My Five go-to travel apps (Blog #30)

Welcome to my latest blog, which today is my take on my five favourite travel apps. 

In my last blog I featured the Tripit app, which is the best travel organiser app I have come across, and believe me I have tested most of them over the years, but I always come back to trusty old Tripit. Having put Tripit in the spotlight last time, I thought I would give my other favourites a blog of their own, and try to show you how I use them to make my travels run smoother. Here goes.

TripAdvisor

I definitely don't use all of this app's functions, which works for me as all I want is to be able to research places to eat and drink, things to do and nearby places to visit once I have chosen a trip destination. I think the recent addition of AI to help compile an itinerary is great, and is something I have been using for a while. Why reinvent the wheel?

I try to post reviews of eateries and attractions, but this doesn't always happen. I do, however, read other people's reviews when deciding where to eat or where to visit. 

I can't imagine not using TripAdvisor when planning a trip or during a trip. I don't do anything exciting with it, but maybe it's not meant to be anything else. Its main benefit for me is as a trip research tool. It's occurred to me that you don't have to be doing anything fancy or complicated with any of your apps, not just travel apps, you use them to work for you. 

Note to self: post more reviews to help fellow travellers.

Packing List Full

This is perhaps the most frustrating of these five apps. I initially used the free version, installed on one device, simple and straightforward to use. Then I thought I would give the paid-for version a go, the one that meant I could have it on my phone and my tablet, which would be really useful when getting packed for a trip. The Full version was £1.79, but I then had to purchase the Packing List Cloud for another £0.89; not big amounts, but still a cost. I assumed that syncing would be like most other apps that are installed across multiple devices. I was wrong. First off you have to go through a complicated synching process, which didn't always work, then the app stopped working on my tablet! The upshot was that I got a refund for the app and the cloud, and now I just use the Full version as a single device app. My advice is to not bother with the paid-for version.

The app comes with pre-installed lists, which are useful, but I have built my own lists. Having started out with multiple lists for various categories of travel items, I now have a single, unified list for packing, and a list for unpacking. Yes, an unpacking list! My unpacking list contains things like a reminder to freeze the credit card that I only ever use whilst travelling abroad, a reminder to turn the mains water back on, unlocking house windows etc. You get my drift. I don't think I need to itemise what I include, suffice to say that the more I travel, the more things I seem to be adding.

Tripit

Please see my previous blog for my thoughts about the Tripit app. 

JourniBlog

 I have the basic, free account, which is great for recording in writing and in photographs my day-by-day travels and adventures. I have tried using a physical note book, but the JourniBlog app is so convenient. As long as I have my phone on my, I'm able to keep a journal. Each daily entry has a character limit of 1000, which is sufficient for my needs.

JourniBlog can be synched across devices.

The app plots your location and so provides a useful visual reminder of your journeys. You can also build photo books, but I haven't used this part of the app. For me it is simply a means of keeping a travel journal.

I definitely recommend this app for travel journaling.

Blogger 

I love this app! When I was thinking of becoming a blogger I researched the tools available to get me started. Everywhere seemed to recommend WordPress, but it did appear to be rather complicated and geared up more for professional bloggers rather than the likes of someone like me who isn't in it to make money. I highly recommend this app to anyone who just wants to blog as a hobby.

I like the simplicity of the app and the ability to use it on my phone, tablet, and my laptop if I am at home. Most of this blog was written when I was at 35000ft somewhere over Greenland, and on my phone. Modern tech is great.  

I call these apps my 5Rs: Repacking, Research, Reconciliation, Recording, and Writing. Well, the 3Rs at school only have an R at the start of one of the words, so I'm not stretching a point when four of my 5Rs start with an R. 

Thanks again for visiting my blog site. I hope to see you next time. In the meantime you can catch me on my various social media platforms (see above).

© Mike Young 2024.