One Hill of an Adventure
Tools & Gear
The apps, websites, and gear we actually use before and during our trips, from budgeting and hiking to camping, road trips, and international travel.
Budgeting Apps & Websites
Apps and websites that help you spend less and avoid sneaky fees while traveling.
Rocket Money
See exactly where your money is going
Rocket Money connects to your bank accounts and credit cards to automatically track your spending, categorize transactions, and surface subscriptions you may have forgotten about. It's a solid starting point for understanding your baseline spend before you start optimizing for travel rewards.
GasBuddy
Find the cheapest gas before you pull off the highway
GasBuddy crowdsources gas prices at stations near you so you can find the cheapest option before you pull off the highway. Especially worth using on long road trips where the difference between stations can add up fast.
CardPointers
Credit card rewards made easy
CardPointers tells you which card to use for every purchase so you always earn the most points or cash back. You add your cards once and it handles the rest, factoring in bonus categories, rotating promotions, and annual credits so nothing slips through the cracks. If you carry more than one rewards card, this app pays for itself almost immediately.
Travel Apps & Websites
Apps and websites for planning, booking, and navigating your trips.
AllTrails
The must-have app for any time you spend outdoors
AllTrails lets you search hiking trails by location, length, difficulty, and elevation gain. You can download maps offline, read real reviews from other hikers, and track your route in real time so you never end up lost on an unmarked trail.
Campendium
TripAdvisor for campsites
Campendium lets you search for campgrounds across the country (and beyond), filter by hookups, price, and amenities, and read honest reviews from other campers. Great for finding free dispersed camping spots that you would never stumble on otherwise.
Airalo
Local data plans before you even leave home
Airalo sells eSIMs for countries and regions all over the world, so you can buy a local data plan before you even leave home and avoid paying your carrier's international rates. No physical SIM swapping, no roaming surprises on your bill.
Saily
One eSIM you keep and top up for every trip
Saily is an eSIM provider that works differently from most options: you install one eSIM once, then top it up with data for whatever country you are visiting next. That saves about 10-15 minutes every trip and it is usually cheaper than most other providers.
Timeshifter
A science-backed plan for beating jet lag
Timeshifter was built with sleep scientists and gives you a personalized plan for adjusting to a new time zone based on your specific flight times and sleep patterns. It tells you exactly when to seek light, avoid light, sleep, and caffeinate. We used it on the Spain trip and it made a noticeable difference.
Airbnb
Homes and unique stays that hotels can't match
Airbnb gives you access to homes, apartments, and unique stays that hotels simply cannot match, often at a better price when you are traveling as a group or for longer stretches. We lean on it when we want a kitchen, more space, or a place that actually feels like somewhere instead of a generic room.
Turo
The Airbnb of car rentals
Real people list their personal vehicles, and you rent directly from them. Rates are often significantly cheaper than traditional rental companies, the pickup process is usually smoother, and you can sometimes find vehicles that the big chains do not carry. Worth checking before you default to Enterprise or Hertz.
Flights From Home
Cheap flight deals straight from your home airport
Flights From Home tracks flight deals departing from your home airport and alerts you when prices drop. Instead of searching for where you want to go, you let the deals come to you. That's how we've stumbled into some of our best trips. The free version works great and is all you need to start finding deals.
Going
Flight deal alerts delivered to your inbox
Going (formerly Scott's Cheap Flights) monitors airfare from your home airports and sends you alerts when prices drop significantly. The free subscription is all you need. You'll get notified about deals you never would have found on your own, and it's one of the easiest ways to travel more for less.
Booking.com
Hotels, apartments, and stays worldwide
Booking.com is one of the largest hotel and accommodation search engines in the world, with everything from budget hostels to luxury resorts. We like it for comparing hotel prices, reading verified guest reviews, and taking advantage of free cancellation policies that let you lock in a rate without committing. It also covers vacation rentals, so it is worth checking alongside Airbnb.
Skyscanner
Search every airline and find the cheapest flights
Skyscanner searches hundreds of airlines, travel agents, and booking sites at once so you can find the cheapest flight for any route. The "Everywhere" destination feature is great for letting cheap deals guide where you go next. We use it as a starting point before booking to make sure we are not missing a better price somewhere else.
Hopper
Know the best time to book your flight or hotel
Hopper analyzes billions of prices to predict whether flight and hotel prices will rise or fall, then tells you whether to book now or wait. It will watch a trip for you and send an alert when it's the right time to buy. If you hate the uncertainty of wondering if you waited too long or booked too early, Hopper takes the guesswork out of it.
Gear
What we wear and carry on the trail and beyond.
Capilene Cool Tech Tees
Patagonia
On sale from ~$15. Subscribe to their email list to catch deals.
These shirts are a staple for hiking, skiing, and adventuring. They wick sweat fast, dry even faster, and somehow manage to not smell terrible after working out a lot.
- ●Sweat wicking and quick drying: soaks up moisture and moves it away from your skin so you stay comfortable even when you're working hard
- ●Highly breathable: you can wear these all day in the heat without feeling trapped
- ●Made from 35 to 100% recycled fabric: so you can feel good about the planet while you're out exploring it
- ●Available in multiple versions: Sun, Daily, Trail, Ultra, and Merino Blend. There's a fit for whatever you're doing.
A note on Patagonia in general
The Capilene tees are great, but one of the biggest reasons we keep coming back to Patagonia gear is their Ironclad Guarantee. The prices can feel really steep upfront. We were incredibly skeptical and didn't buy Patagonia for a long time because we thought it was for rich people. But Patagonia stands behind everything they make for the lifetime of the product. If something doesn't perform to your satisfaction, you can return it for a repair, replacement, or refund. That changes the math entirely. A $90 shirt that lasts a decade is a much better deal than a $30 shirt you replace every season.
Learn more about the Ironclad Guarantee →M.U.L.E. 12 Hydration Pack
CamelBak · 100 oz. Reservoir
Older models work great too. Check used gear sites!
We bought ours 7 years ago and it's still in amazing condition. It's been with us on hundreds of hikes, in all weather conditions. Holds a significant amount of water AND has plenty of space for everything else you need like snacks, toilet paper, sunscreen, bug spray, you name it.
- ●100 oz. reservoir: holds more than enough for a full day on the trail without worrying about refills
- ●Roomy storage: plenty of space beyond just the water bladder for all your trail essentials
- ●Built to last: ours has held up through years of hard use with zero issues
- ●Get the CamelBak brand specifically: we've tried cheaper hydration packs and the water flow just isn't the same. You wouldn't think it matters until you're exhausted on a climb and desperately want a sip of water. The bite valve and flow on CamelBak are noticeably better.
On the price
Yes, $142 feels steep. But ours is 7 years old and still going strong. Like the Patagonia gear above, the cost per use math works out really well when the product lasts this long. We wouldn't switch brands.