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The best trip planner apps to make your travels easier

Booking a trip can be an exciting yet daunting task. As if booking airfare, hotel, and transportation weren't enough, you also need to consider food, sights, and attractions. As a travel lover myself, I often dread planning and preparing for a trip. Not only do I never have the time, but I often get oversaturated by the vast amount of information found online and the fear of getting scammed. 

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Over the years, I've found the best websites and apps to help smooth out the planning process. These apps help me keep track of all my reservations, send me booking reminders, and guarantee I always find the best prices -- because there is nothing worse than falling for tourist traps or overpriced offerings. 

Whether you are a spontaneous or a nitty-gritty planner traveler, ZDNET has tested and reviewed the best trip planner apps on the market. Our top pick for the best trip planner site and app is Booking.com due to its easy-to-use user interface, extensive booking capabilities, and pricing. However, since not every trip or traveler is the same, we've included several options to help you plan and stay organized during your travels. 

Keep reading to learn more about ZDNET's expert-tested and reviewed trip planner apps. 

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The best trip planner apps of 2023

Booking.com, best overall trip planner.

• Multiple bookings
• Great deals
• Can earn points from bookings and reservations
• Easy to use
• No group planning
• Can't organize bookings per trip

Booking.com features:   Platform: App and website |  Compatibility:  iOS and Android |  Pricing:  Free |  Booking:  Yes |  Group planning:  No

When planning my trips, I always make a stop at the Booking.com app, especially when reserving hotels. I find their user interface visually appealing and easy to use, and that it provides just the right amount of information I need when scrolling through hotel suggestions. Personally, I enjoy that I can add my top picks to my favorites with a quick tap of a heart, glance through reviews, look at cancellation policies, and even find out how far away hotels are from key spots. Through Booking.com, you can also book flights, car rentals, taxis, and city attractions, making it a great all-in-one place to plan and book upcoming weekend getaways or longer vacations. While I have personally never used the car rentals, taxis, or city attractions components of the app, I enjoy knowing that if I ever needed to, I can quickly hop on my phone and glance at the latest offerings. 

My favorite feature when using Booking.com to plan trips is the offers and promotions it displays for users. In the app, when you click your profile, you can see your "Genius" loyalty program status as well as discover the best deals around the world for your specific chosen dates. My only critique of Booking.com is that it does not enable group trip planning or let you organize your bookings per trip. This means if you are planning a trip with a friend, only one person can book and have access to reservations. 

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Best trip planner for organization

• Synced with e-mail inbox
• Organizes reservations no matter where you book
• Works offline
• Can't make any bookings
• Need to pay for advanced features
• UI could use an upgrade

TripIt features:   Platform:  App and website |  Compatibility: iOS and Android | Pricing: Free or $49 per year | Booking: No | Group planning: Yes

In terms of planning a trip, creating an itinerary, and keeping all your information in one place, TripIt is one of the best travel apps to keep yourself organized. When you first create an account, TripIt will sync with your inbox and automatically add all of your upcoming flights and reservations to your account. You can then modify each trip to include as little or as much information as you'd like. As someone who likes to be spontaneous when traveling, I usually only add the essentials: flight information, hotel reservations, and important documents. However, if you like to plan your trips down by the hour, you can also include activities, restaurant reservations, transportation, and more in your trip plan to share with fellow travelers.

As your trip approaches, TripIt will also send you packing reminders, give you COVID-19 travel guidance, and show transportation options. While you can get most of the essential features within the free version of the app (this is the one I use), you can also pay $49 a year to get advanced features such as check-in reminders, real-time flight alerts, point tracking, and even notifications for drops in airfare prices. 

Keep in mind that while TripIt gives you transportation options and finds places near your hotel, you cannot book or make any reservations directly from the app. The app is solely used to organize and keep track of all of your travel plans in one place, no matter where you book them. 

Best AI trip planner

• Personalized travel itinerary
• Hotel booking
• Can modify recommendations
• Group planning enabled
• Only available as a website
• No flight or restaurant booking

Guide features:   Platform: Website  Compatibility: all major browsers |  Pricing:  Free | Booking: Yes, but hotels only | Group Planning: Yes  Generative AI is everyone's favorite buzzword this year, and slowly but surely, it has been making its way across all industries -- including the travel industry. Guide is an innovative AI travel planning tool that creates personalized travel itineraries based on your preferences. (Full disclosure, it's also owned by ZDNET's sister company. It's currently in private beta, but you can join a wait list.) All you need to do is select your destination, the dates, whether you are traveling alone or in a group, your budget, and the types of activities you are looking for, and Guide will do the planning. 

After generating a trip itinerary for you based on your prompt, Guide then lets you modify and customize the itinerary to your liking. I recently used Guide to plan a six-day trip to Austin, Texas, and this was the feature I enjoyed the most, since I had specific restaurants and activities I wanted to incorporate into my trip, but I also needed some additional recommendations. While you can't book flights or restaurant reservations through Guide, you can book and find great hotel deals powered by Expedia on the platform. 

Guide will also give you an overall budget for your trip, a packing list, and a comprehensive list of things to know about your destination -- which may be helpful for some more than others. While my trip to Austin was a solo trip, Guide has a feature where you can invite other fellow travelers to collaborate in planning your trip through Guide's chatbot, GuideBot. This chatbot also works sort of like ChatGPT, where you can ask GuideBot questions about your trip, your destination, or recommendations. Keep in mind you can not ask GuideBot to directly modify your trip for you, and instead need to manually do it yourself -- believe me, I tried. 

Tripadvisor

Best trip planner app for reviews.

• Countless reviews
• Used by travelers worldwide
• Variety of information
• Booking capabilities
• Great for local spots
• Booking is not its strongest feature and you may not always find the best deals
• Doesn't vet reviews

Tripadvisor  features: Platform:  App and website |  Compatibility:  iOS and Android |  Pricing:  Free |  Booking:  Yes |  Group planning:  No

Reading customer reviews is one of the most important steps when planning a trip. While you shouldn't base all of your decisions on reviews, you should consider past customer experiences to get a feel for the brand and company you are about to trust, or the experience you are going to pay for.  When it comes to travel reviews, Tripadvisor is the best trip planner app to rely on. Since the platform has so many reviews for restaurants, activities, accommodations, and locations all over the world, it is always easy and convenient to log onto the app or website to help you make an educated decision. (However, remember that not all Tripadvisor reviews are legit, since the platform does not independently verify customer postings.) Beyond reviews, TripAdvisor also lets you book hotels, restaurants, things to do, and more while also providing detailed insights into their offerings -- including cancellation policies, ratings, and features. 

Tripadvisor's "Travelers' Choice" best-of list is also a popular part of its platform, allowing visitors to see top-rated destinations, hotels, restaurants, and things to do around the world. With Tripadvisor, you can plan a trip yourself from scratch, hire a trip designer, or get a custom itinerary built by AI. 

Best trip planner app for transportation

• Great multi-mode travel comparison
• convenient and seamless transportation booking
• Multiple currency and language availability
• Flight deals and suggestions are not the strongest
• Limited offers depending on the country or city of travel
• Not the most reliable customer service

Omio features:  Platform:  App and website |  Compatibility:  iOS and Android |  Pricing:  Free |  Booking:  Yes, transportation only |  Group planning:  No

I first discovered Omio when a friend recommended it to me while I was studying abroad in Spain, and ever since I downloaded it, it has become my go-to app for booking the best deals and fares on transportation within Europe. The concept behind Omio is simple: You plug in your departure and arrival location, including the number of people you are traveling with, and add whether you are looking for a one-way or round-trip journey. Omio will then show you the best deals by train, bus, or plane to and from your desired destination, including how much time each option will take you and the number of stops. 

The German-based travel booking site is great at aggregating travel information from multiple sites, allowing you to view all of your transportation options in one place. This is incredibly beneficial when planning trips within Europe since there are several ways you can cross each border and often various languages and regulations to keep in mind. Omio is set in English but has multiple additional languages available, as well as currency options. During my time abroad, I solely used Omio to book all of my transportation, including planning a 17-day trip across seven different European countries. Overall, using Omio was not only convenient and seamless but also helped me save hundreds of dollars by helping me maximize my travel time by switching between flights, trains, and buses. 

However, since returning from Europe, I have not used Omio as much as I thought I would -- maybe because I have a car and take most of my trips by plane. And Omio's flight deals and suggestions are not the strongest compared to Booking.com or Skyscanner's, which heavily focus on flight deals. I have also found they have some limitations depending on the country or city you are traveling in. Be mindful of the deals and tickets you buy through Omio since some tickets are non-refundable, and some customers complain their customer service is not the best -- although I have yet to have any issues with them. 

What is the best trip planner app?

Booking.com gets our vote for the best trip planner app due to its wide selection of accommodations, its points and promotions offerings, and its easy-to-use user interface. Not only does Booking.com help you find the best deals throughout your trip, but it will also help you stay organized throughout your trip by keeping all of your reservations in one place. To determine which trip planner app or combination of trip planners is best for you, check out this comparison chart below. 

Which is the right trip planner app for you?

The best trip planner app ultimately depends on your travel and planning style. If you like booking and planning everything in one place while also earning points and getting great deals, then Booking.com is your top app. However, if you are looking for a place to keep all of your accommodations, reservations, and activity details organized, then TripIt is a better app for you. Check out the following chart to help you find the best trip planner app or a combination of apps for you to plan your next adventure. 

How did we choose these trip planner apps?

To find the best trip planner apps, we drew upon real-life experiences and tested their performance and capabilities during our latest trips. Ultimately, we weighted the following factors when choosing which trip planners to include on our list: 

• Features: Each app can vary significantly with the features it offers, whether it is solely to book flights and hotels, help you plan your next trip using AI, or help you find the best deals and booking information, each app on this list can help you address several common inconveniences that present themselves while planning that next adventure.  
• Compatibility: An app is of little use if it does not work with your devices, so we look to see what compatibility each trip-planning app offers and which platforms you can access it from. Personally, I enjoy apps that combine an app and website component since this quickly helps me switch between my wide computer screen and my tiny yet portable iPhone screen. 
• Customer reviews: We study real customer reviews and ratings to evaluate customer satisfaction and service. This is incredibly important since most times when you travel, you visit an unknown city or country, and you should be mindful of past experiences others have had. 
• Cost : Most trip planner apps are free, but you may have to upgrade to receive special access to exclusive features or deals. If your app is already free, it means you only have to pay a small amount (often unnoticeable) when you book your accommodations. 

What is a trip planner app?

A trip planner app is an app that provides organizational features for your upcoming trip. It is often free and incorporates trip planning tools, whether you are traveling by ground, water or air.   

How does a trip planner app work?

A trip planner app can incorporate special features, like an itinerary, calendar, reservation and booking hub, and map assistance. Depending on the app you choose, there is even trip-sharing with friends and family to simplify the entire trip planning process.  

How much does a trip planner app cost?

Most trip planner apps are free, but some may offer in-app purchases to upgrade or enhance your experience. Within this list, only Tripit costs money, but only for their advanced features version, which costs $49 a year. However, you can get access to most if not all, trip-planning features, through their free version. 

Are there alternative trip planner apps worth considering?

As I mentioned earlier, trip planning heavily depends on your personal style of travel and preferences. However, whether you like to plan your trips down by the minute or prefer to just have the basics, there are several apps that can optimize your planning. Here are a few apps worth considering that almost made it onto our list: 

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The 9 Best Travel Planner Apps of 2024

Proper planning prevents poor purchasing. Get ready for your trip the right way!

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Planning the perfect trip can be almost overwhelming enough to take the fun out of what should be an exciting experience. Thankfully, many travel planning apps are available to help you organize your next getaway, right down to the smallest detail.

Best for Predicting Lowest Flight and Hotel Prices: Hopper

The Watch feature sends push notifications about good deals when it's time to commit.

Some fairly large airlines aren't included in Hopper's analysis.

Hopper's proprietary algorithm tries to predict where flight and lodging prices are headed shortly, letting you wait until the right moment to spring into action and book your trip at the lowest price. The app analyzes billions of prices per day and claims to predict what the cheapest one will be with a 95% accuracy rate.

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Best for Helping You Remember the Essentials: Packing Pro

An impressive group of sample packing lists provides a good starting point if you don't want to make your own.

In-app purchases are inappropriate for an app you purchased.

Packing Pro is well worth the $2.99 if stuffing your suitcases isn't your favorite pre-trip activity. The app creates customizable packing lists considering essential factors like the trip duration, destination, expected weather conditions, food preferences, and more. Packing Pro's robust item catalog ensures that even the most unique dietary or religious restrictions are satisfied.

Best for Car or RV Trips: Roadtrippers

The hidden gems that can be discovered with this app.

GPS coordination isn't as good as it is in apps like Waze.

If dealing with long lines at the airport isn't your idea of fun, then Roadtrippers may be the app for you. Whether you're hitting the highway or off-roading, enter your starting and destination points and let Roadtrippers provide everything you need.

