see what work you've done that's similar in length, style, and scope to what Travel + Leisure does in print.

What We Don't Want From a Pitch

• A list of places you're going.
• A forwarded press release, or a copy-and-pasted press release.
• A couple sentences with no real angle.
• A pitch that will justify you going on a press trip (even if you don't tell us about the trip, we can usually tell).
• A story you've already written for someone else.
• A story that's already appeared recently in Travel + Leisure or on our website , or a competing magazine/website, or even a not-really-competing magazine/website.

Please do not send a pitch to everyone on the team; instead, use the guidelines below to decide who might be the best target for your idea. If an editor says no, it is best practice to not send the same idea to another editor. And if an editor says yes, it's often advisable to try to keep working with them in the future; if they're not the right person for a particular story, they can point you to a colleague. These types of writer-editor relationships are essential and help streamline the pitching process for everyone.

Another thing: we often get asked "what we're looking for" or "what we're currently working on." We totally get it, but we will almost never be able to give you a clear response. The answers to these questions change by the minute, and it's rare that we have a "hole" that we need to fill or a story idea that needs a writer. The best way to start working with us is showing you have unique story ideas that we wouldn't find anywhere else.

What to Expect When You Pitch

Many of us have been on the other side of this conversation (i.e. we've freelanced ourselves, and pitched many other faceless editors) and we know it's often frustrating. Feel free to follow up. If you don't hear back, follow up again! We will never be offended by "if I don't hear back by X date, I'll assume you're not interested and pitch this elsewhere."

Press/FAM Trips and Conflicts of Interest

We are aware that press trips are often a necessity for writers to familiarize themselves with new places, make industry connections, and develop their voice in the travel space. We won't fault anyone for taking press trips, and we don't mind if you pitch something to us based on independent reporting from a past press trip. What's important to us is editorial integrity and fresh storytelling. If you went on the trip for another publication, or have written about it elsewhere, your pitch should be distinctly different from your previous work on the topic. If it was a group trip, your pitch should hinge on your own fresh reporting and angle, not the same itinerary attended by a dozen other writers.

Writers must disclose any and all affiliations with travel companies, tourism boards, or government entities that could present a conflict of interest in their reporting. This includes previously contracted work such as copywriting, social strategy, consulting, or acting as a brand ambassador. If in doubt, point it out! Those who fail to do so will not be considered for future assignments.

It is very, very rare that we actively send writers on press trips for print stories. If your pitch is tied to your attendance on an upcoming press trip — and we can usually tell — we will most likely say no, though we always welcome you to report back afterwards if you find anything interesting.

How to Pitch Us: Digital

Travel never sleeps and neither do we (well, we do sometimes). At travelandleisure.com we write inspirational and instructional stories for passionate travelers. Digital editorial is a mix of short-lead and long-lead story creation. We are looking for all types of travel stories: From practical travel tips and expert advice to inspirational first-person stories and features about a destination or experience. We cover small towns and big cities, beaches, lakes, and rivers (basically if it's a body of water, you'll find us there), mountains and valleys, outdoor adventures and exploring hidden gems, fine dining and speakeasies, and everything in between all over the world.

The Writing and Editing Process: Digital

We commission short-lead and long-lead stories daily. We generally work with regular contributors on our daily stories. Word count varies…a lot. We aren't constrained by page count or, quite, frankly, pages at all — our pages can scroll forever. That said, our news stories are generally 300-500 words. Our general travel stories, first-person storytelling, or listicles can be anywhere from 500 - 2,000+ words.

As you can imagine, we are pitched a lot and don't always have time to respond to every single email (please don't be offended!), so in order to make yours stand out, here's what we suggest:

• We are looking for unique stories we don't already have on our site. Please do your research first and make sure the story you're pitching wasn't recently published on travelandleisure.com.
• Your story can be a listicle or an in-depth look at a particular activity in a destination so long as there is an inspiration and service element. For example, if you're pitching a story on bird watching in Colombia, please be sure to include in your story the binoculars you used, places that offer the best watching opportunities, and any hotels that may offer this as an experience.
• Please don't send a pre-written story — we don't generally accept them. We do however want to read a short blurb about your idea (4-5 sentences) along with a grabby headline. If we are interested, we will reach back out to get more details. But, don't leave out the important bits of your story in the pitch! Remember: How you write your pitch gives us insight into the quality and style of your writing.

