Travel
Practical help to plan better trips for less: choosing where to go, finding good flights, packing light, road trips, using money abroad and knowing when travel insurance is worth it.
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Destinations
Choosing where to go and making the most of it, from matching a destination to your budget and season to planning a visit to a US national park.
Trip Planning & Booking
Planning and booking a trip step by step, from setting a budget and finding cheap flights to booking lodging and knowing your rights when plans change.
Travel Money
Paying and getting cash while you travel, including the cards to use abroad, avoiding fees and bad exchange rates, using your phone abroad without a huge bill, and budgeting for a trip.
Packing & Gear
Packing smarter for every kind of trip, from carry-on-only travel to cold-weather trips, plus the travel gear that's actually worth buying.
Road Trips
Planning a great road trip, from routes and budgets to getting your car ready, staying safe and making sure you're properly insured.
Travel Insurance
Understanding travel insurance: what it covers, what it doesn't, what you may already have, and how to decide if it's worth buying for your trip.
Travel calculators
Road trip gas and trip budgets, worked out as you type.
About planning better trips
The best trips usually come down to a few good decisions made early: going at the right time, booking the big costs well, packing sensibly and having a plan for when things go wrong. Our guides cover each step, written for US travelers.
Choosing and planning
If you are not sure where to go, how to choose your next vacation destination helps you match places to your budget, season and travel style. For America's great outdoors, see how to plan a visit to a US national park. Then follow how to plan a trip, step by step from budget to bookings.
Booking and getting there
Flights are often the biggest single cost. How to find cheap flights explains flexible searches, price alerts and the fees that make cheap fares expensive. If you would rather drive, how to plan a road trip covers routes, car prep, costs and car insurance.
Packing and money
Traveling with just a carry-on saves time and fees; see how to pack light, or how to pack for a winter trip for cold destinations. Abroad, travel money explains how to avoid foreign transaction fees and bad exchange rates.
When plans change
Delays, cancellations and illness happen. Know your rights to a refund when an airline cancels, and read travel insurance explained and is travel insurance worth it? before you book an expensive trip.
Entry rules, fees and airline policies change often, so always check official sources such as the State Department, TSA and the National Park Service before you travel.
Travel questions
For domestic trips, start planning one to three months ahead; for international trips, holidays and peak summer travel, three to six months or more. Popular national park lodges, campsites and festival-season hotels can book up much earlier, so check those first.
Adults need a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or state ID, a passport or another TSA-accepted ID to fly within the US. For international trips you need a passport, usually valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and sometimes a visa or electronic travel authorization. Check the State Department's country pages before you book.
Be flexible with dates and airports, travel in shoulder season, compare the total cost of flights including bag fees, book lodging with free cancellation, and avoid foreign transaction fees by using the right card abroad. Our guides cover each of these in detail.
It is often worth it for expensive, prepaid trips you can't get refunded and for travel abroad where your health insurance won't cover you. It is usually not worth it for cheap or refundable trips. Our guide explains how to decide.