One of the most awesome combinations has to be finding useful Travel Apps and then plugging them into your Android Smartphone, which can help you in planning as well as organizing your next vacation. This is pretty much an obvious virtual no-brainer of all proportions. But because of this however, there are thousand of these travel apps which are available for download, making them practically a dime a dozen.
Finding the proper usable apps which would enhance as well as make your travel planning easier is unfortunately a time consuming “hit or miss” exercise. There’s no doubt that you may of tried this method of going through a number of promising apps for your smartphone, just to realize that they’re pretty much useless.
So since the travel season is upon us, attempting to find that perfect Google Android travel app may be a daunting task. So found for you after diligent research and testing are a set of apps which work in complete bliss and seamlessly complements each other.
These travel based apps will automate the majority of the hassles such as organizing as well as managing your trip. These apps will make your vacation easier and a lot less stressful, turning your holiday into a truly relaxing vacation.
The Best Google Android Travel/Vacation Apps For Your Smartphone
Android Vacation App: TripIt
• Cost: Free
The central app of these Android based vacation apps is the TripIt program. Once this is installed on your smartphone, you’ll instantly create an account (Free) with their service. Then the next time you decide to make any travel plans, including reservations for airlines, hotel accommodation reservations, or anything else travel related such as renting a car, all you need to do is just email the confirmation dates to: plans @ tripitcom.
TripIt will then process for you, whatever travel confirmation details that you send to them. They will extract all of the pertinent details such as the times and locations, and then turn these plans into a user-friendly travel itinerary for your vacation.
TripIt will instantly associate all of the information that you’ve send to them based on the email address which you submitted when you created your account. Every email that you send, will then automatically show up organized and in priority on your TripIt app. This will save you countless hours wasting time on organizing your travel details, as TripIt does it all for you.
Android Vacation App: Google Calendar
• Cost: Free
One of the most useful Android travel apps is one that you may already have on your smartphone. This is Google’s Calendar utility, which should be pre-installed on the majority of the Android devices.
So if you own an Android smartphone, the chances are good that you’re already using the Google Calendar App to manage your various appointments as well as events. If you switch to the “Power-user” setting, then using the Google Calendar and updating it with your travel plans makes it a lot easier.
The good news is that the TripIt app is automatically able to sync with Google Calendar. So what that means is anytime you add any new vacation plans to TripIt, it will then instantly update your Google Calendar agenda as well.
Configuring the TripIt and the Google Calendar integration is quite easy, and the best part is that it only has to be done just once.
• The first step in going to TripIt’s calendar sync page, click on the “Get your iCal feed” link. Select the “Subscribe to calendar feed,” option and then copy the text which appears on the screen, which is a string of characters which begin with – webcal://www.tripit.com.
• Next, on the Google Calendar site. Click on the “Add” link which is under the “Other calendars” on the left side of the screen. Next select the “Add by URL,” click and paste the tripit address, and then click “Add Calendar.”
• Then open the Google Calendar app on your smartphone. Press the “Menu” key, select the “More” and then “Calendars.” You should be able to see “TripIt” as an available calendar. Lastly, make sure it is set as “Synced, Visible” and click the “OK” tab.
After that, all of your travel plans will then automatically appear on your Google Calendar.
Android Vacation App: FlightTrack And FlightTrack Pro
• Cost: $10
This Android travel app will really set your holiday into relax motion. What FlightTrack does is it will monitor as well as track your flights, all in “real-time” on your Android mobile device.
As the departure time of your flight approaches, this app will track for any sudden changes in your itinerary, and then will instantly alert you if there is anything new. This can include any delays in departure, a new departure gate, or any other airline related inconveniences which can occur.
The FlightTrack app has a few helpful built-in features as well. The key is properly setting up the app’s widget. On the day of your travel, all you need to do is place the 4 x 2 widget onto your smartphone’s home screen, and then you’ll be regularly updated instantly directly on the phones window regarding your flights status.
There is also an upgrade, which is the FlightTrack Pro, which is an add-on which allows you to interface seamlessly and directly with the TripIt app. It is an easy setup that you just integrate once, and your entire travel itinerary will automatically show up on the widget.
The FlightTrack Pro App upgrade however is a Five dollar upgrade on top of the initial $5 cost for the main app. Although spending $10 on what is basically just a single function may seem like a lot, since the majority of the apps are free, but if you’re wanting to take the stress out of your vacation, it is worth the one-time cost.
Combining All The Android Travel/Vacation Apps
When these apps are combined together, and once they are all properly synced, this is what you can expect on your next vacation:
• You can forward via email all of your confirmations from the airlines, hotels, etc., as well as any other travel details to: plans @ tripit.com. This is about the only work that you’ll need to do
• The FlightTrack app will then automatically import all of the travel details as well as silently tracking your flight for you. If there are any changes in your flight plans, the FlightTrack app will instantly alert you directly on your smartphone
• All of your vacation plans will then automatically appear as individual events on your Google Calendar app
• On the day of your vacation, you will want to place the FlightTrack widget on the home screen or the lock screen of your smartphone to get instant glances on the departure as well as any delay times of your flight, the gate info along with any other details which are pertinent for your flight
The FlightTrack app should be already populated with the itinerary, so everything that you need to begin your vacation will be there the instant the widget is placed.
So once you are all set up, it will be an excellent and powerful system which will save you a lot of time while helping you stay “up to the minute” organized without all the usual hassles. So just… Enjoy your holiday!