Start planning your trip

Choose what you are trying to plan, and I’ll point you toward the guides that actually help.

Welcome to Ellie’s Travel Tips. This site covers cruises, destinations, road trips, and practical travel planning, so the easiest way to use it is to start with your trip rather than scroll through hundreds of unrelated posts.

Choose your starting point

I’m planning a cruise

Start with Cruise Planning Guides. You can compare cruise lines and ships, figure out which cabins are worth booking, understand fares and onboard costs, plan your ports, and work through first-time cruise questions without bouncing between a dozen different sections.

I know where I want to go

Head to Destinations and browse by region. The destination guides focus on the practical side of planning, including how to organize your time, what is worth prioritizing, and what details can change enough that you should verify them before traveling.

I’m planning a road trip

Browse the Road Trips section for routes, stops, destination combinations, and practical driving advice. I like road trips that feel full without becoming a race, so the goal is always to build a route you can actually enjoy.

I need help with the practical stuff

The Travel Planning section covers packing, budgeting, gear, logistics, family travel, solo travel, and the questions that tend to pop up after you book the trip.

I just want ideas

Browse Travel Inspiration for trip ideas, seasonal travel, dream destinations, and the posts that are more about deciding where to go next.

What you’ll find in my guides

• Clear answers to the question that probably brought you to the page.
• Practical details before the fun extras.
• Specific names, places, cruise lines, ships, routes, and options when specificity matters.
• Firsthand experience labeled honestly when I have it.
• Research-based guidance that does not pretend to be firsthand when it is not.
• Links to official or authoritative sources for facts that can materially affect your trip.
• Updates when schedules, prices, rules, operators, or travel conditions change.

A quick note about cruise ports

Ellie’s Travel Tips covers cruise ports as part of broader cruise planning. I also run CruisePorts.co, which goes much deeper into terminals, transportation, walkability, hotels, tender logistics, and what to do ashore. If your question is specifically about getting around a port, that site is usually the faster place to start.

Who is Ellie?

I’m Ellie Simons, the traveler behind this site. I took my first cruise on the Disney Magic when I was eight, later became an engineer, and somehow ended up applying that same detail-oriented brain to trip planning and travel publishing. You can read more on my About Ellie page.