Planning your next getaway? This list includes some of the best travel apps that make planning and organizing your vacation as enjoyable as the trip itself.
1. Best for Managing Itinerary: TripIt
Price: Free with premium options
TripIt simplifies the chaotic process of managing your travel itinerary by combining all of your travel details into one easy-to-use platform. Once you download the app, log in using your email, or manually share your booking emails to TripIt’s email address, and the app will create a master itinerary for your trip.
When you book flights, hotels, car rentals, or activities, TripIt gathers all these details and organizes them into a single, all-in-one guidebook. Use it to view your entire trip at a glance, with all your tickets, confirmation numbers, addresses, and schedules in one place.
The app also provides real-time flight alerts. It works by monitoring your flights for any changes, delays, or cancellations and sends you notifications to keep you in the loop. Another TripIt feature is its ability to share your itinerary with others. If you’re traveling with family, friends, or colleagues, share your plans directly through the app. However, some of these features are only available to Pro users.
2. Best for Discovering Locations: TripAdvisor
Price: Free
TripAdvisor is a good option for discovering the best places to stay, eat, and explore during your travels. When you log in to the app, you will see four main sections; Hotels, Restaurants, Things to Do, and Forums.
The Hotels section offers detailed information about accommodations, ranging from luxury resorts to budget-friendly hostels. Each listing includes photos, descriptions, amenities, and most importantly, reviews from other travelers. You can find multiple dining options in the area where you are staying to plan to stay, including menu highlights with photos of dishes, and read about other diners’ experiences.
The Things to Do section lists various attractions, tours, and activities you can engage in at your destination. Finally, the Forums section is a good resource for getting personalized travel advice. Ask questions and get answers from a community of experienced, like-minded travelers. The forums cover a wide range of topics, from visa requirements to the best time to visit a particular place.
Apart from these, the app also lists special offers by hotels, restaurants, and similar places that can help you find great deals and save money. Additionally, TripAdvisor has articles on various travel-related topics that provide tips and insights to enhance your travel experience.
3. Best for Traveling on a Budget: Wanderlog
Price: Free with premium options
Wanderlog is another travel planning app designed to streamline your travel experience. When you first start using the app, it asks you some of your travel preferences to create an experience based on that. The interface is quite similar to that of TripIt.
On the homepage, you can see travel guides from other users (which you can use as inspiration for your own), weekend trip options, and some popular destinations worth visiting. If you already have a place in mind, you can book your hotel in the next tab, directly from the app. You can also view the top deals and promos by clicking on the tag icon in the toolbar. However, it is important to note that most of the deals are only available to pro users.
To plan a trip on the app, click on the plus icon in the center of the toolbar, and choose Trip plan. Enter important details, like your destination and trip dates. You have the option to invite tripmates to keep everyone in the loop. The app also has a budgeting tool that allows you to log expenses as you go, categorize them, and see a breakdown of your spending, similar to Google Pay.
While the free version offers a number of great features, you can also upgrade to the premium version if you are looking for offline access, route optimization, unlimited file attachments, Google Maps integrations, and more.
4. Best for Flight Updates: Flighty
Availability: iOS
Price: Free with premium options
If you fly frequently or just want to stay updated on your flight status, Flighty can be a good option. The app allows you to track flights after you enter your flight number, airline, or route. Once you’ve added your flight, Flighty starts providing detailed and up-to-the-minute information.
One of the main features of this app is real-time flight tracking. It uses data from multiple sources to give you precise details about your flight’s status, including departure and arrival times, gate information, and any delays or cancellations. This helps you avoid the stress of unexpected changes and plan accordingly.
Flighty also sends proactive notifications. You’ll receive alerts about delays, gate changes, and even aircraft swaps, often before the airline notifies you. The app issues a Flighty passport every year, which allows you to see how far you have traveled over time.
To add a flight to Flighty, click on the Search to add flights bar, and enter your flight number. If you are a pro user, you can simply forward your email itinerary to the app to add your flights automatically. Alternatively, you can also connect the app to TripIt, if you are using it, to import all your flight data. Once this is done, you will be able to see an arrival forecast (provides information about the flight route), aircraft information, a detailed timetable of the flight, and details about where your flight is (for pro users only).
5. Best for Road Trips: Roadtrippers
Price: Free with premium options
If you are planning a road trip and want to make the most of your journey, Roadtrippers is an excellent app to consider. This app helps you plan your itinerary, discover interesting stops along your route, and find hidden gems that you may otherwise miss.
Begin by entering your starting point and destination, and the app will map out your route. You have two options to plan the trip; do it yourself, or let the app do it via AI. The latter is only available for premium users.
Regardless of the option you choose, Roadtrippers offers an extensive database of points of interest. As you plot your journey, the app suggests various attractions, restaurants, scenic points, and accommodations along the way. You can look through the options by clicking on the search bar at the top and choosing your preferred category. This ensures you have a rich and engaging travel experience, rather than just focusing on getting from point A to point B.
Like other trip-planning apps in this list, Roadtrippers also offers a dedicated Guides section that provides curated itineraries and travel guides to help inspire your road trip plans. Browse through them to find ideas that match your interests and incorporate them into your own itinerary.
6. Best for Organization: TripCase
Price: Free
TripCase, as the name suggests, acts like a virtual briefcase for all your travel plans by keeping everything organized and easily accessible.
Once you have downloaded the app, start adding your trips. There are two ways to do this: manually or automatically, by forwarding your confirmation emails to TripCase’s email address. You have the option to add information like your flights, lodging, car rental, ground transportation, activities, restaurants, and a lot more to the itinerary.
The app will also provide you all the real-time updates regarding your trip. You’ll receive instant notifications about any changes to your flights, such as delays, cancellations, or gate changes.
You can share your itinerary and travel plans with family, friends, or colleagues as well, so that everyone stays in the loop. TripCase has a Contacts section, where you can add your favorite contacts by importing them from your device’s phonebook.
7. Best for Converting Currency: Converter+
Availability: iOS
Price: Free
When you are traveling abroad, managing currency exchanges, measurements, and time zones can often be a headache. In situations like these, you can use Converter+, a tool that handles various types of conversions with ease.
Converter+ has a wide range of conversion features. The most popular one, the currency converter, is updated in real time to provide you access to the latest exchange rates. This can be great for budgeting and shopping abroad, as it helps you understand exactly how much you’re spending in your home currency.
Apart from this, you will also find other conversion options on the app. For instance, it includes tools for converting temperatures, length/distance, time, mortgage, and even tips. While traveling, the most useful out of all these can be the time converter, as you may need to keep track of time across different regions. It can come in handy during such situations as scheduling a global meeting from your hotel room or trying to connect with family and friends back home.
With these top travel apps, you’re well-equipped to plan and organize your next vacation with ease. Each app offers unique features that cater to different aspects of travel so that your adventure is as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Also consider pairing these with any one of the apps that help you stay safe while traveling or a language learning app to communicate easily.
Image credits: Pexels. All screenshots by Zainab Falak
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