Travel Resources
for Inspirational and Authentic TravelingTravel resources section is here for you to help and ease your decisions on various aspects of travel planning, making you confident, ready for all challenges and motivated to explore the world.
Each travel adventure is a highly dynamic process, requiring detailed planning, patience, energy and passion. It represents unique mosaic of different elements combined for an ultimate success and experience. Travel resources section is here for you to help and ease your decisions on various aspects of travel planning making you confident, ready for all challenges and motivated to explore the world.
Please note that services and products links found in this section are a part of Jonnie World Walker affiliate partnerships. Eventual use of those links to connect with desired travel resources with no extra costs for you, can contribute to a small, but significant commission for our blog. This can enable us to keep publishing more high quality and free travel content. We truly appreciate your support.
On the other hand, highly important feature is that all travel resources on this page are selected strictly based on our own experiences and satisfaction with particular products or services. How we book individual, backpacking or a family trip, which accessories we used and tested on our tours, brands that shown the best quality and value for money during last 20 years of our traveling, will be recommended and honestly shared with you.
FLIGHT BOOKING
HOTEL BOOKING
PRIVATE ACCOMODATION BOOKING
TRAIN BUS TICKETS
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INSURANCE
TRAVEL ACCESSORIES
FLIGHT BOOKING
Even small details can make a difference.
Flights logistics are mostly our prime target when planning a journey to remember. When to book, where to find all the offers in one place and to have easy navigable search engine, are usual questions to arise. Top global search engines today are quite similar, but sometimes even small details can make a difference. From my average of 20 round trip flights per year, I found jetradar.com the most reliable flights booking site.
It began in 2007 as airfare blog, but it rapidly grown to one of the leaders in the field. It provides price comparison of all major airline companies, covering low cost airline options all over the world as well. With flights, regular or low cost, sooner you know your flight dates, better for you. For majority of my family summer holidays I can easily book my flights eight months in advance, picking some incredible deals for long haul flights. When searching through jetradar.com for the cheapest possible flights within Asia (AirAsia, Malindo Air) and Europe (Ryanair, EasyJet, Wizz Air), then be ready for one way low cost flights cheaper than a fast food meal! I always remember my flight from Madrid to Lisbon for just 3$! Or maybe a return flight for a family of three from Timisoara (Romania) to Milan (Italy) for 80$ total! It is pure reality, so use your chance to fly the world.
hotel booking
From the early start of my guiding career, and later, for the most of my study tours and family trips, when it was about hotels, I used booking.com. I always remember a short meeting with booking.com management during World Travel Market in London 2008. Even then it was clear who takes the lead in professional and most effective hotels booking engine, which was established 25 years ago. Key thing with booking.com, as a pioneer in online booking, is being able to provide incredible deals for certain number of rooms in each offered hotel. Deals are usually lower even than top promotions found on hotel websites.
Absolutely all hotel categories are covered: from ultra cheap hostels to exclusive five stars resorts. Every offer contain precise location, detailed description of hotel’s facilities, rooms, guests reviews and photos. Last few years I’ve been using booking.com to book even private accommodation options, specially for Asia or Africa, since private apartments became newest part of booking.com offer. When planning your trip, try to check deals on booking.com as much in advance as possible. In most of the cases how closer you are to departure date, less options for accommodation you’ll have. If it is about weekend, short tours, then waiting till last minute can provide some super deals, even for luxury hotels. You will undoubtedly find hotels that you need with booking.com.
PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION BOOKING
Twenty years ago, every planning of my private tours required pretty much of calculations and focus on saving some money on accommodation. I preferred privacy, so apartment or condo rentals were easy solution with amazing deals. When Homeaway.com came in, with online booking in 2005., flats, condos, even luxury penthouses and villas were reachable for the rest of the world. Me and my family have been using homeaway.com extensively for most of our longer summer or winter holidays in Europe.
