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As you're scoping out your next vacation destination, all that wanderlust can romanticize the realities of travel. This means you need to plan an itinerary, pack a bag, have access to a navigation system, and plan out all those Instagram-worthy snapshots you want to show off at your next family reunion. Sometimes the prep leading up to a vacation can bring on some stress, but keep your eyes on that change of scenery, that beach day with your favorite Bluetooth speaker, and all those sightseeing excursions you planned via Google's toolkit. Don't get too overwhelmed—once you've picked the duration and destination of your getaway, you can use a few helpful apps to help you sort out the rest.
I finally found the perfect travel planning app
After 4 years of trial and error, Wanderlog is a breath of fresh, beautiful air
Planning for a vacation is the next best thing to actually going on said vacation. I love opening hundreds of tabs, reading dozens of "must-do" listicles, bookmarking fun and odd things to do, and readying a half-rigid itinerary made of scheduled activities with room for on-the-spot whims. What I don't love is that there's no way to really tie all of this research together. Chrome bookmarks, Keep notes, Gmail, and Maps lists only go so far — I always end up going back and forth between them, fighting against this fragmented approach. Then a few weeks ago, I ran across Wanderlog and let me tell you one thing: If I was to build my ideal travel planning app from scratch, it would be pretty darn close to Wanderlog. Actually no, scratch that, I'd build something similar, but I'd fail to think of at least a dozen awesome extra features that the service already offers.
Google Trips is a great travel planner. Besides automatically importing your flight and hotel bookings, letting you browse and bookmark things to do, and offering practical information about the country/city you're going to, it also has one little-known trick that can save you some dinero while traveling: discounts. When you're already dipping into your piggy jar for a trip, it doesn't hurt to save upward of 20% on travel cards, tickets to places, and experiences, does it?
Google Trips has quickly become one of my go-to apps for travel planning. I keep it as a one-stop shop for my trip's schedule, reservations, and various places of interest, even if I still use Calendar, Gmail, and Maps independently when I need more control. Plus, it provides some practical advice for every city and sometimes helps me discover new places I might have missed despite my extensive search. Now, Trips is also getting ticket support, so you can quickly book an entry to many top destinations around the world.
Lonely Planet is known by travelers all around the world for its small travel tip booklets that cover many cities and destinations, using experts and local guides to gather the best advice about each location. After what seemed like an eternity with half-hearted mobile apps, Lonely Planet is finally ready to make the big leap over to your smartphone. The app is now available for both Android and iOS and for a first version, it's a thing of beauty.