One of the most challenging parts of travel planning for vacation is knowing which travel booking tools, travel planners, tour operators, airlines, and essential travel resources to use. Even having the best travel gear for family travel can feel overwhelming!
To help save you time and money, I’ve put together this travel resource page with a list of companies I love and personally use for travel booking tools and family travel planning. I’ve done the research so you don’t have to! These companies have made planning our family travel experiences a breeze, and I hope they help you too!
Disclaimer: Please note that I am recommending these companies based on my personal experiences. This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. See my disclosures. All opinions are my own.
Check out our complete guide to family travel on a budget for tips and tricks for saving money for your next family vacation. Want to learn how to maximize points and miles for travel? Sign up for Daily Drop’s newsletter to get tips in under 5 minutes a day!
Travel Resources At A Glance
Short on time? Click on the box to jump ahead to the travel resource you need!
Booking Flights
When looking for flights for your family vacation, these are my favorite flight search tools to compare prices, routes, and finding the best options for booking flights. PRO TIP: Book two to three months out or more for the best rates, especially for international travel. Search for nearby airports as well to compare prices, and if you can fly in the shoulder seasons, you have the best chance for the best prices for family travel.
You can also use miles and points to save money on travel. The best way to do this is with a good travel credit card to help you earn points to use toward travel! My favorite travel credit cards are Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Chase Saphire Preferred® Credit Card.
Check out our guide for the best tips on flying with kids by age group!
Rental Cars
Our family loves HERTZ and we have used it around the world. We are in their loyalty program, so we use them often, but they are not always the cheapest. Check out Economy Bookings to compare prices and if you will be renting a car in Europe, Europcar is a reliable company where you can find car rentals. Be sure to check out any requirements for car rentals in other countries.
Planning on a family road trip? Get our guides for the best road trip activities for kids by age and over 101 best road trip food ideas. Make packing easier with our family road trip packing list so you don’t forget a thing.
Other Transportation
If you are looking at booking a cruise, transfers, needing road trip support, planning train travel, or ferry travel, these are great resources and travel booking tools we have used when traveling in the USA and internationally. When traveling to Hawaii with kids, Hawaiian airlines is our go to airline of choice. The experience on this airline is unparalleled when flying to Hawaii!
Planning on a family cruise? Get our Ultimate Disney Cruise Line packing list so you have what you need for the best Disney Cruise with kids!
Accommodations
When it comes to travel booking tools for family-friendly hotels, these are my go-to resources for booking hotels for a family vacation. The Beaches Resorts are my top pick for the best all-inclusive family resort (check out our guide to Beaches Turks and Caicos where we have been 9 times.) We also love vacation home rentals, especially for beach destinations and ski vacations.
Considering a vacation home rental? Check out our complete guide to the differences between VRBO vs AirBnB!
Organized Tours
When it comes to organized day tours, we regularly use Viator and Get Your Guide as our go to travel booking tools. In fact some of our favorite immersive family experiences in Switzerland and Italy were booked using Viator and Get Your Guide. Big Bus Tours are a great way to spend your first day in London, Paris, and other big cities. In fact, I always recommend taking a Big Bus Tour on your first day to any city, as it’s a great way to get an overview of the destinations. If you are looking for small family group tours, G-Adventures offers immersive family adventures in a small group tour setting. Perfect for exploring locations around the world with like-minded families!
Want to enjoy a self-guided audio tour rather than pay for an in-person tour? We Go Trip offers guided tours of locations around the world you can listen to right from your mobile phone or tablet. They offer over 100 self-guided tours of cities around the world and popular attractions in those cities like museums and landmarks! It’s a great way to save money and get a guided experience all in one! We love this for when we want to learn about a destination but don’t want to splurge on a walking tour.
Looking for a done for you itinerary? Check out my personal (tried and true) 5 days in London itinerary with kids or my Paris with kids 3 day itinerary!
Travel Insurance
Because things do happen when you travel, having travel insurance protects your investment, your belongings, and can help if something unexpected happens when you travel (and speaking from experience, sometimes things DO happen.) These are travel insurance companies I have used and programs to compare prices depending on the type of coverage you might need. Always do your reserach to ensure the coverage you personally need is provided and read the fine print.
Before you purchase Travel Insurance, check out our post on travel insurance for a family vacation as you consider what kind you might need!
Theme Park Tickets & Attraction Tickets
I am a huge fan of Disney, Universal, and other theme parks and attractions. While – generally speaking – I don’t recommend purchasing theme park tickets outside of Disney, there is one exception to this and that is Undercover Tourist. It is a reputable company, and it is the ONLY place outside of Disney or Universal I recommend, because they also have a refund policy. Tiqets is great for attraction tickets for activities around the world.
Planning your Disney World vacation? Download our digital Disney World Cost Calculator to help you plan for your next Disney vacation.
