There was a time when I was super thrilled to fly on any plane in any variety.

At all.

Cramped window seat.
Shared plane movie showing Caddyshack dubbed in Spanish.

But 30 years later I’m more particular and want a few creature comforts like roomier aisle seating with easy bathroom access and Video on Demand （VOD）. Most planes now ask that the windows be shut the entire time because of VOD. I see people with the window open looking at clouds and want to say “haven’t flown since 1982? I’m tryin to watch Chappie again. I’ll buy you a full size toothpaste for your Samsonite hard case when we get to Chicago.”

The plane could go down and I would remain calm watching movies.

It’s all about movies and potties.

Enter some cool websites designed to make finding the Venn diagram of cost and comfort easier:

* routehappy.com
BEST ONE
many filters including flight time, amenities like VOD and an overall rating on a scale of 1-10. Not super mobile friendly yet but is scalable to any screen.

* wandermates.com
You enter where you want to meet, gender and age （it matches you with opposite gender and what they want to do）.
Idk about you, but my radar is up on this.
Think “Taken”

* hostelworld.com
pretty cool. Imagine staying in Paris for $25/night. You would share a gender-specific dorm with 7 others but hot showers, lockers, internet and breakfast are included.

This sounds a lot better than one I recall in Juliaca, Peru where cold water and electricity was available only from 2-4pm and toilet sandpaper was extra. And the beds were particularly concave. Well, for 50 cents/night you can’t expect the Waldorf.

* eatpraymove.com
If you are into yoga and Italy, this could be for you.
Since my only move is “downward-facing turtle” and I’m “into champagne”, I’ll pass.

Suggested apps if you have an iphone:
geosure -reports crime in the area
peek-helps you avoid tourist traps

Don’t forget Travelocity.com for hotel and places reviews by people who actually have been.

Happy Trails!

Thanks to O magazine for these!