This company covers a family of other booking sites like stayz.com.au, bookabach.co.nz for Australia and New Zealand, homelidays.com mostly for France, Italy and Spain and a few others. Using homeaway.com will simply unite the existing global offer. The essence of this engine is renting only the entire property (apartment, house, condo…) and that is exactly what we needed. Rates are incredible, so the only thing you need to do is to exchange a few emails with the owner of a property, eventually to pay a deposit for your stay and you are all set. Total price is transparent and you should not be dealing with additional service, cleaning, booking fees or similar. I always remember paying 600$ for 17 nights stay for my family in glamorous Italian Riviera jewel Sanremo in the middle of August. Or eventually renting an apartment in famous Alpine ski resort Cervinia in January, for only 800$ for 14 nights stay for a family of three. Authentic experience of a destination and enormous savings are guaranteed when choosing private accommodation with homeaway.com.
TRAIN/BUS TICKETS EUROPE
For European travel adventures, train and bus rides are more than essential. Not only that they are saving money for you, but enabling comfortable transport and possibility to see the landscapes around you. For me, travelling by train is the peak of transportation in travel industry. It still has a kind of “romantic” and noble touch when you enjoy a cup of coffee in a train, while observing gentle hills of Tuscany or lavender fields of Provence. Europe’s extensive railway network and super modern trains provide wide range of connections. Highly positive side of European train traffic is that every departure and arrival station should be located in the very heart/center of the city, with no need for extra transfers, like in case of flights.
Online system I use quite often is trainline.com. They invested in strong partnership with all major national railway services in Europe. This booking system is very easy to use and for any of your requested routes, results will show both train and bus options, so you can decide what you prefer the most. If you plan to use mostly trains and you’ll stay in Europe for 15+ days, like in case of backpacking, or other kinds of budget trips, please check fabulous deals on interrail.eu. There, you will discover the most popular formulas for unlimited number of train rides for desired period and chosen parts of Europe. Or you can simply get famous Interrail Global Pass for a month and the entire Europe on a train is yours!
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL INSURANCE
Travelling abroad often includes unpredicted situations that can affect your general satisfaction and experience. In twenty years of being a tour guide my group members sometimes experienced flight cancellations, longer delay, lost baggage, injuries or health problems on tour, as well as theft or pickpocketing. No matter how prepared and cautious we are, unplanned things can happen. Transforming initial feeling of fear, panic and nervousness into a rational action, knowing that you are protected, is to find reliable international travel insurance option. I never travel without it, no matter of travel experience I have behind. World of insurance is sometimes tricky, but among all, Allianz Travel Insurance I consider the most respected one. Depending which program you choose, Allianz takes care of every single detail, and in the same way makes you confident and prepared for your travel adventure.
TRAVEL ACCESSORIES
for more practical and safer solutions
Every journey is a story for itself. We choose different type of tours, where each one reflects specific dynamics, logistics and pace. Travel accessories can enormously contribute to more comfortable, more practical and safer solutions throughout your travels. Some are considered as essential ones, some are connected with tours loaded with activities, some will make your valuables safer. Experiencing huge variety of tour types, we would like to share some of the best products we used, that made our journeys smooth and enjoyable.
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Money Belts
Wheather you are visiting a high life standard country or not, when it is about world’s top travel destinations, pickpocketing and theft go hand in hand. Sometimes, they can seriously affect your mood and heavily reduce your level of enjoyment. Specially when the main target are the items which enable basic flow of a journey – our passport, cash money or credit cards.
Many will support some other way of protection, but I really need something that is light while wearing it and it secures my valuables to the maximum. Money belts are the closest to a perfect solution. Wearing it always under your clothes discourages someone to try to reach it and stole it. With RFID blocking system and other additions, money belts can provide almost absolute protection from potential theft.
Investment of just 15-20$ for a high quality money belt is an easy way to maximize your security on tour. We would like to share just a few money belts that we trust, that lasted long enough, and helped enormously to secure valuables during our trips.
