BITTEN BY WANDERLUST?
It's summer time, kids are on
a break from school, and everyone's dreaming of that long-due vacation. …..a
few tools that will help you plan your holiday on a budget, make hotel and
restaurant reservations, explore new places, and even book travel tickets all
without the help of a travel agent. And if you're a frequent traveller, there's
no reason why you shouldn't have these websites in your browser bookmarks and
apps on your phone...
TRIPHOBO |
http:www.triphobo.com
Planning a travel itinerary
can be nerve wracking: You have to decide where you want to go, for how many
days and what you plan to do once you get there.TripHobo simplifies the whole
process.You can use its `Things to Do' page for travel suggestions, use its
automatic plan suggestion tool, or visit `Trip Plans' and pick from itineraries
shared by other members. And while you are at it, this website will let you
compare prices and choose from over 7,00,000 hotels worldwide.ANDROID, IOS |
Free
FATHOM | fathomaway.com
Like TripHobo, Fathom is a
website you could refer to when planning a holiday Here, you can find over 80
travel guides . with complete itineraries, listings of hotels, restaurants,
shops, nightlife hotspots and more sorted alphabetically , by region, country
and city .
You can also browse its
`Postcards' section, by choosing the “I travel for the...“ options that matches
your travel plan. For instance, you can pick between themes such as food,
thrill, culture, kids, scenery , et al for articles, photo galleries, and
videos that will help you plan your holiday . And don't forget to also refer to
its `Tools' section for its listings of airline search engines, flight
trackers, hotel chains, car rentals, luggage movers, money changers, and every
other service you might probably need on your travels.
GOGOBOT |
http:www.gogobot.com
Think of Gogobot as a
search engine for the best restaurants, markets, tourist attractions and hotels
near your location when you're in a new city . Simply enter the name of the
place you're in and you can fine-tune results to show you choices based on
parameters such as budget, luxury , business, trendy , nightlife, outdoorsy,
vegetarian, etc. You are provided with directions to the place, and even
contact details to make reservations.
The reviews on Gogobot are
by other travellers, so you can expect a fair evaluation of places. Like it is
with social networks, you can `follow' other site members and even add your own
reviews of places you have visited. Whether you're in the planning stages of
your vacation, or already on holiday , Gogobot is a great place to help you discover
local flavour on the web, and via its app.ANDROID, IOS | Free
WORLDMATE |
http:www.worldmate.com
Travellers who prefer
vacationing away from the beaten path could opt for a less touristy option like
WorldMate.This websiteapp acts like a travel docket to which you can forward
flight tickets, hotel or transport bookings from your registered e-mail
address.
Install its smartphone app
and your schedule will appear on its dashboard.This intuitive app will display
your travel itinerary , real-time flight status alerts, and reminders.
You can selectively share
parts of your schedule with friends on Facebook or via e-mail. Plus, you also
get a 5-day weather forecast, a built-in currency converter and a handy world
clock to help you track time if you are crossing time zones.ANDROID, IOS | Free
AIRBNB & HOMEAWAY |
http:www.airbnb.com, http:www.homeaway.co.in
In case you didn't know,
AirBnB is a popular global listings site that is home to a huge community of
people offering affordable lodging for travellers. You will be able to find
accommodation in over 34,000 cities in more than 190 countries.So whether it is
a service apartment or a villa, you will find something that will suit your
budget here. After registering with AirBnB, you can search and save the accommodations
you like, contact your host or send a reservation request before making your
final decision. Of course, all payments can be made via a secure payments
platform.
HomeAway is a website
similar to AirBnB that lets you search for rental apartments, villas, tree
houses, cottages, etc, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.The websites lists
hosts from over 1,000 cities across more than 88 countries.ANDROID, IOS | Free
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
Don't get lost in
translation, get Google Translate to decipher those signboards on the food
stalls you visit. This app helps in translating up to 90 languages, including
Arabic, Chinese, German and Russian. Simply select the language you want to
translate, and type out the text to get the translation. You can also point the
rear camera at a sign (for 26 languages) and it will instantly tell you what it
says.That said, this app requires an active data connection.
Android users have some
reprieve here as they can download languages and use this tool offline.ANDROID,
IOS | Free
TRIPADVISOR
Don't forget to travel with
a map of the city you are about to visit. For this, you can use TripAdvisor's
offline map feature to avoid data roaming charges.Just make sure that you
download the city map over a Wi-Fi connection: Launch the app, tap `Downloaded
Cities', then on `Download a City', and search for the places you will be
visiting. You can get offline maps of over 300 cities worldwide.When you need
to use the map, ensure that location services (GPS) is enabled.ANDROID, IOS,
WINDOWS PHONE | Free
If you're travelling by the
Indian Railways, RailYatri has every bit of information you'll need. From
checking your PNR status to tracking the train in real time on a map you can
do it all. The app also includes announcements from the railways, a time table
of all the trains in India, layouts of coach and berth positions, seat
availability, and you can also book food and taxis. With this app, you won't
need to call busy helplines or ask the train attendant for updates.RailYatri
also provides useful information on local trains that ply in a number of cities
including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.ANDROID, IOS | Free
PACKPOINT
After you've booked your
travel tickets and your hotel room, you're faced with the task of packing.
Well, turn to PackPoint a planner that will help you organize what you need
to pack in your luggage based on the length of travel, weather at your
destination, and any activities planned for your trip.
Punch in the city you're
going to travel to, the departure date, and the number of nights you'll be
staying there and the service will create a luggage checklist for you after
factoring in details like whether it's a business or leisure trip, if you're
willing to repeat wearing basics like shirts and pants and even if you'll have
access to laundry facilities. Once your packing list is made, PackPoint will
save it for you, and then you can choose to share it with friends and family in
case they need help packing too.ANDROID, IOS | Free
Flight prices can put a
dent in your holiday budget. Apart from booking in advance, you could use
search engines that use a prediction algorithm to help you pick the travel
dates that might save you some money. Here, you can refer to Google Flights
(google.co.inflights) to view a `price graph' and fix on your itinerary. The
website is optimized for mobile devices, so you can search from your phone's
web browser.
To view this graph, first
enter your destination, tentative dates and let Google Flights list available
options. Next, click on the calendar dates and then on the Price Graph tab to
see when the fares might drop a bit. This works well for international as well
domestic flights. In fact, for domestic flights, average prices are displayed
below calendar dates itself.
For domestic flights, you
can also try the Goibibo app for Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. After
you search for flight tickets, tap the `Fare Trend' tab in the app to see what
the prices are going to be like in that week.
Ashutosh Desai and Savio
D'Souza
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