I love to travel! When most people think of leaving their comfort zone, they quince and shiver. I am here to assure you that it is really quite easy. Actually, it’s incredibly easy. This is the future, after all, and we have technology that can help us through anything. To ease your traveling mind, I would like to share with you a few phone apps that have helped me along the way.
- Hopper
You are probably aware that flight prices vary depending on the time of year you are
purchasing your flight, but did you know that they can vary as much as hundreds of dollars, within just a few days of each other? Hopper wants to help you save this money by letting you know the absolute cheapest times to fly to your desired destinations. This app will let you know that flying to Hawaii on Wednesday, rather than Friday, will save you big money.
- Expedia
Expedia is your one-stop shop. They will help you find the best prices on not only flights, hotels, cars, cruises, vacation rentals, and activities. Not only that, but they will help to set you up with “bundle deals,” where you can mix and match deals, such as a hotel with your flight. Expedia is ridiculously helpful and super easy to use; plan out and pay for your entire trip with just one app!
- Airbnb and Booking
Now introducing… One of the coolest ways to find accommodation: Airbnb! Airbnb lets you experience a location as if you are a local; it allows you to connect with locals in an area and stay at their place or guest house while they are out of town. It is also much more affordable, especially if you are traveling in groups, because it operates on a fixed price per night.
If hotels are more your style (which is cool too), Booking is a great app that helps you easily find and book hotel rooms in the area of your interest.
- Viator, Yelp, Foursquare, and Sygic Travel
Have you ever finally made it to a location, dropped your bags on the bed, and thought, “now what?” Luckily, for common instances like these, there are apps to help guide you. Sygic Travel and Foursquare let you know what is going on and popular in your area (using an interactive map), and what people are saying about these places/events. Yelp gives you an awesome heads up about places you are considering visiting via real-life reviews, and Viator not only has reviews, but will actually help you to plan an entire trip or set you up with a hand-picked tour.
- HalalNavi and Happy cow
If you find yourself in Japan, looking for Muslim friendly food, this app is your hero! It not only presents you with a list of restaurants in your area, but gives you directions, restaurant information, and reviews! Likewise, Happy Cow helps you find vegan, vegetarian, and healthy food in your area (not limited to Japan).
- Tripit
Do you ever get so overwhelmed with options and things to do while traveling that you actually end up doing less? This is a very common issue. TripIt is here to help by allowing you to plan out your entire trip and organize it all in one place. You can import calendars, set up directions, share with your travel buddies, and much more!
- Splitwise
You know that awkward moment after having dinner with a friend and you realize you left your wallet in the hotel room? Don’t fret, we have an app for that! Splitwise helps to ease the pain of these awkward moments of sharing bills and giving out IOUs by helping you keep track of what is owed in an organized, transparent, and professional manner.
- Google Maps
Google Maps is probably my most-used travel app of all time. It helps you figure out where the heck you are, what is around you, and how to get from place to place (whether on foot, bike, bus, or car).
- Packing Pro
Ahhh, yes, the difficult moment of staring at the empty suitcase lying open on your bed before a big trip. . . Packing Pro assists you in making a list of all that you need to bring along, using information like how many people (adults, children, male, female), destination, temperature, food prep, and much more!
- Google Translate
A life saver. Google Translate will save you from situations like having to give directions to a taxi driver that doesn’t know a word of your language, by translating words and phrases between English and 100+other languages.
That’s all for now! These are only a few of the wonderful apps that have made my life 50x easier while traveling. Remember though, this is the future and there is an app for almost everything. Good luck and happy traveling!