From campsites and outdoor attractions to unique adventures that are off the beaten path, this app is the perfect companion for planning an excursion, no matter if your mode of transportation is a small-sized rental car or a giant RV.

An optional yearly subscription unlocks advanced features, including live traffic monitoring and different map styles.

Best for Finding Bargain Flights: Skiplagged

Frequent travelers can save a significant amount of money.

Airline baggage fee policies can be murky, so read the fine print before booking.

By showing fares to connecting cities that are sometimes cheaper than a direct flight to that city, Skiplagged lets you book flights where you stay at the layover location (your destination) rather than continuing with the connecting flight. When it works, you spend less to reach your desired destination. Skiplagged also lets you book last-minute hotel deals.

Best Overall Trip Planner: Kayak

The Explore feature helps you decide on a destination, suggesting getaways all over the globe based on your maximum budget.

Doesn't always show all available flights on a specific route, potentially causing you to miss out on the best deal.

One of the top all-in-one apps for setting up a trip, Kayak searches hundreds of travel sites instantly to provide multiple deals on a flight, hotel, or rental car in the same location. Kayak also organizes everything in one place and includes up-to-date details on security wait times, along with airport terminal maps.

The app also measures your luggage using your phone's camera, informing you of potential fees and carry-on rules for most airlines.

Best for Avoiding Hidden Fees: Skyscanner

Offers protection to ensure car rental providers don't overcharge for fuel.

In rare instances, flight prices shown in the app are outdated.

Skyscanner should be included in some of the bigger all-in-one planning and booking apps. Offering reliable price alerts, integrated frequent flyer miles, and no additional or hidden fees like you might find elsewhere, Skyscanner usually follows through on its promises and is easy to navigate.

Best Itinerary Planner: Sygic Travel

If you don't want a planned itinerary, Sygic is useful for finding nearby attractions on-the-fly.

Access to Sygic's offline maps requires a paid upgrade to the Premium version.

Sygic Travel lets you plan a detailed itinerary for each day of your trip before you leave home, down to the last detail, like walking distances between attractions.

With over 50 million places included, many with 360-degree videos that make you feel like you're there, the app's smart search filters help you narrow things down to the perfect daily schedule. Collaborative city guides provide an easy-to-use snapshot of the most popular locales around the globe.

Best for Customer Reviews: TripAdvisor

The forums are a great resource for getting specific travel-related questions answered quickly.

Default rankings don't always correlate with customer reviews, so you often need to take a deeper dive to discover the best value.

A stalwart in the travel industry, TripAdvisor isn't unique in providing a one-stop-shop for booking good deals on flights, hotels, and restaurants for your upcoming trip, though it does a dependable job of each. The app sets itself apart with its customer feedback on airlines, lodging, food, and activities. By offering over 500 million opinions from real travelers who've been there and done that, TripAdvisor helps you make informed planning decisions based on others' past experiences.

Best for Organizing Confirmations and Reservations: TripIt

Send information manually, forward confirmation emails, or have the app automatically fetch itineraries from your inbox.

The default notification setting is for an annoying number of alerts.

When you plan a trip, it's not uncommon to receive multiple confirmation emails and itineraries from airlines, hotels, rental car companies, or other sources. Keeping all these details organized can be a hassle.

TripIt solves this problem by taking all your scattered information and organizing it into an easy-to-use main itinerary. This basic functionality is free of charge, while an annual subscription provides the ability to upgrade your seat on upcoming flights and track reward miles, among other perks.

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What is tour management software?

Choosing the best tour management software for your tour or attraction business can feel overwhelming. With so many options on the market, you might be wondering where to even start looking.

Tour management software will help you manage every aspect of your business, from new reservations to tour guide schedules. You want to find a booking solution that supports your business now and in the future. Ideally, it’s a booking solution made with companies like yours in mind.

In this post, we’re sharing the key features tour and attraction operators should look for in their tour management software.

Why is tour management software important?

When do you need it?

What to look for when choosing tour management software

1. easy setup, 2. secure, optimized checkout, 3. mobile-friendly, 4. automated marketing, 5. integrations, 6. reporting, 7. customer support, what is tour management software .

Tour management software helps tour and activity operators manage essential booking activities like new reservations, tour availability, guide management, and equipment / inventory.

With booking software, your website becomes a 24/7 booking engine. It allows guests to book and pay for their tours directly on your site, with much of the process automated for you.

It makes it easy for tour operators to keep track of customer information, payment activity, guide schedules, and more.

Why is tour management software important? 

Certain tools are indispensable when running a travel business. Online booking software is one of them. Whether you’re running an escape room or a snorkeling tour, an online booking system removes the hassle of manually managing your bookings with pen and paper — which results in more direct bookings.

Let’s explore five reasons why tour management software is important:

• Tour management software makes it easy for customers to book online. Travelers often research several tours or attractions before making a decision. When they’re ready to book, they want to do so on the spot. If your website doesn’t offer them the opportunity to book online , they may just navigate to a competitor’s website. 
• It keeps you organized. Your staff availability and equipment inventory will be updated in real-time. This helps eliminate the risk of overbooking. The software also keeps track of customer information and ensures that guest rosters are up-to-date. You and your staff can quickly access this information from a single dashboard, ensuring everyone is always on the same page.
• Automates your guest communications . Help your guests prepare for their visit by sending them customized emails. Automate your booking confirmation emails, tour updates, and same-day reminders to keep guests in the loop.
• Optimizes your website for more bookings. Offering guests an easy and intuitive online booking experience will result in more sales. Your booking page will be easy to navigate, with clickable “Book Now” buttons and calendars showing availability.
• You have valuable data at your fingertips. The software stores customer data, analyzes booking trends, and helps you make decisions based on real data.

When do you need it? 

As a new travel company, you’re trying to keep your starting costs as low as possible. Many operators begin managing bookings on their own, at least until they reach a point where the booking volume is too much to handle.

If you’re waiting to invest in tour management software, here are three ways to know you’re ready:

• You’re receiving more bookings than you can handle. Your phone is constantly ringing and your inbox is full of booking requests. There are so many bookings coming in that some start to slip through the cracks. Sometimes you lose potential revenue because you didn’t get back to a customer in time. 
• Overbookings become an issue. Without a proper booking system, tour and staff availability becomes blurry. If you overbook an experience, you are forced to cancel reservations or risk overworking your tour guides. Frustrated staff and upset guests can negatively impact your brand and drive future guests away.
• You’re struggling to make it past your slow season. With booking software, your website is optimized to drive more bookings even during your slowest months. Whether it is through lightning deals, coupons, or affiliates, these are just a few ways you can encourage more off-season bookings. 

Your booking software will help you manage nearly every aspect of your day-to-day operations. You want to find a booking solution that meets your team’s needs right now, yet is flexible enough to grow with your company. 

As you’re researching different software providers, here are seven key features to look for.

It shouldn’t be difficult to set up booking software on your website. You want to have as little downtime as possible to ensure your business continues running as usual. It only takes one line of code and a few seconds to integrate Xola with any site, for instance.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes, and go through the booking process on your website. The checkout page should load quickly and be easy to fill out. It should also securely store your customers’ credit card and personal information.

The software should work across all platforms, especially mobile. It should be just as easy for customers to book a tour on their phones as it is on a computer. When your website is optimized for mobile bookings , you can capture last-minute bookings from travelers already in your destination.

In what ways does the software help you attract and retain new customers? With Xola, for example, you can automatically request a customer review, sell gift vouchers, set up coupons, and re-engage past guests.  

Consider the tools you already use, such as your email provider and accounting program. Does the software integrate with your current tech? The more apps your software integrates with, the easier it becomes for you to manage your operations from a single platform.

If your software doesn’t make it easy for you to tap into customer and financial data, you’ll have to invest in additional business intelligence tools. The best booking solutions break down your transactions, allow you to see cash flow and realized earnings, and help identify your most valuable listings and booking channels. These reports help you make strategic decisions about your tour schedule, new hires, and equipment investments.

Does the company offer 24/7 support? If something goes wrong with your booking software, you want to be able to contact someone as soon as possible. Inquire whether the company assigns dedicated account managers and what kind of support is offered. For example, will the account manager help you train your staff?

In sum, there are seven key features to look for in your booking software. You want to ensure the software has an easy setup, a secure checkout, and 24/7 customer support. You also want to ensure the software is mobile-friendly and helps you drive more direct bookings across all platforms.

Writer Carla Vianna

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The 15 best travel management software in 2024

• Great for booking corporate travel
• Tools that are a must for handling the tracking and reporting of expenses. 
• Extra tools that help ensure your overall travel experience for you and your team is as smooth as possible.

15 top travel management software to streamline your business trips

Business travel management booking tools, 1. travelperk.

• Extensive travel inventory: find the best travel options for your business, including air travel, rail tickets, car rentals, and more
• Flexible trips : receive an 80% refund for canceled travel when booking with FlexiPerk
• Carbon offsetting : offset your travel’s carbon emissions with TravelPerk’s GreenPerk—managed by our dedicated Sustainability Team
• G2 rating: 4.6 / 5, based on 1,533 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.8 / 5, based on 402 reviews

See how to save money on business travel

2. flightfox.

• Miles and upgrades: maximize your loyalty benefits with each trip and transaction
• One-click amendments: no more back and forth with hotels or airlines—Flightfox handles all changes and cancellations
• G2 rating: 4 / 5, based on 3 reviews
• Capterra rating: no ratings available

3. Airbnb for Work

• Airbnb experiences: help your team connect with interesting experiences when traveling for business
• Travel dashboard: contact employees while they travel and eliminate expense reports with the Airbnb for Work dashboard
• G2 rating: no ratings available

Top tools for managing travel expenses

• Accounting data: set up cost centers, categories, and VAT in Payhawk.
• Digitized bookkeeping: leverage a powerful OCR with machine learning that learns from your input to automate manual data entry.
• G2 rating: 4.5 / 5, based on 216 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.6 / 5, based on 115 reviews

5. Spendesk

• 7-in-1 spend management solution: company cards, expenses, invoices, accounting, approvals, budgets, and spending reports in one simplified stack
• Spending reports: accurate and timely spending reports in a single interface
• G2 rating: 4.7 / 5, based on 3,94 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.8 / 5, based on 215 reviews

• Branded cards: personalize your company cards with your branding. Top up cards with precise spending allowances for 100% policy compliance
• Receipt collection: instant receipt collection via deep integrations with Gmail, Lyft, or Amazon Business, and easy employee coding via SMS or email
• G2 rating: 4.8 / 5, based on 1,894 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.9 / 5, based on 178 reviews

• Actionable insights: full transparency and comprehensive spend insights in real-time
• Individual process flows: set up your own approval flows and enforce internal policies, as well as local tax laws and regulations
• G2 rating: 4.5 / 5, based on 4 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.5 / 5, based on 39 reviews

• Expense approval notifications: get a push notification to give initial approval or reject the employee reimbursement request with a note
• Automatically categorize transactions: set card, merchant, budget, and user rules to categorize transactions
• G2 rating: 4.5 / 5, based on 1,151 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.7 / 5, based on 409 reviews

9. Expensya

• Secure data: an entirely paperless process that responds perfectly to security and compliance issues
• Self-learning tech: the OCR receipt capture tool learns as you upload more and more receipts to ensure accurate data management
• G2 rating: 4.6 / 5, based on 110 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.3 / 5, based on 417 reviews

10. Circula

• Employee benefits: strengthen your employer branding with modern and tax-optimized employee benefits—such as a lunch benefit, internet benefit, or relaxation benefit
• G2 rating: 4.5 / 5, based on 448 reviews
• Capterra rating: 4.7 / 5, based on 376 reviews

Remember: for whatever travel management software and expense management software you choose, make sure they can integrate with your existing tech stack.

Bonus tools and add-ons for smoother business travel, 11. rocketrip.

• Reporting dashboard: report on real-time savings, booking, and behavioral data alongside customizable spend alerts and traveler safety information
• Dedicated support: get high-quality support from Rocketrip’s support team
• G2 rating: 4.3 / 5, based on 10 reviews
• Capterra rating: no reviews available

• Generate savings: with data-backed price assurance, reshopping, and continuous provider sourcing
• Sync your services: improve productivity by automating workflows and automatically sharing your travel data.
• G2 rating: 4.3 / 5, based on 2 reviews

13. CapTrav

• Aggregate travel data: from bookings made through multiple sources, such as travel management companies (TMCs), online travel agents (OTAs), online booking tools, supplier websites, or more

14. PackPoint

• Add trip details: for personalized packing suggestions and lists

15. App in the Air

• Manage trips: get a real-time view into business travelers' booking details
• Set up a travel policy: to ensure business travelers can access key information on the go

Business Travel Booking solution That Travelers Love

What is travel management software, features to look for in your travel management software.

• Ease of booking for administrators
• Self-booking for travelers
• Free, 24/7 traveler support
• Massive travel inventory
• Automatic travel policy compliance with customizable policies and approval workflows
• Future-ready tool to will scale and adapt with your business
• Consolidated invoicing
• Travel spend reporting

Have you found the perfect-fit travel management software for your business?

