Long before you step onto the airplane hours are spent doing research and planning your route. Whether you are in the planning stage, or on the road there are so many new apps and online tools to help you travel like a pro! Here are 8 travel apps that we love.
1. Rome2Rio - www.rome2rio.com
The absolute best app for finding out how to get from one place to another. You can literally plug in any two destinations in the world and in seconds Rome2Rio will tell you how to get from A to B, what your options are, and how much it will cost. We use Rome2Rio to plan our initial route, to create an easy estimation for transportation costs, and then we use it on the road to book trains, buses and flights. We love it!
2. Detour - www.detour.com
Our absolutely favorite new app for self guided tours is Detour. This fairly new San Francisco based company has fun and edgy audio tours in select cities around the world; including Paris, Marrakesh, and London. All you need for a once in a lifetime interactive tour is the app on your phone and some headphones. These "DIY" tours are interactive, unique, and informative. Check out our experience with the detour we took in Paris here.
Taking the Detour self guided tour in Paris.
3. Townske - www.townske.com
The best app for finding hidden treasures, Townske is our go to app for finding local recommendations. Townske is a gallery of guides created by fellow travelers. The guides are photography based, simple, and easy to make. Whether you are looking for the best hiking in Canada, the best coffee in Indonesia, or the best pubs in London, Townske has you covered. Check out our guide to Bergen, Norway here.
4. Rick Steves Audio Europe - www.ricksteves.com
When looking for tips and travel information about traveling Europe we always go to Rick Steves. We are big fans of Rick's books but we are in LOVE with Rick Steves Audio Europe App. We recommend downloading this free app for anyone traveling to Europe. It has free self guided walking tours of towns and museums, and interviews all about Europe. Rick is a very smart and realistic traveler, and he gives you a large range of information from basic attractions to detailed tours. He also gives you a lot of information but he keeps things pretty short and sweet. We should also say the maps in his books, for example the Paris city map with metro guide are the best available by far. (If you just want just the maps, go to Barns & Noble, and take a pic!) For more info about our Ricks Steves self guided tour in Salzburg go here.
5. Yelp - www.yelp.com
We are sure that you've all heard of Yelp but it is an app we use everyday while we are on the road. When you are in a new city it can be hard to find a good restaurant. Yelp allows you to see what restaurants are close by. We love to look at the reviews and photos of restaurants and pick one out. We have a motto that every meal counts while traveling and you don't want to be left hungry with nowhere to eat. We normally check a few food sources and then cross reference, overall Yelp is pretty accurate. Finding a good restaurant is key!
6. Pinterest - www.pinterest.com
This is Angela's favorite app in the world. Pinterest has helped us in so many ways when it comes to traveling. It's our main tool when picking places to visit on our trip. You can easily find a city's top attractions along with photo inspiration and travel articles about the city by just searching for it on Pinterest. The more time you spend on Pinterest researching a destination the more you find out and the more fun you will have when visiting. We really do crush this app when we are planning trips. If you know you are going to travel, this will help you get to the best spots and hidden retreats. To follow us on Pinterest go here!
7. AirBnB - www.AirBnB.com
We love AirBnB. It can be cheaper option for lodging, especially if you have an extended stay. We like that it gives you the chance to feel like a local in a new city. Location of where you stay is arguably the most crucial part of traveling, sometimes you want to be right downtown, and sometimes you want to be away from it all, AirBnb does that. Most apartments have a kitchen which is nice for making coffee in the morning and cooking up food purchased at the local markets. There AirBnB's for rent all over the world and we have had some of our best experiences while using AirBnB.
Click here to see more from our AirBnB in Ubud, Bali.
8. Booking.com - www.booking.com
We use booking.com more than any other app when looking for hotels. We are active users and review almost every hotel we stay at. Unlike Tripadvisor, the reviews on Booking.com can only be made by guests after their stay. It's easy to book rooms and manage your reservations online. We have found some amazing hotels via Booking.com. To see our hotel in Marrakesh click here.
Palais Sebban in Marrakesh was out of a dream!
All of the apps or websites above are designed to make you a better traveler. Nobody is a perfect traveler but there is nothing better than when a trip is going smooth, you are organized, and you are hitting all of the spots you came so far to see. We do our research and planning on Pinterest and Townske, we figure out how to get around on Rome2Rio, we book our lodging through Booking.com or AirBnB, we go for a city tours with Rick Steves or Detour, and we eat at places locals recommend and cross reference onYelp!
