Do you love traveling?
Me: Is that even a question?
How often do you plan to travel?
Me: Ah, every day!
How comfortable are you in planning your trips?
Me: NOT AT ALL!
I love traveling, I really do. But, when it comes to planning, searching for the best destinations, grabbing the perfect flights and hotel deals, ensuring I pack every essential item, picking the best restaurants and experiences is a herculean task. This is the story of most of us who are bogged down by the endless google searches to ensure our trips are best ever possible & yes, budget-friendly too.
If you share this characteristic with me, my friend, here are five relatively lesser known apps, which make planning & executing your dream trips quite easy. Let’s have a look!
Finding your perfect travel destination with – Lonely Planet
Choose dream destinations
A plethora of destinations to explore, which one to choose? If your trip plans get stuck in choosing the right destination, don’t worry my friend, Lonely Planet app is here to help you. Available in both website & mobile application, Lonely Planet provides you key destinations, attractions, things to do, travel guides, trip stories, videos & many more travel-related features for destinations across the globe. You can choose your dream destination & discover everything you want to know before planning the trip. It also provides the best deals for flights, hotels, tour packages. Did I mention, they have a cute little section of gift items for your travel freak soul!
Key Features: Top attractions, highlights, experiences, stays, restaurants for destinations across the globe, Travel Insurance for Nomads, Multi-day tours, tickets & activities, car rentals, travel guides, online travel shop
Pricing Plan: Yes (Monthly, Bi-annual, Annual Membership Plan)
Available in: Desktop & Mobile version
Explore Lonely Planet: Mobile App , Website
Plan your trip with – TripIt
Create perfect trip plans
My friend Kavya was the trip planner of our group. Any trip wouldn’t have been possible without her clearly defined itineraries. Well, each of us has one such friend! But what about solo trips, business trips, family trips, or trips where you are the solely responsible for planning?
Don’t get scared we won’t leave you hanging to perform endless searches. Let me introduce you to your best travel planner, TripIt.
It helps you create itineraries for every trip including flights, accommodations, activities to do, maps, restaurants, adding trip-related PDFs, photos, syncing plans with your device calendar, etc. You can jot down every detail of your trip and, TripIt will ensure you don’t miss anything with regular notifications and nudges. The pro version keeps you updated about destination-wise travel updates, track the availability of the flight seats you desired, airfare tracker, check-in reminder, time to leave for the airport based on flight status, maps, and many more.
Key Features: Inner Circle (Share your trip plans with loved ones), TripIt Team (For planning trips with teams), Trip itineraries planning, Alerts & notifications based on the trip plan, Airport navigation & support
Pricing Plan: Free & Paid version available
Available in: Mobile version
Explore: TripIt Mobile App , TripIt for Team Website
Grab best flight, hotel & car rental deals with – Skyscanner
Get the best deals
Getting the best deals for flights, hotels, and car rentals in your trip destination requires endless searches. Some sites provide you flight details, others hotel options, and a few car rental features. But is there a way to minimize the efforts and get it all at a one-stop solution?
Everything is possible in the world of travel and, here comes the superhero to resolve all your problems with a boom, Skyscanner. This app is your go-to for best stays, airfare, and car rental deals across the world.
Key Features: Best flight & hotel deals, Car hires
Available in: Mobile version
Pricing Plan: Free
Explore Skyscanner: Mobile App
Explore cultures, make new friends, enjoy free stays – Couchsurfing
Experience homely stays
Do you know you can stay for free in destinations across the world? I didn’t believe it when I read it for the first time.
Pinch yourself hard! Couchsurfing provides you stay options with lovely hosts across the world. You can expand your pool of friends across the globe, discover local culture, get the best travel advice from your hosts and join events anywhere and everywhere.
Key Features: Free stays, local events, travel buddies
Pricing Plan: Free, Optional one-time fee for getting “Verified”
Available in: Desktop & Mobile version
Explore Couchsurfing: Website , Mobile App
Pack all travel essentials with – PackPoint
Tick packing checklist for every trip
I prefer to create a checklist based on numerous google searches about the weather conditions, things I plan to do. However, after reaching the destination, I always discover something is missing. Have you experienced such situations during your trips & felt stuck in deciding what to pack and what to leave? You need one and only, PackPoint app.
This mobile app provides a local weather forecast for your trip destination and a list of essentials to pack based on your trip duration, trip type, and activities you choose. You can also add a custom activity or item and, voila, have the best trip ever, without a miss.
Key Features: Packing plan for trips, Activity-based item lists, TripIt & Evernote integration with Premium version, customized packing templates
Pricing Plan: Free and Premium version
Available in: Mobile version
Explore PackPoint: Mobile App
wiredtales.com 