Booking.com Lets you book hotels without putting money down. Cancel bookings without a charge (an asset when you need proof of address for visas). Read my Guide to Staying at Hotels

Sleeping in Airports My fave guide to airports, especially if I have a 3 hour+ layover.

Read my layover tips and guide.

AirBnB   Experience the city from the comfort of a local home or apartment. 

Cookly is a site which lets you search cooking classes for the destinations you’re traveling.

When in Rome, sign up for Airbnb’s Pasta Cooking with Nonna Nerina. Now you can learn pasta making from a Italian grandma or many! They also offer classes via livestream. Watch my video review here. New to Airbnb? Take $40 off using my referral code!

Backstage Academy specializes in Asia cultural and food tour with friendly local hosts. It’s a company which supports sustainability for local communities. Prices are affordable and low. Read about my Nepal street food tour.

Klook specializes in tour activities in Asia, but it also carries travel essentials, such as Tokyo and Korean SIM cards, Japan Rail passes, transportation cards.  I’ve used them a lot for my Japan trips. Buy my Tokyo travel secrets eguide.

Intrepid Travel A trusted and reputable tour operator focused on relaxed-fit tours for travelers who want to feel independent. The style will feel comfortable to those in their 20s-40s, but open to all.

G Adventures is a trusted and reputable global tour operator, which similar to Intrepid Travel, runs small group tours conscious of responsible tourism practices.

GetyourGuide is an aggregate site, pulling a variety of budget day trips and they’ve got interesting ones in almost every destination. From bicycle to walking and food tours to cabaret shows… it does something similar to Viator but at a fraction of the price. Worthwhile a gander when planning your itinerary.

Booking Yoga Retreats Want your yoga asanas to give your travels purpose? This site is a huge aggregator for both yoga retreats and teacher trainings across the globe!

Skyroam

Take 10% off when you use my referral code GRRRLTRAVELER

Transferwise is the new Paypal killer. I love Paypal but the transfer fees and their currency exchange rates never make me smile. Now you can save a ton of money. Transferwise is a money transfer service with lower rates on everything. It allows you to open a borderless bank account too.

Rough Guide Guidebooks My fave travel guidebook. Great with maps.

CDC Want to know what travel shots to get for your destination?

Facebook Messenger  Many of us spend an obscene amount of social time on Facebook so Messenger app is obvious. It offers free text messages, calls, group chat and photo/video sharing. I’ve occasionally sharing Word documents and messages with other bloggers from forums. Unlike the other social mobile apps, abroad, I have access to all my international friends at my fingertips.

Facetime Not quite a social mobile app, but Apple’s FaceTime service is popular with iPhone users and great for connecting with iPhone family members abroad. As I’ve noted in my videos, I’ve Facetime’d my mom from fun places like Cappadocia, Pushkar, Bako National Park and on epic Indian roadtrips!

WeChat is China’s Facebook and yet, so much more. It’s an essential travel tool for China, with a broad range of possibilities. You can use free text, multimedia/group chat/push-to-talk voice message/video chats, but if you lived in China, you can buy groceries, apply for a job, pay rent, etc.. on this app.

WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging ap. Over 300 million people use it each month as its easy to use. I actually don’t use this in the U.S., but it came in handy in Thailand.  Send texts, photos and voice messages. Service costs $0.99 for a one-year subscription.

Line Mobile messenger service app born in Japan of a Korean Internet firm. The app is popular in those countries. Make free calls, video chats and download games.

Kakaao Talk Wanna teach English in Korea? Kakaao Talk is the most popular mobile messaging app in Korea. Especially when most Koreans avoid leaving voicemail on their own mobile servies, due to call charges. Lots of cute Korean stickers. Read: Renting a phone in Korea

Skype  These days, there are many ways to stay connected abroad. Skype will always be the most universally known. I use it for trip emergencies like when my bank locks my credit card. Great for business interviews and conference calls too.

Help X Exchange room and board for work/volunteer abroad.

Dave’s ESL Cafe Best site for finding teaching jobs in Asia, Southeast Asia and abroad. I’ve used it for finding summer camp and university listings. Recommended for expats seeking ESL work in Asia

Go to : So you Wanna Teach in Korea?

Nomadlist shows costs of cities. For the location independent or expat researching which cities/countries to live in.