Top travel apps
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iTunes: 4.3/5
PlayStore: 4.1/5
iTunes: 4.5/5
PlayStore: 4.4/5
Sam ticks all the 'basic features' boxes, including the (free) travel alerts, but it presents the info in form of messages from Sam, your personal assistant, so it has more of a personal touch. All the data is simultaneously organised in a more 'classic' itinerary view.
You can add different types of reservations - flights, hotels, events - that are organised and displayed in one continuous timeline (the rest of the apps break down the timelines in individual trips)
Supported
reservation
Flight, Train, Car rental, Transfer, Hotel & other accommodations, Events (activities, meetings, restaurants)
Recommended
app for
Frequent travelers who like to have all the relevant info in one place, including reminders and alerts.
Lovers of minimal design and a touch of color.
Minus (-): It lacks some of the more advanced Trip It Pro features like the Point Tracker and things like seat and airport maps (available in both Check my Trip and TripCase)
Plus (+): Free travel notifications. Easy to retrieve boarding pass.
Premium version? No
iTunes: 4.3/5
PlayStore: 4.1/5
iTunes: 4.3/5
PlayStore: 4.1/5
Is there something Google doesn't do? Although it shares many characteristics with the rest of the apps in the list, the main difference is that Google Trips doesn't sent alerts. You can add a flight reservation and (manually) see the terminal, gate and all the important info. But if you need timely notifications, it's not the app for you.
Where it excels, on the other hand, is the trip activities planning. Each trip can be individually downloaded for offline access to each of its sections, like things to do, day plans, food and drinks or getting around tips.
Supported
reservation
Flight, Hotel, Train, Bus, Car rental, Restaurant, Note
Recommended
app for
Users who don't need travel status alerts.
Leisure travelers.
Minus (-): You can't forward individual reservations: you either connect your whole inbox or add a reservation manually.
Plus (+): Trips can be individually downloaded for offline access. With the amount of info it has, you can leave your heavy travel guide at home.
Premium version? No
iTunes: 4.8/5
PlayStore: 4.4/5
iTunes: 4.8/5
PlayStore: 4.4/5
After more than a decade around, TripIt has become a synonym for “trip planner”. It has all the basic features you would expect from this kind of app: you can either forward reservations or connect your whole inbox, add new reservations manually and check information like departure and arrival times or flight status.
It's biggest con: all the alerts are a Pro feature, which costs 49$ a year.
Supported
reservation
Flight, Car rental, Rail Cruise, Lodging, Meeting, Activity, Restaurant, Parking, Map, Directions, Note
Recommended
app for
iTunes: 3.4/5
PlayStore: 4.3/5
iTunes: 3.4/5
PlayStore: 4.3/5
Trip Case is in many ways similar to TripIt, with two major differences a) It doesn't have an inbox connect (you will have to forward reservations individually to trips@tripcase.com, or add them via form) b) It's free, including all the travel alerts. So if cost is a big factor for you, this may a be a better option than TripIt. It's not super innovative neither in design nor in features, but it does the job.
Two features that I do love are the seat availability and the airport map. Also, it's the only app that lets you switch between the timeline and carousel view for your reservations.
Supported
reservation
Flight, Lodging, Car rental, Ground transportation, Activity, Meeting, Restaurant, Attraction, Cruise, Ferry, Rail
Recommended
app for
Users who want real time travel notifications and don't want to pay for a Premium plan.
Minus (-): There isn't an easy way to add other documents to your reservations: if you forward a reservation with an attached document, it will appear in the (generic) "Documents" tab, but that's the only way. That also means no easy way to add a boarding pass
Plus (+): Notifications usually arrive on time and are free. Two visualisation modes for the itinerary screen.
Premium version? No
iTunes: 4.3/5
PlayStore: 4.2/5
iTunes: 4.3/5
PlayStore: 4.2/5
A newcomer to the list, App in the Air focus is (as the name suggests) flights. Actually, it doesn't allow for any other kind of reservation (except for a very hidden car rental and hotel, but they must be attached to an existing flight). That leaves room for quite a lot of airport related info, which is organized in "widgets". Widgets are the individual pieces of information - for instance, "Baggage" or "Aircraft" - which can be activated or deactivated for all flights.
It's similar to TripIt in that it charges for all notifications and includes some extra features in the Pro plan.
Supported
reservation
Flight, and inside a flight in form of widgets (must be attached to a flight): Car rental and Hotel
Recommended
app for
Frequent (air) travelers who don't need keeping track of other types of reservations
Minus (-): General lack of information before security sensitive steps (ie: adding an expense prompts a screen asking to select a bank). You can't forward individual reservations and have to connect the whole inbox (the same as Google Trips).
Plus (+): if you are willing to pay to the Premium plan, the flight alerts.
Premium version?: Yes, 29.99$ a year or $4.99 a month
iTunes: 4.6/5
PlayStore: 4.2/5
iTunes: 4.6/5
PlayStore: 4.2/5
Check my Trip covers most of the basics, although it doesn't allow you to connect your inbox. The interface is clean from the "My trips" point of view (actually, I think it's one of my favorites from the list), but it gets confusing if you have too many things inside one trip: the separation is not clear and you have to scroll a lot.
It also includes quite a lot of complementary features like Discover, Taxi, Parking or activities. The is an available seats map, although it's quite hidden inside the flight screen.
Supported
reservation
Flight, Hotel, Vehicle, Train, Meeting, Activity
Recommended
app for
Travelers without a lot of different items / reservations inside one trip.
Users who either travel by car or have to rely often on taxis.
Minus (-): The complementary features, although nice, feel kind of detached from everything else. More like a collection of different websites than one single app. Changes are not always sent as a push notification.
Plus (+): Clean interface if you don't have too many reservations at once.
Premium version? No
Only available for Obex clients, their app will help you manage are your business trips from one single app. You will be able to see all your trips, regardless of whether these bookings are made by the Travel Management Company (TMC) or outside of the TMC by the travelers. It also integrated with any online booking tools (OBT) made available by your company.
Supported
reservation
Flight, Hotel, Vehicle, Train, Meeting, Activity
Minus (-): Only available to select corporate clients and for a fee. Users have reported errors with ability to scrape airline booked reservations into mobile application due to interface based upon screen scraping rather than API’s
Plus (+): Single source itinerary beneficial for business traveler that books with travel management company as well as direct with suppliers.
Brought to you by Sam :]