We do not pay by word count. We have a flat rate that we pay by type of story. Your editor will share our rate sheet with you. That said, we pay upon receipt of the story and your story must be filed with an invoice. Along with your story, you must also provide press contacts and press releases.

Our daily news writers have a minimum number of stories they write for us each day. If you're interested in becoming a daily news writer, please email [email protected] along with recent news clips, why you're interested in becoming a daily news writer, and your expertise in the travel news space.

For everything else, here's who you'll want to pitch:

• Nina Ruggiero , editorial director, overseeing site, sold campaign content, and social. [email protected]
• Alisha Prakash , associate editorial director, personal essays and first-person narratives, reported features, profiles, evergreen and seasonal SEO stories and roundups, travel tips and trends, and under-the-radar destination spotlights that offer a fresh perspective on a place. [email protected]
• Christine Burroni , senior news editor, travel news, explainers and first-person experiences that expand upon how timely news is affecting travelers, service pieces, wellness trends and tips for travelers, and celebrity interviews with a travel angle. [email protected]
• Maya Kachroo-Levine , digital senior editor; reported features on hotels, destinations, cruising, aviation, food-and-beverage experiences, art, and architecture, ideally pitched with a timely hook; longer-form profiles and articles on often overlooked communities within the travel realm. [email protected]
• Sam Lauriello , social editor, all social requests and platforms. [email protected]
• Elizabeth Rhodes , special projects editor, all-things Disney, cruising, trip ideas, and over-the-top suites. [email protected]

While we're at it, meet the rest of the Travel + Leisure digital team:

Annie Archer, assistant social editor

Mariah Tyler, visuals editor

Alessandra Amodio, photo editor

Courtney Dennis, producer

Madeline Diamond, ecommerce editor

How to Pitch Us: Print

Travel + Leisure is the only monthly print travel publication in the United States, with a circulation of nearly one million.

Print editors are usually thinking at least three months ahead, and sometimes up to a year or more. Breaking, same-day, or otherwise time-sensitive pitches will not be considered; the T+L digital team is the best point of contact for pitching travel news stories, and social takeovers.

We are also constrained in our assigning by the simple fact of page counts. Pitching for print, by nature, involves a lot of rejections. Maybe we've done a similar story recently, maybe we have something similar in the works, maybe that particular editor just doesn't love the pitch as much as others they've gotten, maybe it's just not right for our audience at the moment but two years from now it would be. It happens all the time, even for those of us on staff, and it's not a referendum on you as a person or the quality of your ideas and reporting.

Another thing: If you are used to digital timelines, please manage your expectations for print. Our internal pitching process is rigorous. If the editor you pitched likes your idea, it still has to get past a number of other people. Sometimes those people will say no. You may be grumpy about this, and understandably so! Your editor is probably grumpy, too.

Most positive responses look like: "This is such a cool idea! I'd love to run it past our executive editor to see what she thinks." or "Hey, I love this idea and I think it could be a good fit for our Discoveries section. I'll bring it up with the section editor, and if she likes it too, she will propose it to our editor-in-chief at their next meeting." At that point, we hope that you won't pitch the story around while you're waiting for next steps. Sometimes we'll be able to get an answer for you after a few days; sometimes, depending on the story, it could be a month or longer. Feel free to follow up if you're curious about where we're at, and if you're getting antsy and considering pulling the piece, let your editor know!

The Writing and Editing Process: Print

Travel + Leisure is the only monthly print travel publication in the United States, with a circulation of nearly one million. We tell stories from around the world: stories that are big or small, visually driven or essayistic, first-person or as-told-to or service-oriented.