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Best travel apps in 2021

Beat the traffic, avoid flight delays and find a place to stay on your next trip

The best travel apps are the ones that take all the stress out of a trip, freeing you up to enjoy the journey. And fortunately, you've got a lot of choices when it comes to finding apps that can help you plan your next getaway. 

You'll find everything from trip planners and itinerary generators to online marketplaces for flights and hotels in both the Play Store and Apple's store for apps. Combine one of the best travel apps with some great travel tech , and your chances for a smooth trip will increase dramatically.

• These are the best Android apps overall
• Get better trip photos with the best Android camera apps

Not sure where to look first? We've found a list of the best travel apps for when you're ready to hit the road again after sticking close to home for more than a year.

1. MyTSA (Free: Android; iOS)

Before you hit the road, make sure you've got MyTSA on your smartphone. The official app of the Transportation Security Administration isn't going to win any beauty contests, but it will let you check wait times at security checkpoints at major airpots. And that can help you plan on how much travel time you need to allow.

The app includes historical wait-time data while also giving you the option of checking crowd-sourced reports of how long security lines are at that moment. The ability to search what you can bring on a plane, get live assistance and find out info on the TSA PreCheck program make this a good app for travelers to keep handy on their smartphone.

Download MyTSA: Android , iOS

2. Expedia (Android, iOS: Free)

If you're a frequent traveller, you need a good all-in-one travel app, and Expedia is a tried-and-true option. You can book every aspect of your trip through Expedia, including hotels, flights and rental cars. The app also lets you bundle deals on travel and lodging, look for cruises, and research things to do when you arrive at your destination. 

If you're looking to stretch your travel budget even farther, Expedia promises exclusive deals for mobile users, with members of Expedia's rewards program enjoying additional perks. 

Download Expedia: Android , iOS

3. Flighty (iOS: Free)

There are flight trackers, and then there's Flighty, an iOS app for people who really want to know the location and arrival time of their plane. The free version of the app gives you basic flight-tracking tools, but pay up for a subscription ($8.99 a month or $49.99 per year), and you get access to more sophisticated features such as push notifications, syncing with TripIt or with calendars, and an assistant to help with your flight connections. 

Flighty also claims to be able to predict flight delays by monitoring inbound planes for 25 hours and monitoring FAA-mandated delays. You can check out the portions of the paid app for free during a 14-day trial.

Download Flighty: iOS

4. Hopper (Android, iOS: Free)

Another app bringing big data and predictive algorithms to the world of air travel is Hopper It uses a massive database of airline prices and historical trends to predict when prices to a destination are likely to be lowest, when they're likely to change, and the best time to buy a ticket for a particular date and destination. 

You can watch flights on specific dates or destinations, and the app will advise you whether it's worth it to buy now or to wait, tell you the dates when it's likely cheapest to fly, estimate changes in price, and notify you of price drops or rises. You can also save your payment details within the app for quick booking.

Download Hopper: Android , iOS

5. iExit (Android, iOS: Free)

If your travel plans involve a lot of driving, iExit works as a handy freeway exit guide, listing nearby highway exits, as well as the kind of businesses and amenities there are nearby. Need to gas up or find some good food or a place to stay for the night? iExit’s search tools come to the rescue, showing you nearby gas stations (with price data powered by GasBuddy), motels, and even deals and discounts from nearby businesses.

Download iExit: Android , iOS

6. Waze (Android; iOS)

Nothing gets a vacation off on the wrong foot like getting stuck in traffic. Waze can't eliminate the traffic, but it can help you get around any jams, especially if you're in an unfamiliar city. 

The navigation app feeds your smartphone real-time traffic information, based on reports from other Waze users. That data includes accidents, speed traps and other hazards that might keep you from getting to your destination in a timely fashion. 

Other features sure to impress travelers include automatic rerouting, cheap gas alerts and the ability to send your ETA to anyone waiting at your final stop.

Download Waze: Android , iOS

7. Skiplagged (Android, iOS: Free)

If you're traveling light and looking to save a few bucks, check out Skiplagged. It's a neat app that can keep your travel costs down by taking advantage of "hidden city flights", where flyers get off at a layover, instead of at the final destination. 

Enter your origin and destination, and Skiplagged will show you the cost of a direct flight, as well as any cheaper "hidden city" flights that have your intended destination as a layover. The caveat? Stick to carry-on luggage, as any checked-in bags will go all the way to the flight's final destination. 

Skiplagged also allows you to book hotels, including last-minute deals and special offers.

Download Skiplagged: Android , iOS

8. Flio (Android, iOS: Free)

Flio aims to be the all-in-one companion app for harried travelers making their way through airports worldwide. An official partner of 300 airports, Flio also has info on thousands more. That lets the app feature terminal maps, a boarding pass scanner, a flight tracker and directions to shuttle buses and booking options for everything from parking to lounge access. 

The app's sheer variety of services and features make it a great addition to the app toolkit of frequent fliers and vacationers alike.

Download Flio: Android , iOS

9. AtYourGate (Android, iOS: Free)

AtYourGate is another helpful airport companion that focuses more about retail opportunities while you're killing time waiting at the airport. If you need food, supplies (like say a phone charger to replace the one you forgot to pack), or last-minute gifts, you can browse the AtYourGate app for nearby shops and restaurants instead of having to wander around the airport. 

AtYourGate users can order food or other items, pay through the app, and even arrange for the item to be delivered to them right at their gate, lounge, or other location. AtYourGate currently operates in a select number of major airports, including JFK, La Guardia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Portland, San Diego, and Newark.

Download AtYourGate: Android , iOS

10. Mobile Passport (Android, iOS: Free)

Mobile Passport is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection-approved app that helps speed you through lengthy immigration lines. It allows anyone with U.S. or Canadian passports to submit their passport control and customs declarations through the app, replacing paper forms and providing faster processing in a number of major US airports where the Mobile Passport service is supported. 

The app will save you a good amount of time in line, but it’s no reason to leave your physical passport at home. Mobile Passport is a companion app, not a replacement.

Download Mobile Passport: Android , iOS

11. TripIt (Android, iOS: Free)

TripIt promises to cut back on the travel hassle by consolidating your travel plans into a simple, convenient itinerary. Viewable online and synced to your cell phone, you can also share itineraries with your contacts. 

You just link your email account to TripIt, and the service will automatically dig through your inbox for reservation confirmations and other forms. Using that data, TripIt builds an organized itinerary of your flight boarding times, hotel check-ins and more. While TripIt is a free download, a $48.99 annual subscription gets you features like real-time flight alerts and updates on how long airport lines are.

Download TripIt: Android , iOS

12. App In The Air (Android, iOS: Free)

App In The Air is designed to help you through the entire process of your airplane flight, serving as a booking assistant that reminds you of your gate, ETA, check-in requirements, baggage tips, and more. 

The app condenses all of this important information so that it's easy to refer to at a glance, while also providing handy extras. You can view a summary of your airline's baggage rules (or even have an augmented reality overlay that you can use to measure your baggage to see if it will fit for carry-on or overhead guidelines). 

Travelers can integrate the app with TripIt, track loyalty rewards, view airplane amenities and even forward their details to their Apple Watch or Android Wear device. A premium subscription ($29.99 per year) includes real-time flight status updates, automated check-ins, and more.

Download App In The Air: Android , iOS

13. GasBuddy (Android, iOS: Free)

If road trips are more your thing, consider GasBuddy, a mobile app that helps users track down the cheapest gas in their region. Users can tap into their GPS location through their phone, or search by address or zip code to find the nearby gas prices.

As many of the prices are based on user reports, GasBuddy rewards users with points for reporting and updating a station's prices, with points making you eligible for regular raffles of prizes like free gas.

Download GasBuddy: Android , iOS

14. Roadtrippers (Android, iOS: Free)

Another handy travel companion when you hit the road is the aptly named Roadtrippers, a trip planning and itinerary app that lets you plot your next road trip, and helps you discover destinations, attractions, and useful stops along the way. 

With Roadtrippers, you can share your route and schedule with friends and family. The app helps users find everything from diners and dives to hotels, restaurants, national parks, roadside attractions and other scenic points of interest. 

If doing that research on a small phone screen stresses you out, you can plan trips in the Roadtrippers web portal if you prefer, saving locations and stops into a trip plan which you can sync across multiple devices for easy reference.

Download Roadtrippers: Android , iOS

15. PackPoint (Android, iOS: Free)

PackPoint is a travel packing wizard that provides a checklist of travel essentials that you'll need to pack, depending on the nature of your trip. 

Simply create a trip profile with your destination, length of stay and purpose of travel. PackPoint then creates a customized packing and luggage checklist that takes into account whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, the type and amount of clothing to pack based on the weather forecast and other factors. 

The app also comes with a variety of premium features, such as TripIt integration for automatic packing list creation.

Download PackPoint: Android , iOS

16. TripAdvisor (Android, iOS: Free)

TripAdvisor is your crowd-sourced guide to hotels, restaurants and attractions worldwide. The app allows you to browse through plenty of reviews, images and videos featuring various establishments worldwide to get a better idea of what awaits you at your destination. 

You can also access contact details; search for nearby establishments; explore restaurants by food type, price range or rating; check out air fares; and even add to the knowledge base by posting your own reviews, images and entries for the places you visit. There are even some handy "Near Me Now" features to alert you of nearby points of interest once you're on the scene.

Download TripAdvisor: Android , iOS

17. Airbnb (Android, iOS: Free)

Airbnb is a marketplace app that allows users to search for and find unique accommodations across the world, from mom-and-pop B&Bs for a night, to a small apartment for a week, or even a castle for a month. There's no shortage of quirky and unique establishments. Airbnb covers a range of prices in more than 34,000 cities across almost 200 countries, which means the adventurous or flexible traveler has some interesting choices for accommodations on their next trip.

Download Airbnb: Android , iOS

18. Vrbo (Android, iOS: Free)

Vrbo's mobile app is another option for finding places to stay on your next trip. At Vrbo, the emphasis is on vacation rentals, and with 2 million unique places to stay in 190-plus countries, you've got plenty of options. 

Use the Vrbo app to search for vacation homes, plan your trip and book your lodging. The app also gives you access to key booking details — what is the Wi-Fi password at your rental property, anyway? — and lets you share your itinerary with friends and family.

Download Vrbo: Android , iOS

19. Hotel Tonight (Android, iOS: Free)

If you unexpectedly need to look for last minute hotel rooms, check out  HotelTonight. It offers last-minute discounts on vacancies and same-night accommodations from top-rated hotels. Users can search by category and quality such as Basic, Hip or Luxe; view information on nearby hotels; and quickly book accommodations from within the app.

Download HotelTonight: Android , iOS

20. GlobeTips (iOS: Free)

How much should you tip? GlobeTips is a handy app that can tell you how much gratuity is customary wherever you are in the world. In addition to global tipping guides, GlobeTips includes a calculator for automatically calculating the tip, splitting the bill, and handling sales tax.

Download GlobeTips: iOS

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11 best tour guide apps to create amazing tourism experiences

In this article, you will get a short overview of 11 tour guide apps that give you the possibility to build your own tour routes or add audio guides to specific locations. There are many ways to explore a city or a route. No matter if it is a walking tour , sailing, boats, train trips, food tour , bicycle sightseeing, birdwatching , or rally with cars , in 2022 technology offers multiple ways to enrich the experience.

Tour guide apps suit well to introduce the best locations and facts about a destination to a foreigner as well to locals who can find hidden gems or experience an adventurous mystery story-game about their home location. As a tour company, the range of platforms you can choose to build the experience your customers will benefit from is wide.

As of 2022, most tour guide apps cover at least the basics – setting up a route, points of interest, adding media files like mp3, images, and video to each location, and offline tours. The apps included in this article, do all of the mentioned, but we also point out the specific differences of each app to emphasise the strengths of each one.

With Loquiz tour guide app you can build indoor and outdoor self-guided routes with the amount of gamification you need. Special features: a tour template for tourism businesses that allows building layers of different waypoints of interest within a destination. What cuts it apart is API which connects to booking and ticketing platforms. Secondly, there is a powerful content editor to keep the ever changing info about locations in sync with the possibility of translating the app to any real or imaginary language on Earth. Try out for an instance a sample tour of Paris. Download the Loquiz app from Google Play or App Store and scan the QR code on the image below. (alternatively username: GEMPARISTour and password: justvisitit will also start the game).

2. Pocketsights

Pocketsights is a self-guided tour app focused on community and historical organizations, as well as colleges and universities. Special features involve asking visitors to donate to any charity. Enterprise package involves priority reviews. PI team reviews new and updated tours to ensure they meet quality guidelines. Your tours will go to the top of the review queue and be reviewed before free package tours.

3. Voicemap

Voicemap is solely an audio tour app. It automatically estimates speaking recording times and word counts has support from VM editors with comments, tracked changes and email notifications. Includes text directions as a fallback to make sure listeners don’t get lost. Available in 12 languages.

