I’ll be honest- I’m a little technology challenged. I’m the old school girl with the giant planner and the paper grocery lists. I balance my checkbook and read books printed on actual paper. There are a couple of times, however, when technology makes things a heck of a lot easier. Traveling is one of those instances.
If you’ve ever browsed through the app section on your phone then you know there truly is an app for everything. Travel is no exception. Apps are a great tool to utilize because someone has done all the work for you- use that to your advantage! The following apps are my personal favorites for general travel. Don’t stop there though- you can really get apps for almost anything now including flights, hotels and rental cars.
Hopper
Hopper is an app I use on a weekly basis. The concept is really simple. Just plug in where you’re flying from and where you’re headed to and let Hopper work it’s magic. Hopper will actually predict the best time for you to buy your plane ticket. According to their website: “Hopper predicts prices with 95% accuracy up to 1 year in advance.”
I recently used Hopper for my upcoming flight to Salt Lake City and I was able to save quite a bit of money by knowing the right time to book. Hopper sent me notifications a couple of times a week letting me know whether I should continue to wait or if I should consider booking because prices were right.
TripIt
TripIt is a new discovery of mine that keeps track of all of your travel plans in one place. What I love about TripIt is that you can connect your email to the app and it will automatically import your travel plans when you get the confirmation emails. The app also gives you the ability to add almost any kind of travel plan to the itinerary.
TripIt goes the extra mile (literally) because once you program your itinerary into the app, TripIt actually becomes a navigator and helps you get from place to place. TripIt also provides airport maps, attractions close to where you’re staying and safety information on the places you’re visiting.
Roadtrippers
Roadtrippers has always been one of my favorite websites and I was so excited when I realized that they had an app too. Roadtrippers is great for anyone who likes to build itineraries or take road trips. All you have to do is add your starting point and end point and let Roadtrippers do the rest.
To start enter your start and end points and the app will give you directions including mileage, drive time and estimated gas cost. Then the cool part really begins. Roadtrippers will give you awesome stops along the way to make your road trip that much better. Zoos, museums, giant balls of string, the options are endless. Basic Roadtrippers is free and will give you basic access to almost everything you will need. You can also upgrade to Roadtrippers Pro which will get you access to longer trips, no ads, offline maps and live traffic updates. Right now you can use special promo code BTR5QTP to get $5 off of Roadrippers Pro.
Packing Pro
Packing Pro is planner like me’s dream come true. Start by telling the app how long you’re going to be gone, where you’re going and what the weather will be like. Answer some simple questions like if you’re planning on going swimming and the app will create you a customized packing list that’s separated into categories. Seriously cannot get any easier than that.
Skyscanner
Skyscanner is my go-to for finding deals on flights. Skyscanner searches over 1,000 sources to find you the best deals. Don’t know where to go? Check out the interactive flight map for some inspiration. Have your destination? Skyscanner will let you know the cheapest day or month to go!