Our audience is made up of active and passionate travelers—travelers who book an average of seven trips per year, big and small. They're up for anything: adventure, active travel, history, solo trips, luxury, the arts, spa vacations, multi-generational travel, food, wine, RVs, private jets. (Well, some of them take private jets.) Our readers want to learn about people and places around the world, even if they'll never visit those places themselves—to gain a deeper understanding of what's relevant there, and to challenge their own assumptions.

Print editors are usually thinking at least three months ahead, and sometimes up to a year or more. Breaking, same-day, or otherwise time-sensitive pitches will not be considered; the T+L digital team is the best point of contact for pitching travel news stories and social takeovers.

The Sections of the Magazine

While you don't need to have a section in mind when pitching a print story, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with them. It's a cliche for a reason: The best way to have success with a pitch is to get to know the magazine well. If you can't see a story idea fitting into any of these, it's probably not right for us. All editors on our team can slot their stories into any of these sections, but each has one or more dedicated editors who oversee the general mix of stories.

Discoveries

A globetrotter's guide to the latest in travel.

Our front-of-book opener section, made up of stories that are often bitsy and news-driven. A great place to break into the magazine.

Story Formats: Short news-driven write-throughs, roundups, Q&As, step-by-step itineraries, neighborhood guide maps, short blurbs with a collection of beautiful pictures, etc.

Story Length: 100-500 words, though the shortest pieces are usually staff written.

Experiences

Travelers' tales, from near and far.

First-person travel narratives, often with a literary bent, as well as the occasional photo essay. Where appropriate, we try to incorporate relevant travel news (e.g. new hotels, restaurants, shops, galleries, etc.) or a "why now" element.

Story Formats: Essays and written-through travelogues, occasionally broken out into itinerary form, almost always first-person.

Story Lengths: ~700-1,500 words

Intelligent Traveler

Tips and tricks to help you travel smarter.

Travel hacks and insider info on the logistics and process of travel: innovations in the industry, trends in how we're traveling, tips to help you plan ahead and save money while doing it, cool gear you should have on your radar, and news about planes, trains, and automobiles.

Story Formats: A mix of written-through pieces and broken out roundups; they are generally not first-person or based deeply in a personal experience, but rather synthesize trends or give directions. (It's okay to use a first-person experience as a jumping-off point to discuss something larger in the industry.)

Story Lengths: Under 600 words.

The longest stories in the magazine, which live in the "well"—no ads, just beautiful images and thoughtful writing. Most of these are place-based stories—usually a city or a route around a particular state, island, or country—with a literary approach and with plenty of historical and social context. These types of features always include a fairly comprehensive "how to do it" sidebar for readers who want to replicate the journey. Sometimes, we will run travel essays or commentary that aren't about a particular trip, or we'll want to showcase an outstanding photo portfolio and will commission an essay to accompany it.

Story Lengths: typically 2,500–4,000 words

A Note About Feature Assignments: It's tricky to break into T+L with a feature—they're costly to produce, we run fewer of them each year than other kinds of stories, and rarely assign them to new-to-us writers unless there's significant evidence (generally in the form of multiple feature-length bylines and/or a book) that said writer can tackle something of that scope. That's not to say it never happens, just that you may get more traction with your T+L pitches in another section of the magazine, at least until we get to know you and your work.

"Your Best Shot." On this page, we spotlight an outstanding photo from one of our readers, accompanied by a short interview about their experience getting the shot. This is not a paid opportunity, but rather a prize for our Photo of the Day contest. If you're interested, you can submit your best shots HERE for the chance to be featured on this page in a future issue.

Who to Pitch on Print

Every print editor works on all sorts of things and can direct you to the right person if it's not them. But we each focus on certain sections, themes, and geographical areas, and for new writers, those will help you decide to whom to direct your ideas.

