Our Favorite Travel Bloggers & Travel Planning Resources

Planning for long-term travel is no minor task and even if you know what you're looking for it's easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of information available online.

We wanted to give a shout out to some of the best travel blogs and websites we came across when planning our trip to South America. These are the websites we visited most often and found to be up to date, easy to navigate and full of relevant travel info.

While some resources are specific to Argentina, we will continue to update this list as we make our way through other wine regions and countries, so keep checking!

• Center for Disease Control- Legitimate, updated resource for researching vaccinations, precautions and current alerts by country. Necessary for safe, long-term travel, and since some vaccinations require more than one dose or take weeks to fully immunize, we started this process immediately.
• Kayak- Airline search engine that searches multiple travel companies,  ie) Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. to find the best deal. There are many options to customize your travel plans like one-way, multi-stop, specific or surrounding airports, flexible dates, etc.  We checked this several times per week to stay abreast of any deals.
• Last Minute Travels.com - This website saved us considerably on the way out of Buenos Aires and on to Europe. We found the best priced tickets for our last minute plane flight to France, and when we had to contact their customer service desk were very impressed with their friendly agents over the phone.
• Teacher Hit - Looking to spend a little more time in Europe and want to make a little extra cash on the side? This site provides listings from several countries in the EU that are looking for reputable english speaking teachers. So, get your work visas together and prepare for a great long-term travel experience!
• Sky Scanner - This is the Kayak of Europe...enough said!
• Omnilineas - Like kayak, but for long-distance buses leaving from Buenos Aires. This site searches all the main bus companies and lists the departure times, prices, service options, and contact info for each one. While this is very helpful, a lot of bus companies, especially outside BsAs, do not have websites, so the only option is to book directly at the terminal.
• Buquebus - Huge, super nice bus and ferry terminal in Puerto Madero, BsAs where busses and ferries depart for Uruguay and Brazil every day. Easy booking online to all the Uruguayan and Brazillian hotspots like Punta del Este, Montevideo, and Rio. Oh, and make sure to take the fast ferry;  it's a bit more expensive, but if you're at all uneasy at sea, it will be completely worth the up charge.
• Soloduenos- A site with locally listed apartments and houses for rent or sale in Argentina. I found some of the cheapest listings for renting apartments in Buenos Aires and most places do not require a guarantia. It is all in spanish though, so grab a dictionary!
• Couchsurfing- A great way to meet locals and explore the area with the people who know it best. All over the world, people open their houses and couches to fellow travelers free of charge. This is an awesome resource for travelers looking to visit a place for a few days, meet some new friends and save on accommodation costs.
• WWOOF- Work on organic farms in exchange for accommodation and food. Every country has their own WWOOF association and fees, and each farm is different, but I think this is an absolutely invaluable resource for travelers.  This program runs nearly all over the world and allows volunteers to become a part of the land and community in a way that can't be experienced from a hotel room.
• Never Ending Voyage- If it's not obvious yet, it should be now, but this is one of our absolute favorite travel blogs. The info on their site ranges from packing suggestions to money-saving tips to the best resources for learning Spanish.  Well-written and relevant, I would recommend this site to anyone traveling to South America.
• Uncornered Market- Full time travelers who've been at it for over 4 years. They are truly an inspiration to other travelers and offer acute insight into all the places they've been (which seems like everywhere!) They have a lot of great suggestions for techies, photographers, and traveling couples regarding equipment, geotagging photos and how to travel long-term and not kill each other!
• Fluent in 3 Months- Great resource for language learners and lovers.  Benny, the Irish polyglot, speaks eight languages and has written a fantastic E-book  about his best techniques. His blog offers a ton of useful info on language acquisition too and we are currently taking his advice to learn Portuguese and French.
• Dave's Travel Corner- With a multitude of international contributors, this travel website offers detailed insight and advice from all over the globe. Also, check out Dave's Napa Wine Project. A website in which he personally visits and reviews Napa wineries, co-opts and collectives. He's already been to over 640!
• Hostelworld- World-wide hostel network with many options in both popular and lesser known destinations. Accurate reviews and ratings, easy online booking,  and only 10% of the total cost is required up front to reserve a bed (the rest is due upon arrival.) We've personally had great experiences with them.
• Minihostels- Another great hostel network, especially in South America.  Minihostel staff members visit and review the hostels themselves which is a nice reference when booking site unseen.
• Mihouse- A Mendoza based company that specializes in finding travelers and students temporary housing. Prices are in pesos, so it's way cheaper than sites that cater to tourists and charge in Dollars. We worked with Mercedes and she was very responsive and diligent about finding us the right apartment.
• Lonely Planet - Obvious choice, but our favorite part of the site was how easy it was to find links to other travel bloggers and related websites. We searched Argentina and South America, and thanks to LP, discovered many of the favorites listed here! Their own articles and photos are also very relevant and great starting points for planning travelers.
• Go Abroad- Traveling around the world is great, but you gotta make money somehow right? This site offers listings by country for people looking to work, intern, study or volunteer abroad. A lot of the work opportunities are for teaching English around the world, but there are also work opportunities for foreigners in different industries.
• Work Away - Similar to WWOOF, but with opportunities in all industries, not just farming. Most often, hosts offer accomodation and food in exchange for help and there are openings all over the world.  Listings include hotels, ashrams, farms, etc and travelers of all skill sets are encouraged to sign up. We are going to try our luck in France where a fellow traveler friend of ours had great luck!
• Fodor's Guidebook: 6th Ed. Argentina-  Great starting point for us when we arrived in Mendoza. It has tons of maps, pictures, phone numbers and addresses that are super handy when trying to find places on dusty, dirt roads without WIFI. Also, there are a lot of seemingly under-the-radar recommendations that we were surprised to find listed in a guidebook.
• Guia T- THE guide to have in Buenos Aires. It fits in your pocket and details the intricate, yet extensive BsAs bus system. Even if the bus info is too confusing, which it probably will be at first, it's the best map of the city you can buy...for just $7 AR!
• Uncorking Argentina- A wine-centric, locally run travel and tour company in Mendoza. They offer itinerary planning, bike tours through wine country, and inside access to wineries, winemakers and chefs in the area.