With the holidays right around the corner, most people have at least a little travel in their futures. Whether you’re visiting family for a cozy holiday or slipping away for a romantic trip, the key to holiday travel is staying organized. Get these seven travel apps, and make sure you have a fun and festive trip.
Hipmunk
Hipmunk stands out from the other flight and hotel search apps by including search abilities for nontraditional accommodations. With Airbnb and Homeaway listings alongside the typical hotel listings, users can browse apartment and home lodging options as well. If your Christmas plans involve taking the whole family on a trip, Hipmunk can help you book a roomy home with enough space for everyone.
Hotel Tonight
Whether your flight gets canceled at the last minute or snow interrupts your road trip, the unexpected can happen any time. Be prepared to make a last-minute hotel reservation with Hotel Tonight. While this app will let you book hotel rooms up to a week out, it’s really made for last-minute plans. Sort hotels by category and location, and let the last-second deals work for you and your family.
TripIt
Sometimes travel can get overly complicated, with flight, hotel, car rental and more logistics to juggle. This is where TripIt saves the day. Install this app on a reliable smartphone or tablet from a trusted carrier and let it do the work for you. It scans your emails for travel details and inputs information like flight numbers and times, car rental companies, and hotel addresses and dates into the app for you. The app can track any number of trips at once, which makes planning Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and even next summer a breeze.”
TripAdvisor’s Offline City Guides
Most trip-planning apps require you to be connected at all times. With TripAdvisor’s Offline City Guides app, you can be just that. Download any number of guides to cities like New York, Paris, Buenos Aires or Shanghai, and save it to your mobile device. Access local attractions, follow maps and read hotel reviews, just as you would on TripAdvisor. Save your favorite spots, build your perfect family trip, and even take photos or notes in the app. Of course, TripAdvisor’s Offline City Guides have online features, too. Connect to Facebook, and let family and friends come along for the ride.
Gogobot
Don’t risk recreating a Christmas classic by accidentally leaving one of your family members at home alone. With Gogobot, everyone can have the trip itinerary at his or her fingertips. Plan your trip as a group, adding landmarks, sights and places to grab a bite to eat any way you like. Organize activities by day or city, and share the itinerary with family and friends for a truly collaborative experience. Itinerary changes sync right away, so no one is left out of the loop.
Wi-Fi Finder
Travel can get expensive, especially when you’re trying to stay connected at all times. Instead of generating sky-high data rates, try using Wi-Fi instead. The Wi-Fi Finder app scans networks around the world and pinpoints the public hotspots. Search for a connection at your current location, or plan ahead to find a Wi-Fi-connected coffee shop at your destination. Wi-Fi Finder is perfect for travelers who need to stay connected on a budget.
Trip Journal
If you don’t share your trip with everyone you know, did it really happen? Trip Journal, named the top Google Awarded Travel Application, lets users document nearly everything about their trips in order to share with family and friends. From travel routes to destinations to photos and videos to blogs, Trip Journal encourages you to share your travels. With full Google Earth integration, your family and friends will easily be able to travel vicariously with you. With Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube integration, social sharing is easy, too.
Make your travel more fun and less stressful this holiday season. Let these apps do the organizing and planning for you, so you can focus on fun, family and festivities instead.