I am currently immersed in planning an extended trip to Central America (more on that coming in 2023) but thought I would share my experience of putting together what is going to be a complex itinerary. There will be innumerable bus journeys, hotel bookings, trips to plan, flights, and timings to consider. In short, more than my brain can recall! I turned to several genius travel apps to help with the planning process. So, if you are planning an epic trip, read on to discover 6 awesome travel apps that will make planning a breeze.
Planning my route around Central America
Wanderlog
Wanderlog is an awesome travel app that allows you to compile complex itineraries. You can build your itinerary by date and add hotel and travel bookings so everything is in one convenient place. As you add destinations, it populates an accompanying map too. Genius!!
The only thing I found slightly irritating with this app is how cumbersome it is to edit if you change your plans. If you are unsure of timings, it pays to add places to the overview and then move them into the itinerary once you have figured out how much time you need in each place.
GPS MY City
For a small fee, you can follow in the footsteps of independent travellers who have already visited your chosen destination. Simply search by destination and you will find tons of fascinating itineraries that you can download for later. Here are a few examples of my blog posts that have been converted into guided itineraries for you.
These walking itineraries are a great alternative to an organised tour. It saves you money and time as you only visit the places that most interest you instead of being forced to endure someone else’s itinerary.
Google My Maps
Google My Maps is a version of Google Maps that allows you to save a list of places and overlay the map with directions. This is ideal if you are looking to add multiple places to a map and want to try to figure out how long it will take to travel between places.
In this post on Kyoto you can see an itinerary I put together using Google My Maps. This was based on the incredible city of Kyoto but you can go big and map trips through multiple cities or countries.
Rome2Rio
Rome2Rio has to be the most awesome travel app of all time. Want to know how to get from San Salvador to Arenal in Costa Rica? No problem! The app gives you multiple options to get you there. Whereas Google maps can tell you how long it takes to get between places, it assumes you have your own car. This amazing travel app will provide bus, train, plane and possibly even donkey options!!
Rome2Rio is an essential site for planning as it helps to identify airports and routes you may not otherwise consider. I only wish I had come up with the idea for this site!!
As you can see the site is a wealth of information. It details an incredible 976,000 bus routes, 207,000 train routes, over 12,500 ferry routes and over 50,000 flight routes. This is a website that you absolutely should bookmark!
Just You could be travelling on this amazing bus in Colombia
Edreams
This website allows you to book flights, hotels and much more in one convenient place. It shows you the total price for the duration of the stay is a convenient one stop shop.
You can apply filters to make your search more relevant to your needs. These include price, location, type of property and more. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip now.
Get Your Guide
This is another awesome travel app that allows you to research, plan and book trips in your chosen destinations. You can retain all your booking confirmations digitally – don’t forget to share them to that awesome travel app – Wanderlog.
I often use this app as inspiration to help me plan trips as well.
Final thoughts
Hopefully you agree that these 6 awesome travel apps will help make planning a trip child’s play. Between them you can arrange trips, hotels, your travel and so much more. Obviously if you have even better travel apps you use, please do share them in the comments below.
Another great site in the current environment is Sherpa which allows you to check out the Covid status requirements for any country
https://apply.joinsherpa.com/travel-restrictions