Every App You Should Use For Planning The Perfect Trip!
Apps can make a world of difference when it comes to planning a trip, and improve your chances of having less mistakes while you are there. Not only can these apps save you money they can also save you time, and have you feeling refreshed the moment you landed. Below are the apps you should use for all of your trips!
Trip Planning
Tripit-The Ultimate app for all your reservations and trip planning. TripIt connects to your email and will automatically add reservations, confirmations, flight numbers etc, to a timeline. While I typically plan out my itinerary on google docs having all my important information in one place is a lifesaver. Not only does this app put everything in a timeline you can share it with your friends who are on the trip with you as well!
Roadtrippers- Planning a road trip? This app should be your go to! This app not only plans out your route but also lets you book hotels and activities along the way. The app is especially useful for finding interesting and off-the-beaten-path roadside attractions as well as cool restaurants and can’t-miss landmarks you can book.
PackPoint: One of the most stressful parts of traveling for me is packing. While I am someone who typically packs weeks in advance having an app create a checklists for me is an amazing way to make sure I don’t forget anything! PackPoint tells you what to bring based on the length of your trip, the weather at your destination and any activities you have scheduled. Staying at an accommodation with laundry? This app will allow you to account for washing your clothes and wearing them more than once.
Finding and booking Flights
Scott’s Cheap Flights-One of my favorite Apps/Email services. Scott’s Cheap Flights is for the more adventurous and flexible traveler. Boasting savings to popular and rare destinations of up to 90%. Their main focus is international travel. The great thing about this app is that for $40 a year you can put in your home airport and any surrounding airports and receive all of the deals. Using Scott’s I was able to go to Japan for $400 round trip, and Bali for $600. The emails tell you the dates that have the best deals and how to search these deals on a variety of different booking sites, like Skyscanner.
SkyScanner-Skyscanner searches the web for the best flight deals possible. Don’t have a specific destination in mind? Not a problem. Search the month you want to go or an option to search “cheapest month” and Skyscanner spits out the cheapest destinations during the cheapest time of the year. This is great if you don’t know where to go and have a specific budget in mind.
Hopper-Hopper is a great app to find the cheapest flights possible. If you have a more flexible dates Hopper shows you a calendar with dates color-coded to highlight price averages. Green = cheapest, then orange, coral and red (the most expensive days to fly). This app also features a “Watch this trip feature” that sends you alert for price changes. You can also filter your results by the amount of stops, airlines, and fare types. One of the best features is the price predictor, this explains if and when a price will rise and if so by how much.
Getting around the airport
Lounge Buddy-This app offers access to premium airport lounges around the world, regardless of the airline or class you’re flying. When you create a trip in the app, it tells you which lounges you have access to based on the airports you’ll be transiting through, as well as how to purchase access if you don’t already have it. You can purchase access on the day you’re traveling or up to two months in advance if you’re the plan-ahead type.
Priority pass-One of my favorite credit card perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve is Priority Pass. This app offers access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide and provides meal vouchers at select airport restaurants across the world. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay an annual fee to be a member and, depending on your membership tier, a fee to enter each lounge on top of the annual fee. To use the Priority Pass app, enter the airport name or airport code that you’re in and Priority Pass will pull up the lounges or restaurants that you have access to, including photos, hours, amenities and specific location information.
Accommodations
Airbnb-Not a fan of hotels? Use Airbnb to gain a more local perspective and even stay in a unique accommodation (like a tree house in Bali!). Enter your destination and dates and find your perfect accommodation. You can book directly through the app and access all of the information right in the app under the “Trips” tab. Their addition of experiences allows you to see what activities are happening on the same dates as your reserved accommodations.
HotelsTonight-In a pinch? Use HotelsTonight to find a hotel within minutes. In some places you can even use HotelsTonight up to 100 nights in advance. They categorize hotels by basic, luxe, charming and high-roller. This app has fantastic last-minute rates. They also have a rewards program including a “daily drop” feature where you find personalized recommendations, valid for 15 minutes after unlocked. The rewards program is nine levels and offers perks like cheaper rates, a free in-app concierge and credits. These perks never expire (which is even better).
Hotels.com-One of my favorite reward programs, Hotels.com gives you one free night for every 10 nights that you book and stay. They have great deals and are definitely worth checking out! They have a great app and website where you can make, view or modify reservations and access your reward status and activity.
Getting Around
Google Maps-I love Google Maps for more than one reason. First, before you leave for your trip you can create your own map with your accommodation, restaurants, bars, and attractions so you know where everything is and how to plan each day (See example below). Second, if you are going on an international trip this is extremely important: Download OFFLINE mode. This way you can walk around all day without using data or wifi and don’t have to carry a map (yikes!)
Uber-What I love about Uber and other local versions like Grab, is that you don’t have to speak the language to get to where you need to go. While it’s important to learn “hi, how are you” to be polite to your driver. Allowing you to put in the address in your own language is huge and you don’t have to worry about being scams by drivers with “broken meters”
Google Translate: A true life saver. While in Japan we were attempting to take the train out to the country when we noticed we were on an express train and the train did not stop at the stop we planned to get off at. Having google translate we were able to communicate effectively with train personal. It translates not only text, but images, and voice. Like Google Maps, I download the offline version.
XE Currency Converter: The XE Currency Converter app quickly provides live, up-to-the-minute currency rates, then allows you to store and view them even when you’re offline. You’ll never need to wonder again if you’re really getting a good deal in another country.
GlobeTips: Not quite sure how much to tip when traveling internationally? GlobeTips will advise you how to tip appropriately in more than 200 countries. It also offers a tip calculator for easy math.
Yelp: When you are in a new city, choosing where to eat can be a little overwhelming. To avoid ending up at McDonalds or with a bad case of food poisoning, Yelp is there to help. Read customer reviews and ratings of restaurants, cafes and bars in the area you are in so you can make the right choice when eating out!
Random Apps that are also incredibly helpful
For Jetlag: Timeshifter: Used by astronauts this app is sure to get you ready for your next trip, so you arrive refreshed and ready to explore! You can adjust the settings of this app before you even depart for your trip! This app gives you tips and tricks that are as simple as telling you when to not drink coffee. So you can worry more about how you will spend your days off and less about when you will need to nap The app relies on neuroscience research about sleep and circadian rhythms to provide personalized recommendations for each traveler, taking into consideration your age, gender and normal sleep patterns — as well as specifics about your trip and travel plans.
For Entry Back Into the US: Mobile Passport. Mobile Passport allows you to breeze by customs with a few clicks of a button. Download the app prior to boarding your flight back and then when you land fill out your entry form. The free version will not save your information but for $14.99 a year you can store your passport information. With over 28 airports and cruise ports ( and counting) your time might just be worth that $15.
For the Instagrammer
Google Photos: This is app you should have in your daily life! Who likes paying for iCloud storage, that is typically unreliable (not met). Google photos is the answer to all your prayers! It syncs over wifi and can be accessed from your computer or phone! This app is extremely important to have during your travels incase something happens to your phone, your precious ‘grams are retrievable .
Color Story: Picture perfect instagrams aren’t taken, they are edited and apps like color story are perfect for creating the perfect ‘gram. Giving you ways to enhance your photos with cool remade filters and tools for adjusting brightness, contrast and hue/saturation. Color story is my go to app for editing on the go!
Did I forget anything? Let me know what your favorite apps for travel are below!
