Looking for a trip inspiration, but unsure of where to start? If you aren’t much of a planner, hopping on Google to plan a vacation might seem overwhelming; luckily with the help of these apps planning any travel can help you get a lot more excited about the process. Use this post as a resource to help you prep your travel plans. Here is a list of apps I use to search and book future travel:
6 Apps Every Traveler Should Have
SkyScanner
If you want to get away, but you don’t have a preferred destination Skyscanner has a great everywhere option. With their Explore Everywhere feature you can input your origin location and your intended month of travel and it shows you a ton of destinations at different price ranges for you to choose from.
Website | SkyScanner in the App Store | SkyScanner in the Play Store
SkipLagged
If you haven’t heard of this app, you may know a bit about the way it works. SkipLagged shows you hidden city deals by searching all tickets and creating a cheaper flight plan for you. Sometimes a direct flight to your preferred location is expensive, but a another flight that connects at your preferred location may be a bit cheaper and this process basically helps you find the cheapest option to get you there.
Website | SkipLagged in the App Store | SkipLagged in the Play Store
Hopper
One of the notifications that you may see on my phone is from the hopper app. The hopper app specializes in predicting future flight prices. After you input your desired location you can set a reminder and it will notify you when it’s a great time to book, if it thinks the price will rise or drop.
Website | Hopper in the App Store | Hopper in the Play Store
Google Flights
I am a big fan of Google Flights on an actual computer. Google Flights on mobile (web) is a good way to look for tickets, but Google Flights on desktop gives you more freedom. I enjoy the feature allows you to search anywhere depending on your budget or a loose time frame.
Pinterest is the place for inspiration. By using any type of travel keywords you can pull up photos, itineraries, budget plans and even free downloadable about your desired travel location. Pinterest has links to professional tourism organizations, tour guides, travel blogs and anyone who is in the travel industry and pushed their content up there to inspire more travel. I highly recommend making a board of the place you want to go to and pinning every single thing that interests you. I’m linking my pinterest page below!
Website | Pinterest in the App Store | Pinterest in the Play Store
AllTrails
I’m interested in hiking more, but I live in a city and I wasn’t sure how to find more interesting trails – that’s where AllTrails comes in. When you download the app you can see yourself on the map and find a ton of trails located near you. My favorite part is the photos that accompany those trails from users on the app. You can see reviews from other users and really get a feel for the type of trail it is so you aren’t going anywhere without knowing what to expect. I don’t pay for the pro version & I still get a lot of use out of it.
AllTrails in the App Store | AllTrails in the Play Store
Remember to always check the carrier’s website!
It isn’t uncommon for a company to have different deals on the different platforms; it’s also pretty common for those companies to have the best deal on their own website. Whenever I find a good deal on one of the websites above, I make sure to visit the specific carriers website so I can see if there is better pricing and to reserve my spot.
Even though it can be super tempting to just book your tickets through a third-party app or a website, they don’t always have reliable customer service. I’ve also seen travelers come across the issue that once they do reach to the third-party carriers customer service, the representative doesn’t have much power over your reservation with another carrier. Problems can be fixed when your reservation is with the source.
What are your go-to travel apps?
Do you have any apps that you like to check out before booking a trip? Let me know in a comment below! I’m always looking to add any programs that will make my life easier and the next trip cheaper. Remember to check out my other travel planning tips as a resource to planning that upcoming trip.
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