Resources and Exclusive Discounts
These are all items and services that I personally use when I travel, to plan travel, and to keep this site up and running. This list is put together based on what people are asking me in my inbox and exclusive promotions that I think you should know about.
Some but not all links on this page are affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase I may be compensated at no additional cost to you. Rest assured that if it’s mentioned here, I can vouch for it.
San Diego Zoo Tickets (Exclusive Savings)
I have unpublished savings on 1-Day tickets! Use password lajollamom to get the promo code right now. You’ll go straight to the gate. All taxes and fees included.
Go San Diego Pass (10% Off)
Save on sightseeing with 10% off All-Inclusive Go San Diego passes. No promo code is needed and the discount stacks on top of sale rates. (You can buy the Build-Your-Own or Explorer Pass as well.)
San Diego Zoo Safari Park Tickets (Exclusive Savings)
I have unpublished savings on 1-Day tickets! Use password lajollamom to get the promo code right now. You’ll go straight to the gate. All taxes and fees included.
Virtuoso Hotels
Don’t book a five-star hotel without checking Virtuoso first. There are thousands worldwide that can be booked at no additional cost to include daily breakfast for two, resort credits, room upgrades and more.
Anatomie Travel Clothing (15% Off)
Use code LAJOLLAMOM for 15% off of your purchase. Go carry-on and say goodbye to wrinkled clothes in your suitcase.
Discounted Theme Park Tickets
You can access discounted theme park tickets (Disneyland, Universal Studios, more) via my aRes Travel page. They are authorized sellers for major U.S. theme parks.
Klook
For discounted prices on tickets and group tours, Singaporean-based Klook is incredibly popular in Asia.
Context Travel
Use them for private and small group tours in major cities across Asia. You can customize your itinerary (shopping, food, etc.) on private tours, which I have done would highly recommend. Or, pick one of their themed tours.
Virtuoso for Hotels
Luxury hotels in Asia can price well compared to like hotels in Europe and the United States. Some of my favorite hotels in the entire world are in Asia and can be booked with extra benefits.
Photography Tools
I do have favorite photography gear but these days, I prefer not to lug it around and rely mostly on my iPhone XR with my Sony AR7ii stepping in on important occasions.
Canva: I use Canva for making Pinterest pins and anything that requires a text overlay.
PicMonkey: Sometimes, I just need a quick resize, collage, or something simple and it’s quick to do this here. Picmonkey is a good tool for those who don’t want to spend time learning how to use Adobe products.
Adobe Lightroom: More advanced photo edits require like tools and Adobe Lightroom was easy to learn and I consider it invaluable.
iStock by Getty Images: I do not disrupt my family vacations by stopping to take a ton of photos. For the times I need something high quality that isn’t on my camera roll, I use iStock by Getty Images. Right now, I have a pack of 10 photos per month subscription.
Depositphotos: I also buy a pack of 100 Depositphotos once a year or so because it’s way cheaper than Stock. Sometimes the same photos are on both platforms and at other times, what I’m working on isn’t worth the price per photo at iStock where the overall quality is better.
Website Tools
SEMRush: If there is one tool you should splurge on, make it SEMRush. I use it for SEO to help monitor keywords and backlinks. It helps me understand rankings, where I can improve, and if harmful backlinks are pointing to the site.
Tailwind: My Pinterest team uses Tailwind to schedule my pins on Pinterest and monitor performance. It is incredibly popular.
Later: I have recently started using Later to schedule Instagram posts. I will let you know how it goes.
Thirsty Affiliates: I wish someone would have told me a long time ago that there are WordPress plugins that help manage affiliate links. When affiliate programs change, it becomes much easier to find and adjust links using an organizer like Thirsty Affiliates.
Grow: My social share buttons at the bottom of each post are generated by the Grow plugin.
Agorapulse: I have struggled to find the perfect social media scheduling tool and, so far, Agorapulse is the easiest for me to use. I like its clean calendar view and the ease of replicating posts across all platforms.
