25 Best Apps For Vacation Planning To Save Time, Money, and Keep You Organized

Best apps for vacation planning to simplify and streamline your trip planning process: find the cheapest flights, book last-minute hotel stays, and keep your itinerary organized in one place.

Traveling offers a wide range of benefits that contribute to well-being, personal growth, and overall happiness. It’s one way to escape from reality, even if for a little while. Most would agree the best and worst part of traveling is planning the trip itself. However, by taking ownership of your travel plans, you have full control over your itinerary, but on the other hand, travel planning isn’t always easy or fun.

Raise your hands if you hate packing? Unpacking? Yeah, that’s us! 

Travel planning requires lots of coordination, tracking moving pieces from booking flights, hotels, tours, and even dining reservations. 

While you can use pen and paper to keep it all organized or a spreadsheet, a handful of travel apps can also do the trick. In a digital age, travel planning apps are the best way to go. 

These apps enhance your travel experience and save you time and effort managing various aspects of your trip. They organize and track flight bookings, hotel reservations, car rentals, and activity confirmations, making it easy to access everything you need at your fingertips. Some even provide access to exclusive deals and discounts that’ll help you save money on travel expenses.

If you’re wondering which apps to use to plan your trips, keep reading for our favorite travel planning apps — these are the best apps for vacation planning that will simplify organizing your trip including apps for cash back, packing, booking last-minute hotel stays, converting currency, and more. 

Read Next: 12 Ways To Maximize Summer Travel Savings 

Click here to listen to the podcast episode or press play below.

Useful Trip Planning Apps To Download Now

1. Tripadvisor: For Reviews and Recommendations 

Tripadvisor is one of the world’s largest travel sites. It’s a go-to for travelers seeking reviews, information, and recommendations for hotels, vacation rentals, tours, restaurants, and attractions. 

Here’s how TripAdvisor works.

Discover where to stay and the best things to do by reading honest reviews from other travelers who have been there. 

Not to mention, Tripadvisor Plus, a membership program offers discounts on hotels and experiences, and exclusive benefits to subscribers like spa credits and complimentary breakfast. 

Click here to listen to the podcast episode all about Tripadvisor or press play below.

2. CardPointers: For Picking the Right Credit Card To Use

CardPointers is the best app for on-the-go credit card selection management at checkout. This helps you maximize your points and miles suggesting the best credit cards to use based on spending category. CardPointers will help you feel confident knowing you’re always using the best credit for each purchase. 

3. TripIt: For Itinerary Planning 

TripIt is a trip itinerary app which keeps all your trip planning in one place. One of the main features is its ability to put together customized travel itineraries. After booking a flight, hotel or attraction, forward your travel plans to plans@tripit.com. Sync travel plans to your calendar and share. 

No more frantically searching through your inbox, TripIt extracts relevant details from confirmation emails for all travel related bookings. It then creates an organized master itinerary based on all that information — available even if you’re offline. 

If you’re looking to consolidate your itinerary and organize your paperwork, TripIt ensures all your information is available right at your fingertips, in one place.

4. TravelSpend: For Expense Tracking 

If you are looking for a travel budget app, use TravelSpend to plan your vacation budget and track travel expenses. Traveling can become pricey quickly, but TravelSpend will help you manage those expenses and avoid overspending throughout your vacation. 

Read Next: Financial Tasks To Complete Before Vacations

5. Going: For Finding Cheap Flights 

Going, previously known as “Scott’s Cheap Flights”, shares cheap flight alerts right to your phone. Helping you find the lowest airfares to your desired destinations, Going features deals to over 900 destinations around the world. 

6. Google Translate: For Language Translation

Google Translate is an essential travel app if you’re traveling to a country where you don’t speak the native language. Not only will it help you translate over 100 languages in real-time but it can also prepare you before your trip by helping you learn a few basic words or phrases.

Other helpful features include reading text out loud so you can hear the pronunciation and taking a photo which can come in handy when trying to read street signs or menus. 

Helpful Tip: If you’re interested in learning how to speak another language, consider Babbel or Duolingo.

7. Momondo: For Flight Price Comparisons 

Momondo is a valuable tool for comparing prices. The app generates flight options from different airlines and online travel agencies based on your departure city, destination, and travel dates. It also provides users with the option to compare accommodation prices and car rentals. 

You’re also able to identify the most cost effective travel days using Momondo. 

Their “Inspiration” section offers travel ideas, articles, and guides to help you discover new destinations and possible itineraries. 

8. Hopper: For Booking Flights and Lodging 

Hopper is a mobile travel app primarily focused on finding and booking flights and hotels. Its price prediction technology lets users know the best times to book an affordable flight or hotel. They’ve also recently introduced a “Refundable Tickets” feature that is super convenient allowing users to book flexible tickets that can be changed or canceled without pricey fees.  

9. The Points Guy App: For Maximizing Points and Miles

Originally a popular travel website, The Points Guy app helps users track how to maximize spending to earn points and miles across their credit card portfolio. 

Not only will this app help you track rewards and earn valuable points and miles, but will also suggest recommendations for the best cards to use plus redeeming your points at the best value. 

Research how many points you’ll need to book your next getaway and read TPG articles on the go. 

In summary, this app will help you navigate the complex world of travel rewards, helping you become a points and miles expert in no time!

10. Wanderlog: For Vacation Itinerary Planning

This is a great planning app for any trip you have in mind — whether you’re interested in taking a road trip, a tropical vacation, or a flight across the world. 

One of its main features is itinerary organization where users create detailed itineraries they can easily  share with tripmates. 

Perfect for group travel planning, this group trip planning app conveniently supports collaboration between travelers by allowing users to plan on the same itinerary. 

