Tech Tools for Traveling
Remember those clunky travel books we’d have to buy to know where to go when traveling to new destinations? Or having to take ten minutes just to find your current location on those large fold out maps? Good news, technology has our back once again!
Instead of carrying all these resources around in your luggage or spending hours on creating specific itineraries with locations and directions, just look to your mobile device. Mobile tools can guide you through your vacations with maps to food selection!
Whether traveling with your smart phone, tablet or laptop, make sure to take advantage of these applications to ease travel planning.
TripIt: TripIt helps organize all your flight, hotel, rental car information and more into a simple mobile travel itinerary. Just forward your separate itineraries into one master online itinerary, even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites. TripIt will give you maps, directions and weather in your master itinerary. You can also easily share travel information, check in for flights or print itineraries.
Available on: iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone and the Web
Yelp: Yelp serves to “connect people with great local businesses.” How is this useful when traveling? You can very easily search anything from restaurants to attractions to car rental service and obtain spot on reviews. Users of Yelp write reviews of places they have patroned, and, nine times out of ten, the average review on yelp is spot on. When traveling, try yelping “French cuisine” or your favorite type of dining and you will easily find the great local eats, services and attractions.
Available on: iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, Palm Pre and the Web
FlightAware: Track the exact location and flight status of your plane for free! Did the airline tell you your plane is delayed from New York City? Check airline flight statuses, gate/terminal information and changes, delays, cancellations and flight connections and status.
Available on: iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and the Web
Taxi Magic: Calling a taxi in a new city, or even a city you’re familiar with, really does take some magic. Taxi Magic eases the process by letting you book online or on your mobile phone. After booking, you can track the arrival of your taxi, charge the ride to a credit card and even expense the trip with an e-receipt.
Available on: iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Palm and the Web
Google Maps: Of course you’re probably going to need a map of your travel destination. Google Maps is so robust, it can even show you a picture of the exact building you’re looking for – since you know, number addresses are sometimes hard to find. Whether searching by destination name, address or for a “restaurant around your local area,” Google Maps has you covered.
Available on: iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and the Web
Safe traveling! Share with us what technology you’re using to plan your vacations!