Here's the breakdown:

• Paul Brady, news director, edits the Intelligent Traveler section and is our point person for trend pieces about the travel industry. He leads our cruise coverage and often handles stories about aviation, loyalty programs, ski/winter sports, and the polar regions. He also follows Central America, Southeast Asia. [email protected]
• Liz Cantrell, senior editor, edits the Discoveries section and commissions other stories with a focus on outdoor and adventure travel, as well as Canada, Northern Europe, and the Southern U.S., including Texas. [email protected]
• Samantha Falewée , senior editor, works on many sections with a focus on South America; Fiji and French Polynesia; Arizona and New Mexico; and the Midwestern U.S. She is also interested in cultural and Indigenous travel. [email protected]
• Denny Lee , articles editor, focuses on Mediterranean Europe (France, Italy, Greece, Portugal & Spain); East Asia (China, Japan & Korea); Eastern Europe; Western U.S. (Colorado, Montana, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming),. He also handles our ski and winter sports coverage, and food coverage. [email protected]
• Danielle Pointdujour , senior editor, leads our hotel coverage and the brand's annual It List. She also covers destinations including the Caribbean, Central America, the Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, Florida, and Texas.  [email protected]
• Flora Stubbs, executive editor, has a hand in everything, but focuses mainly on South Asia and East, West, and Southern Africa. [email protected]
• Peter Terzian, features editor, oversees our features well and curates our coverage of East Asia; the U.K. & Ireland; Scandinavia; and the Northeastern U.S. [email protected]
• Jessica Vadillo, editorial assistant, often works on packages and front-of-book items. [email protected]  
• Scott Hall, photo director, and Skye Senterfeit, deputy photo editor, are the best points of contact for photographers interested in contributing or those pitching photo essays. [email protected] ; [email protected]
• Fryda Lidor, creative director, is the best point of contact for illustrators and artists interested in contributing. [email protected]

Meet the rest of the Travel + Leisure print team :

Jacqueline Gifford, editor in chief

Erin Agostinelli, managing editor

Ray Isle, wine and spirits editor

Griffin Plonchak, production manager

Kathy Roberson, copy and research chief

Lisa Greissinger, research editor

How to Pitch Us: Social

Travel + Leisure has over 15M followers across its social channels. On Instagram, we share awe-inspiring destination images, first-person travel experiences, and educational articles. On TikTok, we post travel vlogs, hotel suite tours, destination roundups, and more. Overall, we use compelling photos and videos to inspire our audience to explore the world.

We want pitches for:

• Instagram takeovers highlighting a recent travel experience
• Personality-driven TikTok vlogs recapping a trip
• TikTok series that aim to either educate or entertain (bonus points if you can do both)

What pitches should include:

• For TikToks, why it has viral potential
• Whether you've traveled yet (or whether the trip is already booked)
• A timeframe for when you could have the assets ready to go live
• 1-2 examples of your past social media work (takeovers, TikToks, photography, videography, etc.)

Please send social pitches to [email protected] .

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How to fast travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2

Getting around with oxcarts and portcrystals

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You’ll find fast travel an elusive mechanic in Dragon’s Dogma 2 . You’ll spend the majority of your time hoofing it across the world — either languidly soaking in the sights or frustrated at traversing the same road for the 50th time. But there are indeed methods for fast travel, though note that neither are exactly convenient.

Our Dragon’s Dogma 2 guide will show you how to fast travel via two distinct methods, and explain the benefits (and limitations) of both.

Fast travel locations in Dragon’s Dogma 2

There are two ways to fast travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2 : oxcarts and portcrystals. You can only fast travel between specific locations as well. The map above shows the fast travel locations available to you in Vermund, the first region you’ll explore.

How to fast travel between cities with oxcarts

The most straightforward way to fast travel in Dragon’s Dogma 2 is to hop on an oxcart. The main benefit of fast traveling with an oxcart is that it’s cheap — 100 or 200 gold per ride.

Oxcarts are limited, though, in that they’ll only leave their stands in the morning — you’ll have to sit and wait at the stand if you get there at any other time of day. They’re also slow. You can doze off while sitting in one, but time still passes in the background. That’s really only a problem when you’ve got a time-sensitive quest, though.

The bigger problem with oxcarts is that there are only two of them in the starting region of Vermund, and they only travel to three towns — Melve , the capital of Vernworth , and the Checkpoint Rest Stop by Battahl . It’s still a good way to get across the kingdom relatively quickly, though.

