7 Travel Apps For a Fabulous Vacation

It’s one of the things that I love the most but do the least — I’m talking about travel. I’ve been to a lot of great places like Italy and France but I’ve still yet to explore some of the best cities in the US like San Francisco. Don’t worry — it’s on my list! When I’m out and about on a trip — I always have a few go-to apps that help make my trip run more smoothly.

TripAdvisor – When planning a vacation, the first stop is always TripAdvisor, and for good reason. The site has millions of reviews on almost every hotel/restaurant/beach villa out there. It’s a great way to narrow down your hotel choices, plus some of the reviews are unintentionally hilarious. Check out some of my reviews here.

Pocket Earth – Using the map on your phone can be really helpful when you’re lost abroad, but data roaming charges add up pretty quickly. This app helps you navigate your surroundings and it can be used completely offline. Pocket Earth also includes information on points of interest such as hotels, restaurants, bars and tourist sites. Available on iPhone ($2.99)

Packing Pro – Organized people treat packing like an Olympic sport and we each have our own method that we have finely tuned over the years. If you don’t take packing that seriously, instead consider downloading this app. You just input where you’re going, how long for and who with and it’ll spit out a suggested list of what you might need, split up into essentials (passport, currency), clothes, gadgets and more, with separate lists for additional family members. Available on iPhone ($2.99)

Tripit – I told you about Ari Meisel’s book on how to outsource your life, well this is a great way to outsource your vacation. This app uses your various confirmation emails for flights/hotels/hire cars/restaurant bookings etc, to generate an itemized itinerary of your entire trip.

Rick Steves Audio Europe – Rick’s books have always been one of my go-to guides for traveling around Europe. This app has many features including audio tours to the top tourist attractions. Rather than having to pay for a tour guide, simply download the app and then listen as they direct you around the various landmarks of Europe. Available on iPhone (free) and Android (free)

Hop Stop – I use this whether I’m at home in NYC or anywhere in the world. Many backpackers pride themselves on taking the local transport in every city they visit, but figuring out the subway in a foreign country can be quite difficult. This app helps you plan your journey on public transport in over 60 cities.

Trip Journal – Creating a travel journal is a great way to share your vacation with your friends and family, but it’s also great for reminiscing on those cold winter days. Trip Journal is like a virtual travel scrapbook – which also create maps of your various explorations and geo-tags them with pictures, videos and notes. Available on iPhone ($2.99) and Android ($2.99)

When I find a good travel app I like to make a note of it by pinning it to this pin board:

Follow Paula Rizzo’s board Stress-Free Travel! on Pinterest.

What great travel related pins do you have?