Have you read my top 5 travel apps of 2017? If you haven’t, you can here. Travel Apps make life easier, right? This time i’m back with a list that will be useful to you, your friends, your parents, and basically anyone who wants to travel. Today I am sharing with you guys my top 10 essential travel apps of the year. So since everyone really seemed to enjoy my first list I thought what better time to put together a 2018 list than now? I’m even going to be nice and give you 10 instead of 5 (most new, some old).

So what makes for a great travel app? For me it all comes down to dependability and the ability the app has to make my life easier. If apps are too intricate to navigate, or if they require too much work for me to use… it’s a no from me dawg. I love apps that are straight to the point, user-friendly, and offer more features than the ones they promote. I’m the kind of person who is always switching out the apps in my phone and I want to be able to try apps out to really know if I like it or not. So let’s jump in…

*this post may contain affiliate links. meaning, at no extra cost to you I may earn a commission from them.*

 

P A C K I N G

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Pack Point

If you’re anything like me you are a last minute packer. Unfortunately, I think that it’s just a character flaw for me at this point. When I do feel the urge to get my shit together though I start to pack atleast 3 days in advance. I do this to make sure that I’m not forgetting anything and I’m taking advantage of the space that I have. A huge life saver I’ve found out about recently is: Pack Point. With Pack Point you won’t forget those socks you need with that specific pair of shoes you wear – ever again (or you might but it’s honestly less likely you will). This is how Pack Point works: The app prompts you to insert your destination and how many days you will be traveling for. After this, it prompts you to pick which activities you will be participating on your trip. Once Pack Point has all of this information it then creates a packing list based on the needs of the activities you will be partaking in. See the examples below:

Travel List

My other favorite packing app is Travel List. Similar to Pack Point, Travel List makes your packing job a little bit easier. This app does cost $1.99 but one of the best features of this app is that it allows you to set alarms on certain items. Travel List at the same time allows you to add your own items (which Pack Point doesn’t), and lets you combine lists together.

If you’re interested in getting more organized with your packing, I recommend getting packing cubes. They help you compartmentalize your clothes, shoes, makeup, and whatever else you may need to bring on your trip. Packing cubes also help with maximizing the space you currently have. These packing cubes are the ones that I use for when I have smaller space to pack than usual:

     

G E T T I N G  A R O U N D

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Trip It

Knowing how to get around in a new city can be overwhelming, especially if it’s a foreign city. Apps like TripIt allow you to combine everything you need to do into one big giant itinerary. So for example, you can book a flight on a specific airline’s website, book your hotel on another website, rent a car on a different website, and so forth. At this point all you have to do is forward all of your confirmation e-mails to a designated e-mail and let Trip It work it’s magic to combine and build you a personalized itinerary. Never forget a train ride or a cab pick up ever again!

Lyft

Who would I be if I didn’t mention Lyft!? Although, lyft isn’t available in a lot of cities like Uber is, it’s still my personal favorite. I only use Uber when I HAVE to. I lived in Miami for 3 years and Lyft drivers were so much nicer, the rides were cheaper, and their pool ride service just works better. Now that I live in Charlotte, lyft is a bit more expensive because more people use Uber but when I have used Uber here the drivers always suck and they all have dirty cars (oops). Not only is Lyft just an all around great company they have also teamed up with Delta to get you airmiles for every ride you take. So while you’re riding to point A to point B you’re also getting points for your next flight. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS!

Turo

Turo better known as the Airbnb of cars. If you haven’t heard of this amazing app, this is the perfect time to be introduced to it. Bottom line, people put their cars up for rent for cheaper prices than most rental car companies. The app also allows you to request a delivery (straight to your door) or pick up where you can meet up with the owner to take over the car. When you type in your dates you can also type in your destination (and budget) so that you can see which list of cars is able to make that trip and back. Turo is great for those on a budget as you can rent out older cars/cars with more mileage for cheaper.

CityMapper

CityMapper is only available in certain cities like Los Angeles, DC, and London but it’s constantly updating and adding new cities. This app is great for when you don’t have a preferred way of transportation or are trying to cut costs with transportation. You just add the city your in and then type in how you would like to move around in the city you’re in. After you type in your preferred method of transportation, CityMapper gives you a variety of options and from there you can pick the option that suits you the best. The one thing I really like about this app is the fact that it also lets you know if theres a delay in public transportation and keeps you updated.

B O O K I N G

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I think booking is the most important part of your trip because this is where a large chunk of your budget is spent. I decided to dedicate half of my list to apps that can help you guys save time AND money.

Skyscanner

Honestly, Skyscanner is hands down my favorite. It never fails me. I’m the kind of person who travels based on the cheapest destination. Skyscanner also lets you see what the cheapest months to fly are which is great if you have a flexible schedule. I book 97% of my flights through Skyscanner because they show you all kinds of routes, layovers, comparable prices for other dates, and so much more!

Scott’s Deals

Okay, so I’m super excited to tell you guys about Scott’s Deals. This isn’t an app but this is just too good to pass up. I recently found out about this website and am pissed that I didn’t know about it sooner. The way this website works is that it takes pricing mistakes made by airlines and lets you know about them! Deals include a NYC to Paris flight for only $260, San Fran to Bali for $364, and more. On this website you’re able to put in as many airports as you’d like, so with for example I have almost all of the airports in NC and SC because I don’t mind making a drive for a good flight deal. Scott’s Deals has a free version to subscribe to and also a version where you pay $39 a year (you already know I made that payment). The free version is just as good except people who pay get all of those deals FIRST while free subscribers get half of those deals a couple of hours later. $39 a year isn’t much if you’re going to save thousands of dollars. You’re PTO at work may hate you but your wallet won’t!

Skiplagged

This app is for the more brave traveler – someone who doesn’t mind chances and loves risk. What exactly is Skiplagged? This app finds the loophole to cheaper flights. Let’s say you want to book a flight to Las Vegas but flights to Vegas are though the roof. Skiplagged finds a flight to Portland, Oregon for you with a LAYOVER in VEGAS. The whole point of this app is for you to get off at your destination on the layover because finding a layover is potentially cheaper than finding a direct flight there. The cons of this app is that you can’t check your bag since you won’t make it to the “final destination” and you could also get caught if you do this too much. My suggestion is doing this if you are working with a very strict budget and are okay with only having a carry-on and a personal item.

Hotel Tonight

Hotel Tonight is one of my favorites for finding cheap and nice hotels for when I’m not in the mood to use Airbnb. Hotel Tonight lets you book a couple days in advance (but not too much because it is a last minute app), and grants you the ability to score really really nice hotels for a discounted price. Hotels post rooms that they couldn’t sell last minute which is a win-win for both you and the hotel.

So here are my top 10 apps for this year. I know the year isn’t completely over but I wanted to share with you all the apps that help me stay on budget before the year is over. As always, if you have any questions please feel free to message me. Until next time!

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