MyTours includes the same basics as all the other tour guide apps on our list. Multimedia, GPS locations, visitor analytics. Apps work with accessibility options on most devices for the visually- and hearing-impaired. The focus is on building an experience as a self-guided tour app and then publishing it on Apple or Google Play stores. Features 18 different languages.

5. Geotourist

Geotourist lets you build your own journeys and inspire travelers to follow in your footsteps. Audio will trigger as they walk along your dawn path. Tours are available in 40 languages. Specialty is a simple interface aimed at creating a tour guide app in smartphones without detailed settings.

Create games, self-guided and audio tours, team building events and educational content that captures peoples' attention.

6. Locatify

Locatify puts heavy emphasis on indoor positioning. This feature is also present in other walking tour apps in this list, but this platform includes Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, which makes it stand out among others.

Anytour is a self-guided audio tour app for smartphones in 30 cities. The app offers up-to-date audio-guided walks around cities all over the world. The tours are researched, written, and read by locals and travel writers. To create and promote your tours you need to sign up.

Scavify is a scavenger hunt platform that also lets build an experience at destinations that are interactive and impactful for visitors. Incorporates rewards to send visitors to revenue-generating places such as dining, gift shops, and reward visits. Includes linkable banner ads.

Navicup is a new solution for building tours. It allows automatic translation of texts and there is a quality check process before you can publish your tours. Their team will review if the content is ready for public use.

10. Your Audio Tour

Your Audio Tour is the only tour guide app on the list which is focused on audio guides only. It is a simple and straightforward audio guide app solution which has a few advanced features – for example, the text to speech option with a choice of 9+ different voices.

11. GPSmyCity

GPSmyCity is a platform that connects tourists with knowledgeable local guides through self-guided city walks and GPS-powered travel articles. This tour guide app introduces local attractions, malls, restaurants, places of culture, and nightlife. It is all covered with insider knowledge only the locals are privileged to have. The city tour app also has a feature that allows users to create their own walks.

No matter if you are building tours aiming to serve international tourism travelers or delight domestic tourists, a tour guide app can speed up or even automate the sales of tour tickets, engage visitors with easy to edit content, and ease the worries of the workforce.

We hope this article will help you will find a suitable tour guide app to build your awesome products on and, through that, a successful travel season.

*This article is written by the information available on the selected apps websites and reflects only the experience of the author.

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10 Best Travel TRIP PLANNER APPs To Have in 2024

In a fast-paced world where the stress of work and school is overwhelming, we all need a break to de-stress our minds. Traveling is one good way to take your mind off of stressful things – a breather. And a scheduled vacation gives you something to look forward to.

Whether it’s a local trip alone, a family holiday, or a getaway with your best friends, it just excites you to wish the day would come faster. 

10 Best Trip Planner Apps in 2024

The freeform app.

• TripIt: Travel Planner

Hopper – Flight & Hotel Deals

• Sygic Travel Maps Trip Planner

Roadtrippers: Trip Planner

Tripadvisor, travelspend: track travel expense & trip budget, tripcase – travel organizer app, travel planning apps for your next trip.

The Freeform app is an endless whiteboard that lets users add information from a variety of websites, photos, videos and files.

Because the boards are kept in iCloud, they can be accessed from any device anytime inspiration hits. While you and your travel companions plan your dream trip, the specifics can be shared with several individuals working together on the same whiteboard, making them an ongoing work in progress.

The Freeform app is free to iPhone users on iOS 16.2, iPad users on 16.2, and Mac users on Ventura MacOS Venture 13.1. 

Download the brand-new app here .

Read our full post: Apple Launches New Travel App Freeform – What to Know

Wanderlog Trip Planner App

Wanderlog is your all-in-one destination for planning future trips, sharing travel guides, and blogging past trips.

Its trip planning features are incredibly flexible: you can research destinations and activities, organize reservations by connecting your email, and map out a day itinerary with start/end times. You can also add notes and links all throughout.

Everything is stored offline so you can access your itinerary when traveling abroad. For road trips, it calculates the time and distance between places and exports them to Google Maps (and there are no limits to the number of stops you have on a trip!).

Plus, there’s a fun social component: collaborate with friends on itineraries, write your own travel guide, and blog about past trips. Wanderlog is available on the web and on your smartphone, so you can seamlessly plan while at home and on-the-go.

iOS  /  Android

TripIt: Trip Planner App

If you need any help organizing the dozens of itineraries, TripIt is the app for you. Users simply need to forward your flight, hotel, restaurant, and car rental confirmation emails to [email protected] and the app will create a free master doc for each of your trips. The best thing about this app is that you can get access to your itinerary anywhere, even without an internet connection. 

In addition, the Pro version will find you alternative routes for canceled flights and send out notifications for delayed flights, cancellations, and more from the airlines. 

iOS / Android

Rome2rio is a versatile travel planning app that simplifies the process of finding and booking travel options. It’s a handy tool for travelers seeking to explore various transportation choices between destinations. Rome2rio offers users a comprehensive view of travel options, including flights, trains, buses, ferries, and even driving directions.

Key features of Rome2rio include:

• Route Information: The app provides detailed information on different routes, including estimated travel times, costs, and the number of transfers required.
• Booking Integration: Users can book flights, train tickets, and other transportation options directly through the app, streamlining the booking process.
• Map Integration: Rome2rio integrates with maps, allowing users to visualize their travel routes and explore nearby attractions.
• Multi-Modal Travel: It offers options for combining various modes of transportation, making it easy to plan complex journeys.
• Accurate Pricing: The app provides real-time pricing information, helping users make informed decisions based on their budget.
• Offline Access: Rome2rio offers offline access to previously searched routes, which can be handy when traveling without a data connection.

Hopper is an amazing trip planner app to have on your phone. The app predicts airfares up to 1 year in advance, with 95% accuracy. It analyzes over billions of flight prices and hotels within the day – telling you whether to book your trip now or wait for just a little longer.

Here’s how it works: Key in your destination and a color-coded calendar will display the cheapest and most expensive date to fly. The app will then recommend you to either book the flight now or sit it out and wait for airfare to get cheaper. Also, you can filter predictions to custom-fit your trip – remove long layovers, extra fees, restrictions, and more. 

And if you worry about missing out the cheap flight bookings, don’t be! Hopper will send you a notification when fares have dropped to its lowest point.

SYGIC Travel Maps Trip Planner

Sygic Travel Maps , the new version of Sygic Trip Planner, is the first travel app to display all of the attractions and places a traveler needs to see and visit on a single map.

Sync your trips with the Sygic Travel app and find hidden gems in all cities you visit. The app boast a large database that allows you to find the best hotels, tourist attractions, museums, restaurants, bars, and stores wherever you go.

This mobile app also let you download offline maps and guides, which come in helpful when traveling to remote locations with poor or non-existing Wi-Fi.

It also has a dedicated section to worldwide places of interest for travel business. Get location information for individual cities, countries, continents, or the entire planet.

The app is available in 18 languages.

iOS / Android iOS

Planning on a cross-country road trip ? Roadtrippers is the app for you! Not everyone is fond of waiting long hours at the airport while sitting through your red-eye flight. Hit the road with your friends instead.

Roadtrippers provides everything you need to know on your road trip. Just enter your starting point, destination, and let the app do its work for you! From camping sites to rest stops, outdoor activities, exciting adventures along the way that you didn’t know existed. This app is the perfect buddy for your road trip regardless of your mode of transportation – a sedan, a rental car, or a huge family RV.

Most of us dream of going to places! But planning an amazing trip to places we have not been to is pretty hard as you don’t know where to stay, what to do, places to eat, and adventures to try. We mostly rely on recommendations, most of which are not even right, that we find online. 

TripAdvisor has over millions of travel recommendations on hotels, top dining spots, must-do experiences, and treasured gems to over 8 million destinations at your perusal. It is an all-in-one app that lets you book tables at restaurants and compares low prices on hotels and flights.

You can also follow friends and travel experts for advice that match your interests, watch videos, and read articles. In return, you can share your experiences, reviews, and helpful guides for other users too!

Setting up a budget for your trip is easy, however, sticking to it is hard. TravelSpend will help you with that. It starts with entering your budget and expenses over multiple days so you don’t go overboard. The app helps you in sticking to your budget effectively.

Being in another country is not a problem at all: enter your expenses in any currency and the app will automatically convert it to your home currency.

Track your travel expenses whether going on a solo around-the-world trip or backpacking holiday with your best friends. The app allows you to share your trip with your friends and track your expenses together. Pay debts, split bills, and check your balances – all in the app!

TripCase, a comprehensive travel organizer app, has emerged as a popular choice among travelers seeking a streamlined and efficient way to manage their journey details.

Here’s a breakdown of its key features and functionalities:

Centralized Itinerary Management : TripCase allows users to consolidate all their travel details, including flights, hotels, and car rentals, into a single, easily accessible itinerary.

Real-time Flight Alerts : The app keeps travelers informed with up-to-the-minute notifications on flight statuses, including delays, cancellations, and gate changes.

Itinerary Sharing : TripCase offers a sharing option that enables users to send their travel plans to friends, family, or colleagues.

Travel Directions and Maps : To aid navigation in unfamiliar locations, the app provides directions and maps.

Nearby Recommendations : TripCase offers recommendations for restaurants, attractions, and other services close to the traveler’s location.

Document Storage : For added convenience, the app allows users to store essential travel documents digitally, ensuring that important information like passport details, visas, and insurance policies are readily available.

Customizable Notifications : Users can customize their notification preferences, choosing what types of alerts they receive and how they are notified, tailoring the app to suit individual needs and preferences.

iOS / Android 

Hi, great List. I couldn’t travel without my Apps! I have one App you could check out =) Its called ” ATM Fee Saver” and it gives a list with all ATMs and their fees and limit. I found it super helpful and it really helped me to save some money. Best regards, Charlotte

Thank you for your suggestions! Those apps are very useful and various

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How to master Tour Management

Managing a tour is an art form that demands a unique blend of logistical prowess, interpersonal skills, and quick-witted problem-solving. It’s not just about getting from point A to point B; tour management is the art of crafting unforgettable experiences while ensuring that every aspect of the tour runs like clockwork.

Introduction to Tour Management

At its core, tour management is about meticulous planning and flawless execution. Whether you are guiding a rock band through a multi-city concert series, leading a group on an exotic adventure, or conducting an educational field trip, your primary objective is to ensure everyone involved has a safe, enjoyable, and seamless experience.

This guide is designed to transform your approach to tour management. From planning to execution, you’ll learn how to navigate the challenges that come with managing people, time, and resources on the road.

1. Understanding the Fundamentals

Let’s start with understanding the role of a tour manager. This position involves acting as a point person for all matters concerning the tour. From budgeting and scheduling to conflict resolution and customer satisfaction, a tour manager wears many hats.

To master tour management, you must develop a varied skill set. This includes logistical planning, financial management, personnel management, negotiation skills, multitasking, and adaptability.

2. Pre-Tour Planning

Your tour’s success greatly depends on a well-planned itinerary. Research your destinations, define routes, book accommodations, and plan activities while considering time zones, travel times, and potential delays.

Imagine planning a music tour. You’d need to coordinate venue bookings, accommodation near the venues, and ensure travel time allows for rest and rehearsals.

A solid financial plan is critical. This includes preparing the budget, managing cash flow, and keeping detailed records. An understanding of foreign exchange rates and taxes can also be beneficial for international tours.

3. Logistical Coordination

Transportation is the lifeline of any tour. Ensure that you have reliable transportation arranged, whether it’s a tour bus, van, plane tickets, or car rentals. Be prepared for last-minute changes.

For an adventure tour group, having a Plan B in terms of transportation, like an additional van on standby, can save you from last-minute stress if there’s a breakdown or accident.

Quality rest is crucial. Secure accommodations that are comfortable, safe, and within the budget. Consider proximity to venues or attractions and look into options like hotels, motels, Airbnb, or even hostels for budget tours.

4. Managing People

If you’re on a music tour, you’ll be managing the band, the tech crew, and possibly a support staff. Their needs vary from schedules to personal necessities. Excellent communication and organization skills are vital here.

You may also be responsible for the well-being of clients, such as a speaker or artist. This means catering to their needs, personal requests, and ensuring their comfort and readiness for performance.

5. During the Tour

As the tour unfolds, it’s your job to see the itinerary is followed closely. Keep all parties informed of schedules and any changes. Regularly check in with service providers to ensure all arrangements are in place.

When problems arise, staying calm and collected is essential. Develop a proactive approach to foreseeing potential issues and have contingency plans ready.

Perhaps a historical tour encounters an unexpected site closure. A tour manager with foresight might have a secondary list of sites to visit or activities that ensure the tour experience remains enriched and uninterrupted.

6. Enhancing the Experience

Being culturally aware can profoundly impact the tour’s success, especially when traveling to foreign countries. Research customs and educate your group to avoid offenses.

Going the extra mile could mean arranging special backstage passes for a group at a concert or ensuring there’s always bottled water available on a hot day. These touches can make a significant difference in client satisfaction.