Suitcases
A perfect suitcase, this essential travel element, needs to satisfy jus one condition: to last forever if possible, or at least to be resistant enough on crumbling through planes and other ways of transport. Type of travel can shape pretty much of your choice, but light materials, durability, design and value for money are the ones we always turn to.
Based on close to 400 different tours done so far, I would like to point a few suitcase brands I used with great satisfaction:
Samsonite – maybe the best value for money option supported by over hundred years of tradition, amazing hard and soft side models, durability and modern design.
The North Face – sporty design, mostly two wheels suitcases with very good durability. New models are quite rain resistant and are made of special materials, even for extreme weather. They are not the lightest ones but proved great quality.
Bric’s – When it is about noble style of your luggage, then comes fashionable, superb design, “Milano style”, Bric’s suitcases. Its iconic “Bellagio” collection combines different types of leather into a powerful business carry on, or large suitcase. I had Bric’s piece of luggage only once and was sorry every time at the airport thinking of potential damage done to this precious bag.
Backpacks
The most desirable backpack will be the one closest to its universality of usage. If we can just invent one to serve for every purpose: business, everyday, sports and leisure, plus to last forever. Some brands are so close to this backpack holly grail, while some mastered its quality only for specific purposes. Many of my intensive travels and sports activities required numerous backpack brands to be tested. Some failed pretty fast, but some came to the top of my choice. Here they are:
Victorinox – Brand famous for its Swiss Army Knives made a breakthrough with backpacks and suitcases as well. If something is made for a Swiss Army, then it requires remarkable quality. Highest quality materials Victorinox use, nicely fused with modern design, made them champions in durability and multi purpose use. It is incredible how long they last, how comfortable they are. They have practical layout of pockets and space inside, and I have no doubt what to look for, when I want real staff from the world of backpacks.
Salewa – Brand started in 1955., producing backpacks for Andes Mountain Expedition. Over the time, Salewa became one of the leading high quality outdoors, and mountain climbing brands including backpacks. Everything you need for your active trip you’ll have with Salewa. Last model I bought had special concave back part with two extra tightened straps, as the only surfaces touching your back. That is how backpack reduces sweat on your back for more than 70 percent. Newest models have special circulation system providing dry back effect. Those are “serious” backpacks for journeys full of action.
Piquadro – Italian producers always know how to implement their products towards more elegant and professional you. That is how Piquadro developed their business and casually elegant backpacks combining leather with well balanced modern design.
Beachwear
Summer holidays, or any exotic sunny escapes are even more exciting when your beachwear shines in fascinating summer, colorful design. However, crucial thing for beachwear is to provide comfort even during high temperatures. Just imagine feeling of light materials, which can be dried off in a few minutes, and no matter of your exposure to sun, salt and water, to show their superb durability. My family summer holidays are loaded with snorkeling, swimming, diving, beach volleyball, surfing, and based on our experience we mostly choose these brands:
Rip Curl – An icon among surfing/beachwear companies, which holds the highest standards in creating the best value for money ratio. I would say above the best value for money you pay. Being involved in beach volleyball for years, I tested almost all well known brands, but satisfaction with Rip Curl items is unmatched. Beach shorts will look brand new even after years of wearing it. A few t-shirts still look fine, and I bought them 20 years ago. Design, quality, durability for any of the items are my family’s number one, both for adults and kids. I adore some big sales like Rip Curl Shop in Chamonix (France) or in Bali (Indonesia) where Rip Curl world opens its heart.
Billabong – From 1973., this company continues to inspire with truly original design and excellent quality. If you think we are dealing with surf wear brand again, be sure that Billabong items will amaze you no matter of beach activity. Count on superb casual options as well. Newest beach shorts are protecting beaches and the ocean, being made of recycled PET bottles!
Roxy – Beaches of California always bring the peak of fascination with the ocean. That passion brought an idea for a brand which focuses on ladies, and their devotion to beach sports. Roxy started as a swimwear brand, but the world of surfing and universal beachwear made Roxy a real competitor. Bright summer colors, geometrical and floral design radiate with always positive approach to life. My wife’s Roxy beachwear is something she is always very proud of.
