the palazzo maffei in verona, as found via the CityMaps2Go app

i never thought i would write about technology with travel, but i enjoyed writing my technology thursday post about favorite travel websites so much, that i just had to continue it.  technology tuesday sounds quite a bit more pleasing to the ear, though, so tuesday it is.

after switching over to the iphone recently (ironically, the new blackberries that i love are not supported by my firm’s ancient email system), i decided to explore a few travel apps for my trip to italy this past week.  after doing a bit of dedicated and diligent research (i googled “best travel apps”), i found three that are ah-mazing and greatly improved my travel experience:

• tripit – i had heard of this for awhile now (you may have already been using this for years – i’m a little behind the times), and it sounded too good to be true.  the app organizes all of your travel confirmations (e.g hotel, airfare, rental cars, etc.) into one easy-to-read itinerary, complete with all confirmation numbers, departure times, travel agency phone numbers, and more.  it is extremely easy to use, as well: simply email your travel confirmations to the app’s email address, and within 30 seconds your itinerary is uploaded, organized, and ready to go.  a couple of features i really enjoyed included that a) it was free (there is a version you can pay approximately $5 per month for added features, but i found those unnecessary) and b) i could send multiple confirmations for the same trip, and it still organized them together (e.g. i booked my hotel in a separate confirmation, emailed it to tripit, and it seamlessly organized it with my flight and gave me directions from the airport to my hotel.

the easy-to-read itinerary front page, with the more detailed information page. scroll down on both for confirmation numbers, customer service lines, frequent flyer miles, etc.

• gate guru – this little guy earned major points in my book.  it syncs with your tripit (yes!) and knows from your itinerary which gates/terminals you will be arriving into/departing from.  based on this information (which updates continuously for free, and which is a service that you must pay for on tripit), it lists all the amenities near your particular gate.  if you’ve read my about me page, you know that terminals without mcdonald’s threaten to ruin my airport experience.  gate guru was able to navigate me to the nearest mcdonald’s, airline lounge, atms, restrooms, etc., and gave me the ability to rate and review them, and share them with other users.  it also provides maps of the airport, which came in quite handy trying to navigate the check-in counters in frankfurt.

the gate guru app home page, and more detailed page with amenities in the frankfurt airport

• CityMaps2Go – i tend to shy away from apps that aren’t free, but this one at $2.99 is a complete steal.  i do not have an international phone plan, so when i travel, i’m at the mercy of wifi hot spots or data already saved onto my phone.  CityMaps has maps from all over the world, as well as lists of popular restaurants, tourist attractions, hotels, and more.  further, it syncs with wikipedia to bring you more information on tourist sites.  before my trip to verona, i downloaded the verona map from CityMaps (you only want to download what you need; otherwise they would take up entirely too much room), as well as the wikipedia package for the sites.  i then was able to pin on the maps each of the tourist sites i wanted to see, as well as my hotel, restaurants i had reserved, etc.  when i arrived in verona (without any phone service), i whipped out my phone, grabbed an umbrella (unfortunate day of rain), and jaunted around the cobble-stone streets reading all about the sites without getting lost.  i also tried downloading maplets, a similar app, but found it inferior for international maps.  and since i have phone service in the US, why would I need it for domestic maps?

the downloaded map of verona, pinned with my must-see tourist sites (yellow), my hotel (blue), and a restaurant at which i had reservations (green), along with the wikipedia page for one of the tourist sites (see photo at top of post)

do you have any favorite travel apps?  if so, please share!