7. Technology in Tour Management

Leverage technology to streamline tasks. Use apps for scheduling, accounting software for budget management, and social media for marketing and engagement.

8. Post-Tour Activities

After the tour, collect feedback from participants and staff. Reflect on what went well and areas for improvement.

A thorough financial review ensures you’re on top of expenses versus budget and helps with planning future tours more accurately.

9. Staying Ahead of the Curve

The tour industry evolves, and so should you. Stay updated with trends, attend workshops, and build a network with other professionals.

The demands of tour management can be taxing on your health. Managing stress and maintaining your well-being is just as much a part of mastering tour management as the logistical aspects.

Mastering tour management takes time, dedication, and real-world experience. It’s a balancing act of planning, people management, and adaptation. By following the comprehensive steps outlined above, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an artist in the realm of tour management, orchestrating experiences that resonate long after the journey’s end and ensuring a standing ovation for your meticulous behind-the-scenes symphony.

It’s your turn to lead the way, ensuring every tour is an ovation-worthy performance. With each successful tour, you don’t just travel from place to place; you craft unforgettable stories and experiences that resonate with every participant’s heart for years to come.

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Best Apps for Running a Tour Guide Business in 2021

October 8, 2021

Running a tour guide business means creating experience, managing listings, balancing your schedule and keeping track of transactions. We’ve polled readers to find the apps that can help you do all of those things. Here are the results.

As a tour guide, you put a substantial amount of thought and effort into crafting memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for your guests. Whether it’s a bike tour through your city’s historical district or an idyllic jaunt in the countryside, your business thrives when you’re able to focus on the experience instead of the logistics.

With travelers almost exclusively using apps to book transportation and accommodation, tour guides and other experience providers are in a position to take advantage of this new travel landscape. The problem is, there are a ton of apps to choose from.

We turned to our readers to answer the question: Which apps are absolutely essential for tour guides? In this guide, we cover the best of the best—apps that will help you attract more guests, create better listings and manage the back-end of your business.

And if you lean strongly toward one of these apps, be sure to vote for your favorite at the end!

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Best overall: Rezdy

Rezdy is an experience booking platform that lets you manage your calendar, inventory, sales transactions, and guest information all in one place. It automatically syncs with apps like Google calendar and features integrated booking widgets you can embed on your website. If you don’t have a website yet, Rezdy features a one-click custom website option so you can get your tour guide business up and running with ease.

• The software is easy to set up and simple to navigate
• A simple and straightforward booking process
• Great for managing staff and resources
• Access to the Rezdy marketplace allows you to offer even more experiences
• Lacks multi-language support for some features
• Key features such as liability waivers are locked behind upgrades
• Pricy subscription rates plus booking fees can be prohibitive to some users

Price: Starts at $49/mo plus a 2% online booking fee.

App Store Rating: N/A

Best listing platform (North America): Viator

Viator is a tour booking app owned by travel giant TripAdvisor. You can create a listing and start booking experiences in a matter of minutes. Tapping into the Tripadvisor ecosystem (including over 3,500 partners) means Viator is a great way to increase visibility and grow your brand. If you’re just getting started in the tours and experiences business, it’s a great starting place.

• Access to Tripadvisor’s massive audience of over 400 million visitors
• Includes a free Tripadvisor listing
• An easy-to-use management center lets you build your listings with photos, pricing information, and availability
• Get paid either weekly with PayPal or monthly via direct deposit
• You must compete with millions of other tourguides
• May not be viable if you don’t live in a major city
• Viator’s 20% commission fee can be prohibitive

Price: $29 per listing plus 20% commission

App Store Rating: 3.9

Best listing platform (Europe): Get Your Guide

• Get Your Guide

Get Your Guide is similar in many ways to Viator. As a tour guide, you’ll sign up as a supplier and create a listing on Get Your Guide’s platform. Get Your Guide has a smaller audience than Viator, which could be viewed as an advantage or a drawback. You won’t be able to get your listings in front of as many people, but you’ll also be dealing with far less competition. Finally, where Viator is more positioned toward North America, Get Your Guide is great for the European market.

• Get Your Guide helps you with the listing optimization process
• Commission fees are built into the displayed experience price
• Very easy to sign up and make your listing go live
• Negotiate your own commission rates
• Less visibility and reach than Viator
• Cancellation policy favors the guest over the tour guide
• No listing review fees

Price: Free plus commissions

App Store Rating: 4.2

Best for local experiences: Airbnb

The monumental app that allows anyone to transform their living spaces into bookable accommodations has expanded into the world of curated experiences. Where traditional tour companies offer visitors guided versions of the tours they’d see in guidebooks, Airbnb’s experiences allow people to experience more down-to-earth, “live like a local” activities.

• Allows you to show off your city or home region in a unique way
• Access to Airbnb’s huge customer base
• Great for tour guides who don’t live in a major city (as long as there are plenty of Airbnb accommodation listings nearby)
• Impressive dashboard feature lets you keep tabs on your business and optimize your listing
• Get paid within 24 hours
• Not suitable for hosts offering “traditional” tours
• Not compatible with outside booking software

Price: Free listings, 20% commissions

App Store Rating: 4.8

Best booking platform: Checkfront

Checkfront is an experience booking platform that lets you manage your calendar, take reservations, and process payments in real-time. It includes website plugins that allow guests to book reservations 24/7. It’s centralized dashboard means you don’t have to fuss around with complicated spreadsheets to keep track of your tour business.

• Includes a 21-day free trial
• Easy to set up and use
• Can be adapted to multiple types of experiences
• Responsive customer support team
• High monthly subscription cost might be too much for new businesses
• Mobile app features like the daily manifest could use some updating
• Lacks some customization options

Pricing: Starts at $42/mo (billed annually)

App Store Rating: 2.6

Protect your guests and your business

You may be an expert at planning the perfect tour or experience, but there are always variables you can’t control, especially if you’re taking a group of people out into nature. Accidents happen. If the weather turns sour and one or more of your guests are injured or damage their belongings under your watch, you could be held liable.

With Tour Guide Insurance , you and your guests will have peace of mind knowing they’ll be covered in case something goes wrong. With monthly, daily or even hourly coverage, Thimble can provide you with the right insurance policy no matter what stage of business you’re in.

It’s your turn

Our readers have chosen Rezdy as their number one app for tour guides, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t open to second opinions. Which app is your personal favorite?

What’s your favorite app?

Written on October 8, 2021

Our editorial content is intended for informational purposes only and is not written by a licensed insurance agent. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary by class of business and state.

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Tour Operator Software

Find the best Tour Operator Software

Popular comparisons.

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Showing 1 - 20 of 95 products

Peek Pro is a revolutionary operating software designed for tour and activity operators looking to boost revenue and streamline operations. This platform offers a world class online booking experience, dynamic pricing and a compre... Read more about Peek Pro

4.7 ( 774 reviews )

Resmark offers a solution to book tours, activities, and rentals, which aims to help businesses understand customers and expand. This tool allows users to create/sign online waivers and release of liability forms using Waiver... Read more about RESMARK

4.8 ( 35 reviews )

Beyonk Group offers two booking platforms - Beyonk and BookingHound; both simple, powerful and easy to use booking software for the travel and leisure industry. Trusted to manage and expand their online business by thousands of ac... Read more about Beyonk

4.8 ( 82 reviews )

Rezdy is a cloud-based B2B solution that helps tour operators sell their products on websites and multiple distribution networks. The solution’s open platform helps users integrate internal systems and web applications with the of... Read more about Rezdy

4.6 ( 228 reviews )

Bokun is a cloud-based booking management system designed to help travel and tourism businesses create booking websites and handle reservations, pricing, payments and more. The platform comes with a centralized dashboard, which al... Read more about Bókun

4.7 ( 361 reviews )

Originally built within Gate 1 Travel, Softrip offers one comprehensive and "source of truth" platform for multi-day tour operators. Our expansive suite of products includes Reservations, Product Management, Operations , CRM & Mar... Read more about Softrip

4.0 ( 2 reviews )

Powerful online appointment booking software designed for beauty, wellness, fitness businesses, tour and activities providers. Perfect for salons, spas, yoga studios, massage therapists, escape rooms, and other service-based busin... Read more about Bookeo

4.3 ( 94 reviews )

Starboard Suite

Starboard Suite is a tour operations management solution that helps passenger vessels and watersport businesses streamline processes related to reservations, event organization, employee scheduling and more. The booking functional... Read more about Starboard Suite

4.8 ( 185 reviews )

The Flybook

The Flybook is a comprehensive tourism and activity management solution that makes it easy for adventure parks, ziplines, guided tours, rentals and lodging providers to manage multiple locations and activities in one place. Our ... Read more about The Flybook

4.6 ( 64 reviews )

WebReserv is a cloud-based tour operator solution that helps rental companies, lodging merchants and travel agents streamline reservation processes and create business listings. The centralized platform comes with a customizable b... Read more about WebReserv

4.5 ( 22 reviews )

FareHarbor is a cloud-based tour and activity booking solution that enables tour operators to manage their day-to-day business operations. It offers online booking management and payment portals, and it integrates with user websit... Read more about FareHarbor

4.8 ( 1108 reviews )

With 35 years of evolution, based on input from global tour operators and DMCs, Tourplan provides a complete solution specifically designed for your business type. Automate your entire workflow from traditional and online purchas... Read more about Tourplan

5.0 ( 2 reviews )

Designed for small to large travel agencies, TripWorks is a cloud-based reservations solution. It enables travel agents to manage clients, their trips and reservations, as well as their profiles and preferences. This software is ... Read more about TripWorks

5.0 ( 39 reviews )

bookingkit is an online booking management solution that helps tour and activity providers bring their business online, while also managing and marketing their bookings. The solution caters to any business which offers a service w... Read more about bookingkit

4.2 ( 41 reviews )

Advensure is a cloud-based reservation management solution that allows travel agents to sell and manage tours, activities and rentals. Key features include a website builder, online booking management tools and payment tracking. ... Read more about Advensure

GP Travel Enterprise

GP Travel Enterprise is a cloud-based tour operator solution designed for travel service suppliers, online payment service providers and businesses in the hospitality industry. Features include accommodation booking, a central res... Read more about GP Travel Enterprise

4.7 ( 3 reviews )

Adalte Travel Platform

The Adalte Travel Platform is a cloud-based reservation management software suitable for every travel operator. By adopting an Adalte Travel platform, any tour operator, destination management company (DMC) and online travel agenc... Read more about Adalte Travel Platform

4.8 ( 8 reviews )

Nitro for Incoming Tour Operators

Nitro is a cloud-based travel management solution that helps tour operators generate quotations, handle bookings, create itineraries and vouchers, and control tasks and deadlines. Its key features include booking management, tour ... Read more about Nitro for Incoming Tour Operators

4.8 ( 12 reviews )

iTours is a cloud-based tour operator solution specially designed for tour operators and travel agencies. iTours is hundred percent customizable and user-friendly software with multiple modules including CRM, auto-accounting, B2B ... Read more about iTours

4.9 ( 12 reviews )

Multi Travel Incoming

Multi Travel Incoming is an on-premise travel agency solution that provides businesses of all sizes in the travel industry with a Windows-based application to manage their day-to-day operations. Users can upload information f... Read more about Multi Travel Incoming

4.7 ( 15 reviews )

As a tour operator, you’re already aware of the operational challenges you face. You need to manage customer bookings, schedule transportation and plan out daily activities, arrange entry to the sites your groups will visit, select the best local guides… and that’s only the beginning.

Now take a step back and ask yourself: What do many of these challenges have in common? They’re all, to some degree, challenges that require communication and organization. Thankfully, communication and organization are two things that software is very good at helping you manage. Tour operator software is software that helps you do just that.

In this Buyer’s Guide, we’ll cover the following questions and topics:

What Is Tour Operator Software?

Common features of tour operator software, what type of buyer are you, benefits of tour operator software.

Tour operator software is computer software that’s tailormade to assist with the bulk of operations required to run a successful tour operations business. While there other genres of software that can help with this— CRM software , for example—these solutions often require additional tools, or expensive customization, to do what tour operator software can do out of the box. 

Of course, no two tour companies are exactly the same, and that’s also true of tour operator software. To get the best return on your investment, it’s important to choose a solution that aligns with your specific needs.

Many tour operator software systems are deployed in the cloud and sold as Software as a Service (SaaS). This means companies pay for a subscription (monthly or yearly) to the software and can then access it from any device with an internet connection. This can be a huge benefit for on-the-go tour operators, as it lets them access software features directly on their mobile phones.

Businesses looking for more tools to manage lodging and flights might be interested in evaluating travel agency software .

The key to selecting software, regardless of your industry, is to begin the selection process by carefully considering the following questions:

How can software help us with our most common and repetitive tasks and workflow processes? The key here is to find software that will support and add efficiency to your existing operations. It’s rarely advisable to purchase software that will require drastic changes to your day-to-day operations, unless those changes are necessary for a new business strategy.

