{"id":23966,"date":"2020-04-29T12:25:59","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T10:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/?page_id=23966"},"modified":"2025-08-01T14:20:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T12:20:52","slug":"travel-resources","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/travel-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Below you can find all the companies and services I use for my travels. Most of them are pretty obvious but still, I am just sharing the ones I personally use for backpacking around the world, and I usually keep it pretty simple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, remember that by booking or purchasing some of these services through my link, I’ll get a small commission at no extra cost to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These small earnings help me maintain Against the Compass site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The services I use the most<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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IATI Insurance<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My favorite travel insurance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, IATI is pretty much the only one I use, since I have their annual plan that covers for all the countries in the world, including destinations like Syria or Iran. You can get a 5% discount<\/strong> with my link. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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ExpressVPN<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The best VPN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I travel and connect to public Wi-Fi networks, I always connect to a VPN, it\u2019s much safer. It\u2019s also pretty handy to defeat censorship in countries like Iran, Saudi and Afghanistan, just to name a few.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Booking.com<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The handiest app to book your accommodation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone knows booking.com and it\u2019s the one app I use for booking my accommodation when I travel, especially because the more you use it, the more benefits and discounts you get.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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More handy services I use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Hostelworld<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best place to look for budget hostels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, when I travel solo and want to look for a proper backpacking hostel, I use Hostelworld instead. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

No better place for buying travel gear<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone likes Amazon but since I am always busy, this is the website where i buy all the stuff I need for traveling, from book guides to camping gear and electronics. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Skyscanner<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best search engine for flights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I rarely check flights with the airline. Skyscanner offers the best available flight combinations and usually cheaper than buying it with the airline,. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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1stQuest<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best website for Iran<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign cards or popular sites such as booking.com can\u2019t be used in Iran, and 1stQuest is a local company that offers services such as visa LOI, hotel booking, tours, domestic flights, and travel insurance for Iran. 5% discount<\/strong> on ALL bookings with voucher code: ATC-QST<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My camera gear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Sony a7 IV<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The best camera I ever had<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought it in May 2023, upgrading from a Nikon D750, and it\u2019s incredibly amazing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sigma 24-70 f2.8<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Light-weight lens for traveling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought Sigma instead of Sony because it\u2019s much cheaper, and the quality is still amazing. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Manfrotto Befree Advanced<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lightweight tripod<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The perfect tripod for traveling, lightweight but extremely resistant<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Mavic Pro 1<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Old but still cool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought it in 2017 but I still use for the occasional aerial shots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Tours and banking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Against the Compass Expeditions<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best tour company for offbeat destinations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the founder of ATC Expeditions, I can\u2019t recommend it enough. The best company for tours into Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mauritania and more! Check our Google Reviews<\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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GetYourGuide<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best website for booking short tours and day trips<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GYG offers all sort of short, 1-day tours in hundreds of cities around the world, which you can book with only 1 click. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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N26<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best commission-free bank<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free withdrawals across the world and no exchange rate commissions when paying by card.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Revolut<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Similar to N26, even though it\u2019s not good for withdrawals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Blogging tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I have used many, many tools for blogging but these are the mains ones I currently use, or have used in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hostgator<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Best hosting for beginners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first hosting I ever used with Against the Compass, good for beginners, and super cheap. Special offer with my link.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Agathon<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My current web hosting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your blog grows, you\u2019ll need to get a more powerful hosting and server, the reason I am currently using Agathon. It\u2019s fast, and has an excellent customer service, but it costs me $100 per month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Convertkit<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My favorite email marketing tool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convertkit is expensive but there\u2019s no better tool for marketers. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below you can find all the companies and services I use for my travels. Most of them are pretty obvious but still, I am just sharing the ones I personally use for backpacking around the world, and I usually keep it pretty simple. Moreover, remember that by booking or purchasing some of these services through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45187,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-23966","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23966"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55068,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23966\/revisions\/55068"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/againstthecompass.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}