If you are a frequent traveler then planning your trips can be a hassle if not organized and planned effectively by a travel agent. However, who needs a travel agent when you have a smartphone. Right from the time when you start planning about your next holiday destination to the time when your feet hit the welcome mat back home, having the right travel planning apps on your smartphone make your holiday or business trip less stressful and an enjoyable experience.
Whether you are planning to fly high in the sky or planning to go on a road trip, having a good travel planning apps on your smartphone can ease the task at hand. A good travel planning app should help you plan your itinerary, ensure that all your tickets and other connections are all lined up, and you have everything you need while you are on the go.
One thing you need to remember here is that, in this article we will discuss about travel planning apps and not travel booking apps. The apps that help you find a good deal for your flight tickets might not be the same as the ones that show you your itinerary, help you find rental car info, and more. From the Google Play Store to the App Store, we have collated some of the best trip planning apps for android and iOS that will make your travel a stress-free experience. We assure these travel planning apps will help you stay on budget, streamline your entire journey, and you might also learn about exciting novel experiences during your travel.
Without much ado, let’s look at the best travel planning apps for android and iOS.
1. TripIt
This app is available for both iOS and Android and is extremely easy to use. You just have to forward travel confirmation emails to the service for the app to create a travel itinerary for you. You can grant access to the app with a few email rules to send your travel booking information. You don’t have to worry about any further planning after this. TripIt will tell you when the cab is ready to pick up, when you need to arrive at your boarding gate, and when you can check-in to the hotel. You can even access all your travel itenary without internet connection. An excellent feature that comes along with TripIt is that you can sync your Calendar with app to make sure all the meetings, weddings, and events are on the schedule. The app also has a premium version that charges 49 USD per year but not to worry the free version has it all for most of the people. Install (Android, iOS)
2. Wanderlog
Wanderlog is an easy to use modern looking travel app for planning your trips with families and friends. The app provides suggestions on best available routes, nearby attractions with key information about the place including opening hours, address and contacts, shows estimated travel times and distance between places and more. The app also allows you to import flights and hotel reservations straight from your Gmail making it even easier to plan and organize your trips all in one place. Install (Android, iOS, Web)
3. TripCase
Just similar to TripIt, TripCase keeps track of all your travel documentation in one place. It has easy to use interface that helps you add train, flight, hotel, rental car, and other information. The app provides a timeline based itinerary view with every step of your trip laid out in front of you along with the time and place. Install (Android, iOS)
4. Roadtrippers
The best travel planning app with the best map built for travelers. Just open the Roadtrippers app and you are bound to find millions of locations that include local diners, restaurants, offbeat attractions, museums, campsites and more. You just have to find a site that you like and add it to your travel plan, Roadtrippers will redraw your complete travel map accordingly. It also provides an option to share the road trip plan with your friends and family so they can provide suggestions. Install (Android, iOS)
5. TravelBank
For people frequently traveling on business trips, this is the saviour. It is painful to keep a track of the receipts when travelling for business purposes and luck forbid if you miss any of the receipts, you will have a reimbursement nightmare. This is where TravelBank helps you organize all your business travel needs. It lets you click a mobile picture to scan your restaurant bill or hotel bill. Install (Android, iOS)
6. Guides by Lonely Planet
A combination of Google Maps-style points-of-interest along with some of the best local travel suggestions just something similar to what you can find in your traditional guidebooks. Each guide on the app has multiple sections as to where to eat, where to stay and what are scenic highlights of each city. One can select the important details about each place by just selecting the dot on the map. With approximately 1000 points-of-interests mapped for each guide and budget calculator- this is a must have trip planning app for your smartphone. Install (Android, iOS)
7. Sygic Travel
This app provides information on exciting nightlife adventures, events and shows, tourist areas, and even tours that you would be keen to take. You can read about the information of any of these shows, events or tours on the app and then add it to your travel plan for the app to organize the complete itinerary. Install (Android, iOS)
8. Mobile Passport
Your companion to skip the customs line when returning from abroad. Yes, you heard it right. Mobile Passport app is free and easy to use when returning home from abroad. You just have to pull up the app on arrival at the airport, answer a few customs questions on the app, take a selfie, and submit the form. The form arrives at the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) much before you do, so you can skip the long queues. You just need to show the Mobile Passport confirmation to the customs agent. Install (Android, iOS)
9. PackPoint
Your travel packing list organizer that helps you pack items for your next trip based on the weather conditions and what activities you plan to enjoy on your vacation. For instance, if you are on a business trip, you will require business casual clothes, you just have to tap on that. If you are attending a formal event, you have to just tap on the events screen. At the end, once you are done, the app will combine all your selections to prepare a list of gadgets, clothing, accessories, toiletries, and other stuff that would be required for the trip in the given weather. Install (Android, iOS)
10. Kayak
The app that looks and scans hundred other travel websites to book the best hotel, flight, or rental car and helps you save money with some exclusive private deals and mobile-only rates. Kayak lets you organize all of your travel plans in one place including free flight status updates, airport terminal maps and security wait times. The app also helps you find shops, food, coffee, chargers, restrooms, lounges and more around the airport with step-by-step navigation directions. Install (Android, iOS)
There you have it, some of the best travel planning apps for your next BIG adventure. If you have not used any of these apps before, the next time you are planning a holiday, a business trip, or a romantic weekend, do try out one of these travel planning apps.