Google's New Trips App Helps Simplify Travel-Planning
While planning the trip of a lifetime can be one of the most daunting tasks, figuring out what to do when you actually get to your destination can be just as difficult. Deciding where to go, what to eat and what to see and, on top of all that, keeping all your flight and hotel information in order — it's a lot to manage. To help you keep track of everything and to help plan your trip after you've booked travel, Google just introduced its latest tool: the Google Trips app.
With so many apps available to make it easier for travelers to book their travel, Google Trips is intended to help travelers decide what to do after they've taken care of airfare, hotel stays and other reservations. The app is entirely accessible offline and free to download today on the App Store and Google Play.
Google Trips allows you to sync your Gmail account, which will populate the app with all of your upcoming and past adventures — all flight, hotel and car rental information is available in one place for each trip. Before heading out on your journey, download the city you're going to so you can access all of its features offline.
If Google Trips recognizes you're visiting multiple locations on the same trip, it'll consolidate all of the necessary info. For example, if you're going to both Barcelona and Valencia, the app will create a trip for Spain. In each city profile, you'll be able to check out points of interest, where to eat and drink, how to get around and local information like what to do if you get sick and how much to tip.
After your trip is created, you can click it for a variety of options to plan or review. The "Reservations" tab allows you to look at all your travel information from aggregated trips — flights, car rental and hotel reservations will automatically populate the tab when the confirmation email is sent to your Gmail account. Not only will you be able to see your flight, hotel and car rental information, but it'll also be updated in real time.
One of the most useful features of the app is Day Plans, which allows you to plan what to do each day you're in a city. Google's compiled useful real-time information to make planning your day simple and efficient. You can choose from a list of pre-planned routes, such as what to do on day one of a 48-hour trip, where to go if you want to visit several museums or the top sights in a certain neighborhood. Once it knows what you want to do, Google Trips will plan the most efficient route to get from one location to the next. In addition, it'll let you know how long, on average, visitors typically stay at a given attraction.
If you want to go to an attraction that's not listed on a pre-planned route, you can select the pink "magic wand" icon at the bottom of the screen to pick another attraction nearby. Google Trips will automatically reroute your day plan and give you the full information on that specific attraction — hours of operation, reviews and more.
The other sections of the app — like Things to Do, Saved Places, Food & Drink, Getting Around and Need to Know — allow you to further plan your adventure, and again, all options are available offline. You can view local restaurants, learn about how to get to and from the airport and much more.
Bottom Line
Google Trips is a great way for travelers to plan their itineraries; it makes deciding what to do when you get to a destination much easier and stress-free. The app's available to download now, and could be well worth setting up before your next trip. Being able to access a wealth of information all while offline could be a game-changer in the travel world.
Will you be downloading Google Trips?
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app