No more struggling with printed itineraries and handfuls of frequent flyer cards, these days I travel light with thanks to my trusty iPhone and these handy apps and services.
The one service I can’t imagine traveling without is the TripIt Mobile Website. The TripIt service is fantastic – you simply forward your flight or hotel confirmation to plans@tripit.com and it adds it to your account. From there additional information like flight status, weather updates and maps are added. I have the mobile website added to my iPhone home screen and don’t even think about printing out my itineraries anymore.
On a trip a few months ago I realized I had to make an emergency stop at the Apple store my first evening in a new city. The Around Me application provided me with the address of the local Apple store, and I was able to secure a ride easily with the Call a Cab application. I didn’t need to learn the number to a particular cab service and wait; the service located cabs from different services that were already nearby.
I’ve had the Air Sharing application on my phone for months, but finally set it up the other night in preparation of a trip. I only like to carry essentials in my wallet while traveling, and frequent flyer cards generally don’t make the cut. I created a Pages document that listed all my frequent flyer and hotel rewards accounts, and then saved it to my phone. Now when I’m prompted for various membership numbers, I have them handy! (Yes, some people may have concerns with this, and there are other services that allow you to password protect folders or directories.)
While many folks enjoy the engaging nature of the Urbanspoon application, which offers you suggestions of nearby restaurants based on the neighbourhood, type of food, and price, I prefer the OpenTable application, which lets you find nearby restaurants that actually have seating available! You can also manually set the location, so you’re not only limited to the immediate proximity.
While the Around Me application has a general listing of banks, I’m more interested in finding a branch of MY bank. This is one of the few cases where a brand-specific application has real merit: the Chase application allows me to check my balances and transfer money, as well as locate the nearest branch and ATM.
These are a few of the services that’ve helped make traveling much less stressful – what are some of your favorite iPhone travel apps that I’ve missed? I’m still searching for that one that will pack my suitcase for me!
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Andrea, this is a great roundup. However, if you travel internationally, bring paper. I’ve had all my travel data on a handheld for years, but I’ve occasionally had difficulty getting to some airline check-in counters in Paris. In New Delhi, I was barred entry into the terminal building by a machine gun-toting soldier until I could produce a printed itinerary with my name on it. No fun.
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Good collection of iPhone apps for travelers. Awesome Andrea. Thanks!
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Hi Andrea,
Great links on the lovely Iphone Apps. I have found another useful trick, scanning all your cards that get scanned via barcode like your library card or gym card and use your iphone to get scanned….it works!!
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I used to work for a company that created multiple IPhone apps that were great but that is one they never thought of. I have to get that one soon.
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It’s pretty amazing now how much you can really do with a smart phone nowadays. Don’t leave home without one, you never know when it might come in handy. It’s almost like batman – he always had the right tool for the job, now all you need is the right app!
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