THE ESSENTIAL VACATION GUIDE
If you're planning a
holiday by yourself or with your family in India or abroad you will need
all the help you can get. ….some fantastic websites and apps that will help you
plan your vacation itinerary, track your train or flight, maintain a real-time
travel log, navigate new cities, and even get timely safety alerts on your
phone...
PLAN
& ORGANISE
Google Trips
This app saves you the
trouble of sifting through your Gmail inbox for all your travel and hotel
reservations. Sign in with your Google ID and the service automatically
collates all your reservations flight, hotel, car rentals, restaurant
bookings, and more from your emails and lists them destination wise.
Reservations appear chronologically , with links to the email.
The app also lets you add
locations manually in case you are yet to make bookings. Each trip is displayed
as a “card“ and can contain categories like Things to do, Day Plans, Food &
Drink, etc. You can use these for suggestions on landmarks, restaurants and
nearby popular attractions.
Google Trips is also home
to photos, reviews and useful tips submitted by fellow travellers. It even lets
you `favorite' the places you intend to visit for later reference. Plus, you
can download the details for each of your destinations over Wi-Fi, so you can
readily access it all even when you don't have internet coverage.
Android, iOS (Free)
Tripcase
Google Trips works well for
most part, but if you want to create a personalised itinerary or more
importantly if do not want to use Gmail, then try Tripcase.
Once you register with this
service, you can send all your booking confirmation emails to trips@tripcase.com.
These can be viewed in the app's “inbox“. Of course, you can also manually add
flight bookings, train confirmations, hotel reservations, and more. All these
can be viewed as `cards' or in a vertical timeline view.
The app also displays
notifications of scheduled flights and activities. It even lists helpline
numbers, if available, of airlines and hotels.
Tripcase is especially
useful if you are travelling in a group. It lets you add the email addresses of
fellow travellers so whenever any of you makes changes to the plan, the entire
group is notified.
http:www.tripcase.com |
Android, iOS (Free)
SEARCH & BOOK
Skyscanner
Flight ticket prices can
increase even while you compare them across multiple travel sites. You can save
some time by using, Skyscanner, a search engine that will help you find and
compare flight tickets domestic and international in a single browser tab.
You can sort the results by
price, airline, departure time, duration, direct flights only , and even get
the website to send you price alerts via email.
If you haven't decided on
your destination yet, click on “Explore our map“ and select a city to view
airfare prices. The website displays day-byday prices, so you can choose the
cheapest tickets and stick to your budget. Alternatively , you can choose a
month and the service will suggest coun tries and cities, along with the
cheapest airfares.Install the mobile app and you will even get to view aircraft
details, including seating and in-flight services you can expect.
http:www.skyscanner.co.in |
Android, iOS (Free)
Seat61
Seat61 is a website run by
Mark Smith, a UK based former railwayman, who loves trains and always travels
in “seat 61“.
Here, you will find
detailed information about railway networks from around the world including
the USA, UK, Czech Republic, South Africa, India, and New Zealand along with
photos, approximate travel costs and tips on how to book tickets for your
journey . In fact, you can even find out how to cross continents without
flying.
The website is tailored to
foreign tourists and international travel, but if you are a first-timer even
on the Indian Railways refer to Seat61.http:www.seat61.com
RailYatri
If you're travelling by the
Indian Railways, use RailYatri. You can buy train tickets through IRCTC
authorised agents, check PNR status, receive railway alerts and even track your
train in real time on a map.
RailYatri also includes a
timetable of all the trains in India, with the layout of berth positions, and
information on seat availability . You can even order food via the app: Just
select the railway station, check for availability and provide your seat number
before placing an order. Additionally , the app provides information on local
trainsmetros that ply in a number of cities including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi,
Kolkata and Chennai. And in case of a medical emergency , you can refer to this
app to look for hospitals nearest to your station.
http:www.railyatri.in |
Android, iOS, Win Phone (Free)
TRAVEL JOURNAL
Polarsteps
Instead of posting
photographs of your vacation on Facebook, create a visual log book that your
friends and family can follow in real time.Polarsteps uses your location to
plot your journey automatically on a map. It logs your whereabouts even when
you don't have internet access. The service lets you add photographs and notes,
which visitors can view, like and comment.
You can follow other
Polarsteps members, browse their travels in a timeline format or use the map to
follow their route. You can set your journeys to be publicly viewable or keep
them private, while sharing links with select people.
Polarsteps also has a nice
“statistics“ section that tells you how many kilometres you have covered, the
furthest place you have visited, and more.
http:www.polarsteps.com |
Android, iOS (Free)
Journi
If you are travelling in a
group and want to create a single journal of the trip, then try Journi. It is a
no-frills diary app that lets you invite friends to contribute, and upload
multiple photos per post, along with location information and tags such as
Accommodation, Restaurants, Nightlife and Shopping.
You can make individual
trips viewable to other Journi members or keep them private. In both modes, the
service lets you assign which users can follow or contribute to the trip log.
Like Polarsteps, you can follow other travellers from around the world and even
exchange travel advice.The best part: You can add posts to Journi even when you
are offline.http:www.journiapp.com | Android, iOS (Free)
NAVIGATE
Maps.me
Maps.Me is a navigation app
that is extremely handy if you plan on travelling outside your network
provider's coverage area: It works even without data access.
But first, before you set
out, choose the places where you will need navigation help and download its map
along with routing information to your phone. After that, you can be offline
but with GPS enabled and still be able to search for landmarks without
consuming any data.
Maps.Me also allows you to
create waypoints of the places you have visited and bookmarked in other map
services.Android, BlackBerry, iOS | Free
PERSONAL SAFETY
Glympse
Getting lost in an unknown
city can be quite a scary experience.
Glympse lets you share your
location with people using text, e-mail and social networks.
The app lets you choose for
how long you want to share your location before you send your coordinates.
Recipients will get a web link that allows them to view your whereabouts in
real time. This information can be used to reach or guide you to a more
familiar place. It should be noted that this app requires internet access (data
charges will depend on the service provider in that region) and works best with
GPS turned on.Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Win Phone (Free)
Sitata Travel Safe
While making travel plans,
also keep health and safety in mind. Here, refer to Sitata a service that'll
inform you of tourist traps; notify you of a disease outbreak and political
unrest. You also get emergency helplines numbers.
After you register for the
service and add your destination, Sitata will keep you updated on developments
that might affect your travels. You can also use its maps to see which areas of
the country are marked as “High Caution“ or “Do not travel“.
Its Guides section gives
you background information about the country you plan on visiting, along with
information on personal safety . Sitata requires a working data connection, so
it is best you note down vital information for quick access.
http:www.sitata.com |
Android, iOS (Free)
Ashutosh Desai
TOI8APR17
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