With the advent of user-generated content and reviews it is now easier than ever to find information about where you want to travel without having to buy an expensive and clunky guidebook. Sites like Wikitravel.org and Lonely Planet’s Thorntree travel forum offer massive amounts of travel tips and advice for free, without you having to pay a dime.

Guidebooks are inherently behind the times. By the time they are published restaurants they recommend may have gone out of business, as has happened to me in South America over the last 9 months. A site like Wikitravel.org is updated by the users with new information whenever it comes available, meaning it is always up to date since it has no publication cycle to worry about. Forums like Lonely Planet’s Thorntree have thousands of users that live in the countries you want to visit, and are more than willing to give personal and tailored advice to you about your trip. When you can find all the information you need at your keyboard, why buy a clunky guidebook that pegs you as a tourist wherever you go?

Almost all sites now include user-generated reviews, especially on lodging sites like Hostel Bookers or Hostel World. Combine Wikitravel.org and Lonely Planet’s Thorntree travel forum with these user-generated reviews, and you can find the best places to visit, the best places to eat, the best places to party, and the best places to rest your head. I have not bought a guidebook for myself in over two years, just because I find printing only the information I need to be more economical and more effective besides. If I have a couple of pages of paper instead of a large, bound guidebook, I do not stand out as a tourist and potential mark for thieves.

There are several types of credit cards for travelers. You can get hotel cars, airline cards, general travel cards and you can get so many rewards and freebies out of them that it doesn’t make any sense not to have one! Travel credit cards provide a great opportunity to earn free points that can be redeemed for airfare, hotels or cold hard cash. Here are some tips if you plan on getting a travel credit card:

First, you should get a card with huge sign bonus. Most travel credit cards offer joining bonuses of 20,000 or more miles! Don’t join one that doesn’t offer you anything or it will take a long time to exchange rewards for hotels, cash, or airfare. You want rewards now right?

Also, don’t forget to read the fine print. Are there are reward blackout dates, a fee structure, taxes, or other things the credit card company might try to sneak in there. Businesses don’t give away anything for free so for most cards they will try to sneak in some service charge. Compare the cards to make sure you pick one that doesn’t do anything sneaky.

I like cards with fees. I travel a lot and I don’t want to spend a long time earning points before my next trip. Fee cards have a much better rewards system than non-few cards. If you are a frequent traveler, it’s better to get a fee based card. Normally the first year’s fee is waived anyways. But more importantly, you’ll be able to rack up points to travel quicker. If you don’t travel a lot, it is probably not worth it to get a fee based card.

So which card should you get? A hotel card? A general travel card? An airline specific card? In order to decide, you need to consider how you will use the card. Are you loyal to one airline or airline network like the Star Alliance? Then you should get an airline card. If you are on the road for business a lot, then getting a hotel card would be perfect for you. For those who only care about price and not brand loyalty, a general card would be best. However, by getting a general travel rewards card you would have access to a wider range of brands and companies than if you had a brand specific card.

If you think about all of this before you get a travel credit card, you’ll be able to get the card that gives you the most value and rewards.

One of the best ways to get cheap accommodation while you travel is to use the site Couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is a site that connects travelers with locals who will give you a free place to stay. You might get a bed, a couch, or space on the floor. But whatever you get, you get it for free. This is a great way to save money. Accommodation is usually one of the biggest expenses people have while on the road and being able to reduce that to 0 will give you more money for things that are important- like beer.

Most importantly though you get the local insight into where you are going. Guidebooks and hostel information is great but it can never substitute the advice from people who live in the area you are going to! They will be able to help you navigate around, tell you about whats going on in town right, good places to eat, the deals, and possibly even be your own tour guide. Couchsurfing is a great way to meet people.

A lot of people get worried that you are going to meet freaks on couchsurfing and that you might get hurt, robbed, or worse. But the reality is that no one has ever reported something going wrong with the site other than the person turning out to be a jerk or an asshole. There are many levels of verification that goes on so to ensure that everything works out safely. In order to sure the best safety, make sure that the person you are surfing with:

1. Has a picture so you know they are real
2. Has friends so you know they are liked
3. Has been verified by the service so you know they are legit
4. Has hosted people before or been hosted before so you know that they are not some crazy psycho killer

If you follow these four princuples, you’ll find that you’ll be able to weed out the crazies and the psychos. Couchsurfing is a great way to travel the world, get free accommodation, and meet new friends.  If you want cheap accommodation, try this service!