My Favorite Travel Apps

Whether it’s a last-minute road trip or a well-planned luxury vacation, I’ve found a handful of travel apps over the years that make traveling easier, less stressful and a lot more enjoyable.

And, I know there are plenty of apps you might have that I hope you share with me!

Truly, spontaneous and short trips are my favorite.  Packing a picnic in the cooler, an overnight bag and some extra tennis shoes is my idea of a very, very good time.

But, as with any travel, even that can be stressful.  I mean, where should we stay?  Should we put gas in the car in town or wait for a highway fill up?  Do the cats have extra food and water?  Did we close the garage door?

Well, to be quite honest, I have not found a cat app, but for long trips, it is such a blessing to have Ryan stay here and hold down the fort.  Mandy now likes him better than she likes me.  Hmm.

But I digress.  Back to helpful travel apps.

Hotels.com

I discovered when we went on our long, long road trip across the country, it worked best to decide last minute exactly what town we would end up in and explore a bit to see what kind of neighborhood suited us best.

Hotels.com provides detailed property information and shows the total price upfront, with no surprises at checkout.

I have often called the property directly and most times they cannot beat the price.

From spending a career traveling, I do have quite a few loyalty points with Marriott and Hilton.  The downside of Hotels.com is that the points can neither be used nor accrued.

Airlines

When traveling by air, I have found it invaluable to download the airline’s app.  Not only will I have my boarding pass handy, the airline will communicate gate changes, delays, etc.

It’s easy to delete the app off my home screen when back home.

Love’s

For interstate road travel, I’ve found that gassing up at Love’s offers the best experience.  Gas is 10¢ a gallon cheaper when the app is scanned.  There are always special in-store offers such as free drinks or snacks.

For frequent road-trippers, those savings can add up quickly.

Stores are clean, organized and have large bathrooms.

My kind of stop.

GuideAlong (formerly GPSy)

We’ve used this service several times in the past – most recently on our trip last year to Glacier National Park.

We find the guided tours in our car informative and enjoyable, especially when driving through national parks.

Since the app uses GPS and not cell service, it’s nice to have the mapping feature with landmarks pointed out in real time.

MyQ

Remember what I said about the garage door being opened.  There is nothing worse than being halfway to your destination and wondering if you closed the garage door.  Yep, there is an app to set your mind at ease – MyQ.

During our trip to Palm Springs, BIL Mike used his MyQ app to use the rented house’s garage door for our use.

Wrap Up

While this is not meant to be a comprehensive list, these are a few apps that have made life on the road a bit easier.  Without being totally tethered to my phone.  Which is not easy.  Am I right?

Do you have a favorite travel app I should know about? I’d love to hear what makes your travels easier, whether you’re heading across town or across the country.

Have a wonderful week and may God bless you and yours.