Planning a vacation is exciting. Vacation planning is also stressful, especially when you plan a trip for more than your own needs or are traveling to international locations. Whether traveling to the mountains in an RV with family or touring Italy and the wonders of Venice on your honeymoon, you need your trip to be organized and enjoyable.
Thankfully, a travel app is available for every type of trip or vacation imaginable. Vacation planner apps help you book hotels, organize itineraries and find local restaurants and entertainment. An app for travel expenses with friends is available to help divide meals, tips and other expenses. Read ahead for information on the best 10 travel and trip planning apps available now.
Even the best organizers and planners need a hand sometimes. Whether taking a road trip across the U.S. or spending two weeks at a Disney resort, there is always something else you need done. The best trip expense manager or trip-booking app is available for free on your phone. Why not take advantage of technology and take a load off your mind? The best 7 travel and trip planning apps available today are:
- Airbnb Mobile.
- Trip Planner.
- My Disney Experience and More.
- Google Maps Trip Planner.
- Roadtrippers App.
- TripAdvisor.
- Splitwise.
“Go anywhere with Airbnb,” is the simple but effective Airbnb slogan. It is now also possible to go anywhere with Airbnb using its mobile app from the convenience of your cellphone or other device. Airbnb mobile helps you find and save the perfect vacation home for your trip.
Sharing the details with everyone else involved with the trip is also fast and convenient to do. Airbnb mobile uses the same secure payment process as the Airbnb website (Airbnb.com) so even paying for your trip from your phone is both simple and safe.
Once booked, take advantage of additional app features to review your itinerary, contact your host and use a proprietary maps/GPS feature to locate your Airbnb location from the road.
The new Trip Planner service is operated by VisitTheUSA.com travel company. VisitTheUSA is the self-proclaimed official travel site of the U.S. today.
Destinations, trips and experiences are the three main categories of trip types offered. Destinations include parks, cities and states. Trips include adventures to specific regions or landmarks around the country.
Experiences include shopping venues, cultural experiences and seasonal journeys. The Trip Planner feature helps you complete a daily itinerary and customize it based on your preferences.
Trips are easily refined and Trip Planner helps you discover the best schedules, routes and options along the way. Best of all, your trip information is conveniently located and manageable from one page.
Every trip to Disney is a massive adventure. Thankfully, multiple Disney vacation planner apps are available to help keep your next adventure organized.
My Disney Experience is the official Disney theme park planning app. Features include GPS-enabled park maps, FastPass+ planning tools and real-time alerts displaying the wait times in line for your favorite attractions.
Additional apps and services helpful for your trip to Disney include:
- TouringPlans.com (theme park planning website w/a free mobile app; paid versions available w/more features).
- WDW Radio Show (podcast covering relative Disney topics, news and information).
- Hidden Mickeys (paid app for $7.99; GPS-enabled icon-locating scavenger hunt for the whole family).
- UndercoverTourist.com (theme park planning website w/a free mobile app; excellent planning tools; customizable touring options).
Google Maps has become a standard element of traveling in the U.S. today. The Google Maps Trip Planner feature is now available to help you use Google Maps to maximize your vacation potential. The Google Places feature allows you to save points of interest. Google Reviews helps you locate the best local shipping, dining and entertainment. My Maps is a customizable feature, which allows you to share your road trip plan with other people on the trip. Google Maps Trip Planner also lets you add multiple stops to a single trip.
This feature helps break up your travels into smaller segments, which helps with organizing, time management, budgeting and overall peace of mind.
Roadtrippers is perhaps the best road trip planner app available today. Enter your starting location and destination. The Roadtrippers app takes over most of the organization and planning from there. Roadtrippers help you locate outdoor activities such as carnivals and festivals. The app shows you where to find the best rest stops, camping sites and tourist favorites. Roadtrippers also doubles as the best vacation booking app because it lets you book hotels and manage itineraries throughout your travels.
The basic app and standard features are free. The Roadtrippers Plus version costs $29 per year and includes live traffic, offline map features and more.
TripAdvisor helps you plan for trips and vacations to popular tourist areas and off-the-map specialty locations all around the world. The service includes millions of recommendations for travel locations, dining, entertainment and hotels. More than eight million destinations are supported. Essentially, TripAdvisor is a road trip planner, travel app and trip expense manager rolled up into one service. Do you need to check prices to find the best fares and rates? TripAdvisor includes a rate-comparison feature. Do you need advice on where to travel or what to see and do when you reach your destination?
Follow your friends and even certain travel experts to get advice via videos, articles, guides and reviews. TripAdvisor forums are also available for even more comprehensive guidance and expert advice.
If you are looking for the best travel expense tracker app or way to manage your budget while traveling, look no further. Splitwise is an excellent resource for organizing your finances when traveling alone, as a couple or with a group. In fact, Splitwise might be the best travel budget app for keeping track of divided expenses among friends. Simply add your traveling companions to the app and create a customized trip. Splitwise takes it from there by determining who owes what amounts to whom.
This app is compatible with PayPal and Venmo, making it easy to send money between parties. Splitwise does more than handle vacation expenses, however. This comprehensive expense manager app is also useful for dividing up housing, utility and grocery expenses.
