There are many travel planner apps out there to help you move around the world with ease. However, there are some apps that can weigh you down because they aren’t easy to use while some are not available on all mobile platforms.
How to find the best travel apps
When traveling in the past, you only needed to have your passport and credit card ready. But now, you simply cannot travel without a mobile device because of travel planner apps. These apps are great because once you download them on your phone, they have the potential to suggest the best trip of your life.
But how do you find the best trip planner app? Whether you are an android or iOS user, there are many travel planner apps on the app stores. How do you separate the hits from the misses? The following tips will help you avoid crappy travel planner apps so you can spend less time searching and more time using the app.
1. Check Recommendations
If you’re an android user and have a number of apps on travel, check what the play store recommends on the “apps and games” homepage. Here, you will find a number of apps recommended for you.
You can also click on “categories”, scroll down until you find the “Travel and local” option. Here, you’ll see the top apps that Google recommends for you and they usually have a high rating based on other users’ experience.
On iOS, on the featured screen, there is the “Games you might like” option that gives you a list of highly-rated apps.
2. What Others Downloaded
Google Play Store and iOS have a system that lets you know what other people have downloaded. The iOS app store has a ‘related’ option for every app that you are currently viewing or what other people downloaded.
The Google Play Store has a similar system at the bottom of the app store home page known as “Users also installed”. The apps that you’ll be checking out are in the same category as the one that you searched for, so, if you’re searching for a travel app, you will get similar apps.
3. Similar Apps
The Google Play Store lets you know other similar apps to what you’re looking for. So, if there’s a particular application you want, just scroll down to the ‘Similar’ applications section to get the top apps in that category.
The Apple App Store has the ‘related’ option and you’ll get a list of similar apps like the one you’re looking for.
4. Check the Reviews and Ratings
Online opinions might not mean too much but when thousands of people install an app and later give a review, the information should give you an idea of what the app can do.
Check the ratings and scores on Google Play and App Store by clicking the app that you want and scroll down to check the ratings. Don’t pay attention to apps with less than 3 stars because it means that the users didn’t get the expected results or it has some serious glitches.
The reviews are a gold mine of information when looking for the best travel planner app or any other app to install on your phone. Read the reviews but it’s important to note that a new app might have fewer reviews or a low rating, so this information might not be correct.
Read the negative and positive reviews to get full information on what everyone experienced when using the app. This information will help you make an informed decision.
5. Only Download Updated Apps
An app is only as good as it keeps updated and supported. Both the App Store and Google store will tell you the last time an app was updated and you should use this information when downloading your favorite travel planner app.
It’s not a big deal if you find out that an app hasn’t been updated for some months but if it shows years then it means it’s an abandoned app.
You shouldn’t install such apps as they’re full of bugs and are susceptible to security risks.
6. Give the Highlighted Apps a Try
Both the Play Store and App Store highlight new and quality apps and you should definitely check this section when looking for a new and interesting travel planning app.
Both stores have the ‘Editors’ Choice’ section that features different categories of apps so keep an eye for travel apps.
The ‘Editors’ Choice’ section doesn’t take into account other users’ experiences with the app, it’s the opinion of the app store’s editors so you’re assured of downloading a quality app.
7. Filter and Browse the Apps
Dig deep when looking for the best trip planner app because the best one might not end up on recommendations or similar sections. Go deep and you might find a traveling app that has everything that you are looking for.
8. Read App Guides
The good thing about the internet is you can get the information that makes it easy for you to make an informed decision.
Guides are a good place to start and the following is our list of top 5 planner apps.
The Top 5 Travel Planner Apps
Whether you are planning a vacation alone or with a loved one or planning a business trip, these are the best trip planner apps and will make it easy for you to plan the best trip ever.
Triplit (Available on the Play Store and App Store for free)
This is one of the best trip planner apps known for its easy to navigate interface. You only need to add your travel confirmation emails on this app and it will create a well-laid out travel schedule.
This app does almost everything so you don’t have to and this includes informing you the time you’re supposed to be at the flight gate. It will also tell you when to pick the car up from the rental place, when you’re supposed to check-in at the hotel and even informs you on restaurant reservations.
You can even link the app with the calendar on your phone so everything that you’ve planned during your trip is included on the schedule.
Detailed Information About Triplit
- Master Itinerary – Once you make a car reservation or book a flight, you only need to forward the information to the app and it will be added to the master itinerary.
