Apps can be useful when traveling. Before Hong Kong, I had never been out of the country by myself and was feeling insecure about my travel experience. I was accustomed to having a parent or older guardian organize and create a plan that I would follow. I honestly did not know where to start when it came to planning activities, how to get around, or organizing an entire trip. With help from some of these apps, I was able to gain confidence in what to do.
TripAdvisor
You see TripAdvisor everywhere. Whether it is a commercial on tv, you have used it before, or if you do an online search. TripAdvisor is a great app to help you out. It allows you to be able to look up the top-rated hotels, flights, restaurants, and excursions. It also allows you to read other travelers' reviews about all these things giving you a personal inside scoop of what is worth your time and what is not. I use TripAdvisor for a little bit of everything. I always refer to the app or website when I am curious about an experience before I pay the price, literally. This tool is tremendous for when you are just starting to plan your trip and need to see what is in the area.
Priceline/ JetBlue App
These are two of my favorite apps. These apps, I'll admit, I have a bias too, but that is because they have never let me down. I always book my airline flights through Priceline. After doing a lot of research, I find their prices fair and usually the overall best deal. I usually book my flights on a Tuesday or non-holiday weekend because tickets tend to be cheaper these days. Also, if you fly from Tuesday to a Tuesday, the roundtrip prices are a tad bit less costly as well.
The JetBlue App is magnificent in my mind. I love to fly JetBlue. The check-in process is easy, the seats are roomier than other airlines, and whenever my flight is delayed or canceled, they work with me on rescheduling my ticket or finding a different flight without expecting me to pay ridiculous fees. I have never encountered a problem with them. The JetBlue app is my favorite tool to use when traveling and makes the check-in process effortless. The interface of the app is easy to read, understand, and navigate. You can enter your trips within the app months in advance, and they will be there, with schedule details, until you take off. A feature I found surprising is that you can look up past trips also. The app is continuously keeping your information updated and notifies you if there is a change in plans. I once had a flight from Savannah to Boston, and when I was about to leave for the airport, the app sent me a notification saying my flight was going to be delayed. That notification allowed me to spend another hour at home relaxing rather than randomly sitting in an airport frustrated. Your flight details are right on your phone in your pocket, and you don't need to look for those pesky gate monitors within airports to see where your connecting flight is. Other features of the app include being able to book flights from the app also. In my opinion, this app and airline service is one of the top tiers in the business for domestic flights. I am hoping they bring their airlines internationally soon, so I would be able to travel with them abroad as well.
Klook
Klook is a great app when looking for guided tours or excursions. I happened upon this app by overhearing some other travelers on a bus talking about an outing they had just booked through the app. I was curious and saw that Klook offers everything from attractions and shows, to tours and sightseeing, activities and experiences, food and dining, and places to find transport and wifi. All that is needed is the ability to type in where you are, and they will give you an endless list of possibilities. Usually, the popular activities list is the most used when using this app for me. This app has given me ideas of what to do with friends and has allowed me to book online and pay ahead of time, so I can show up to the activity and enjoy it. The experiences that I have booked on Klook have been truthful to their descriptions and never misleading. This app leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the city or area you are exploring, and it is a great tool to get ideas of what to see and do.
Local Metro Mobile Apps/ Moovit
I cannot stress enough how important it is to study the transportation situation of a city or town ahead of time. Without a local Metro app, riding the metro for transportation can be frustrating and exhausting. It will save you time and allow you to travel at ease. More specifically, when I traveled to Hong Kong, the MTR Mobile App allowed me to look up metro lines within Hong Kong and plan the trip you need to take to get to your final destination. This app has saved me in so many different situations. It will give you step by step directions on where to walk to the metro station, what train to take, where to transfer onto a new line, and how long the entire trip should take. With the train trip planner within the app, it brings up a map of the entirety of the metro lines and then suggests the fastest way to get there. It was a great resource to have in Hong Kong.
