10 Travel Apps for All Stages of Your Spring Break Vacation
Everyone’s Spring Break is unique, but for most it’s about relaxing, letting loose, and just generally having a good time away from the stress of classes, exams, and your everyday routine. The only problem is that sometimes planning and executing a perfect vacation can be pretty stressful in and of itself, whether in terms of saving money, booking a place to stay, getting on the same page with your friends, or finding things to do once you reach your destination. The good news? It’s 2018 so, whatever your travel woes, there’s bound to be an app for easing them. Read on for 10 to download now to help you in every stage of your trip.
Photo: itunes.apple.com1/11PlanChat
This app will take your group Spring Break-planning text thread to a whole new level. With PlanChat, you and your friends can not only discuss your upcoming vaca, but you can also find new ideas, get notified of deals, split expenses, conduct polls, and more.
Photo: itunes.apple.com2/11Cool Cousin
Maybe you have a cool cousin IRL, maybe you don’t. Either way, this app can handily fill that role. Cool Cousin gives you recommendations on where to go and what to do straight from hip locals in your chosen destination. Have questions? Just shoot your de facto relative a message within the app.
Photo: itunes.apple.com3/11HappyCow
You could spend approximately half of your vacation trying to Google good vegan or vegetarian restaurants in the city you’re visiting. Or, you could let HappyCow do the work for you — it maps out various options and gives you photos and reviews — so you can live in the moment and enjoy your vacation.
Photo: itunes.apple.com4/11Secret Escapes
Hoping to treat yourself to a really nice hotel this Spring Break, without spending too much dough? Secret Escapes offers flash sales on luxury hotels (to book in advance or last-minute), so you can snag a sweet 5-star accommodation for a solid deal.
Photo: itunes.apple.com5/11Chatbooks
Instagram is amazing, obviously, but wouldn’t it be equally as amazing if you could share the best photos from your feed IRL? The idea of organizing and printing all of the photos on your phone can seem overwhelming, but Chabooks seriously simplifies the process. You can use the app to make one-off custom photo books or you can sign up for the Photo Book Series, and every time you add 60 photos to Instagram, Facebook, or your Camera Roll Favorites (depending on which apps you connect), Chatbooks will create and ship you an album featuring those shots. (And you can edit before it ships, just in case there are any pictures you don’t want included.)
Photo: itunes.apple.com6/11Hopper
Deciding when to book a flight can be an agonizing process for anyone who’s dead set on getting the best deal possible. Do you need to book now before the price goes up, or should you wait in case the price drops down? Hopper can help answer that question. The app uses a massive amount of data to predict the best time to book flights and when to book them for. When you search, it will tell you whether or not to wait and, if you do, it will send you notifications when it’s time to snag a low fare.
Photo: itunes.apple.com7/11Duolingo
If you’re heading to a place where the native language isn’t your own, it’s a good idea to at least brush up on some basics of that language before you leave home. Duolingo breaks down language learning into fun, easily-digestible lessons that you can squeeze in between classes, while you’re sitting in the back of an Uber, and as you drink your morning coffee.
Photo: itunes.apple.com8/11Streetography
Consider yourself a visual learner? Apply that to how you discover cities with the Streetography app, which shows you photos of various places (think: one specific block) on a map view. Browse through those images and decide where you’re going to explore next based on which one looks the most intriguing to you.
Photo: Kayak app screenshot9/11Kayak
Kayak has been a staple in the travel-booking world for many years, but that doesn’t mean they can’t shake things up — literally. The app recently launched a new “Shake Me Away” feature that pairs you up with flight deals just by shaking your phone. Open the app, give it a shake, and a screen will pop up that gives you the chance to “Spin the Globe.” When you do, you’ll get a bunch of flight options for a weekend getaway that’s less than 6 hours away, all for under $500 — perfect for booking a last-minute mini-Spring Break trip if you didn’t plan anything else.
Photo: itunes.apple.com10/11Service
You can outline your itinerary perfectly, book all of your excursions and lodging in advance, and snag the best deals, but there are some parts of travel you can’t plan for — like flight issues. But, while you can’t predict those kinds of things happening, Service makes it so that when they do, you don’t suffer a total financial loss. The app automatically scans your email for flight delays and cancellations in the past year and files claims on your behalf to get you your money back.
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