The Three Best Apps to Check Before Traveling!

Planning a vacation is definitely an exciting time but it can also be extremely stressful. From coordinating everyone’s schedules to getting time off work and traveling during time off school it can be over whelming. So after many year’s of trial and error, I have come up with a few hacks.

One tip we have shared before is packing for weekend in a carry on! (Easier said than done because I am a TOTAL over packer) and we also covered places to get cheap flights! But one thing I have mastered beyond that recently are airline price tracker apps. Essentially these apps make predictions about when prices will drop on plane tickets. If you use them correctly, they could save you tons of money!!

Hopper

The first one I ever heard about was Hopper. It is a great app because you can choose between two options. One is to choose specific dates and get alerts on any flights on those days to your destination. The other is to be more flexible and get alerts on cheap flights any days to certain destinations. Depending on your schedule, both are great ways to save a ton of money!

The way that it works is you set up an account, pick your option, pick your dates and destination, then you wait! It will give you tips and alerts every time a price changes. It will also tell you if they think it will drop lower or if this is the lowest it will go. It also tells you the exact date that prices will increase by a lot (closer to the flight) that way you make sure to buy tickets before then!

One down side is that they don’t watch every single airline. We wanted to fly Southwest because we had a gift card but Hopper doesn’t track Southwest flights. However, I still used the app and put in my dates and as it alerted me that other airlines were dropping their rates I would check in on the Southwest app. It seemed as though most of them followed the same trends so it was still easy to track. Also check out Hoppers secondary app, GTFO! (Get The Flight Out)

Travel Pirates

Travel Pirates is an app for someone with a very flexible schedule. It watches cheap flights year round and will alert you when you will get the very best deal. I love this app during certain times of the year because I know I have more time off and flexibility in my schedule. Summer time and holiday season are usually when I really start to use this app.

Basically what it does is do the leg work for you. Travel Pirates compiles all of the best deals on the internet and presents them to you in an easy to follow and organized manor. It tells me about coupons, drops in fares for flights and hotels, travel packages that can save me money by bundling; all of it! It really is a catch all for deals on the internet. I use Travel Pirates most when I know I need a vacation but I don’t know where I want to go!

Time Out

Time Out is an app that I recently discovered but I absolutely love! It honestly combines the best of both Yelp and Expedia. It learns what you like and then gives you suggestions in whatever city you are in around the world! It will give you good deals on event tickets and restaurant specials. Many restaurants even allow you to make reservations through this app!

I plan on using this app when I head to New York in May. It has all sorts of events that are local and easy to miss if you are tourist trusting major travel apps! There are tons of free events, shows, galleries, and so much more. It is super easy to navigate and search for what you like. You can also scroll through categories such as restaurants, art, bars, nightlife, etc.. Ever since I found this app I have used it every time I travel! I even used it in Las Vegas to find an awesome dive karaoke bar!