Tech Tools for Travel Planning

Gone are the days where all of your planning and checklists needed to be handwritten on a piece of paper. It’s 2015! These days, you can organize your travel plans with a wide variety of travel and planning apps directly on your cell phone, tablet, or laptop.

Here are a few recommendations from this Professional Organizer in NYC.

1. TripIt. Once you register for this tool, all confirmation emails from airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and any other booking service will automatically be sent to your account and TripIt will create an itinerary for you. It will include all the important details that you need, including addresses, confirmation numbers, gate numbers, dates and times. You can use the automated service, or if you don’t want to link your accounts, you have the option to forward emails from your inbox to your TripIt account. Having all of your confirmation emails and key travel info consolidated in one place takes the stress out of managing this important information.
2. GateGuru. Similar to TripIt, you can create a flight itinerary by having confirmation emails automatically or manually sent to your GateGuru account. The benefit to GateGuru, however, is that it includes a library of worldwide airport guides. These guides include information on restaurants, shops, shoe shiners, spas, ATM’s, and even where free wi-fi is located in the airport. This app can also turn traveling into a game, allowing you to compete with other users on check-ins and miles traveled, if you chose to.
3. TouristEye. You can use this app to create a wish list of places you’d like to travel one day, or you can also use it to plan a family vacation. This app allows you to include sites to check out in a particular area, specific activities to do while you’re there, and includes links and maps for additional reference. The bonus with TouristEye is that it’s a collaborative tool, meaning you can share your lists with family and friends who are traveling with you and coordinate plans together.
4. Roadtrippers. If you are taking a roadtrip, this tool is for you. It’s easy to use, you just put in your starting and ending locations, and Roadtrippers maps it out for you. You can then use it to look up recommendations in the area you are traveling through for all sorts of activities and destinations, including food, accommodations, attractions, entertainment, and much more.
5. PackingPro. This app allows you to enter your travel plans including the number of people traveling together and length of time and it then creates a packing list for you. It’s customizable so you can add in your own particular items that you want to take and also allows you to share the list with your travel partners.
6. TripAdvisor. Similar to TripIt, this app allows you to organize your itinerary. The bonus to TripAdvisor is that it includes one of the most thorough collections of reviews for hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more. It includes a forum to ask questions and travel tips from experts and frequent business travelers.

As with any tech tool, some of these recommendations only work on specific devices, and some are paid services while others offer free options. Take a look at each one and find a tool that works best for you! Another app that is popular these days for travel planning is Pinterest.  You can use Pinterest to create a board of travel location ideas, creative ideas for kid activities in the car or on the plane, or interesting tools and tips for packing. I’d love to hear what your favorite travel app is, share in the comments!