Everything you need to know about a travel planner app
You are planning to take a vacation and the first obvious thing to do is plan your itinerary. Back in the good old days, you would grab the nearest pen and a few sheets of paper to jot down your plans. But now with the development in the travel industry, you might also consult with a travel planner or agency. However, with the increasing use of smartphone technology, startups, and tech giants, there are smartly designed apps that simplify your planning. You can book tickets, reserve hotel stays, explore things to do, and manage your expenses smartly with the best travel planner apps. Some are designed exclusively for iPhone users while others can be installed on both iOS and Android-powered phones.
But before you dive deep into the abyss that is the smartphone market in search of that one app that does everything, here are a few important questions to ask and points to consider.
What is a travel planner app?
A travel planner app helps you organize all your information in one place. Some apps are designed to simply make a note of all your hotel bookings solely while others are used to manage your flight information. Premium travel planners offer a mix of services to plan, book, and manage your entire vacation. A travel planner app takes on the monumental task of managing your travel itinerary from the beginning.
How does a travel planner work?
A travel planner app is your perfect travel companion and personal assistant, always at the ready to assist when on vacation. These smart applications help you book and reserve your travel and accommodation arrangements. You can also modify and make changes at the last minute provided the app allows the feature. Some premium applications come equipped with guidebooks and language dictionaries to simplify travel abroad. You can also make currency conversions, explore the best places in town as recommended by the app, and make the most of on-the-ground local assistance listed by the application.
Must-have features in a travel planner app
You don’t have to download 5 different apps to manage preferences. Simply ensure one app has these features handy.
- Trip itinerary management
One of the main features of a travel planner app is trip itinerary management. This feature will plan a basic itinerary as soon as you input the destination. From here on, you will be able to manage the basic plan and modify details as you travel. These details can also be shared with your friends and family accompanying you on the trip, so everyone is current with the plan. Google Trips is one of the better choices for overall travel itinerary management and planning activities.
- Geo tracking
Smartphones are equipped with GPS systems and Geo-tracking allows users to explore everything in their immediate location. This feature helps you find out the nearest ATM, café, restaurants, and public restrooms also in some premium apps, so you don’t have to scramble for services at the very last moment.
- Notifications and alerts
Push notifications can be a pain in general but not when it comes to travel apps. In fact, with push notifications enabled, you will never miss out on exclusive deals and alerts during the trip. These include real-time updates for flight booking, hotel check-in and out times, and more.
- Calendar sync
Travel planners apps that can sync with third-party apps including Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar can help plan and manage all trip schedules in one place. This way, you will be able to keep track of your dates for hotel and flight bookings. It is an extremely useful feature, especially when you are dealing with non-refundable tickets to confirm and reconfirm your travel dates.
- Trip reviews
Opinions of your fellow travelers matter a lot and the best travel planner apps in the business will feature a comprehensive trip and experience review section. So, before you go ahead and book, read about their travel experience for here is where you will find honest and unbiased accounts.
Top three travel planner apps
The market is flooded with apps that more or less offer similar features. But based on the aforementioned parameters, here are the top three travel planner apps that travelers across the globe prefer to use on a regular basis.
Google Trips
Google Trips is available for both iOS and Android operating systems. You can simply create your trip, keep track of reservations, manage things to do, explore saved places, make daily plans, and do more than just keep track of expenses.
- Google Trips can function without an Internet connection
- Vast data library to plan multiple trip days at once for any given location
- Google Trips will also consistently suggest nearby activities and things to explore
Airbnb
Airbnb helps you book rental homes for a short duration. Instead of staying at a hotel on your next vacation, you can rent from different types of apartments and even homes that are lavishly furnished with all the utility items.
- Plan your stay well in advance or explore last-minute rentals for spontaneous travel
- Exclusive range of local experiences that you can pre-book and enjoy during your stay
- A variety of stays for a flexible budget
Hopper
For flight bookings, Hopper gives you the best price. The app uses a proprietary algorithm to get you the cheapest rates available across a number of flights and helps predict rates based on historical trends.
- Book at just the right time to get the cheapest fares
- No ads, spamming messages or interruptions
- A simple user interface to book quickly
Is a travel planner app worth your money?
Not all travel apps are premium and require a subscription. Free apps also get the job done but often come with limited functionality. Alternatively, paid travel apps are worth your money if you are a frequent traveler. Paid subscriptions come with exclusive member benefits and help you avail bookings and certain care packages reserved for frequent travelers. The bottom line is that you will be able to save money with an all-inclusive app that keeps track of every penny you plan to spend on the trip.
