Holiday Travel is Easier with Technology

Did you know that over 25 million Americans will fly somewhere for Thanksgiving? And over 47 million will travel at least 50 miles to consume their turkey dinner? While traveling provides you the opportunity to be with loved ones on this special holiday, it can also add a lot of stress and frustration to your vacation. If you are heading out of town during the busiest travel season of the year, then consider using the following apps. Each one proves that holiday travel is easier with technology.

First things first: booking your trip. Online booking has become the standard, and one of the best sites around is Expedia. With over 15 years of serving travelers, Expedia is a trusted one-stop shop for everything travel related. Not only can you search for flights (with filters such as price, departure time, number of stops, and length of total trip), you can also preview seat maps, flight information, and airfare without leaving search results. Once you have your flight, you can book your hotel by location, price, and quality. You can also round out your trip by booking your rental car and trip insurance. If you’re looking to buy multiple things (i.e. flight, hotel and/or car rental), Expedia offers bundle deals that let you save money when you buy more than one at a time. One of the best parts of the Expedia experiences is the reviews. With their long history and million of user, you can feel secure that there are plenty of honest reviews. And best of all, Expedia can be found on the web or through their free app (available on Android, iOS and Windows.)

Once everything is booked, you want to make sure that your travel information is readily accessible. A great app for keeping all your reservations in one place is TripCase. TripCase is an easy to use (free) app that keeps track of flights, train, hotels and rental car reservations. When you send your information to the app, it will organize it and then custom build your itinerary. It even gives you options on how you can view your information. You can choose the timeline form, which sorts everything by date and time or you can choose the step-by-step views that provides in-depth detail of every part of your journey. TripCase will also update you with changes to your itinerary, such as flight delays and another notifications. You can also share the information with friends and family, providing them with details such as arrival times, parking, and baggage claim information. And, one of our favorite functions, the app will provide you with driving directions for the different parts of your trip!

Speaking of driving directions, if you are planning on road tripping this holiday, consider using the GasBuddy app (free on Android and iOS). This app helps users track down the cheapest gas in their region. Users can use their GPS location, or search by address or zip code. As many of the prices are based on user reports, GasBuddy rewards users with points for reporting and updating a station's prices. You can use your points to enter their regular raffles, which offer great prizes (like free gas!).

Of course, the biggest concern for any holiday traveler is the weather. It’s important to have the Weather Channel app to keep an eye on Mother Nature. The Weather Channel app allows you to watch the weather in real-time, so you can make alternative travel plans (such as leaving early or taking a different route) when necessary. The app allows lets you see weather in different places (such as your route and your final destination) so that there are no surprises along the way.

Let’s be honest. Nothing will completely eliminate the stress of traveling during the holidays. But a few apps can go a long way in making your vacation easier than ever.