Best apps for avid travelers

Traveling has become way much easier today, all thanks to the myriad apps that cater to the different aspects of traveling. Using these apps, you can literally pre-decide each step of your travel in advance and then just play it out as scripted. If you want to do flight bookings, hotel stay, restaurant reservations, travel directions, etc. you get the best and cheap recommendations that make your travel plans free of hassles, confusion, and last-minute rush.

Among the hundreds of travel apps available on the Android & Apple marketplaces, some are really a must-have on your mobiles whether you travel solo or in a group.

Planning your travels:

• TripIt: Organize your travel itinerary by forwarding all the travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and you will get all your upcoming plans at once, plus recommendations.

• TripAdvisor: Find all the information on cities, regions; reviews of restaurants, activities, hotels; photos of travels by members. You can also reserve a hotel or a restaurant, as TripAdvisor has tied-up with various booking sites.

• TripCase: It makes the most suitable travel itinerary for you that include flights, accommodations, restaurants, cars, etc. which you can add/edit later. You just have to mail them the confirmation details like the TripIt app.

For Flights:

• Skyscanner: Find cheap flights with Skyscanner as it searches from over 1,200 sources worldwide to give you the best options.

• Hopper: Hopper is good at tracking flight prices and regularly updating you on buying them or not. It also predicts a date when the prices will rise.

• Google Flights: It’s good to get a second opinion. Use Google flights to check for various flight schedules and explore destinations based on dates and prices.

• FlightAware: Great app to track flights online by checking a live map and find the delays, cancellations, and gate changes. Useful when you have a tight connection or picking up relatives/friends at the airport.

• LoungeBuddy: Tired of waiting around in an airport? Just log in your details and it will recommend you lounges you can access at airports around the world.

• AirHelp: This app makes it simple to get compensation for flight delays. Enter your details and if the claim is successful, you get paid! They will keep 25% of the payout though.

All about Hotel stay:

• Priceline: Find the best recommendations for hotels, flights, cruises, and cars. Get the best prices and hundreds of deals on offer. They also have a 24/7 helpline.

• Trivago: It is the best app to compare hotel prices from various popular booking sites so you get to select the best and cheapest of deals. It has a database of more than a million hotels worldwide!

• Airbnb: One of the most widely used app to rent an apartment, room, or even a couch from locals. Besides that, it also offers classes, tours, restaurant reservations, workshops, etc.

• Couchsurfing: From here, you can find locals who will let you stay in their homes for free! Thus keeping your travel budget intact. It also has a Hangouts feature that lets you meet other nearby travelers.

• HotelTonight: It has amazing same-day and last-minute discounts. You can quickly reserve a room in this easy to use app. It has 24/7 customer support and multiple search filters for you.

Get the best restaurant & food recommendations:

• Yelp: Get online reviews for the best shopping experience of restaurants, food, nightlife, things to do, entertainment, etc. It is used all over the world and has millions of ratings & reviews.

• Zomato: It’s a popular crowd-sourced review app for restaurants. The contributors regularly upload HQ photos of the menu items so you can see beforehand what you are ordering.

• HappyCow: It is an amazing app for vegans. Find from more than 1,00,000 coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, markets, and grocery stores in over 195 countries! It also has filters for gluten-free and cuisine types, recipes, and reviews.

Apps for all other aspects of travel:

• Google Maps: The best and most used map app. Get detailed info of various places in it and travel directions, save maps offline, and do much more.

• Waze: It’s a free community-driven app for road conditions and traffic, giving you detailed and updated information, also used for checking police traps and potholes.

• AllTrails: Find lists of trails for walking and hiking around the world with maps, pictures, and directions to get there. The pro version will let you download the trail maps offline.

• GasBuddy: This is a must-have app when on a road trip in the US, Canada, or Australia. Find the location and price of gas availability in real-time.

• Spotted By Locals: It will show travel places which the big guides usually miss. Find where the locals hang out and experience the city culture from that perspective.

• Uber: It is a great app used all over the world to book a cab. No need for local currency, or speaking the local language, and no haggling!

• Moovit: Moovit will find you the simplest and quickest route across all transport for traveling. It is a great app to have for travelers in a new place.

• Wanderu: Have an aggregator app that primarily searches for buses and trains. You can also look for flights, hotels, and car rentals in Wanderu.

• FourSquare: Find highly-rated and popular spots nearby for eating out, or a gallery, museum, etc.

• Google Translate: A must-have app while traveling in other regions/countries. Translate 103 languages by typing and 60 of them offline. Get camera translation in 37 languages, two-way speech translation in 32 languages. You can also write (text/draw) in 93 languages! What else do you want?

• TripLingo: How about an app that will help you adapt to a new culture and blend in with the locals? Get TripLingo! Select your destination and download the country pack. It has many useful features for travelers that you will love to use.

• PackPoint: It will show you what to take on your trip based on the trip length, the weather, and your activity plans. Just put in your travel details and never miss anything to take on your trips.

• XE Currency: You should have the latest and live currency rates and conversions. Keep this app handy to use while being in another country. It also stores the rates offline.