Make the Most of Your Business Trips: Travel Apps for Any Occasion

There are two types of people in the world: those who can pack a bag in 5 minutes and those who get anxiety thinking about planning a weekend trip. Whether you like it or not, as more and more businesses are expanding, traveling has become an essential part of success.

Unfortunately, the unpredictability of a weekend focused on meetings and contracts can have you spending more time in offices than exploring the new city that surrounds you.

Am I right to say that business trips sound way more luxurious than they actually are? As a passionate traveler and young professional, I’m here to help! I’ve curated a list of tried and true travel apps to help you enjoy your time out of the office. After all, you did get a free plane ticket.

Sips

After work fun – find the best places to sip on anything from a glass of wine to a tequila soda.

Untappd: The social media app for beer lovers. Check-in to show off what and where you’re drinking, and keep track of what beers are on tap at venues everywhere.

American Bars: Find where and when the best bars and happy hour deals are happening anywhere around you or the US! Don’t forget to keep track of your favorites for your next trip.

Sites

Take in the best sites and scenery your city has to offer and always know how to get there.

Citymaps2go: This app gives you offline access to downloadable interactive maps of nearly any city worldwide. Find restaurants, bars, parks, special sites, and more without using data (perfect for international travel). You can even download guided maps for specific travel ideas such as biking trails, specialty tours, and unique activities you might not have known about otherwise.

Google Trips: Not only does this app allow you to keep written day plans and mark destinations and must-see sites on the most convenient of maps, but this all-in-one travel planner also allows you to view your plane tickets, car rentals, hotel reservations, and more.

Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet serves as your personal tour guide at all of the most popular tourist destinations around the globe. Immerse yourself in the history and culture of each city your business sends you to by finding specific travel guides based off of your interests.

Social

Chances are there are more business travelers like yourself confused on what to do in this strange city. Make some friends and explore together!

Grip: Make connections at your business conference you never thought were possible with this event networking app powered by artificial intelligence.

Foursquare Swarm: A comprehensive check-in app that shows which events are drawing in the most people. Find popular gatherings by category in whatever city your business takes you.

Bumble BFF: The popular dating app’s newest feature is a service which allows you to make plans with people nearby who are simply looking for camaraderie and fun.

Snacks

Only the best food for before, during, or after your meetings! Never settle for another fast food chain — take advantage and try new foods and restaurants.

OpenTable: The ultimate restaurant reservation app. Make a reservation anywhere and anytime. They use your current location to find the restaurants closest to you and have categories and filters based off of cuisines, special features, price points, and more. You even get rewarded for making reservations and can get Amazon gift cards or money off your next meal — you’re basically getting paid to eat great food!

Grubhub: Had a long day at the office or need to order lunch for your next meeting? This is the perfect app to find nearby options for delivery or takeout.

Urbanspoon: The tried and true Jack-of-all-trades food app. Trusted for years, Urbanspoon allows you to find local restaurants by cuisine, ratings, price, and more.

Save

If only our wallets grew with our miles! These are the best apps to help you find local deals and keep track of your spending.

Expensify: Track receipts to make expense reports easily for your business trips. You can even connect with other apps as well as your credit card for seamless reporting.

Flipp: An app which collects weekly advertised offerings from tons of local and online retailers. Pin the promotions you’re interested in and save big.

Shows

Spend your night or day soaking up the best theater, music, art, or movies around. Little to no planning required!

Bandsintown: Find every music artist playing nearby, whether it be a local garage band or an international superstar. Sync with your social media and music streaming accounts to find concerts recommended specifically for you.

Nearify:  Nearify allows you to find an abundance of entertainment events in a wide variety of unique categories including festivals, parties, and sports.

Today Tix:  A ticket purchasing app that gives you access to tickets in almost every town with a historic theater presence at discount prices. In a pinch? Buy same day or same night tickets to your desired show.

These apps are about more than just enjoying your business trips. Maintaining a positive attitude both in and out of the office is an important part of being (and staying) successful. Don’t get caught in the slumps of your typical routine or get burnt out and risk losing a client or disappointing your boss.

It’s no surprise that there’s a strong correlation between your mood and your work efforts — download these apps and bring some excitement and happiness back to your office and more importantly, your life. I guarantee that your coworkers will notice.

I hope you follow my lead and make the most of your time out of the office, I know I have!

Claudia Bové – Content Creator