Most of the time, planning your trip is not only about getting discounted tickets and some good hotel rooms. Travel is about finding the best place to visit, and escaping the hectic city life for a few days of peace and relaxation. To make choosing your destination a breeze, we’ve found some cool travel websites you probably haven’t heard of before. They might not find you the cheapest deals around, but they will help you make an informed decision or find new places to visit.

TravellersConnected

If you want to find people that share similar interests to you when it comes to traveling, this website is one of the best to do so. Additionally, you get the best deal for travel insurance and frequently updated safety tips for all the destinations. There’s also a travel journal you can use, create photo galleries of the place you visited or chat with other people on the website’s forums.

Gumtree

Considering the constantly increasing prices on gas, there’s no surprise you’d want to save on money and car pool. Gumtree, a website created in 2000, is designed to connect people that are making the same trip or those that move to a new city and need help getting started. The website now covers 60 cities across 6 countries - the UK, Ireland, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. With over 1 million visitors every month, you can be sure you’ll find what you need.

Wanderlust

If history fascinates you now like it did in high-school, the following website puts the world’s most famous itineraries over the time on your travel agenda. From Amelia Earhart’s daring trip to Around the World in 80 days - the famous journey that inspires millions to this day, Wanderlust has the plan for everything. If you’re willing to go further back in time, follow the Old Silk Road connecting Europe to Asia or trace Columbus’s voyage.

Yelp

A social networking website focused on travel, Yelp makes it possible for you to read what other people are saying about restaurants, hotels, clubs in New York, Phoenix and 20 other cities around the US. Yelp collects and organizes all the people’s recommendation into one single, easy-to-use website. So if you want to tap into the voice of the community, Yelp is the best way to do so.

ZipCar

Even though the website is only for the US audience, it’s certainly worth a mention on our cool websites list. So what exactly is ZipCar? It’s a car sharing website, perfect for those who need a car, but don’t want to own or cannot afford one. You simply need a ZipCard and a prior reservation online or over the phone. Over 40% of the website’s members decide against purchasing a car or sell theirs. Since each ZipCar replaces 15 privately-owned cars, fuel consumption is lowered; there is less need for parking space and for fuel.

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