An App For That – Travel Smart

Summer vacation’s just around the corner?and thanks to technology, you can do your planning more easily than ever. While you may already be aware of popular apps that help you find the best travel deals (Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and Kayak, to name a few), be sure to check out these lesser-known but incredibly helpful partners for your on-the-go travel planning:

TripAdvisor: Is that hotel really as good as its marketing materials claim? Is that attraction worth taking the time to go see? TripAdvisor contains a wealth of reviews written by your fellow travellers, and while it’s actually a website with an associated app, both site and app are convenient to browse. Web, Android, iOS, Windows phone.

PackPoint: Packing can be the vacationer’s nemesis. There’s no app to physically load your suitcases for you, but PackPoint helps you out by telling you what you need to bring, and how much of it. It even adjusts its recommendations based on the weather forecast for your destination! Android, iOS.

TripIt: If you’re tired of searching for flight, hotel, and car reservation emails, download TripIt to get it all together in one place. Bonus: once it sets up your itinerary, it works offline, too! The paid upgrade includes flight alerts and can help you reschedule via alternate flights. Android, iOS.