When you’re always on the go, nothing is more helpful than a smartphone! Here are five of my most-used travel apps that help me when I’m away from home or planning for a trip.
Hotels.com
I love this app because of its rewards system and great prices. When you book 10 nights through Hotels.com you get one free! There are also benefits to using the app like unlocking secret prices and finding hidden deals. I’ve used it to plan trips in advance as well as the book last minute stays. I recently used it to travel to Kentucky and the hotel was wonderful, and the price I paid was even better! You can also collect cash back through eBates when you use Hotels.com. Who doesn’t want good deals and cash back?
*other accommodation apps you might be interested in include AirBNB & Hostelworld
AllTrails
This is an app I used all the time last summer in Colorado. There are many great features to this app and its perfect for travelers who love the outdoors. You search by location and can modify search results by most popular, closest, difficulty, length, suitability, route type, trail traffic and more. One of my favorite features is just clicking on the map feature and seeing how many trails are around me. It’s also useful for planning ahead of time, and for finding less-known trails. Get off the beaten path with this tool, but never get lost.
PlanChat
This app is perfect for group organization. What makes this special is connecting people to this itinerary. If you’re traveling with a group, your family, etc., anyone with a smart phone can connect to see the plan for the day. There is even a chat room so everyone can voice their opinions. You can split expenses, see maps, take polls, add attachments and see accommodations. This app can also curate itineraries for you, or send you updates on price changes for flights or hotels. It’s also fun to explore destinations on the discover page. Once you’re abroad, one of the best features is being able to split bills. It keeps tracks of expenses and tallies what everyone owes, and then paired up with the app Venmo to help transfer money back and forth.
Streetography
This app is a great look into the place you’re visiting. It’s a photo map of cities all around the world. When you’re considering what city to visit, and where to stay, this is the best feature. Make sure your hotel, hostel or AirBNB is in a location you’ll actually enjoy! And what better way to see the world than through the eyes of a local? I’ve been exploring Rome through this app as well as a few other destinations I’m considering this year, and it makes me excited to travel.
Photoshop Express
There are many photo editors out there, but this is the one I opt for. I think it’s the best software with the best features. I also pay for an Adobe Photoshop subscription, so I might as well take full advantage of it. You can’t do everything that you can do on the computer-based program, but it has a lot of the same tools you would normally use. There is an auto-enhance button which is perfect for those pictures that need a tiny pick-me-up. There are numerous filters, a red eye and a pet eye corrector, a blemish eraser and an array of other effects. I use it to add text to a photo because I really like its range of fonts and styles. This app is extremely user friendly which is why I recommend it to everyone.
Which apps are your favorite? Are there any you can’t live without?