Skiwear/Outdoors
Extreme weather, outdoors sports, or just a regular hike require apparel that will successfully compete all challenges ahead. Waterproof level, comfort, nice design, materials that “breathe” and make us warm, and dozen of other conditions apply on a single pair of ski pants, a jacket, gloves, socks or active wear. Based on highly dynamic and sometimes partly extreme activities, I’ve experienced during skiing holidays or hiking tours, I will summarize a few brands that you will love to wear. Just to relax and enjoy your activities.
Helly Hansen – Whenever I bought something from this brand, it was the best I could ask for. A hoodie, active wear, ski pants or a jacket, it simply does not matter with Helly Hansen. Who can know better how to deal with extreme weather than Norwegians. Simple design, but always in fashion, with iconic HH logo and superb quality is a pure signature of almost 150 years of tradition. Complete skiwear of my son and my wife currently belongs to Helly Hansen choice, and think we will never change that. Absolutely super satisfied. Sometimes, my son is happy to have ski pants produced by US Spider brand, but still, overall rating and value for money goes to Helly Hansen.
Salomon – Covers all aspects of outdoors and skiwear you need. Very reliable brand with amazing hiking equipment, durability of ski apparel, and one of the best hiking shoes choice. Absolute quality of this brand made me a big fan of Salomon.
Mammut – Famous Swiss brand for outdoors and winter sports. It is truly a challenge to beat their extreme quality of products. It seems they keep quiet with big advertising, but that does not stop them to be on top. People simply recognize what really values. Hiking shoes, pants and light jackets are superb, mountaineering equipment and apparel is on a pro level in every way. A few items for me, and it was enough to see which level of quality this brand achieved.
Millet – When a brand becomes official supplier of Chamonix Alpine Guides, and Mountain Rescue Team then you know how high it aims. Professional skiwear that will make you warm and dry, durable hiking staff, climbing and mountaineering gear of first class is just a part of what Millet can offer. Spring/summer hiking shoes I have, gloves for my son and a few hoodies for my wife proved this brand’s reputation.
Footwear : running & walking
After a full day on tour, with plenty of walking, our feet usually suffer the most. There is nothing more essential than having proper footwear, that will save your feet and enable maximum comfort and stability. In majority of cases travelers rely on sports shoes to combine with their apparel. This type of shoes have potential to minimize impact on your feet and joints. Sometimes, even on tour, people prefer doing some morning footing, or even light jogging and again, we are searching for the best footwear. After two decades of being constantly on the move as a tour guide, with hours and hours of walking activities, and many morning joggings, I would like to share mine, and my passenger’s thoughts on the most reliable walking and running shoes.
Asics – Walking or running, but after years and years of testing, Asics emerges as an absolute winner. New generation running and walking shoes implement innovative technologies, enabling incredible comfort, great stability and lightness. Even after longer runs or full day walks, my feet are always ready for more when wearing Asics. Famous Gel-Nimbus series provide even softer feeling for your foot, while still keeping it stable. I prefer Italian outlet Asics shops for incredible deals and I am always cautious on choosing right size. If you regularly wear EU 43 size (US 9.5, UK 9) then for Asics choose one size up for EU size and 0.5 size up for US and UK to fit you perfectly.
New Balance – Year after year, this brand just aims for more, with more modern design and new implemented technologies. Many of my passengers from USA and Canada are more than satisfied with New Balance models. That helps enormously, since we can walk and see more of a destination in any moment.
Skechers – It is difficult to match such an affordable price for a shoe combined with quality like Skechers. Mostly focused on walking shoes, this brand is among the favorite ones among globetrotters. Many of my regular passengers, even with chronically tired feet, referred to the incredible comfort and softness , specially for Equalizer Persistent Slip for men and Go Walk Series for women. This brand is popular for all age groups, but think retired people, with extensive traveling throughout the year, found their perfect shoes in Skechers.