11. Rome2Rio: For Transportation Routes

This travel app assists with finding the best routes and transportation options to get from one place to another. Use Rome2Rio for short trips within a city or a long-distance journey between countries. Get an overview of transportation options, including flights, trains, buses, ferries, and more. 

12. Waze: For Car GPS Navigation 

Waze is a GPS navigation app that supplies users with real-time traffic updates and route planning. 

Unlike other navigation apps, Waze users are able to actively contribute data to improve the accuracy and usefulness of the app. It contains so many helpful features informing you about traffic conditions, accidents, road closures, and any other incidents that may affect your route and travel time. 

13. Gas Buddy: For Saving Money on Gas

Gas Buddy is a mobile app and website designed to help you find the cheapest gas prices. Almost everyone tries their best to save money on gas, so it’s a super valuable tool. 

Gas Buddy offers rewards if you pay through their mobile app. It tracks real-time gas prices and allows users to set up price alerts. These price alerts let you know when gas prices drop or rise in a certain area, so you can take advantage of low prices. 

14. Roadtrippers: For Road Trip Planning

Enjoy taking road trips? Looking for an app to help plan road trips? Or an app to plan road trips with multiple stops? Roadtrippers is the travel planning app for you.

Designed to help roadtrippers discover, plan, and navigate their trips, this app suggests major attractions and destinations to visit then travelers can customize their itinerary.

Select starting and ending points, as well as add stop points along the route. Choose to follow popular pre-planned routes or create your own custom itineraries. The app also provides recommendations for hotels, campgrounds, motels, and restaurants along your route and at your destination.

Read Next: What To Bring on a Road Trip: Your Road Trip Packing List

15. PackPoint: For Packing With Confidence 

For all my forgetful travelers, this one is for you!

PackPoint is a travel packing app that can help you create organized and personalized packing lists for trips. It ensures you don’t forget essential items when packing, whether it is for a vacation, business trip, or a camping adventure. 

All you have to do is input details about your destination, trip duration, activities planned, and weather forecast. PackPoint handles the rest by suggesting a recommended packing list to fit your needs.

Read our PackPoint review here.

16. Xe: For Currency Conversion 

When traveling out the country, having a currency conversion app is essential. Xe is one of the many currency conversion apps you can use to make informed money decisions when traveling to different countries. Input your dollar amount and pick what currency you’d like to convert to. 

17. HotelsByDay: For Daytime Hotel Booking 

HotelsByDay offers daytime hotel booking services, allowing travelers to book hotel rooms for a few hours during the day instead of the traditional overnight stay. 

HotelsByDay is useful for travelers who need a place to recharge, work, or freshen up. 

The app is flexible so you’re able to choose the check-in and check-out times that best suit your needs. HotelsByDay is a great short-term stay option and extremely convenient.

18. Sygic Travel: For Itinerary Planning 

Sygic Travel offers detailed information about thousands of cities and attractions worldwide helping users create personalized travel itineraries. These itineraries consist of attractions, activities, and accommodations. 

Sygic Travel helps travelers plan their days effectively and even offers pre-made day plans for various destinations. The app also has a built-in navigation feature that can guide users to their selected points of interest. 

Read our Sygic Travel review here and see why we think Sygic is one of the best travel itinerary apps.

19. HotelTonight: For Last-Minute Hotel Stays

Designed to help users secure hotel accommodations quickly and conveniently around the world, HotelTonight specializes in last-minute hotel bookings. It lets travelers find and book discounted hotel rooms for the same day or within a few days in advance. HotelTonight often provides users with discounted rates and exclusive deals. 

20. My Disney Experience: For Disney Trip Planning 

My Disney Experience serves as a comprehensive tool for planning and managing a trip to the Walt Disney World theme parks. It features tools for planning, managing reservations, virtual queues, and more. 

Designed to streamline your Disney World experience, this app helps guests make the most of their visit and reduce wait times for attractions, dining, and other activities. It includes the Genie+ feature, which allows you to enter rides through faster lightning lanes instead of waiting in stand by lines.  

With Disney Experience, easily plan out your day and access Disney resources.

21. Rakuten: For Earning Cashback

While this one isn’t a travel app, Rakuten helps you receive cash back on all types of purchases including travel bookings. The cash you earn back can end up being used for travel experiences, so it’s a great app to take advantage of regardless if you’re planning a trip or not.

Learn more about how Rakuten works here. 

22. HappyCow: For Vegan Meals 

Download HappyCow to find vegan meals, restaurants and cafes in over 180 countries worldwide. Search by food delivery, takeout, Gluten-free, and more. 

23. FlightAware: Tracking Flight Routes

Track flights in real-time and see where an aircraft is worldwide. This app is helpful when you have a tight layover or you want to see how weather conditions will impact arrivals or departures. You can also check on gate changes and cancellations.

24. WhatsApp: For Communication 

If you’re traveling internationally or want to stay in contact with friends and family members on the road, WhatsApp uses Wi-Fi instead of charging a text message fee. Through WhatsApp, call, send files and photos, video chat, and more. 

25. Airbnb: For Booking and Corresponding With Hosts

If you use Airbnb for short-term rentals, the Airbnb app is a must.

Browse through all types of vacation rentals like cabins, yachts, castles and everything in between. Book and manage reservations right on the app and quickly send messages back-and-forth to hosts.

Read Next: Airbnb Etiquette Do’s and Don’ts For Guests

Overall, travel planning apps provide convenience, organization, and valuable information that can help you make the most of your travels and create unforgettable experiences. With so many resources available to make your travel planning experience easier, we know there’s likely an app already out there for what you’re needing help with. 

Which travel apps do you love? What others vacation planning apps should we add to our list?