Your oxcart also might (and, in our experience, will ) get attacked by monsters. That’ll disrupt your ride, but you can hop right back on once the baddies are dealt with — assuming you don’t accidentally destroy the oxcart in the fray. If you do happen to destroy the oxcart, you’ll just have to finish your trip on foot.

How to fast travel to portcrystals with ferrystones

The other method of fast travel is actually fast: teleporting with portcrystals . Teleportation is obviously faster than oxen, but it, too, is severely limited.

To use a portcrystal, you first have to find one and activate it. There are two in Vermund — one in Vernworth and one in Harve Village (as noted in the map at the top of this post). Once a portcrystal is activated, it becomes a fast travel destination — and that’s it. You can’t interact with them beyond activating them.

To travel to a portcrystal, you’ll need to use a ferrystone . These are pretty rare items that you’ll find in out-of-the-way treasure chests or receive as quest rewards. You can also buy them from some vendors for 10,000 gold .

You might also come across a portcrystal as an item — you’ll get one as a reward during the “A Trial of Archery” quest in Sacred Arbor, for example. These are reusable items that you can place and pick up as you need. They act as portable portcrystals, meaning you still need a ferrystone to reach them. For quests that require a ton of backtracking, like the series of nigh-inscrutable sphinx riddles , these portcrystals are some of the most valuable time-saving tools at your disposal.

You can have 10 of these non-fixed portcrystals active at a time, but they are also extremely rare. (Sensing a trend yet?) In our travels, we’ve found four portcrystal items from three quests, plus two additionally from exploration. For details on how to get more portcrystals, consult our guide on where to find portcrystals , in which we also tell you the best locations to place them in.

For more Dragon’s Dogma 2 guides , check out our beginners guides to combat and the pawn system, or peruse our list of all vocations and all augments . We also have explainers on how to change time of day , how to increase your inventory size , how to change your appearance , how to get out of gaol , and how to change vocations .

• Dragon’s Dogma 2 guides
• Interactive world map
• Sphinx riddle solutions
• Seeker’s Token locations
• Best augments

Dragon’s Dogma 2 guides, walkthroughs, and explainers

• How to import a pre-made character
• Beginner’s tips before starting
• How to hire and use pawns
• Combat tips for new players
• How to delete your Dragon’s Dogma 2 save files (PC only)
• What vocation to pick + all vocations list
• All maister skills and how to get them
• All pawn specializations
• Best augments and augments list
• How to change your vocation
• How to unlock the Warrior vocation
• How to unlock the Sorcerer vocation
• How to unlock the Magick Archer vocation
• How to unlock the Mystic Spearhand vocation
• How to unlock the Trickster vocation
• How to unlock the Warfarer vocation
• The best Archer build for beginners
• The best Fighter build for beginners
• The best Mage build for beginners
• The best Thief build for beginners
• Best recipes + item combos
• Dragonsplague causes, symptoms, and cures
• How to change your appearance
• How to change the time of day
• How to buy a house
• How to increase inventory size
• How to get more Wakestones
• How to get a Medusa Head
• How to get out of gaol
• Dragon’s Dogma 2 interactive map
• Where to find 30 Seeker’s Tokens
• Best portcrystal locations
• All riftstone locations
• How to reach the Nameless Village
• How to get into Battahl
• How to get to Agamen Volcanic Island
• Best quest order for Captain Brant
• When to go to the ‘Feast of Deception’ coronation
• All Sphinx riddle solutions (for ‘A Game of Wits’)
• How to get the true ending
• Best Unmoored World quest order
• ‘The Arisen’s Shadow’ quest walkthrough
• ‘A Beggar’s Tale’ quest walkthrough
• ‘The Caged Magistrate’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Hunt for the Jadeite Orb’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Off the Pilfered Path’ quest walkthrough
• ‘The Ornate Box’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Oxcart Courier’ quest walkthrough
• ‘The Phantom Oxcart’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Prey for the Pack’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Readvent of Calamity’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Saint of the Slums’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Sorcerer’s Appraisal’ + ‘Spellbound’ joint quest walkthrough
• ‘Shadowed Prayers’ quest walkthrough
• ‘Tensions on the High Road’ quest walkthrough
• ‘A Veil of Gossamer Clouds’ quest walkthrough

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The 7 Very Best Baby Bottles

In this article

Best baby bottle overall, best less-expensive baby bottle, best glass baby bottle, best silicone baby bottle, best hybrid baby bottle, best baby bottle for travel.

