If you need to ONE thing about me, it’s that love planning trips. I love creating trips for myself and friends. Sometimes I go a little overboard and plan a trip a little too much, it can feel like I have already taken the trip. When I plan a trip, I follow the same formula every time. I create a google sheet with how long we are going to be gone with the time frame. I use a lot of different websites and apps to plan my trip. These are a list of some of my favorite travel apps, and some that have been recommended to me.
Activities or Things to Do
- Trip Advisor: When finding things to do, this is one of the first places I look. This is where I find all the popular things to do. I also like that you post pictures and reviews.
- Instagram: Along with Trip Advisor, I use hashtags of the location that I am going to see what I should see, do, or places to eat. I also reach out to people to see where they recommend anything.
- AllTrails: I have recently gotten into hiking and being outdoors, so there is usually at least one trail on every trip.
- Google Maps: PRO TIP: I like putting everything in google maps. For me, it easier to put everything in there so I can see where things are. I also want to make sure I see everything in one area before heading to the next. Each trip my goal is to see as much as I can. Over the years, I have gotten better on accepting that I can see everything in one trip. But years in moving has trained me that I never know if I am able to make it back.
- RoadTrippers: I haven’t use it but I’m thinking I will try it on my first solo trip this summer. I have seen other travelers use it and have heard good things.
- CityPass: Not every city has one, but if they do I would recommend looking into it. I know when I go to Atlanta I will get the city pass because there are several things on that list I want to do. Sometimes it is cheaper, but it may not if don’t want to see more than 2 on the list.
- MeetUp: I haven’t used this app for traveling, but I might now because some trips I have planned this year are longer trips. Get to know people and not to spend all the time by myself. I might start using this even when I am not traveling because one of my goals is to make friends and establish a community where I live.
Places To Stay
- Booking: This is usually where I start to book hotels for any trip. Most of my trips are planned months in advance so I usually get a good deal. One of the main reasons I love using booking is because I use no prepayment option.
- AirBnB: I have been searching here more often. Sometimes I can find inexpensive and unique places to stay. I also use it for car camping.
- Hotel Tonight: I have been using this app more and more recently. This is a great app if it’s a last minute trip because they are trying to book unsold hotel rooms.
- HipCamp: This is great for camping and car camping. My goal is utilize this app more this year because I want to car camping this year. I want to cut expenses and have more experiences. There are several other camping sites for places to stay.
Food
- OpenTable: I love this app because I find unique places to eat that I don’t think I would normally find on my own. I will say the only downfall is if you forget to cancel there is a limit then you can not make any more reservations for a year. Every place I have booked a reservation we have gotten in at our time spot. I have also booked for several special occasions and they said something about it. I booked a girls night for one of my friends to cheer her up. I described what she would be wearing and they gave her extra love and attention. I was not expecting that.
- Instagram: The same thing for activities. I researched different hashtags to find unique places to eat. I try not to eat at places that I normally can eat.
Misc
There is more to travel than where you stay, what you eat, and things to do. This next set is my favorite travel apps that are more about creating and capturing the memories. For as long as I remember I have loved writing and photography. I remember on vacations I would look at post cards and think I was going to take pictures like this someday. Or that someone would want me to take pictures of their town and things there.
Photography
- Fotor: I have been using this one a lot recently. I like it because I can use it on my phone, iPad, or MacBook. It’s also super user friendly which I like because I am new to editing pictures.
- CapCut: This is my go to app for creating reels. I wish I had the mental capacity to create my templates, but there is only so much time in a day.
- Dropbox: I am obsessed with Dropbox because I take so many pictures. Each night I made sure I have time to make sure all my pictures get uploaded to dropbox. This helps so I don’t have to delete pictures later because I ran out of storage. And, yes this has happened on several occasions.
Note Taking
- Notes: I use my notes section in my phone. It’s free and I have my phone and MacBook connected so I always have them available.
- Evernote: I have used Evernote in the past. It’s probably my favorite one out of all the note taking apps.
Other
- GasBuddy: I had this on my phone with the best of intentions, but I never used it. I just filled up when I needed. Honestly, I usually stop at a Loves or Flying J because I can get gas, drinks, and food in one stop. I know a lot of people who use this and absolutely love it.
- Calm, SuperHuman, Balance: Any meditation app if you are anxious or stressed. I use Balance a lot when I am driving because some times I can get anxious in bigger cities by myself.
- Spotify: I have a big fan of Spotify. I love that I can create playlists, find playlists from other people, and Spotify created lists. Spotify was used constantly when I was a personal trainer. My favorite thing about Spotify right now is the DJ feature. It plays a combination of my past favorites, current listens, and introduces new songs and artists.
There are so many travel websites and apps out there. These are my favorite travel apps and what works for me. Everyone has their own system, and I know that mine is always changing. I know that I am missing anything related to flight but most of my trips are by car. I love traveling by car more than planes so that’s why I didn’t included them. What apps do you think I should use?
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