Terms of Use

These terms are the agreement between you and me, David Cartier, for using WanderRank (wander-rank.com). By using the site you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't use it.

The Privacy Policy, Cookies and Storage, Refunds and Tips and Affiliate Disclosure pages explain how the site handles data, tips and partner links. They're there for your information and aren't part of this agreement.

WanderRank is made and run by David Cartier (David Cartier Media) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. You can reach me at help@davidcartiermedia.com.

You must be 13 or older to use WanderRank. If you're under 18, involve a parent or guardian before you book or pay for anything a WanderRank page links to.

WanderRank is a free planning tool. There's no account and nothing to buy. Rankings are an opinion: an algorithm scores each destination against your answers, using data I've researched and estimates I've made. They're never paid for. No partner can buy a place in them, and whether a link earns me a commission doesn't move a destination up or down. How scoring works explains the method.

The safety dots on the site are my own read of a place for a budget traveler, not an official rating. Where a destination shows a US State Department advisory, it's the official one, with the date I checked it. US territories like Puerto Rico don't get one, so their pages link to the CDC's travel health page instead.

Trip costs, flight prices, hostel rates and other figures on WanderRank are estimates based on the sources and dates shown. They aren't quotes or offers, and prices change daily. The real price, including any taxes and booking fees, is whatever the provider shows you before you pay.

Visa and entry rules, travel advisories, safety conditions, weather, opening hours, trail and park closures, permits and local rules all change, sometimes overnight. I check what I publish and show dates where I can, but WanderRank can be wrong or out of date. Before you go, check official sources: the US State Department for advisories and entry rules, the destination's own government sites, park and trail authorities, and the company you're booking with.

Many trips and side quests on WanderRank involve real risk: hiking and trekking, cliff jumping, swimming and boating, riding motorbikes and scooters, wild camping, altitude, heat, wildlife and remote places far from help. Side quests are researched picks, and not all of them are tested firsthand.

You decide what to do, and you're responsible for your own safety and for following local laws and rules. That includes getting the licenses, helmets, guides, permits and insurance an activity needs, checking conditions locally, and turning back when something feels wrong. To the extent the law allows, you take on the risks of the activities you choose. For what I do about insurance, see Know Before You Go.

Nothing on WanderRank is legal, financial, tax, insurance, medical or visa advice. It's general information and my own experience. For decisions in those areas, ask a qualified professional or the official source: an embassy or consulate for visas, a doctor or travel clinic for vaccines and health, and the insurer for what a policy covers.

WanderRank links to other sites, including booking sites, card issuers, shops and apps. I don't run them and I'm not responsible for their content, prices, availability, service or privacy practices. When you book, buy or apply through a link, your agreement is with that company, under its terms.

Some links are affiliate or referral links that may earn me a commission or bonus at no extra cost to you. The affiliate disclosure lists them all.

Card details on WanderRank are for information only and were checked on the date shown. Rates, fees, rewards and benefits come from the issuer and can change. Check the issuer's current rates, fees and terms before you apply. Whether you're approved is up to the issuer.

Tips are optional, voluntary support. They don't buy anything, unlock features or change rankings, and they aren't tax-deductible. The refunds and tips page covers mistaken or duplicate tips.

WanderRank has no accounts. What you enter stays in your browser, and I don't keep a copy (see the Privacy Policy). Clearing your browser's site data deletes it and I can't get it back, so download your travel log from My travels if you want a backup.

The site's text, design, rankings, scoring and code are made by David Cartier and are protected by copyright. You're welcome to use WanderRank for your own trip planning, share links to it, and quote short bits with a link back. Please don't copy the site or large parts of it, or republish its data as your own.

Photos belong to their photographers and are used under their licenses. Each one is credited on the photo credits page, and reusing one means following that photo's own license. Map data belongs to Mapbox, OpenStreetMap contributors and CARTO. Forecasts come from MET Norway and monthly climate averages from Open-Meteo.com, both under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Product and company names belong to their owners, and mentioning them doesn't mean they endorse WanderRank.

Please don't:

• scrape, crawl or copy the site or its data in a way that puts a strain on it, or use WanderRank's API routes for anything other than the site itself;
• try to get around rate limits, break security or interfere with how the site works;
• use the site for anything illegal or to harm anyone;
• pretend to be WanderRank or me.

I may block access for anyone who does.

If you think something on WanderRank uses your work without permission (a photo, for example), email help@davidcartiermedia.com with:

• what the work is;
• where it appears on WanderRank (the page address);
• how to reach you;
• a statement that you believe in good faith the use isn't authorized.

I'll look into it promptly and either credit the work properly or take it down.

Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not apply to you. Nothing in these terms limits liability that the law doesn't allow to be limited.

If you use WanderRank in a way that breaks the law (for example, attacking the site or using it to infringe someone else's rights) and someone makes a claim against me because of it, you agree to cover my reasonable costs from that claim, including reasonable legal fees, to the extent the law allows. Using the site normally, including planning a trip with it, never makes you responsible for my costs.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute about WanderRank or these terms goes to the state or federal courts located in Fulton County, Georgia. There's no arbitration clause and no class action waiver. If you live outside the US, you keep any protections your local consumer law gives you that can't be waived. Either way, I'd much rather sort things out by email first.

I may change these terms. When I do, I'll update the date at the top, and for significant changes I'll put a note at the top of this page for at least 30 days. Using the site after a change means you accept the new terms. I may also change, pause or stop WanderRank, or any part of it, at any time.

If a court finds part of these terms unenforceable, the rest still applies. If I don't enforce something right away, I haven't given up the right to. These terms are the whole agreement between us about using WanderRank.

Questions about these terms: help@davidcartiermedia.com.