Megan Wills

Technology can make or break your travel experience.  Over the last few years, I’ve had some amazing travel experiences – from backpacking with my best friends in Europe to ridiculously long stateside road trips to spending half a summer in Africa.  Needless to say, I’ve picked up some travel tips and indispensable apps that have improved my journey.  

9.30 TW

 

Let technology be your greatest travel advantage with these 5 apps:

1) Open an incognito window

When you're searching for best prices for plane tickets, go to your computer’s file and open new incognito window.  Websites can save your searches and actually raise prices since they know your browser history.  The incentive is to have you buy the plane ticket, so if you think the price is going up, you’re more likely to buy that day, right?  Don’t be fooled.  Open a window with no website history and I guarantee you'll find a better deal.

2) Search Kayak.com

My dad told me about Kayak.com years ago; he’s a seasoned traveler and goes all over the world for business.  I now use Kayak to book all of my flights.  Kayak is an amazing resource that allows you to search flights among all airlines.  The website and app doesn’t sell flights - rather it gives you any and all options for your flight time and price and then directs you to the airline’s site to purchase.

3) Monitor with FlightAware.com 

A New York Times article I read a few years ago raved about this online and mobile friendly site and I’ve been a huge fan ever since.  FlightAware.com is beneficial for anyone needing to track a flight’s progress such as picking up friends and family at the airport.  You can see exactly where the plane is on a virtual map and exactly when it will be landing.

4) Pack with PackPoint

PackPoint is a packing list app.  But trust me, this is not like making a packing list on your notes app.  PackPoint generates a customized list of items you should pack.  You enter the basics: destination, departure date, the length of your stay and the purpose of the trip.  You can even specify your agenda to include whether your voyage is domestic or international and if you have a special event to attend.  In turn, PackPoint does all of the thinking for you, and even takes weather into consideration when advising you on your trip.  It's like having a personal assistant – on your phone.

5) Bring a portable phone charger

Portable phone chargers are carried everywhere now and can be purchased for as little as $8 or as much as $50 depending on the quality and the battery life.  While we’d like to believe outlets are easy to find, but often when you’re on your feet sightseeing the last thing you want to do is take time to find an outlet, and then wait while your phone charges.  You'll never be caught with a dying phone and no way to charge it again!

These quick and easy tech applications have changed my travel life.  Do you have favorite travel apps or tips related to technology?

 

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