5 Best Travel Apps In 2017 For The Competitive Traveler
While there are thousands of travel apps out there, this blog hits on the top five apps for the competitive traveler. From saving money, to saving time, we will take you step-by-step through the most efficient and effective travel apps for 2017.
1. Rayka
(5 stars from me)
(Hasn’t been released to the market yet)
This app is one of the newest and most unique on the market. It takes social media, travel, and competition and bundles it all up into one. You follow your friends and mark the cities and countries you have traveled to. Once you have been to a certain city you can rank different amenities that each location offers. So whether you are showing off your favorite places or visiting a city for the first time, this app allows you to see the most up to date recommendations from people you know and trust.
2. Hopper
(4.8 Stars from me)
(4.5 Stars, 78 reviews)
For the cheap flight warrior: this app allows you to keep an eye on different flights, and snatches up the great deals when they come along. It allows you to compare different price options and at the end of the day, get the best deal for your travel destination. I hate booking flights. The overwhelming number of options just does a number on me. I never know if I’m getting the best deal or passing up on one – so this app gives me some serious peace of mind.
3. Roadtrippers
(4 Stars from me)
(4 Stars, 15 reviews)
For the competitive road trip expert: this app allows you to plan the fastest route throughout the country, hitting every stop you decide to put on the agenda. Although some think of road trips as spur of the moment activities, hardcore road trippers know that they take much more planning than one might originally think. Make the planning process smoother, and enjoy your trip, having the peace of mind that every stop you plan is in the most efficient order. Most of the reviews pulling this app down were at the beginning of its launch. Let’s hope that they figured the glitches out, because others swear by it!
4. Airbnb
(5 Stars from me)
(4 Stars, 84 reviews)
While this app may not be for the competitive time traveler, it does come in handy for the thrifty traveler. It allows you to experience a city from a rental-by-owner housing experience. Because there is no middleman, this tends to cut the cost, and gives a little more down to earth feel to any business trip or vacation. While there may be a few bad experiences with this app, because some people are just stranger than others, you can generally root out the strange ones by doing some research on your end. See how others have ranked the people you were staying with, if you like to be left alone – make it clear. But if you are down for a glass of wine with a new friend in a foreign place, make that known too. It’s a great way to find roots in areas you aren’t familiar with.
5. Waze
(4 Stars from me)
(4.5 Stars, 4,428 reviews)
This app is helpful while traveling to a new city, or making your way around your own hometown. It takes you on the quickest and most direct route and accounts for traffic patterns, car accidents, and everyone’s favorite – good ole police officers waiting to get those speedsters. This app can not only save you time, but it might also save you some money on speeding tickets that you may have gotten without the heads up.
I loved this app the first time I downloaded it. I had less anxiety about police officers and I knew I was getting the most efficient route. It was awesome! But the last time I tried using it, the app took my address and routed me, but wouldn’t zero in on where I was. So on a personal note, I took one star off – but others have found great success with this nifty app.
While there are hundreds of thousands of travel apps to choose from out there, we compiled our top five favorite for the competitive traveler based on user experience, efficiency, and cost savings in day-to-day life. Hope that they have been helpful to you!
Georgia Compton – Content Creator
Created in partnership with Furman University.
