Presented by Jeff Hensel on January 11, 2018
Attendees: 17
Jeff shared is favorite and most used apps related to travel and apps used while away from home.
To be fair, I know there are many, many apps that will fit the categories listed today and even more categories.
These are just the apps I use. Please feel free to share apps you use.
Again, these are just my favorites. I suspect you will have some favorites of your own. Please share!
More than travel related apps but I’ve also included by favorite apps I use while being out and about. It is truly amazing how many useful apps there are and so many are FREE.
Kayak is a travel planning app that can search for airfares from all airlines from a single screen. Of course one can use Expedia, etc., I just like using Kayak. One of my favorite features of Kayak is creating an “alert” that shares when prices change up or down. I get an email or text and can make a purchase decision without opening the app itself.
I flew Delta for work for many years and really like the efficiency of Southwest. Lately, however, I have been using Alaska airlines.
Flight Aware is one of those apps that lets you know when a flight is arriving late or early. If I have to pick someone up from the airport I open Flight Aware before leaving to the airport and look at it while in the “cellphone lot”.
Passport, My TSA and Global Entry are somewhat new to help frequent travelers. We just signed up for Global Entry which provides for TSA PreCheck for going through quick security lines and a streamlined entry process through Immigration and Customs.
Although there are many navigation apps one can get from either apps store, my favorite is Google Maps with Apple Maps now a close second.
Sharing your location on a map is most useful if you are traveling with others or want friends and relatives to know where you are by looking at their Google Map.
NOTE: A Google Account is required.
If you haven’t already, add their Gmail address to your Google contacts.
On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Maps app and sign in.
Tap Menu Location sharing Add People .
Choose how long you want to share your location.
Tap Select People.
If you’re asked about your contacts, give Google Maps access.
Choose who you want to share with.
Tap Share.
While traveling by car I love to look at the Waze app. The screen is more interactive and easier to see , I most like to “social” experience where people leave tidbits of information like, traffic accidents, heavy traffic or police parked along side the highway.
Of note, the AMTRAK mobile app has gone through a pleasant refresh and updated user interface.
I’ve been loving BART lately and looking forward to the eBART Extension along Highway 4. There are a few BART apps but my favorite is Easy BART as it is “easy” to see and read.
Although TriDelta Transit doesn’t have an app for iPhone (it does for Android), I have an applet in my iPhone Notifications screen that shows Google Transit Departures which includes status of bus stops close to me and includes BART.
I’ve needed to book at hotel while on the road and my trusty Hilton Honors apps has allowed me to do this without making a call.
I’m sure your favorite hotel chain has an app too.
Movie Pass is new to me and referred by a co-worker of my wife. $9.95 per month to go to up to 1 movie per day. Yes,, just $9.95 and get into a regular movie FREE.
When traveling I use my phone for an alarm clock instead of those hotel clocks that are rarely set correctly and I have to struggle to read the small text to figure out how to set an alarm. Well no more. I just use my Nightstand alarm clock that is always available and always set correctly.
Tripit is an app where I save travel plans as we get ready to travel. It automatically sees travel confirmation emails and inserts them into the app so you don’t have to enter things again. It will even show departure and arrival gate information and let us view airport terminals for food and shopping.
Need a tour of places to see when traveling. Try Trip Advisor where travels rate tours and events. Please note there are Ads too.
Let’s use the GPS (global positioning System) capabilities of our phones and see what is near us…at home or wherever we are.
iExist share what types of places are along the highway. That’s right, find out early where you might need to stay, ear or shop.
Around Me and Food Near Me show the same things but wherever you might be. There are plenty more of these apps but these are the two I use now.
And the old standby app for customer entered review. Yelp has more than food but you can see reviews for auto shops and even doctors.
I subscribe to Travelzoo emails for travel within my favorite cities and airports. I use the FREE service only and I a lot of emails. Almost too many. However, I learn lots of new things to see and my bucket list is getting larger and larger.
I’m looking forward to using Google Translate on my next Mexico trip. I’ll let you know.
I’ve used Open Table many times to make restaurant reservations from home and while traveling. It works great!
A few honorable mentions your might take a peak at.
Please share your own favorite travel related apps by writing a comment below. Thanks!
