The holidays can be a difficult time to travel, but there’s no denying the magic when everything goes right. You’ll be fondly recounting the memories over pumpkin pie for years to come! The trick is making the right preparations before you leave, including downloading smart, on-the-go travel apps that you can whip out for everything from restaurants to public transportation. Here are just a few of the best apps to take the stress out of holiday travel, whether it’s domestic or international!
Packing — OneBag
Never pay overweight baggage fees again! OneBag is an app that you can use to create, organize, and save packing lists. The app will inventory items into categories like “clothes” and “electronics,” and you can auto-generate further suggestions based on the data that you input. If you add the weight of your items as you go, you can also keep a running tally of how heavy everything is both individually and together. Not only will this be useful if you find yourself needing to rearrange things to avoid excess baggage fees, but it’ll also give you a greater understanding of where your weight is being distributed in your luggage as a whole. Do you really need a five-pound parka?
Flight Status — FLIO
Airports can get crazy around the holidays, but you’ll stay on top of things with FLIO. It boasts a real-time flight tracking system with notifications for delays, boarding times, gate changes, and more. You can even follow your plane around the world thanks to maps integrated with flight status updates! If that weren’t enough, FLIO offers other travel perks as well, including a lost luggage concierge and a number of airport guides and vouchers. You can get discounts, find lounges, and order food and drink while you wait for your flight. FLIO is an excellent app for anyone hitting the sky during a holiday trip.
Food Options — Zomato
When you’ve worked up an appetite during your travels, you’ll want the Zomato app. It can bring up thousands of restaurant options with a swipe of your thumb. What’s more, its map extends everywhere from Tokyo to Toronto. Even a dedicated globetrotter can keep coming back to Zomato! Features include things like menu lists, customer reviews, and online reservation services. Search by city if you want to see all possibilities for dinner. Search by cuisine type or even a specific dish if you’re hankering for something special. Zomato also offers local takeout options, so it’ll be a useful app for either a night on the town or a restful evening in your hotel.
Tipping — GlobeTips
Tipping is confusing enough without adding different customs and currencies to it. As long as you have GlobeTips in your pocket, however, you can keep yourself from being a Scrooge this holiday season. Just input your location for everything from currency converters to tip calculators that are geo-tailored to your specific region. You can also utilize special tools like a bill scanner that can automatically read, calculate, and divide an appropriate tip among multiple people. Are you traveling somewhere that tips aren’t expected at all? No problem! GlobeTips also offers written tipping guides for more than 240 countries that will explain the right etiquette for you.
Public Transit — Moovit
If you don’t want to deal with holiday traffic in a rental car, you’ll need to navigate public transportation, and that means downloading an app like Moovit. It’s basically a self-updating map that spans the globe and delivers real time information on mass transit. Whether you’re looking to hop on a bus, take the subway, or go for a scenic train ride, you find routes by accessing the map and toggling through its many different customization options. You can even look at the current availability of services like Lyft and Uber! Never be stranded in a foreign location again. Keep Moovit on your phone, and you’ll always be able to find a way back to your hotel.
Local Hot Spots — Like a Local
Tourist traps can be hell on Earth during the holidays. Fortunately, Like a Local can help you avoid the crowds and find hidden gems in your destination of choice. Its database is maintained and curated by actual locals, so you’ll get genuine, non-commercialized advice about the best places to eat, sleep, and shop. You’ll also enjoy travel-friendly features like downloadable maps marked with W-Fi hot spots . If you enjoy traveling off the beaten path, Like a Local is a great tool for exploration and discovery.
And don’t forget our own app for cheap flights! The CheapOair Canada app not only allows users to find the best airfares, it also helps travelers find mobile-exclusive deals on cheap hotels and car rentals. And you’re not just saving money. When you book through the app, you’ll also earn twice as many points in our ClubMiles Program and receive live trip updates.
Do you have a favorite travel app that you rely on? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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