- Full Reservation Details – With Triplit, you don’t have to go through your email to check for flight information or your confirmation details, Triplit will send them to you instantly even when you’re offline.
- Area Safety Scores – This is priceless information that lets you know whether the area you want to travel to is safe or not. The score is from 1 to 100, representing low to high risk and the scores cover everything from general safety, political freedoms, access to medical services, etc.
- Road Trips – This feature allows you to stay organized throughout your trip. Map view lays your entire trip on a map and the navigator gives you driving directions to wherever you want to go. Nearby places option finds and guides you to key destinations like restaurants, ATMs, cafes, etc.
- Pro Version – Triplit is a detailed app that does everything for you. If you want more information like real-time flight alerts, tracking a seat or to find a different flight, you’ll have to pay $49 a year for the premium service.
Tripadvisor (Available on Google Play and App Store)
This is one of the most resourceful and one of the best trip planner apps in the world with millions of recommendations and reviews by users from all over the world.
With Tripadvisor, you can book a table at a restaurant and compare low prices when looking for flights and hotels for your next trip.
It’s a free app and unlocks a world of features like:
- Access to a wealth of information including 830 million hotel reviews, restaurants, things to do, vacations, etc.
- Planning tool that gives you tips to save money when traveling and organize your entire tours on one map.
- Find the best deals around the world by comparing prices from over 200 booking sites.
- Search and make reservations from a large collection of popular attraction sites, experiences and tours.
- Change on cancel tours and make free bookings.
- Use easy to pay options like PayPal and Google Pay for all your tour activities.
- Find the best places to eat in different parts of the world and make a reservation right from your mobile device.
- Easily compare flight charges and get access to amazing flight deals.
- Discover places most people haven’t heard of, visit the must-see areas and find things to do.
Roadtrippers
This is also one of the best trip planner apps on both the Play Store and App Store for people focused on the journey not just the place they’re visiting. The app sends its users prompts on what’s nearby so they can go check it out.
Some of the extra features you get from this app include:
- Instant notification of any place of interest that you’re close to on your travel including, scenic viewpoints, roadside attractions, restaurants, hotels, national parks, etc.
- Access to customized trip-guides that will take you to some of the most interesting places in the world.
- Automatic synchronization across all your devices of all visited places and those that you would love to visit.
- The downside about this app is that it only has content in New Zealand, USA, Australia and Canada. Also, when planning your route, you have 7 waypoints for free, and if you need to go beyond that number, you have to pay for the premium package.
- However, the premium package has over 150 waypoints per trip, customized and offline maps, exclusive deals, and connecting with friends.
Trips from Google
Trips is one of the best planner apps for finding flights, vacation rentals, amazing hotels, and things to do once you get to your destination among many more.
The best features of this app include:
- Easy Booking – With Trips, you can make hotel reservations, book restaurants, hire cars, and book flights all in one app. You also get access to some of the best deals and save money.
- Information on Nearby Attractions – The app will send a notification to your phone once you get to a nearby attraction and even lets you know whether they’re open or not.
- Book Hotels – Find some amazing deals on some of the best hotels in the world and compare prices on over 200 booking sites. Read honest reviews and get access to accurate ratings from other travelers.
- Search Flights – Trips has information on flights from over 600 airlines and an interactive flight map that’s useful when planning a trip. You can even search and compare the flight paths and airline routes.
Travel Planner
This list could not be complete without the inclusion of Travel Planner, the best travel planner app on the internet.
It has an easy to use interface that makes it easy to choose and plan your vacations based on your needs and interests.
With Travel Planner, you can explore cities, plan a trip, and organize everything using your traveling needs. Just add all your interests into the app and you’ll get the best cities around the world to visit.
The following is what you get with this traveling app:
- Pick the things that you love to do and base your journey on that like mountain biking, hiking, swimming, etc. Once you add your interests to the app, you’ll get a list of best cities to do those things.
- Explore cities you like using the city map that has all information like hidden gems, attraction sites and things to do.
- Save your favorite cities and start planning for your next vacation.
- Read honest reviews from travelers of cities, attraction sites and experiences that they enjoy.
- Get travel ideas for different type of trips like culture trips, nature trips, nightlife, family trips, wellness trips, and sports trips.
- Find new gems and meet new friends and plan trips together for a once in a lifetime vacation.
There you have it! That our list of the best trip planner apps based on reviews and ratings. You can read more on these apps on their respective websites, Play Store and App Store.