8 Travel Apps You Need for Your Next Vacation
Traveling is something we all love to do – who doesn’t love a vacation, right? Sometimes, though, the planning process and the spending aspect can be overwhelming. Luckily, there are apps we can download to pretty much help us with anything. Traveling is no different and there are several travel apps to help you before and during your vacation.
These apps do everything from saving you money to helping you book your flight, but of course, you have to know about them in order to put them to good use. Here are 8 different travel apps to help you plan, book, and enjoy your next vacation.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a travel app that has gained popularity all over the world. You can use the app to rent out homes, condos, apartments, etc. for your next vacation if hotel rooms aren’t your thing. These homes are owned by locals and are often the best bang for your buck. Local hosts typically leave recommendations, snacks, helpful guides, etc. for their guests and offer a space to help you feel like you’re at home on vacation. You’ll “live” amongst other locals and enjoy your vacation area as they do.
Not only does Airbnb offer home rental services, but the app offers “Airbnb Experiences”, too. This is a cool tool that a lot of people don’t take advantage of, but definitely should. Airbnb experiences are activities you can book on vacation that are led by locals.
The top experience categories are cooking, animals, and recently added – adventures. There are many things like cooking classes, food/wine tastings, art tours, hiking/camping (and glamping), snorkeling, surf lessons, and pretty much everything else you could think of.
This is one app you will want to check out when making your travel plans – whether renting a place to stay or booking something to do.
PackPoint
Packpoint is an app I wish I had known about sooner. Before I pack, I always make a list of what I will need and cross things off as I squish them into my suitcase. Of course, there are always about 10 things that I forget, and since it’s not on my packing list it’s not in my suitcase either.
PackPoint changes the game, though. This app creates a customized packing list just for you. Basically, you input where you’re headed along with the dates you’re traveling and PackPoint creates a list based on the length of your trip and weather conditions of the location you’re headed to. If that isn’t enough, the app also has an option to list what you’ll be doing on the trip so it can include specific items on your list as well.
You can customize the list once it’s generated and add and delete items. The app also helps when you’re packing up to come home as you can make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.
Lola
Lola is the relatively new app from the co-founder of KAYAK, Paul English. This app is specifically designed for business travel and will become your best friend. Lola is essentially a personal travel assistant that mixes AI and human concierge services and customer service experts to make traveling a breeze.
Lola gives you personalized recommendations, 24/7 travel agent support, and can help to book hotels and flights, give real-time flight info and rebook missed flights. You’ll never want to travel without Lola again.
Google Translate
If you’re traveling to a country that speaks another language, do yourself a favor and download Google Translate. The app can translate 103 different languages in a matter of seconds, by just typing text into the app. Out of the 103 languages, the app can translate 38 of those by just pointing your phone at something you need to be translated (i.e a menu or directions). 59 of the languages can also be translated even if your phone is not on a data connection or wi-fi.
Hopper
Hopper is definitely convenient for any traveler planning on flying. Just in a short amount of time, the price of a flight can change–sometimes pretty drastically. Hopper predicts the best times to book a flight and notifies you when to do so. The app can give you up to 40 percent off of flights. Flights are typically the most expensive part of traveling, so saving any money on them is usually worth it if you ask me!
If you already have a flight in mind, you can put this information into the app and Hopper will notify you if the price drops. Additionally, if you just want to travel, but don’t have any specifications, Hopper can help! The app can also notify you when there are flash sales on flights and can help you compare airlines and their amenities.
GasBuddy
Going on a road trip? Well, there are apps for that, too. GasBuddy is a great app for road trippers and can even come in handy in everyday commutes. GasBuddy has a large network of users who constantly update gas prices at different gas stations.
The app tracks your location and shows you all of the gas stations around you along with their gas prices. This will be beneficial whether you’re taking a long or short trip. Who likes spending money on gas anyway? Saving where you can is important!
If you’re specific on the gas you want, location of the gas station, or amenities the gas station offers, Hopper allows you to filter this information. You can set different filters to make sure you’re going to a gas station that has all that you need/want. The app offers deals, as well as alert you when gas prices are expected to rise.
CityMapper
CityMapper is an app you’ll want while you are vacationing, as opposed to beforehand. This app takes the map to the next level helping travelers around the foreign city. The app will help you to find the quickest routes to your next destination with step-by-step instructions on where to find train and bus stations. The app shows real-time transit maps with disruption alerts, departure information, and walking directions.
In addition to all of this information, CityMapper gives you suggestions on the best train cars to ride and what exit to take at your destination. There’s also a chat feature to keep friends and family updated on your location in real-time.
TripIt
TripIt is a great, simple app that will help you more than you can imagine! You’ll want to download this app in the planning phase of your vacation. You will first need to forward your confirmation emails of flight and hotel information to the app (and car rental info if you’ve done that). TripIt will combine your information and create an itinerary for your vacation.
Staying organized will be super easy with this app! All of your information will be simply organized on the app and readily available at your touch. The app also delivers real-time flight information so you can be the first to know of any delays or cancellations.
We hope these travel apps will take your vacation to the next level and offer you an amazing experience. Each of these apps is free, although premium versions are available for purchase on some.
Whether you have iOS or Android, each of these apps will work for you!
Alyson Pittman is a contributing writer for WBD and a JR marketing associate for Excite Creative Studios, an Atlanta-based creative agency.
Alyson graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing. She was in multiple organizations at KSU where she held leadership positions. As a part of the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, Alyson held the Social Coordinator position and planned/promoted large events.
Responses