As soon as you deliver your adorable, squishy newborn , your life is — nearly immediately — ruled by the process of feeding them. There are a number of ways to do that, of course (breastfeeding, formula feeding , pumping, chestfeeding, and any combination thereof), but no matter what path you take, you will, most likely, use a baby bottle at some point. Maybe it’s so you can take a break and your partner can do a feed, maybe it’s months after their birth when you go back to work, or maybe it’s on day one. As a mom of three, I can say there is probably no perfect baby bottle because so much depends on your individual child. With my first child I mostly nursed, and so I gravitated toward a boob-shaped bottle (not out of any real research, more instinct). These bottles were fine, but I never loved them — which was also okay, because I really didn’t use them very often. For my second and third kids, who both received quite a bit of pumped milk , I did more research and landed on the Philips Avent bottles with the anti-colic inserts (these are my best overall pick, more on that, below).

Ultimately, though, the best baby bottle is one that your kid happily takes, but there are still qualities that separate the good from the great. A great baby bottle is one that you can wash in the dishwasher. Newborns eat 8 to 12 times every 24 hours — that’s a lot of time elbow-deep in hot soapy water. All my picks below are dishwasher-safe. (For nipples and other small parts, I definitely recommend getting a dishwasher basket to help keep everything together.) All but one of my picks have gas and colic prevention (and the exception is a bottle suitable for an older baby). And you’ll want your choice to be able to grow with your baby, from newborn weeks up until their first birthday — babies are expensive enough without having to buy a new bottle every few months. So, if you’re looking for a place to start, I spoke to a lactation counselor, feeding experts, and seasoned parents to find out the best baby bottles, from plastic baby bottles to glass baby bottles, and the best baby bottles for pumping too. And for other feeding needs, check out our stories on the best wearable breast pumps and the best nursing pillows .

What we’re looking for

Generally, bottles are made of plastic, silicone, or glass. There’s no perfect material: Glass is eco-conscious and dishwasher-safe, but heavy and breakable. (Even a strong, older baby may struggle to feed themselves with a glass bottle, and parental hands can definitely fatigue holding one.) Silicone bottles are a good choice for parents who worry about plastics but don’t want glass, though they can sometimes absorb food smells in the dishwasher. Plastic bottles are the most common — they’re lightweight and inexpensive — but some folks have concerns about the material breaking down, especially if you’re heating them. If you choose plastic, look for BPA-free.

Gas/Colic Prevention

Babies who drink from a bottle are more likely to deal with gas pains and spit-up than babies who are exclusively breastfed, simply because they take in more air. Some bottles use additional parts and pieces to reduce air intake. However, these extra parts are generally a pain to clean (they usually require a dedicated straw cleaner), so I’ve listed them as the come up.

A newborn’s stomach is itty-bitty, so you don’t need a large bottle when you’re serving one to three ounces at each feed. Meanwhile, a 10-month-old’s stomach can hold two veggie burgers at a time (I’ve seen it), and they may want an eight-ounce bottle to wash it down. If your brand of choice makes bottles in multiple sizes, it’s nice to be able to “graduate” to a bigger one when your baby levels up.

Nipple Flow Range

Similarly, newborns don’t totally understand how to eat, and a fast flow of milk can leave them choking and gagging (and leave you having wasted a precious feed). Your bottle brand should make nipples with a range of “flow” rates — slow ones (usually called stage 1 or even 0) for newborns, up to faster ones that are called stage 3 or 4 for babies closer to age 1. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your baby at the slow-flow newborn nipple, of course, but it can be nice to speed up their feeds when they get a little older and can handle the faster flow.

