Why Everyone Who Ever Travels MUST Download, Use and Revere the TripIt App
I love traveling. I took 10 trips in three months last summer, visited LA three separate times, Chicago three separate times, NYC and Las Vegas for the first time ever and saw old friends in Colorado and family in Alabama.
I fly OFTEN, and I love the convenience of things like online booking and how easy it can be to figure out public transportation in an unfamiliar place thanks to Google Maps. Up until recently, I’d keep all of this organized by keeping a folder in my carry-on bag. In it, you could find the printed out copies of my boarding pass, my itinerary as printed out from Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, or whatever other booking service I used, my hotel confirmation, and other travel information I needed such as maps, and bus and train schedules.
Until now.
Enter TripIt.
TripIt does all of this for the wannabe-organized traveler. Well, all of this except for the boarding passes, but it’s not so hard to check in early or at the kiosks now, is it?
TripIt.com is a website that allows you to track your trip and travel information – when you’re going, how you’re getting there, and where you’re staying. On top of that, it’s a social network so you can see where your (approved) friends are headed and where they’ve been. This, in and of itself, is pretty cool.
The part where it becomes a must-have is in the iPhone app and its seamless relationship with the site. While you could type in everything by hand on the site and let it sync with your phone, TripIt goes one step further to make it that much easier.
You know those email confirmations you get from Orbitz, etc.? Forward those to [email protected], and TripIt pulls out all of the relevant information, organizes for you, and spits it back out on the app as something you can read and easily reference while you travel. Trips are listed in order chronologically (go figure), and within each one you’ll find any information you’ve passed on via email or added to your profile. I forwarded my flight and hotel confirmations for an upcoming trip to San Diego on and everything’s on the app now for me: flight numbers and flight times, and once they’ve been determined, terminals and gate numbers will be added. There’s map of San Diego already uploaded and available for me so that I know where I’m going when I get there.
I love calendars and mental notes, but if you travel frequently – TripIt is hands-down the most efficient and organized app for someone who needs the information accessible and organized.
