Travel apps are priceless for those of us who’ve been bitten by the wanderlust. But, with so many out there for smart phones– it can be hard to weed through the list to find the most valuable ones. The good news is I’ve already done it for you! The following is a list of my must-have travel apps for 2015:
Kayak— This free app will help you quickly search for flights (based on your input criteria) that fit your budget. You can also use the app to search for hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages. The Kayak app will scour all of the competitors and find you the best available rates for you flight, hotel, or car.
TripAdvisor-– Trip Advisor is sort of like the Yelp of the travel industry. The app/site boasts over 200 million reader opinions and reviews! It’s so nice to be able to read a comprehensive selection of reviews before booking a hotel, especially one in a different country! Along with a gallery of pictures and relevant information on your hotel/destination, youwill see a ton of reader opinions and reviews. You can find out all types of information from places to eat to sites to see and more.
Hipmunk— Hipmunk is another very comprehensive travel search engine. You can check for flights, trains, and eve Airbnb availability (the site queries 1.2 million hotels and vacation rentals!). Unique Hipmunk features include heat maps that show proximity of night life, restaurants, and shopping to your hotel and also visual charts for flight duration and layovers.
TripIt— TripIt is a great app that acts as your travel assistant. The app scans your travel confirmation emails and then imports them into a travel itinerary. TripIt will send you travel updates and reminders before and during your trip.
MiFlight— MiFlight is an awesome app that allows you to check airport security line wait times using social sharing. Other travelers check in to help monitor wait times, so you can plan your travel time to the airport accordingly!
Packing Pro— If you have a tough time remembering everything you need to pack (especially for longer vacations or a trip with multiple stops), you need to check out Packing Pro. You can create master packing list for yourself and anyone else in your travel party. The list of items that you can add to your packing list is nearly endless, so you can rest assured it will help you remember everything! 🙂
Gate Guru— Gate Guru is a Trip Advisor owned app that allows you to review all of your travel reservations with TripIt and Kayak, in addition to showing you all of the services near your scheduled departure gate. Need a cocktail before your flight? Gate Guru will show you where to find it! 🙂
Airbnb— Airbnb has a mobile app companion to their search engine for vacation rentals. They have listings in over 190 countries and 34,000 cities! Choose from about a 1,000,000 listings!
Lounge Buddy— The Lounge Buddy app helps you find the perfect place to relax while you wait for your flight. It helps locate the nearest lounge in your airport- you can input your frequent flyer programs and membership.
XE Currency— If you do a lot of international travel, you NEED this app! XE Currency helps you quickly calculate exchange rates in any given currency. In addition to viewing historical exchange data, you can view live exchange information.
What are YOUR favorite travel apps?
