By skyforbes 
Booking accommodation
I always try to book at least a few nights accommodation when I arrive at a new place. I have a few favourite sites depending on what I want from my accommodation.
Booking.com is my go to webite for booking hotels. It is one of the oldest and most trusted accommodation booking sites on the internet. I’ve found that I tend to find the cheapest deals for hotels, apartments and hostels. You can filter the results by price, review, most popular, distance from landmark and so much more
Hostelworld I’m quite the newbie to hostels and, as a solo female traveller over 4, not your usual clientle. I love them through as they can be a great way to make friends when you’re travelling and as quite the budget traveller, they are perfect for the purse strings. In Southeast Asia I paid as little as £1.50 per night and often could get a bed, WiFi and breakfast in a place with a pool for around £3-5 per night.
Trusted Housesitters I found Trusted Housesitters many years ago and I have used it all around the world. If you fancy spending £0 on accommodation then Trusted Housesitters might just be for you and you’ll love it as much as I do. The premise of house sitting is travellers stay for free in homes while their owners are on holiday. Your accommodation is free and usually much nicer and homier than staying in a hostel or hotel. I love that often with Trusted Housesitters I’ve ended up staying in places that I wouldn’t norally visit or are less touristy.
Couchsurfing is a great way to get free accommodation, staying in peoples spare rooms or, as the name suggests, on their sofas. Couchsurfing is a little like a cultural exchange where, if you want to and they want to, you can actually get to know your host and they may even take you out on local tours. Sometimes you can find yourself sharing meals and experiences with your host which, personally, I love.
Workaway When I was travelling full time I used Workaway as a way to help fund my travels as I was on a real budget. It is a fantastic way where you volunteer or work in exchange for your accommodation and food. I’ve done Workaways in France, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Spain and many more. I generally did teaching type Workaways as that’s my background but there are so many different types of ‘jobs’.
Generally you will work for around 5 hours, 5 days a week and in exchange your host will provide you with a bed and space to stay as well as all or some of your meals that they cook for you.
Registration costs $49 a year which I think is a bargain compared to what you save in food and accomodation.
Tour Companies
G Adventures offer adventurous tours around Asia, Europe and Latin America with a focus on sustainability and social responsibility. There’s no solo surcharge or age limit which is brilliant. Browse G Adventure tours here.
Day tours and activities
GetYourGuide offer tours almost anywhere. I’ve used GetYourGuide to book tours all around the world such as a Vatican City Museum tour. The prices are affordable and guides are always incredibly knowledgeable.
Viator is very similiar to GetYourGuide and I always check Viator as well as GetYourGuide just incase they offer a slightly different tour or a more competitive price for a tour I want to do.
EatWith is fanastic if you have a passion for both travel and food. They offe food tours that match travellers with passionate local chefs and foodies. They have over 25,000 hosts around the world offering everything from Ethiopian supper clubs to sushi-making and vegan fine dining!