Planning a trip can be an exciting endeavour, yet it often comes with a dose of overwhelming decisions. Where does one start? What’s the best accommodation to book? What’s the most budget-friendly mode of transport – plane, train, or car?
Even for the most seasoned globetrotters, the array of choices can feel like a lot to handle. Thankfully, travel planning apps can serve as a crucial tool, ensuring meticulous organisation for your upcoming getaway, down to the finest details.
Are There Apps That Help You Plan Trips?
Travel planning apps are digital tools that can assist individuals in planning, organising and managing various aspects of their travel experiences.
Typically offering features and functionalities that help users plan, book, and navigate their trips more efficiently, these apps can aid users in finding the best transport, accommodation, attractions and activities while they’re bounding off on trips around the globe.
All easily accessible on various devices, these apps can travel with you so you can stay on track wherever you are. Manage your itinerary, keep an eye on your bookings, monitor your travel expenses, and stay informed with recommendations and reviews to streamline the travel process into a resource available at your fingertips.
Some even offer offline accessibility so you can download all the essential information you need for offline use – a particularly useful feature for those travelling in areas with limited internet connectivity.
Which App Is Best For Travel?
Travel planning apps cater towards a wide range of travel needs, so the question to ask isn’t necessarily which is best overall.
Depending on which aspects of travel you’d like help with – booking flights, finding accommodation, planning activities – the apps below can help enhance your travel experience in comprehensive ways…
Top 10 Travel Planning Apps
1. TripIt
After booking your trip, TripIt consolidates all your plans into one unified platform. TripIt can allow you to see all your travel plans in one place. From your flights to accommodation details, TripIt can craft a comprehensive itinerary ensuring you stay organised and navigate your journeys seamlessly.
With timely reminders and alerts, TripIt keeps you on schedule, eliminating the need for last-minute panics of: “Where am I?” or “What am I meant to do next?” and allowing you to confidently know your next steps.
2. Hopper
With the award-winning Hopper app, users can discover secure and budget-friendly rates for hotels, flights, and car rentals. The app not only alerts you to the best deals, ensuring economical trip bookings with peace of mind but also contributes to environmental sustainability.
As part of its carbon offset program, Hopper plants two trees for free with each booking, making this travel planning app a win-win for both users and the environment.
3. Packing Pro
Tired of the last-minute panic before your travels? Packing Pro has the solution. Users can effortlessly generate packing lists for various occasions, whether it’s a weekend getaway, holiday, business trip or road trip. Choose items from an extensive catalogue of over 800 options or customise your list, ensuring you stay organised and well-prepared for any adventure.
4. Skyscanner
Perhaps one of the best-known travel planning apps, Skyscanner simplifies the process of organising your upcoming journey. Users can seamlessly explore flights, accommodations, and car rentals for destinations worldwide. Skip the hassle of navigating various airlines – Skyscanner aggregates them all, allowing you to easily identify your preferred and most budget-friendly options.
The best part? No booking fees or concealed charges. Utilise the app to uncover the most competitive prices and efficiently plan your travels without any unexpected costs.
5. TripAdvisor
If you haven’t acquainted yourself with TripAdvisor yet, now is the perfect time to discover its wonders. This remarkable app goes beyond merely assisting users in locating the best days out, attractions, accommodations, and restaurants while travelling. Its most significant feature lies in providing access to reviews written by fellow users.
By perusing these reviews, users gain confidence in selecting places endorsed by their peers, ensuring they make optimal choices when planning their travels. TripAdvisor becomes a valuable tool in curating an enriching and secure travel experience.
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6. Hostelworld
Opt for the budget-friendly alternative when travelling by trading costly hotels for hostel life. Not only does this choice save you money, but it also opens the door to new friendships as you journey across the globe. Browse thousands of hostels all over the world, read reviews from fellow globetrotters to help you make informed decisions, and connect with other travellers.
Delve into a social realm with hostels that go beyond just accommodation – some provide exciting features like cooking classes, organised outings, and lively bar crawls. With just a few taps, transform your solo journey into a social adventure.
7. Roadtrippers
Craft your ideal road trip effortlessly with Roadtrippers by simply tapping a few times. Just inform the app about your desired destination and your preferences for activities and sights, and let Roadtrippers take care of the rest. It will meticulously design the perfect route for your journey. Save your favourite spots, and delve into intricately illustrated maps to discover everything you might need – from campsites and attractions to bars, restaurants, and hotels.
Note that, currently, Roadtrippers exclusively caters to the USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
8. Sygic Travel
Navigate the world of travel seamlessly with the Sygic Travel app, your comprehensive guide to the finest tourist attractions, shops, museums, restaurants, and more. Not only can users effortlessly craft their day-to-day trip plan, they can cover both renowned landmarks and hidden gems curated by travel editors and fellow adventurers
And, to ensure a smooth journey, users can download offline maps and guides to keep you on course even in the most remote areas. To immerse yourself even further, download the app’s premium VR videos showcasing the world’s most iconic attractions or tranquil nature scenes and explore the app’s extensive 360˚ video stock library to find the perfect VR content for your project.
9. Kayak
Navigate the vast landscape of travel options effortlessly with Kayak, where you can seamlessly scour hundreds of travel sites to discover the ideal destinations tailored just for you. The best part? All of this can be achieved at the most competitive prices. This all-encompassing travel app is your key to uncovering optimal deals on flights, hotels, and car rentals, enabling you to plan and reserve well in advance, all within your budget.
Stay ahead of the game by setting up alerts, ensuring you never miss exclusive deals or crucial travel updates, including gate changes. Additionally, benefit from travel insights, such as baggage allowances, and keep your travel itinerary neatly stored for a focused and organised travel experience.
10. Booking.com
Discover exclusive accommodation deals effortlessly on Booking.com, your go-to platform for planning stays at hotels, villas, or apartments. With this widely popular and trusted app, you can seamlessly book both accommodation and transportation within minutes. What’s more, Booking.com offers great flexibility, allowing users to typically cancel bookings for free, ensuring they can always pursue options that best suit their needs.
In addition to accommodation, users can even book taxis and attractions through this comprehensive and user-friendly app.
Can You Use Google Maps To Plan Travel?
Google Maps can help you plan a travel itinerary if needed. The app, which is available on most devices, can help users get organised by showcasing traffic updates, suggested routes, and step-by-step transport instructions.
The app can also show nearby attractions, restaurants, bars, hotels, and so on so that users can plan their trip ahead of time. This is also a free app, making it an easy and accessible alternative to users who’d prefer not to download additional, and potentially, fee-paying travel planning apps.
Nonetheless, Google Maps cannot help users in areas such as connecting with fellow travellers, comparing flight prices from hundreds of airline providers or making packing lists so nothing gets left behind.
So, depending on what you’d like out of a travel planning app, Google Maps may or may not be sufficient for your globetrotting needs.
How Do I Organise My Travel Plans?
Use these apps to organise your travel plans in simple and achievable bite-size steps:
- Define your travel goals
- Set a budget
- Choose travel dates and destination
- Create an itinerary
- Book accommodating and transport
- Pack strategically
Each of the apps listed above can help you get organised in each of these steps. So, use them wisely and do your research on which suits you best for your needs to achieve successful, and enjoyable, globetrotting this year.