How can software help us meet our (forward-looking) strategy goals? If your company has plans to create a better online experience for guests, for example, then this should be kept in mind when weighing your many software options. Changing a company’s software infrastructure is often the most effective way of ensuring strategy goals are met.

After considering these questions, you can further narrow your list of options by asking the following:

What software do our business partners use? If you rely on third-party services for any aspect of your tour operations, consider how your software purchase could improve those relationships. For example, if a hotel that you work closely with has a particular hotel management system , you should consider how well your own new system might integrate with the hotel’s system.

At which locations will we need to access our tour operator software system? Some tour operators may only need to access the software from one workstation in their office. Others might need to access it from mobile devices, so guides can access and update information while out on a tour. This question will help determine which deployment model to opt for and help plan your budget for individual software licenses.

Increase customer satisfaction: When software handles some of the mundane tasks of running a tour operation, you and your staff will have more time to focus on the people that count: your customers. Many tour operator software systems also allow for customer and guest feedback, helping you stay on top of any complaints, compliments or suggestions for improvement.

Avoid double booking: Tour operator scheduling software can be a silver bullet for all of your scheduling woes, helping prevent double-bookings, among other things. The software is designed to track and manage multiple concurrent schedules, and some even do so in cooperation with your third-party business partners. It can even help prevent no-shows by sending well-timed reminders to customers with upcoming trips.

Increase sales of value-adding services: With payment portals and click-to-add purchasing capabilities, tour operator systems can improve your sales performance by increasing the value of individual transactions. For example, when a customer is about to book their beach tour, the software can ping them with an offer to add on a dive trip or snorkel equipment rental.

Improve insight into business operations: Ever wonder why some customers seem to love the special deals you offer online or through email marketing , while other customers only commit to purchases they discuss in person? Tour operator software supplies the data and insight needed to identify trends among your customers and answer questions like these.

Increase employee satisfaction: Tour operator software takes much of the busywork out of running a tour operation. With fewer repetitive tasks in the way, staff can spend more time focusing on customers and improving the business. It’s also worth mentioning that employees can become more engaged when they’re asked to do fewer repetitive mundane tasks.

30 essential travel apps every traveler needs before their next trip

When it comes to planning and taking a vacation, travelers rely on their phones now more than ever.

Travel apps are a source of inspiration and are extremely useful for booking and managing logistics — even making restaurant reservations or finding a great fitness class wherever in the world you're flying next.

From apps that help with everything from day-of hotel bookings and last-minute flight changes to those that serve as guidebooks and foreign-language dictionaries, travel is infinitely easier thanks to technology.

Apps can help you navigate a new city, make currency conversions, pack a perfect suitcase and even provide on-the-ground local expertise. Whatever you need when you hit the road, there's an app for that.

We've rounded up the most-loved apps here at TPG. Some may be obvious, and others more obscure, but either way, get ready to download.

Best apps for researching and booking trips

In addition to the apps for the airlines you fly most frequently and your favorite hotel brands, these apps can help you save money on flights and accommodations.

Hopper has changed in recent years from just offering a price prediction tool for flights to being a true online travel agency. The app helps travelers find the cheapest flights, hotels and rental cars.

Of course, Hopper also still offers its signature price prediction technology to help you plan out when to book, as well as travel protection options and a price freeze to help you lock in the lowest possible price on hotels and flights.

Kiwi is used mainly to book flights, but it also helps you book hotels (using its partnership with Booking.com) and car rentals (using its partnership with RentalCars.com).

Some of the app's most interesting features include the "Deals" section, which pulls in discounted flights, and the "Travel hacks" section, which includes options for hidden city ticketing, throwaway ticketing (making one-way flights more affordable) and free price alerts.

Hotel Tonight

A dream for last-minute travelers, Hotel Tonight ( now owned by Airbnb ) lets you book stays for the same evening up to a few months in advance in thousands of cities worldwide. Available hotel rooms are categorized into sections like basic, luxe, hip, charming and solid, so you can select what works for your vibe. Take advantage of the daily drop feature, where you swipe to find a personalized deal with a special price only valid for 15 minutes after unlocked.

At TPG, we love a good loyalty program, and HT Perks, the app's nine-level reward program, is extensive. Not unlike a video game, you "level up" by reaching specific spending thresholds on the app, and you'll gain access to perks like discounts, VIP customer support and credits. Also, your levels never expire, so you can only continue to move up.

To book home rentals instead of hotels, use the Airbnb app. After entering your destination and dates, you can filter results based on the home type, price, requisite amenities and more. If you find something you like, you can book directly through the app.

The app is ideal for managing your trips while on the road — you can access all your bookings under the "Trips" tab, where you can view your reservation (and the address or directions), contact the host or change your reservation. Once you have a booking, you can also explore and book local experiences in your destination, such as wine tastings, kayak tours, hikes, shows and concerts.

We can't talk about travel apps without mentioning the TPG App. Use it to track your credit card, airline and hotel points balances; earn points and miles efficiently through using the right credit card ; and research how many points or miles you'll need to book your dream getaway. You can even curate your own news feed so you see the news and advice that matters most to you first.

The TPG App is available for download on iOS . Android users can join the waitlist here .

Related: The TPG App has arrived — here's why you should download it now

Best apps for organizing a trip

From keeping all your documents in order to perfectly packing your suitcase without forgetting a thing, these are the best apps for organizing travel plans.

TripIt declutters your itineraries and documents by keeping them organized in one place. You can set your reservations to automatically send to TripIt, which lets you view travel confirmations, flight itineraries, tickets, hotel and Airbnb booking information, rental car reservations, ferry tickets and driving directions without ever leaving the app.

TripIt also makes it simple to share your trip plans with whoever picks you up from the airport or train station or anyone else who may need to coordinate with you. TripIt Pro subscriptions cost $49 per year and include extras like real-time flight alerts, security wait times, baggage claim information and updates on your loyalty reward programs.

Roadtrippers

Perfect for organizing that epic road trip you've always wanted to take, Roadtrippers plans out your driving route and lets you book hotels and activities along the way. The app is especially useful for finding interesting and off-the-beaten-path roadside attractions, cool restaurants and can't-miss landmarks you can bookmark.

A Roadtrippers Premium membership includes offline maps, live traffic information, overnight RV parking and more for $59.99 per year. For those looking to only venture on a few road trips per year, the app also offers a Pro ($49.99 per year) and Basic ($35.99 per year) membership.

PackPoint takes all the stress out of packing . The app shows you what to bring based on the length of your trip, the weather in your destination and any activities you're planning along the way. If you have access to laundry facilities at your destination, PackPoint even allows you to account for washing your clothes and wearing them multiple times.

Just download and install the app, type in the city you're visiting and plug in your travel details. So, stop waiting until the day before your trip — or the hours before you have to leave for the airport — and start packing now.

Best apps for navigating the airport and flights

Track flights, navigate airports and find airport lounges with these apps.

LoungeBuddy

LoungeBuddy offers access to premium airport lounges around the world, regardless of the airline or class you're flying. When you create a trip in the app and type in the credit cards you currently hold, it will tell you which lounges you have access to based on the airports you'll be transiting through and how to purchase access if you don't already have it.

You can purchase access on the day you're traveling or up to two months in advance if you're the plan-ahead type. If you prefer to search by lounge or lounge program, the app will tell you exactly what is needed to use them.

Priority Pass

Priority Pass offers access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide and provides meal vouchers at select airport restaurants across the world for an annual fee starting at $99.

Several cards, including The Platinum Card® from American Express , the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve , offer Priority Pass memberships for all cardholders (enrollment required). Otherwise, you'll have to pay an annual fee to be a member and, depending on your membership tier, a fee to enter each lounge on top of the annual fee.

To use the Priority Pass app, enter the name or code of the airport you're in, and Priority Pass will pull up the lounges or restaurants that you have access to, including photos, hours, amenities and specific location information. For more information on the Priority Pass Program and how to gain lounge access, click here . Enrollment is required for select benefits.

Related: The best credit cards for Priority Pass lounge access

FlightAware

The FlightAware app allows you to track flights online, see a live map of a flight and check on delays, cancellations and gate changes. This app is especially helpful if you have a tight connection or want to track your flight.

It's also useful when picking up friends and family at the airport, as you can track their flight and see updated landing times or delays. AvGeeks will enjoy digging into flight statistics, flight maps and community aviation discussions on the app.

Best apps to use during your flight

Timeshifter.

What better way to cure jet lag than with an app? Timeshifter actually helps you avoid jet lag long before your flight takes off and also offers inflight and post-flight suggestions. The app relies on neuroscience research about sleep and circadian rhythms to provide personalized recommendations, taking into consideration your age, gender and normal sleep patterns — as well as specifics about your trip and travel plans. Timeshifter maps out when you should avoid or seek light, take a nap or try to stay awake. It even tells you if you should consider supplementing with melatonin or caffeine.

Your first jet lag plan is free, then $9.99 per plan, or you can enjoy unlimited plans for a year for $24.99.

Flying can cause anxiety — or provide a welcome relief from constant contact with our digital devices. Either way, use travel as an opportunity to relax, meditate or listen to soothing sounds that will lull you to sleep or a deep, relaxed state. Or, perhaps, you'll simply find it helps pass the time during a long flight.

Calm offers meditations on topics such as self-awareness, calming anxiety, breathing, lowering stress levels and happiness, among others. The app also has music options for focusing, relaxing and sleeping, as well as stories for adults and content for kids.

A limited selection of meditations and music is available for free (which you can download to use when you're offline or in flight). The premium version of the app costs $14.99 per month or $69.99 annually.

OK, so Netflix isn't really a travel app, but it can be a lifesaver during a long flight on an aircraft without seatback inflight entertainment or at the airport during an unexpected flight delay or boring layover. If you have a Netflix account, the app allows you to download your favorite shows onto your device to watch offline.

Just make sure to download your shows while connected to Wi-Fi before flying and check them again preflight to make sure they haven't expired (you can usually renew any expired downloads, but you must be connected to Wi-Fi or data to do so). Monthly prices vary depending on the plan.

Another app that's not really a travel app, Spotify can still be incredibly useful during tedious travel moments — just pop in those noise-canceling headphones and listen to your favorite music, meditations, podcasts and more.

The app's Premium plans (prices vary) allow you to download all your content offline on your phone, so you'll have it during long flights or when you don't have data or Wi-Fi access. Whether you want to take a morning jog in Bali to your favorite tunes or pass the time with a podcast on the metro in Barcelona, Spotify has it all.

Best apps to use in your destination

From exchanging money and sightseeing to communicating and knowing all the local tips and tricks, you don't want to land in a foreign city for the first time without these key apps.

XE Currency Converter

The XE Currency Converter app quickly provides live, up-to-the-minute currency rates, then allows you to store and view them even when you're offline. You'll never need to wonder if you're really getting a good deal in another country if you have this app.

Google Translate

Google Translate is a translation app that allows you to do it all — translate into more than 100 languages by typing, access 59 languages offline, translate via photo, translate bilingual conversations and even use the handwriting tool to translate.

The app is simple to use, too, with icons at the top you can click on to draw, take a photo, speak or type.

Not quite sure how much to tip when traveling internationally? GlobeTips will advise you on how to tip appropriately in more than 200 countries. It also offers a tip calculator for easy math. Globe also has apps for currency conversion, unit conversion and more that may be useful for travelers.

Related: The ultimate guide to tipping while traveling

For travelers globe-trotting with friends and family members or simply splitting the cost between groups, Tricount calculates shared costs and splits bills so you don't have to think twice about who owes what. Just enter your trip and currency and invite your travel mates to join your trip.

Each time someone pays for something, you enter the amount in Tricount, and the app splits everything up. You can also snap and store photos of receipts in the app. At the end of your trip, it will show the balances of who owes who what, making it easy to settle up.

Metric Conversions

Never be baffled by Celsius temperatures or suitcase weight in kilograms again with the Metric Conversions app . Whether you're measuring flour to cook at your Airbnb, figuring out distances for your Europe road trip or deciding whether to take a sweatshirt with you during your walking tour of the Great Wall of China, this app has you covered with easy conversions in volume, weight, temperature, area and more.

Google Maps

Google Maps is essential when visiting a new city (or even for getting around your hometown). You can map locations, get directions (walking, driving, public transportation, ride-hailing services and beyond) and see how crowded your subway will be in select cities .

You can make restaurant reservations, save your favorite spots and read and write reviews of attractions, eateries, shops and more. Make sure to download specific city or area maps ahead of time for offline access if you know you'll be without internet at your destination. For obvious reasons, the app works best when your GPS is turned on.

WhatsApp is a handy messaging service for travelers abroad as it uses an internet connection to avoid SMS fees.

It works like most other messaging apps: You start by creating an account, then add your friends and family members to contact and voila! You're able to call, video chat and send messages, images, voice memos, gifs and files just as you would in, say, iMessage (but with Android users too). You can also download WhatsApp on your Windows or Mac computer.

Best apps for planning activities

Traveling is about more than just getting from point A to point B. If you're looking for activities to add to your itinerary, check out these apps.