City Passes & Discounts
A great way to save money when traveling is purchasing a Go City Pass or a City Pass during your vacation for entrance to multiple attractions at a major discount. It will save you a signifcant amount of money if you plan to visit multiple attractions and museums in locations around the world. Before purchasing, be sure to check what is included in the pass so that you maximize your family travel budget for your trip.
Travel & Vacation Packages
If you are looking for some help to plan your family travel itinerary, these companies help create an itinerary and curate a vacation of your dreams for your next family trip.
Get my top recommendations for the very best things to do in Orlando with kids.
Travel Credit Cards
Have you ever wondered how many people can travel so much so affordably? Well, one of our family secrets is having good travel credit cards where you can earn miles and points on purchases. Think about it – most people have a credit card they use a lot anyway. Whether you are buying coffee, paying bills, ordering online, paying for groceries, etc. So why not earn miles and points you can use for a vacation?
Our family has actually gotten free flights, hotel rooms and even erased travel purchases from the miles and points we have earned with our credit cards. Many also give you incentives to start. And, some of them give you perks at airports, hotels, and more. These are my favorite travel credit cards for maximizing travel, but you can check out even more credit card options to see what works best for your family travel needs.
If you are looking for top tips on using miles and points for travel, I recommend Daily Drop’s Miles and Points 101 Course to get top tips for earning free and affordable travel. You can also sign up for the Daily Drop newsletter for tips on maximizing your family travel using miles and points.
Travel Rewards Programs
One of our favorite ways to make family travel on a budget work is by taking advantage of travel reward programs. This includes hotels and flights, and in fact has earned us FREE TRAVEL. You can even purchase points, gift them, transfer them, and pool them in some cases (dependent on the program) which may save you money on travel. These are some of my favorite travel rewards programs that we use.
We often use our Marriott Bonvoy points to save money when traveling to Hawaii with kids. Check out my recommendations for the best places to stay on Maui for families and the best resorts on Oahu for families to see where we like to stay!
Family Travel Gear
If you are looking for recommendations for the best family travel gear, these are my go-to brands for luggage, carry-ons, weekend bags, and more. Check out my Amazon store for more recommendations on travel gear like travel strollers, carry-on items, packing list essentials, and more!
PRO TIP: When you are traveling with kids, you don’t have to bring everything with you. We regularly rented baby and toddler gear, like cribs, pack ‘n’ plays, car seats, and even toys and jumparoos from local rental services like Baby Quip. These services are available around the world! It’s one of my top tips when traveling with babies and toddlers. In addition to renting baby gear to be delivered to your hotel or vacation rental, you can also ship or use grocery delivery for things like diapers and baby food to your destination to make traveling with kids easier! Our family used to do this around the world to pack less when traveling with our babies and toddlers.
Want to get epic, professional family photos on your next family trip? Find a recommended local photographer – any where around the world – on Flytographer and you won’t have to worry about missing out on those amazing family photos! Get that family photo in front of the Eiffel Tower or on the beach you always dreamed of to capture your family memories!
Amazon is one of my go-to spots for family travel gear. Check out my Amazon store for my packing list recommendations and product recommendations, from which you can purchase right from my list. Note: As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn commissions for purchases at no cost to you.
For more family travel gear recommendations, check out my posts on the best stroller for flying with kids or the best products for your kids’ carryon for planes. You’ll get my top recommendations for family travel gear.
Travel Clothing Brands
When you travel, having the right travel clothing is essential. You need travel clothes that are comfortable and stylish, but also functional. It also helps if it’s sweat wicking, doesn’t wrinkle and can maximize space in your suitcase. Here are some of my favorite travel clothing brands I keep coming back to over and over.
Being comfortable when traveling is important, which is why I recommend these brands as the best shoes for Disney World.
Travel At Home Products and Gifts
When we aren’t on the road, one of our favorite things to do is bring the world to our kids at home. Travel subscription boxes are one of the best ways to introduce kids to the world, with crafts, activities, internatonal cooking, and snacks from around the world. They also make fantastic gifts for your favorite travelers and little globe trotters, with travel boxes for all ages from toddlers to teens. Wanting to gift travel or gift a travel memory? Disney Store gift cards are a great gift for someone traveling to Disney or to remember their trip. Grafo Map is another favorite of ours for custom-made maps of our favorite places around the world, which makes a great gift for anniversaries and anniversaries and is one of the ways we decorate our home reminding ourselves of our travels.
Interested in more travel from home ideas? Check out my 101 kid friendly recipes from around the world for ways to bring the world to you.
travel activity packs
Looking for activities to keep your kids busy when traveling? Whether you are heading on a plane, a ski trip, a road trip, or a beach trip, or if you are looking for travel at home activities during the holidays or a staycation, these activity packs I created will keep your kids busy with screen-free activities. They will also learn new things like holiday traditions around the world or the names for Santa Claus around the world!
Check out my complete list of road trip activities for kids by age (these are my favorites!)