Moovit is also a must-have when it comes to riding the buses around the area. I have never loved an app in my life like I love Moovit. The app is worldwide, and have most of the major cities around the world's information when it comes to bus routes. I used Moovit in Hong Kong and Japan. In Hong Kong, it had all the bus information I needed to feel confident enough to take the lines and know I wasn't going to get lost. I have never been a huge fan of public transportation myself and would have rented a car due to the anxiety of it all. This app helped me feel in control of the bus routes and allowed me to feel confident enough to use them daily. After typing in your desired destination, Moovit will calculate different ways to get there, and even incorporates metro lines sometimes to show you the fastest route. It gives you multiple options and allows you to choose which path you want to take. It then will show you a step by step of your journey. Once you get on the bus, this is where I was pleasantly surprised that the app somehow calculates you're on the bus and then switches to a list of bus stops you will encounter before getting to the destination you are supposed to get off at. The lineup will start to fade stop by stop as you pass them as you get closer to your station. If you aren't like me and watch the app at all times to make sure you don't miss your stop, then you can also set up notifications to tell you when you get close. That was a great resource to have, and I can acknowledge that without it, I probably would have ignored the bus transportation and stuck to the metro or even ordered taxis everywhere.
Airbnb
I have a love/hate relationship with this app. I have never had a negative experience with this app or company, but being the super careful person that I am, I go into this app with a skeptical mind. Everyone has heard the Airbnb horror stories. Airbnb is such a huge company that they cannot monitor everything that happens on-site even though they are trying to be more conscious of it. People can use fake photos, they can lie about what is constituted in the listing, and sometimes they can even scam you. As a young woman, who travels alone, I am extremely cautious about my safety. You are entering into a stranger's home to stay and for some time. That can be a bit frightening and intimidating. These reasons are why I go into this app with a skeptical state of mine.
Ways for me to be safe and to avoid problems with Airbnb are to use the "Entire Place" option, self-check-in, and the superhost option. These three filters can save you a lot of trouble and anxiety. By selecting the entire place, the whole apartment/ home is yours for the stay. No one else should be in the home or apartment with you. That is one way to stay safe and secure. I like the self-check-in option because I can avoid meeting strangers. Correspondence with the host remains as an online presence when you do self-check-in. If there is a problem with the apartment, then there is a possibility the host will come to meet with you, but otherwise, you shouldn't have to meet them. I am learning this depends on which country you are staying. I have recently booked Airbnbs in Italy, and within the culture, good hosts will meet you and give you pointers on how to navigate, where you should visit as a tourist, and will answer any questions you have. Just be aware of the culture you are entering into because even with self-check-in, you might meet the host anyways. Also, I almost always use the superhost option. These are the best-certified hosts on the app within the area you are staying in. Usually, these hosts have over 100's of reviews and are used to hosting on Airbnb and have experience with it. I cannot stress enough to use this feature. With more reviews per listing on Airbnb, the more likely you are to be able to protect yourself from a liar or a scam.
The main reason I love Airbnb is that it is a great way to get an authentic feel for the area of which you are staying. It almost tricks your mind as if you are living in the area. It is a way to avoid stuffy hotel rooms and the stigma behind hotels about being less adventurous. I love having the freedom of an Airbnb and being about to feel like a local. Also, on the app, you can look up and book excursions, and this is something you shouldn't neglect. The app shows you the area where the Airbnb is on a map, so it makes it easy to pick the best location for your stay. Sometimes Airbnb can be cheaper, but this is all based on the area. Make sure to do your research about the place you are heading, and shop around to see what is cheapest, but I believe Airbnb is worth looking at.
Without these apps, I would have been a scared young traveler out on her own. These situations are essential for travel and make sure you do your research and find what you specifically are looking for before booking anything. Whether it comes to flights, hotels, excursions, or transportation, the more analysis doesn't hurt anything. Shop around and have fun while doing so! Traveling is supposed to be enjoyable, and with some help from technology nowadays, the experience can be a little less stressful as well.
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