Three Super Useful Websites for Travellers
Three websites I wish I knew about before my last few trips. From finding cheap eSIMs to figuring out which side of the bus to sit on.
eSIMDB
eSIMDB lets you find the best eSIMs available for your next destination. I once took a 7-day trip to Bali and didn't pay a single buck, yet had internet access for all 7 days. That's because many providers offer free trials — you can basically get away with free eSIMs if your trip is short.
Simply enter your destination and choose any filters that apply, and the best results will be loaded for you. I've personally tested it and use it every time I travel to a new country.
PassportIndex.org
Passportindex.org is a global passport and visa-information database. It lets you see how much travel freedom your passport gives you and compare it with other passports.
For example, if you're trying to go to a country and don't know what kind of visa you need, you can check with their Visa Checker tool. All you need to do is enter your country and your destination country, and you'll see what you need — a visa, an eVisa, or no visa at all.
Most importantly, it redirects you to the official website to apply for visas or gather any other information. I hate it when I search Google to apply for a visa to a certain country and all I get are third-party agency results.
You can also get reports, see the rank of your own passport, compare passport power, and much more.
Sitinshade.com
Sit in Shade is a travel utility that helps you choose which side of a vehicle to sit on to minimise direct sunlight during your journey. That's all there is to it.
It's particularly useful for buses, trains, cars, boats, and potentially planes, where choosing the correct side can make a surprisingly large difference to comfort.
I've used this tool many times during my visa runs. I do a visa run by bus every 3 months here in Vietnam, and the journey is around 5 hours one way, so it's really helpful to see which side of the bus to sit on to avoid the sun.
Summary
Here are the three websites I mentioned:
These three websites are a good example of the kind of things I love finding on the internet: simple tools that solve a very specific problem and make life a little easier.
See you in the next one 👋