Traveling is a great way to see the world and share new experiences with the ones you love. If you follow this blog than you already know how to correctly write off your business travel expenses, if you haven’t read the post you can find it here. There is even a handy worksheet to help you manage those deductible expenses.
However, saving money while traveling is even better than the getting the write off if you ask me!
I rounded up 10 travel apps that will not only help you save you a few dollars when booking your next trip but can also make the experience of booking stress free.
10 Awesome Travel Apps
Gasbuddy – https://www.gasbuddy.com Finding reasonable gas prices when you are in unfamiliar territory sucks. You try and guess if this station is the cheapest and you drive 5 miles down the road and gas is $.10 cheaper ugh! This app does a fabulous job of capturing gas prices in the area. You can sort it by grade, brand and amenities which is awesome if you’re on a road trip and someone needs to use the potty (yes normally I’m the guilty party).
Airbnb – https://www.airbnb.com Not staying in a hotel is all the rage now-a-days. Get the comfort of home in someone else’s home. Find homes available for rent in quiet neighborhoods with full kitchens and other amenities except room service. Rates can be cheaper than local hotels and staying in an Airbnb makes it easier to get immersed in the local culture.
Uber – https://www.uber.com and Lyft – https://www.lyft.com Forget hailing a taxi just download and open either one of these apps and get a ride from anywhere.
Travelzoo – https://www.travelzoo.com/top20 Ok this is my personal favorite site. I personally book my vacations based on the amount I want to spend. Travelzoo’s top 20 deals of the week allow me to do just that. Not only do they have international trips on the low-low they also have local deals that make it affordable for a quick weekend getaway with your boo in addition to the family vacation. Sign up for their mailing list and they will send the deals to your inbox every Wednesday.
Speak & Translate – http://www.apalon.com/speak_and_translate.html I’m currently learning Spanish but I’m not fluent so if ever I find myself in a conversation with a person who speaks an entirely different language I use this app to communicate and not make a complete fool of myself.
TripIt – https://www.tripit.com This app is great for those who are always on the road. It can manage all of your travel plans in one place. Just forward all your confirmations to the app and it will keep tabs on your trips. Spring for the premium version and it will watch the fares just in case they drop so you can get a refund.
New York Subway – https://www.mapway.com/apps/new-york-subway I live about 3.5 hours from New York City and it’s one of my favorite places to visit. However, I absolutely HATE driving around the city but I love riding the subway. It’s always an exciting adventure. You never know what street performer or artist may enter your car. This app is not only a download map of all the subway routes it’s also a route planner with real time service status updates so I can get from Union Square to Central Park without having to get thru 4 lanes of congested traffic. On a side note this developer has other subway maps for a number of the major cites all across the globe and you can see them all on their website.
Kayak – https://www.kayak.com I never buy airfare before I check here first. Kayak searches all the major sites for the best deals (except Southwest). They even tell you if it’s a good time to buy and if the price is likely to rise in the future. They also offer deals on hotels and cars but I admit I don’t have much personal experience with that side of their website.
The Weather Channel – https://weather.com I can’t effectively pack to go anywhere without researching the weather first. I need to know if rain is going to ruin my trip or if I need shorts instead of jeans. This is a daily go to app for me. Working from home most days can leave you not knowing what it feels like outside (of course you will always know the weather if you have that one friend on Facebook that announces it every day like they get paid to do it).
Spot Hero – https://spothero.com I went to my community for this one. Driving isn’t my favorite thing to do so you know finding an inexpensive parking garage also has to also be a thorn in my side. Well after asking some of my friends which app they used a number of them mentioned this one. And after downloading and using it for a few days I was sold.
Bonus Travel Apps:
Find Me Gluten Free – https://www.findmeglutenfree.com I have a few friends that have food sensitives to gluten so this app is very handy in making sure wherever we go they can eat without any worries.
