Our recommended travel tools
We don’t believe in listing dozens of apps just for the sake of it. With hundreds of booking platforms, transit apps, and card options out there, it’s easy to spend more time juggling tabs than actually enjoying planning your trip.
Over years of travelling across European cities, we’ve tried hundreds of different travel companies — and we’ve narrowed our routine down to a handful of services that consistently save us time, money, and hassle.
Every single company listed below is something we actively use ourselves for our own trips.
1. Flights & airfare
Our routine: We always start with Skyscanner to check full monthly calendars and spot the cheapest days to fly. It’s also how we pick our next destination — we just plug in our closest airport and select “Explore Everywhere.” Once we have our destination and ideal dates locked in, we check Trip.com to compare prices and get the best flight deals. Sometimes another platform might be a few pounds cheaper, but most times we prefer to stick with Trip.com so we can keep earning loyalty points.
Skyscanner – Best for finding cheap dates & destination ideas.
Our go-to flight comparison tool. The calendar view makes it easy to spot the cheapest days to fly across major and budget airlines, and the “Everywhere” search is perfect when we’re looking for trip inspiration.
Trip.com – Best for booking flights & member perks.
We cross-check Trip.com for competitive rates and extra flight deals. Having booked with them for a couple of years now, we’ve reached Diamond membership status, which really pays off — especially with extra hotel discounts when we book flights. Their mobile app is extremely intuitive: it alerts us to specific destination ID requirements during booking, tracks flight times, and sends live notifications for boarding gates and baggage carousels. Plus, the loyalty perks are fantastic; we’ve already unlocked two complimentary airport lounge passes this year alone.
2. Hotels & stays
Our routine: We normally check Booking.com first to see top picks, guest ratings, and what’s recommended. The catch with Booking.com is that their Genius loyalty program tops out at Level 3, which we reached quite a while ago — so the perks feel capped. That’s why we started checking Trip.com, where we quickly realised that combining flight bookings with hotel discounts can sometimes save us up to £100 compared to Booking.com. That said, we still cross-check the exact same hotel on Agoda and Booking.com before booking, just to make sure we’re getting the absolute best price.
Trip.com – Our primary stop for deals & rewards.
We often book here now because when we book our flights, we get extra hotel discounts, earn loyalty points, and take advantage of their handy AI review summaries. The AI pulls together what guests are saying so we can instantly see what to expect without scrolling through dozens of individual reviews.
Booking.com – Best for guest ratings & selection.
Our default for browsing because we find their ratings, filters, and hotel choices the easiest to navigate. We still rely on them heavily for research and price comparison. Here, we normally find a larger number of properties available than on other sites.
Agoda – Best for quick price checks.
We always run a quick price check here before finalising a stay. While we’ve noticed Agoda’s guest ratings tend to appear a bit higher (likely because they pull in reviews from other platforms), they frequently unlock hidden member rates or last-minute discounts worth comparing.
3. Tours & experiences
Our routine: When we want to get tickets for major landmarks, book a day trip, or join a local walking tour, GetYourGuide is our go-to activity and tours platform. It helps us discover the best experiences in many European cities without stress. Having all our digital booking passes and entry tickets stored in one app on our phones makes sightseeing completely hassle-free — and their flexible 24-hour cancellation policy means we can easily adapt our plans if the weather or plan changes.
GetYourGuide – Tickets, tours & local experiences.
Our preferred platform for booking guided tours, landmark entry passes, and unique local activities. The app keeps all your tickets organised in one place and offers generous cancellation terms so we can keep our travel itinerary flexible.
4. Car rental
Our routine: When a trip calls for a scenic road trip or exploring with complete freedom, we use EconomyBookings to compare local and international rental companies side by side. Their app is super intuitive and makes it easy to browse available cars, compare company ratings, and check security deposit requirements upfront. Once we pick our car, we always add the full insurance directly through EconomyBookings. We’ve had bad experiences turning up at rental desks only to be hit with ridiculous prices or pushy staff trying to sell scammy extra policies — so booking full coverage online in advance gives us total peace of mind.
EconomyBookings – Transparent car rental comparison.
Our go-to platform for renting cars across Europe. It lets us compare major rental brands and vetted local agencies so you get clear upfront pricing without hidden surprise fees at the counter. Bonus: You can use our code CARMAADV to get an extra 3% off your booking!
5. Mobile data & connectivity
Our routine: We always set up our Jetpac eSIM before leaving home so our phones connect to local mobile networks the second our plane touches down. Setting up an eSIM takes just a couple of minutes, and it eliminates the headache of paying ridiculous foreign roaming fees or hunting down physical SIM card kiosks at the airport when you just want to get to your hotel.
Jetpac eSIM – Instant local and affordable data on arrival.
Our go-to provider for fast, affordable mobile data everywhere we travel across Europe and beyond. It keeps us connected seamlessly without expensive carrier charges or contract hassles. Bonus: Use our code CARMAADV15 at checkout to grab 18% off your data plan!
6. Travel money & currency
Our routine: We use our Wise travel card for almost all our spending, currency conversion, and cash withdrawals while travelling. Regular home bank cards can quietly charge up to 3% in foreign transaction fees on every single purchase, which adds up fast. With Wise, we convert money at real mid-market exchange rates with zero hidden markups. We keep the digital card on our phones for instant contactless payments, but we also carry the physical card so we can withdraw local cash from ATMs whenever we need it.
Wise – transparent-fee multi-currency spending & cash withdrawals.
The single best financial tool in our travel bags. It lets us hold and convert multiple currencies in one app, spend like a local all over Europe, and withdraw cash from ATMs without extortionate bank fees.
7. Airport transfers
Our routine: After a long flight — or whenever we’re travelling with heavy suitcases and just fancy the extra convenience — we love treating ourselves to Welcome Pickups so a driver is waiting for us right in arrivals. If Welcome Pickups isn’t available at a specific airport, or when we need a long-distance drive between cities, we use GetTransfer.com to get custom quotes directly from local drivers.
Welcome Pickups – Stress-free airport arrivals.
A vetted driver tracks our flight status for delays and meets us directly in the arrival hall holding a name sign.
GetTransfer.com – Custom long-distance driver quotes.
Great for requesting direct price bids from local drivers when planning intercity transfers.
8. City taxis
Our routine: Once we’re in a city, we switch between Uber and Bolt depending on which app offers the quicker pickup or better rate in that country. Both apps frequently run automatic discounts, so we always cross-check both before booking a ride to see which one is cheaper.
9. European train travel
Our routine: When we’re travelling between European cities by train, we use Trip.com to bypass tricky local-language sites and buy digital tickets straight to our phones. We get discounts when we book, and these train bookings also count toward maintaining our Diamond membership status. Plus, we earn Trip Coins on every route, which we can apply directly as discounts on our next bookings.
Trip.com – Hassle-free train bookings & digital tickets.
Simple, English-language booking for European rail routes without currency conversion issues or website glitches — making it effortless to download and use digital tickets straight from our phone.