The excitement of traveling can quickly become frustrating with delays and unforeseen circumstances. Stress takes the fun out of traveling, but these helpful apps can minimize stress and interruptions to your travel plans allowing you to relax and enjoy your trip while saving you time and money.
TripIt
Tripit is your personal travel assistant. When you book your airline ticket, hotel, car rental, or even restaurant reservations online, forward the confirmation email to TripIt. Within seconds, Tripit creates your travel itinerary, including maps, and all your travel information is easily accessible in one place. The Pro version alerts you to possible ticket refunds for fare price drops, travel delays, and many other features. Available for Android and iOS. For more information, go to: www.tripit.com. Standard version: Free. Pro version: 49.95 per year.
Hopper
Hopper assists travelers in selecting the lowest airfare and hotel available from their home airport to any destination. Travelers with flexible dates can use Hopper’s color-coded calendar to spot the cheapest dates to fly. Not sure if you are ready to purchase your ticket? The Hopper includes a “Watch a Flight” feature that sends a push notification when the price of a given route has reached its lowest price point. Available for iOS and Android.
PackPoint
PackPoint produces the perfect packing list for any trip based on the number of days, activities, and other factors. The app creates an individualized packing list based on your answers to questions regarding your trip, such as “Do you plan to hike or run? Is this trip for business?” PackPoint even looks up the weather so users will remember a jacket or an umbrella. For more information, visit: www.packpnt.com. Standard version: Free. Pro version: $2.99.
FlightAware
The FlightAware app allows you to track flights online, see a live flight map, and check on delays, cancellations, and gate changes. This app is beneficial if you have a tight connection or want to track your flight.
It’s also helpful when picking up friends and family at the airport, as you can track their flight and see updated landing times or delays. Travel geeks will enjoy digging into flight statistics, flight maps, and community aviation discussions on the app.
TimeShifter
Even the most seasoned traveler can suffer from jetlag, zapping your energy for the first couple of days of your trip Timeshifter helps you avoid jet lag long before your flight takes off and offers inflight and post-flight suggestions. The app relies on neuroscience research about sleep and circadian rhythms to provide personalized recommendations, considering your age, gender, standard sleep patterns, and specifics about your trip and travel plans. Timeshifter maps out when you should avoid or seek light, nap, or stay awake. It even tells you if you should consider supplementing with melatonin or caffeine.
Your first jetlag plan is free, the second is $10, or you can enjoy unlimited plans for a year for $24.99.
