Summer Travel Assist
A couple of weeks ago, Frank and I discussed some vacation apps and sites that may come in handle this season. Listen to it here at on the WSVA Podcast site, ghtech.site/2025VacaHelp. These are listed in alphabetical order as that works best for me and you.
Airbnb (airbnb.com): Book unique accommodations, from homes to experiences, in destinations worldwide. Airbnb now offers services like in-home chefs, spa treatments, and guided tours, making your stay even more personalized. Unlike most people, I have used Airbnb once and had a poor experience with it, several years ago, and because of that I do not intend on trying again.
Google Maps (google.com/maps): Essential for navigation, offering turn-by-turn directions, live traffic updates, and offline maps. It also provides restaurant recommendations, public transit details, and augmented reality walking directions with Live View. My favorite driving app. Along with finding places, it also lets me know the correct speed limit, since I do not see enough of them posted. That is my reason, and I’m sticking to it.
Google Travel (google.com/travel): A powerful tool for researching destinations, comparing flight options, and finding hotel reviews. It integrates with Google Flights and Google Hotels, offering price tracking and itinerary management. You can explore destinations based on interests, budget, and travel dates. You should be able to find most everything you need to figure out your travel plans with Google Travel. If you have not tried it out yet, you should now.
Hopper, (hopper.com): Uses AI to predict flight and hotel prices, helping you book at the best possible time. It provides alerts when prices drop and offers flexible booking options, including refundable tickets and price freeze features. I have used this and saved a bit of money. I suggest you give it a try too.
Hotel Tonight (hoteltonight.com): Ideal for last-minute travelers, offering discounted hotel stays in thousands of cities. It provides exclusive deals on unsold rooms, making it perfect for spontaneous trips. This is a great app I have used a couple of times to help us out on a messed-up excursion. It worked well.
Kiwi (kiwi.com): Helps you book flights, hotels, and car rentals while offering travel hacks for cheaper options. It specializes in multi-city itineraries and hidden-city ticketing to save money on airfare. I successfully used it once years ago and have not used it since.
Nomad eSIM (getnomad.app): Provides fast and reliable mobile connectivity in over 200 destinations, perfect for international travelers. It eliminates the need for physical SIM cards and offers affordable data plans for seamless internet access. I have never used it but, friends have and liked it. Give it a try if you are a world traveler.
TripIt, (tripit.com): Organizes all your travel plans into a single itinerary. Simply forward your confirmation emails, and TripIt will compile them into a neat schedule, including flights, hotels, car rentals, and activities. The Pro version offers real-time flight alerts and seat tracking. Very handy for “keeping up” with vacation plans.
Uber (uber.com) or Lyft (lyft.com): Ride-hailing apps that make transportation easy in cities across the USA and many international locations. Uber offers various ride options, including budget-friendly UberX and luxury Uber Black, while Lyft provides similar services with a focus on affordability and driver friendliness. To be honest here, I have used Uber several times without any negative issues. But I have never used Lyft, if you have, comment below and let me know what you think.
Waze (waze.com): A community-driven GPS app that provides real-time traffic alerts, optimized routes, and hazard notifications. It helps you avoid congestion and find the fastest way to your destination, making road trips smoother. Both are owned by Google for the past several years. But this one has some extras that Google Maps does not; however, the same is true of Google Maps. My question is: Why did Google choose to have two good map apps, instead of one fantastic one, with the strengths of both included? When they ask me, I will let them know for us.
What apps/sites have you used that help you on your vacations and trips around the globe?