Meetup is an app designed for interacting with locals and other travelers who have mutual interests or shared hobbies. Whether you're traveling or at home, take what you love and do more of it with Meetup.

The app shows you groups that are formed around particular interests in your city, including yoga, photography, cooking, wine tasting, hiking, cinema and other activities. You can join groups to get updates on particular events you may want to participate in. The app can even help with networking, as there are many groups dedicated to business and technology. You might even be able to join a coworking group. Travelers with kids can participate in family-friendly meetups, and it's a great way for solo travelers to make friends and connect with others.

TheFork is one of the most useful resources for making restaurant reservations in Europe. Similar to OpenTable or Resy, the app lets you browse different restaurants by category and make reservations. TheFork features more than 60,000 restaurants in cities like London, Madrid and Geneva, as well as spots outside of Europe like Sydney, Australia.

The biggest perk is that many restaurant reservations come with discounts — in some cases, you can get up to 50% off your meal just by reserving a table through TheFork. Since we here at TPG are always down for earning rewards, make sure to monitor your YUMS — TheFork's reward system. You'll earn YUMS with each reservation, and when you hit 1,000, you receive a discount on your bill. Foodie travelers should also consider downloading these apps , too.

Happy Cow helps vegan and vegetarian eaters locate more than 180,000 restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, farmers markets and grocery stores in over 180 countries around the world. The app allows you to filter by not only vegan and vegetarian but also gluten-free and cuisine types. You can also read reviews and get recipes on the app as well.

The app does cost $3.99, but it's a one-time expense.

TripAdvisor

Besides reading reviews of restaurants, hotels and attractions, you can book almost anything on TripAdvisor, from vacation rentals and restaurant reservations to tours and tickets.

The app has grown to include almost all things travel, allowing you to search by destination or interest (like the outdoors, food and drink, family or by the water, for example), which can give you inspiration for a trip or help you get your activities, meals and accommodations organized before traveling or on the fly.

With over 400,000 curated trails, AllTrails can help you find the hike or walk perfect for you and your group. It's not just mountain trails — AllTrails offers city walks, too, like easy meanders through the Marais district in Paris or peaceful strolls through Bangkok's Lumpini Park in Thailand.

See photos, updated weather predictions and key information about each route and connect with other travelers through reviews and forums. Access to AllTrails+ is $35.99 per year, which offers perks like offline maps and wrong turn alerts.

Best apps for staying safe

Use these apps to stay safe when traveling.

Smart Traveler

Smart Traveler is a free service that offers tips and information specifically for U.S. travelers. You can see what visas and vaccines you'll need before traveling and where to find help if you need it during your trip.

Register your trip on the app, which gives your information to local embassies and consulates in your destination. If there's any kind of disaster or tragedy, the local embassy can contact you to see if you need help.

TripWhistle

Another app dedicated to keeping you safe, TripWhistle maps your location and allows you to easily text or send your GPS coordinates or location. It also provides emergency numbers for firefighters, medical personnel and police in nearly 200 countries. After all, 911 is only for U.S.-based emergencies: Each country has its own specific emergency number.

Yes, Uber (or any local ride-hailing service app) is convenient, but it may also keep you safe. Using this app when traveling means you'll never get stuck wandering around in an unfamiliar area late at night or have to deal with unscrupulous taxi drivers trying to scam you. Uber also has in-app safety features such as an emergency assistance button which will allow you to call local emergency services right in the app.

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The 12 Best Budgeting Apps for Travelers

Ashley Rossi

Ashley Rossi is always ready for her next trip. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram for travel tips, destination ideas, and off the beaten path spots.

After interning at SmarterTravel, Ashley joined the team full time in 2015. She's lived on three continents, but still never knows where her next adventure will take her. She's always searching for upcoming destination hotspots, secluded retreats, and hidden gems to share with the world.

Ashley's stories have been featured online on USA Today, Business Insider, TripAdvisor, Huffington Post, Jetsetter, and Yahoo! Travel, as well as other publications.

The Handy Item I Always Pack : "A reusable filtered water bottle—it saves you money, keeps you hydrated, and eliminates waste—win-win."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience : "A week in a bamboo beach hut on India's Andaman Islands."

Travel Motto : "Travel light, often, and in good company."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat : "Window—best view in the house."

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While you’re stuck daydreaming about your next bucket-list vacation, why don’t you get a hold of your finances and make it a reality by first budgeting out your travel expenses? Whether it’s a road trip or international vacation that you’re planning, easily forgettable items like parking fees can add up. That’s why you should use a travel-specific budgeting app to help streamline your costs on your next trip. Here are 12 budget apps to help you plan your expenses.

PocketGuard

Link all of your financial accounts and cards to this app, and it will automatically update and categorize your spending in real time. It then tells you what spending money you have with the “in my pocket” feature. It also automatically builds you a spending budget based on income, bills, and the goals you set. It even finds ways to lower some of your monthly bills for you … sign us up.

Download: iOS | Google Play

Tripcoin lets you enter in your expenses per day and even works offline. It then processes your spending to give you a spending summary of your trip, which you can export for other uses. This lets you see how much you’re spending on each category of your trip, broken down by day, so you can monitor your vacation expenses in real time.

Download: iOS

9 Sneaky Travel Costs You Might Forget to Budget For

Trip Expense Manager

The Trip Expense Manager app is ideal for large traveling groups that need help planning and monitoring travel expenses. For each trip you take, you can add Google users, a list of places to go, and expenses, and even mark who paid which bill.

Download: Google Play

TravelSpend

I love TravelSpend for its easy-to-use features and simple design. How it works: You add expenses as they happen (the app works offline and even converts foreign currencies) and the app tracks your spending by total and by day. You can even follow your spending on a map throughout your vacation.

Wally connects to your current financial accounts and tracks your spending so you can get a handle on your cash flow and spending by category. Wally is useful because unlike some of the other budgeting apps, it lets you use private groups for managing trip spending or other budgets. You can even add reminders, notes, lists, documents, and comments.

Users love TripMate for its simplicity and easy-to-use features, plus it’s all free. This travel expense tracker app lets you create a trip and then add and remove users as needed. You can add expenses, receive a personalized summary, and even get hotel, and other booking-related information.

Trail Wallet

If you’re looking for a travel-specific budget tool and expense tracker, this is your best bet. Input your expenses into Trail Wallet and the app will split them up based on category so you can get a closer look at your spending. Note that only the first 25 items you enter are free.

11 Budget Travel Lies You Should Stop Believing Right Now

This travel expense app makes splitting costs a breeze. Simply invite your travel partners to the trip you’ve created on the app, and each person can enter in his or her expenses. Once the trip is over (and all expenses have been entered) you can see who owes whom what amount.

Splitwise is another useful cost-tracking platform that easily lets you split group expenses while traveling. You can split by percentage or shares, and it’s even available in offline mode. It’s great for international trips, too, as the app is available in seven languages and over 100 currencies. Plus, it’s integrated with Venmo and PayPal for easy payback.

Mint is so much more than just a travel expense app—it connects with all of your bank accounts to give you an overall summary of your cash flow. You can then easily create a budget for different categories, like saving for a vacation.

30 Essential Non-Travel Apps for Travelers

For those who have been involved in the planning of a bachelor or bachelorette party, you know the trials and tribulations that come with splitting large group expenses. This app was created specifically for those organizing large group trips and includes building an itinerary, polls, and chat features as well as ways to track payments and bar tabs within your group.

YNAB (You Need a Budget) is a popular software used for budgeting. While it’s slightly pricey ($84 annually), the positive reviews are endless. On the app version, you can set savings goals and itemize your vaca expenses. There is a free 34-day trial to get you started.

More from SmarterTravel:

• Single Travel: Essential Tips for Planning a Solo Trip
• 5 Ways to Stay Sane When Planning a Trip with Friends
• The 7 Best Trip Planner Apps for Travelers

Ashley Rossi is always ready for her next trip. Follow her on  Twitter   and  Instagram   for travel tips, destination ideas, and off the beaten path spots.

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.

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I Visited 14 National Parks In One Year. Here Are the Apps I Used to Plan and Pull Off Those Trips.

By Elissa Sanci

Elissa Sanci is a writer on the discovery team. She has found that clear ice makes carbonated drinks taste better, and citronella candles don’t work.

In 2021, I visited 14 national parks spanning from the East Coast to the West Coast and everywhere in between. I hiked up mountains for stunning 360-degree vistas, ventured underground to explore cave systems, and wandered through slot canyons in the desert heat—and to do it all successfully, I relied on a few trusted apps. Whether I’m searching for campsites, organizing a packed itinerary, or navigating long hikes safely, I’ve found these apps extremely useful in pulling off my national park trips. Here are the apps that can help you plan your own adventures.

Learn about the national parks

The app: National Park Service ( iOS and Android )

What it’s good for: Information about every single national park site across the country—including national parks, monuments, and historical sites.

The nitty-gritty: All of my trip planning begins with this handy app released in 2021 by the National Park Service. Easy to use and free to download, the NPS app (which you can also use offline as long as you download content beforehand) offers interactive maps of each park, self-guided tours curated by park rangers, and news and current events, along with lists of amenities (such as food services, restrooms, and gift shops). You can get as involved with the app as you’d like, whether you want to keep detailed lists of the overlooks and points of interest you want to see or you just need to check the park hours and entry fees.

The NPS app gives real-time updates on conditions within the park—such as road closures, long entry lines, weather advisory warnings, and whether you need a reservation to enter—allowing you to find all the pertinent information you need to know before heading to or traveling throughout the park. I didn’t use the NPS app on my trip to Big Bend National Park—but if I had, I could have avoided a two-hour wait at a trailhead when important roads were blocked off for construction.

Discover the best hiking trails

The app: AllTrails ( iOS and Android )

What it’s good for: Finding and researching all possible paths through a park.

The nitty-gritty: With a free membership, you can search for hiking trails using a name, city, or park and then filter your results based on difficulty level and length. From there, you can read through hiker reviews to learn more about the trail and assess whether it’s right for you. You can also save your preferred routes on curated lists; for example, I created separate lists for each of the parks in Utah I planned to visit so that I could easily refer back to them while preparing for each trip. And AllTrails isn’t just for hikers, as you can also use the app to plan out mountain biking, snow sports, mountaineering, trail running, and climbing excursions.

If you plan to hike a few different trails during your trip, the AllTrails Plus Membership might be worth investing in. For $36 a year, you have the ability to download maps for offline access, something that comes in handy if you find yourself veering off-trail in an area with limited service. Just make sure you’ve downloaded the map prior to your hike. The Plus Membership comes with other perks, too, but I’ve found the ability to see my GPS dot moving alongside the correct trail worth the yearly membership fee all on its own. If you’re not sold, you can sign up for a one-week free trial—but make sure to time it so that the period lines up with your next trip.

After your trip, return to AllTrails to leave reviews of the trails you hiked. If you relied on information you learned about certain trails to choose and execute a hike safely, repay the favor by leaving thoughts about your experience in the comment section. Prospective hikers will appreciate your updates on trail closures, maintenance issues, and tricky-to-follow trails.

Find a place to sleep

The apps: Recreation.gov ( iOS and Android ), The Dyrt ( iOS and Android ), Hipcamp ( iOS and Android )

What they’re good for: Finding campsites suited to your budget, expertise, and comfort level.

The nitty-gritty: Which app you use to reserve a campsite or lodging for your trip ultimately depends on the kind of experience you’re looking to have.

Recreation.gov lists only federal camping options, so if you know you’d like to stay in the national park or forest you’re visiting, this app should be your first stop. Each campsite listing shows site details including rules, amenities, and availability. You can book directly through the app, and you can also use Recreation.gov to apply for permits and pay your park-entry fees.

The Dyrt is a good option for campers looking for free and discounted campsites, as it offers a repository of more than 500,000 campgrounds around the country on both public and private land. Similar to the listings in Recreation.gov, each Dyrt listing gives a rundown of the amenities and rules of the campsite, but rather than allowing you to book through the app, Dyrt redirects you to the campground’s website. You can also look through Dyrt user reviews and photos as you make a decision. The Dyrt is a free app, but if you want the ability to search for campgrounds offline or to download maps, you can sign up for The Dyrt Pro for $36 per year. You can sign up for a free seven-day trial if you’re not ready to commit.

Hipcamp is perfect for folks who would rather glamp than camp. Through this app, you can find Instagram-worthy private glamping sites (think decked-out RVs, yurts, and cabins). These sites tend to be more expensive, but they offer more amenities and creature comforts for those who aren’t comfortable pitching their own tent or sleeping on the ground. Like Airbnb (which can also help you find glamping and camping sites), Hipcamp lets you read through each host’s bio, flip through photos of the listing, and scroll through reviews before booking directly in the app. You can use Hipcamp to find cheap DIY campsites, as well.

Explore the park without leaving your car

The app: Just Ahead ( iOS )

What it’s good for: A narrated car ride through the parks.