Material: BPA-free plastic Gas/Colic Prevention: Yes, via an insert Size: Available in 4oz., 9oz., and 11oz. sizes Nipple Flow Range: Size 1 included, up to level 4 sold separately

When I was looking for a bottle for my kids, I wanted protection from gas and colic, but I wasn’t willing to wash a million tiny parts . The Philips Avent bottles with the anti-colic inserts were the natural conclusion. They work, too: I found that using them meant that my second and third kids spit up way less than my first did. (I know I can’t prove it was the bottles, but I really do think they helped!) As I learned, bottle-fed babies , on the whole, take in more air than their breastfed friends because, well, a bottle has air in it, and the human chest does not. This leads to more air in their bellies, and therefore gas and spit-up are more common. My goal was to minimize this side effect, and the Avent bottles did a great job of it. The insert is a single part that works to draw air away from the nipple itself, meaning the nipple is always full of milk, not air, even when horizontal. The insert lifts right out when you pop a nail under it, and since it’s only one part, it’s pretty easy to scrub clean with a traditional bottle brush.

That’s not the only thing I liked about these bottles, though: They were easy to hold thanks to a curve for your hand, came in multiple sizes for when my hungry baby needed more milk, and stacked neatly in diaper bags because of the flat top on the bottle caps. Amanda Glenn, a certified lactation counselor who runs the popular Instagram account @ exclusive_pumping , polled her community of 107,000 followers and they agreed these are their favorites, too. “The bottles are compatible with Spectra breast pumps — being able to pump into the same bottles your baby takes saves a ton of time and effort,” says Glenn.

Material: BPA-free plastic Gas/Colic Prevention: Yes, via their internal vent system Size: Available in 2oz., 4oz., and 8oz. sizes Nipple Flow Range: Size 1 included, up to level 4 sold separately

“I almost always recommend Dr. Brown’s,” says Mallory Whitmore, a.k.a. @ theformulamom , who is also the lead educator at Bobbie, a subscription-based formula brand. The biggest reason? The internal vent system, which involves a small, sectioned silicone ring that fits into what looks like a very long, rounded funnel. It’s got a unique ability to reduce gas and reflux due to the way it reduces air inside. “I know that when parents hear and see all the internal parts of this bottle system, they might look to another bottle choice, but it is the gold standard in my practice as a pediatric occupational therapist and feeding specialist,” says Judy Delaware, O.T., one half of the popular feeding resource account @ feedinglittles . “The internal vent system works for both gas and reflux, as this bottle system is designed to eliminate internal pressure in a way that no other bottles can,” she says. Paige Fowler, a mom of four who shares her family’s life on @ ourhomepaige , used them with all of her kids, too. “All four of our babies were bottle fed, and every single time I would try the newest, most popular bottles. And every single time, I ended up using Dr. Brown’s,” she says. “They were always the one our reflux-y babies liked the best and had the fewest issues (like gas and spit-up) with.” One notable downside — one that Whitmore co-signs — is that the vent system leads to a lot of small parts that usually need to be hand-washed, even if you have a dishwasher basket. This is why I didn’t select them as best in class — I think it’s important to be able to easily wash your bottles, and the Avents also offer the anti-gas and colic vents that the experts like in the Dr. Browns. Still, there are some other pluses: They don’t leak, they come in two-, four-, and eight-once sizes, Dr. Brown’s makes a pacifier that is the same shape as the nipple (this is surprisingly handy), and if you have a Medela breast pump, you can screw the bottles directly onto your flanges.

Material: Glass Gas/Colic Prevention: Yes, via vents in the nipple itself Size: 4oz. or 8oz. Nipple Flow Range: Size 2 included, sizes 1–5 sold separately

Strategist writer Lauren Ro used and loved these bottles. “I love that they’re made of sturdy glass, and even though they’re definitely bulkier and heavier than plastic bottles, they feel more sanitary to me because I can clean them with really hot water,” she told me. “They also feel really nice in hand, and I especially love the natural-flow nipples that I used with them. And because of how thick the glass is, I found — not sure if it’s true! — that it insulated the milk better, keeping it warmer (or cooler) for longer. It also warmed up faster when I dunked it in hot water,” she says.