The nitty-gritty: This app is useful for folks who want private guided tours. Employing your phone’s built-in GPS (offline use is also an option), the Just Ahead app automatically begins narrating as you drive by certain markers on the map, and you can learn about scenic views, geology, and park history as you pass them. Each guide is professionally written and narrated by journalists and authors who have written for National Geographic and Outside Magazine. Just Ahead isn’t without its limitations, though: It offers guides to only a handful of the more popular US national parks (such as Yellowstone, Joshua Tree, and Rocky Mountain), and each guide must be purchased separately, starting at $15.

Organize your travel plans

The app: Notion ( iOS and Android )

What it’s good for: Keeping important travel information and documents in one place.

The nitty-gritty: You can plan your trip however you’d like, be it in Google Docs, detailed Excel sheets, or the notes app on your phone—but I love using Notion, a free project-management and note-taking app that you can access on both your phone and your desktop. Because you can use this app to organize all parts of your life, it can feel a little overwhelming at first, but Notion provides a dedicated travel template that can help make trip planning more streamlined. You can pull all the essential details of your trip into one highly organized spot by creating tables for different kinds of information (such as your budget or flight details), embedding Google maps specific to your trip, and assigning tags to certain categories so they’re easier to find. You can create a general overview of your trip, linking out to other important documents, files, and websites—and you can make more in-depth, filtered views for each day of your trip with all the information you’ll need. Notion also makes collaborating with others simple, so you can share your plans with travel buddies ahead of time and work together to create the perfect trip.

This article was edited by Treye Green and Annemarie Conte.

Meet your guide

Elissa Sanci

Senior Staff Writer

Elissa Sanci is a senior staff writer for Wirecutter’s discovery team based in Denver. Her byline has appeared in The New York Times, Woman’s Day, Marie Claire, and Good Housekeeping. When she’s not testing TikTok-famous products or writing about car garbage cans, you can find her hiking somewhere in the Rockies or lying on the couch with a bowl of chips balanced on her chest. There is no in-between.

Further reading

The Best Gear for Your Road Trips

by Kit Dillon and Wirecutter Staff

After 120 hours of research and 1,500 miles behind the wheel, we’ve singled out the gear that’s absolutely essential for your next journey on the open road.

The Gadgets We Bring on Every Trip

by Haley Perry

You don't have to be a digital nomad to travel like one. Here are a few gadgets and accessories to make travel as painless as possible.

The Best Gear for Travel

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We put in another year and tens of thousands more miles of travel to test the best travel gear—and we stand by last year’s choices alongside a few new picks.

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Southampton promoted to Premier League after Championship play-off final win over Leeds United

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Southampton have been promoted to the Premier League after beating Leeds United 1-0 in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

In a game worth £170million to the winners , the Saints return to the top flight of English football at the first time of asking thanks to Adam Armstrong’s winner in the capital on Sunday.

Russell Martin’s side join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in securing promotion.

Southampton snatched the lead 24 minutes into the game, with Armstrong timing his run to perfection to latch onto Will Smallbone’s through ball.

With Leeds’ defence sleeping, Armstrong expertly slotted into the far corner beyond the onrushing Illan Meslier.

Leeds pushed for an equaliser in the second-half with Dan James rattling the cross bar with a superb effort from range.

Alex McCarthy in the Saints goal was also forced into sone vital saves, denying James late on in injury time.

A clash of heads involving James and Kyle Walker-Peters ensured there was nine minutes of time added on as the 36,000 Southampton fans who had made the journey watched on nervously.

Southampton hung on, returning to the Premier League after just one season away.

Club captain Jack Stephens fought to hold back tears at the full-time whistle, hailing the resilience his side showed at Wembley and throughout a thrilling 2023-24 season.

‘I’m just lost for words,’ Stephens told Sky Sports.

‘I’m sorry, I’m a little bit emotional at the moment. I’m so proud to be captain of this club. I’m just so proud of the boys today, they did unbelievable.

‘We probably didn’t play our best game today but we showed a different side to us. A few people have doubted us over this season. Can we defend? Can we dig in? But we really showed that today. We were magnificent.

‘This is the best feeling I’ve had in football.’

Match-winner Armstrong said: ‘It’s what we’ve been working for all year, we know how good the Championship has been this year.

‘What a way to go up! I saw the space in behind [for the goal] and I knew if I put it across goal it was going to go in, so it was a nice one.

‘It means everything. The gaffer and his staff came in in pre-season and put a marker down of what they wanted to see, and look at this.

‘This is why we’re footballers, we want to be involved in the biggest games, what a way to win.’

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Associate Advertising Strategy & Planning

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The Best Players Need the Best People.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor's degree in Business, Advertising/Marketing, Statistics or related field or equivalency

One year of experience in Advertising, Client Services and/or Sales Support

Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills

Strong critical thinking and analytical skills

Knowledge about ad trafficking systems (e.g. Google Ad Manager, Freewheel) and order management systems (e.g. Operative, Placements.io) a plus

Proficiency in Microsoft Office products; advanced skills in Excel and PowerPoint required

Golf or sports knowledge/background a plus

RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES

Develop timely and accurate PGA TOUR and partner media plans, which follow established pricing guidelines, adhere to ad product business rules, and are vetted for inventory availability.

Manage and accurately process order entry requests and revisions from the Strategy team in the Order Management System; initiate internal kickoff calls prior to order build

Assist strategy team pods, media sales leads, and internal constituents; ensuring timely, thorough, and accurate responses to all RFPs, RFIs, and general daily correspondence related to site ad operations, ad specifications, creative asset gathering, launch and campaign pacing confirmation.

Monitor social campaign activations and ensure that order builds align with trackers and reports

Ensure campaigns are being properly captured in our reporting tool, AdJuster

Assist with end of month delivery confirmations, including working with the Strategy and Social teams on flat file and social campaign delivery confirmation

Develop knowledge of the PGA TOUR Digital and partner ad portfolios; serve as internal resource on Order Management System product catalog by being able to accurately recall all available products.

Understand media assets and value propositions to navigate the PGA TOUR partnerships landscape –in conjunction with PGA TOUR’s Corporate Marketing and Business Development departments – and service Official Marketing Partners’, Endemic Marketing Partners’, and/or Title Sponsors' media campaigns.

Special projects or other duties as assigned.

PGA TOUR winner Grayson Murray passes away at 30

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Grayson Murray, who won his second PGA TOUR title at this year’s Sony Open in Hawaii, passed away Saturday.

"We were devastated to learn – and are heartbroken to share – that PGA TOUR player Grayson Murray passed away this morning. I am at a loss for words,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “The PGA TOUR is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same. We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.

“I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play,” Commissioner Monahan continued. “They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so. As difficult as it will be, we want to respect their wishes.”

Grief counselors were made available at the venues for this week’s PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events. Commissioner Monahan, who traveled from TOUR headquarters in Florida to the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, said he was "devastated" by the loss.

Grayson's parents, Eric and Terry Murray, said in a statement Sunday that the cause of death was suicide .

"Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes," his parents wrote. "By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and – it seems – by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed."

Murray, 30, was a standout golfer from his youth. He won three consecutive Callaway Junior World Championships (2006-08) and was the top-ranked golfer in his age group. He made his first cut on the Korn Ferry Tour at age 16, becoming the second-youngest player ever to do so. After stints at Wake Forest University, East Carolina University and Arizona State University, he got the break he needed in 2016 when he was given a sponsor exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour event near his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. He finished inside the top 10 at that event, the Rex Hospital Open, which qualified him for another start. When he posted another top 10 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, his professional career took off. He concluded his season with a victory at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship to finish second on the Korn Ferry Tour money list and earn full status on the PGA TOUR for the 2016-17 season. The win came a week before his 23rd birthday.

Murray wasted little time establishing himself on golf’s biggest stage as a rookie. He won the 2017 Barbasol Championship while still just 23 years old. His final-round 68 not only secured a one-shot victory, but also solidified a two-year exemption through the 2019 PGA TOUR season. He finished 66th in the FedExCup and earned nearly $1.5 million.

Grayson struggled for the next few seasons on the PGA TOUR. In 2023, he found his game again on the Korn Ferry Tour; he notched two victories – the Advent Health Championship in Kansas City and the Simmons Bank Open outside of Nashville – to finish fourth on that tour’s points list and earn a spot back onto the PGA TOUR for the following season.

Murray opened the 2024 season with a playoff victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He made a clutch up and down on the 72nd hole for a birdie to force a playoff. Then he sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to defeat Byeong Hun An and Keegan Bradley. He reached a career-high 46th in the Official World Golf Ranking after that victory.

Top 5 E Ink-friendly apps for your Android e-reader

I n the beginning, Amazon pushed the Kindle e-reader into mainstream popularity, and it was good. But then, in 2014, Boox dropped the i63ML Newton and changed the trajectory of the market forever by including access to the Google Play Store on its device ( check out these awesome Boox e-readers ). No longer were users locked into the default apps that their devices shipped with. Instead, they had the entire Android ecosystem at their fingertips. But not all apps are created equally, especially when it comes to running on E Ink-based devices . That’s why Android Police is on the beat to help you find the best Android apps for your E Ink e-reader.

Amazon Kindle

A great all-around e-reading app.

Just about every E Ink tablet comes with a native e-reading app, but given the option to add one to your e-reader, you’d be hard-pressed to find one better to start with than Amazon Kindle. The Kindle app is more than just a simple e-book viewer. It has all of the basic functionality you need, like the ability to change fonts and typefaces, bookmark pages, highlight text, track progress, sync across devices, and so much more. On top of all that, you get access to Amazon’s vast library of e-books as well as its premium subscription service Kindle Unlimited .

Amazon isn’t the only name in the game when it comes to e-reading. There are lots of good apps out there . Moon+ Reader is extremely popular, and if you want access to books you can buy, PocketBook, Google Play Books, and Kobo Books are also solid choices.

What is Kindle Unlimited?

Browsing bespoke for e-readers.

Surfing the internet is an integral part of modern life, but most modern web browsers aren’t built with E Ink screens in mind , although it might be more accurate to say that the modern web isn’t built with e-reader accommodation in mind. The web is fluid and always moving with transitions and animations that render poorly on high-latency E Ink displays. EinkBro, the only E Ink–first browser, obviates these issues by preventing unnecessary animations and transitions. Further, its user interface is built around simple black-and-white icons that are easy to see on any E Ink screen.

EinkBro also comes with a slew of features that are purpose-built for e-readers. You can tap on the screen to page up or down, similar to turning pages in an e-book. You can use the volume or page-turn buttons to scroll, and you can even export web content to an EPUB file to read offline. If you want to get EinkBro for your Android-enabled e-reader, you can’t find it on the Play Store; you’ll have to use F-Droid or sideload the APK.

Hidden Folks

The perfect e-reader game is right under your nose.

Most games on the Play Store are flashy with lots of animation and movement, taking advantage of ever-faster refresh rates to offer buttery smooth gameplay no matter how intense the action. E Ink is simply not capable of matching that kind of performance. Games that flourish on e-readers have minimal animation and don’t require updating the screen every half second. The game fits on E Ink screens perfectly while still being fun and engrossing; known as Hidden Folks, and it is a slick hidden object game any age can enjoy.

Similar to Where’s Waldo, without a mass of color, Hidden Folks is black and white with minimal animations. You can even invert the colors if you want to play in night mode.

Other types of games that do really well on e-readers are puzzles like crosswords/sudoku, visual novels, and choose-your-own-adventure titles.

13 best casual games on Android in 2024

The news you want, when you want.

There are a lot of apps out there that corral and deliver the news to you, but not all of them are suited for an e-reader. Purpose-built apps from big names like the New York Times are good, but most come with a subscription that not everyone is willing to pay; plus you only get your news from one source. That’s why when it comes to news, we like aggregators, and one of the best for your e-reader is Feedly.

There are a couple of factors that make Feedly well-suited for use on your Android-enabled E Ink device. The most important factor is that Feedly gives you the option to either load stories in its own minimalist web browser, or in the system browser (which you should set to EinkBro), saving you from the unending onslaught of internet advertisers. You can also customize your feed view to text only, letting you focus on the story and not the multimedia.

Fossify File Manager

Keep yourself organized.

A good file manager is an essential part of any Android device. There are a lot of apps to choose from in this category, but Fossify File Manager makes the list because of its color customization and the fact that it's open source. Other apps lock you into a Material You theme or, at most, offer you a light and dark theme, but Fossify File Manager gives you full control over the colors, meaning you can set up your theme the way you like it so that it's easy to read on an E Ink screen. It even has a default black-and-white theme, so you don't have to venture far in the settings.

Fossify File Manager is a complete file manager that lets you move, delete, rename, and decompress files. And because it's open source, you won't have to worry about watching an ad just to edit a directory.

Best Boox e-readers and tablets in 2024

Make the most of your android-based e ink e-reader.

It’s not easy finding apps purpose-built for E Ink devices, considering that over 90% of the market is controlled by either Kindle or Kobo, neither of which use Android in their e-readers. But the popularity of Android-based e-readers is growing , and with that growth , hopefully, we’ll see more apps built to thrive on E Ink.