The nipples on the Philips Natural are also different from those on the anti-colic Avents: “It’s because the baby controls the flow of milk and it doesn’t leak,” says Glenn. “Plus, it’s durable, long-lasting, and easy to clean because there aren’t a ton of parts to wash.”

Material: Silicone Gas/Colic Prevention: Yes, via vents in the nipple itself Size: 8oz. Nipple Flow Range: Size 1 included, up to level 3 sold separately

My sister-in-law, a mom of four, chose these for when her kids used a bottle. “My favorite thing is that they’re silicone, so they’re dishwasher-safe without leaching plastics,” she told me. “Also, they’re easy for tiny hands to grip when they’re a little older, and they have a good wide nipple so you can go back and forth between breast- and bottle feeding without the kid caring,” she said. Catbird creative director Leigh Plessner also recommends these bottles — she says that “like a Champagne coupe, [it] is shaped awfully like a breast.” Another friend echoed that she chose them because they were “squishy” and “resembled a boob” but did caution that if you ever use European formulas with them, which use a one-to-one water-to-powder ratio, you may find yourself with an extremely full bottle, since these max out at an eight-ounce size.

Material: Polyamide, plastic, and Invinci-Glass Gas/Colic Prevention: Yes, via vents in the nipple Size: Available in 5oz. and 9oz. sizes Nipple Flow Range: Size 1 included, up to level 4 sold separately

These clever little bottles are a great compromise for parents who want glass bottles but not the weight: They have one superthin layer of glass. “It’s glass on the inside, so the milk will only touch glass, but plastic on the outside, so you don’t have to worry about the bottles breaking,” explains Glenn. “If avoiding plastic is important to you, this bottle is perfect.”

I also like that they come in a nine-ounce size — many bottles max out at eight ounces — and how easy the bottles are to clean. (Although they do note that for stubborn breast-milk residue, you may have to do a quickie hand-wash first with soap that can cut through it . Formula doesn’t stick quite as much.) They’re also comfortable and easy to hold since they’re so lightweight.

Material: Silicone Gas/Colic Prevention: Yes, via vents in the base Size:  5oz. and 9oz. Nipple Flow Range: Medium flow included, fast and slow flow sold separately

Strategist senior editor Ailbhe Malone raved about these bottles, which are made to be sterilized in just three minutes in the microwave. “We traveled a lot when my daughter was young, and it was a relief to know that wherever we were, her bottles were easy to sterilize,” she says. Malone used both the five-ounce- and nine-ounce-size bottles and still uses the nine-ounce bottles for her toddler’s evening milk. She adds: “The lids were also incredibly secure, we brought filled bottles of milk through airport security, on planes, and on trains — we never once had a spillage.”

Best baby bottles with a straw

Material: BPA-free plastic Gas/Colic Prevention: No Size: 8oz. Nipple Flow Range: N/A

Many pediatricians will want your baby to switch from bottles to cups by age one, so it’s a good idea to have them start practicing with a straw cup around nine months so they can get the hang of it. My friend Amanda, a mom of two, said that while she used the Avent bottles for her kids, she found the straw/bottle hybrid cups Dr. Brown’s offers to be a great tool for helping her babies learn to drink from a straw. “The weight helped them learn the difference between drinking from a nipple and drinking from a straw while still being soft like they were used to,” she says. “Plus the familiar shape made it so I didn’t get screamed at for taking away their bottles!”

Our experts

• Judy Delaware, pediatric occupational therapist and one-half of the feeding resources account @ feedinglittles • Paige Fowler, mom of four and content creator @ ourhomepaige • Amanda Glenn, certified lactation counselor at @ exclusive_pumping • Amanda Miller Kelley, mom of two • Jenna Levy, mom of four • Ailbhe Malone, a senior editor at the Strategist • Lauren Ro, a writer at the Strategist covering home, design, and parenting • Mallory Whitmore, formula educator on Instagram @ theformulamom

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