For me, the experience of traveling starts way before reaching the destination. As an avid traveler, the “planning” is usually either the most hectic step of the process, or the most enjoyable. At first, I used to enjoy scourging and searching for the best things to do, looking for discounts, and trying to coordinate everything together, however, the more I traveled, the more I craved having someone do it for me.

I used to maintain hundreds of to-do lists, places I wanted to visit, folders created specifically to put everything together – and needless to say, things got complicated.

Luckily, travel is a massive industry right now and there are hundreds of apps, solutions, and websites that are dedicated to making your trip planning a breeze. And that’s where the problem comes in: which app should you choose?

For me – it has always been Google Trips. Let me tell you why.

Google Trips

Google Trips takes everything we’ve always loved about Google (the availability of easy-to-access information everywhere and the depth and wealth of the results) and turns into the ultimate trip-planning app.

Google has infinite collective wisdom of the Internet – and no matter where you’re traveling, you’re going to have some questions that Google Trips answers. Are you expected to tip? Where should you eat? Can you fit all the major attractions in one day? What’s their currency? What are some local hidden gems? What are the top things to do?

Overall, Google Trips gives you ideas, inspiration, suggestions for places to go, things to do, a map, day trips and much more. So to sum it up: Google Trips gives you every single tool you need to plan your vacation without being too “intrusive” or “rigid”.

The reason I liked to depend on myself more than apps is that I felt like their plans were way too rigid and hard to work around, but Google Trips has several features that stand out when being compared to other trip planners.

Simple UI:

The UI is ridiculously simple to use – you’ll find everything and anything that you might be looking for on one screen. From easy day plans to currency questions, to restaurant recommendations – you’ll find it all neatly stacked on top of each other.

Your Reservations: Automated and in one place

Syncing data

As amusing as going back and forth through your inbox is to get all your reservations and download them, it is not. One highly valuable feature of the app is the fact that it allows you to have all of your reservations together in one place.

When you download Google Trips and set up your account and sync it – this is it for you. You don’t have to manually add your reservations, the app will pull all your confirmation e-mails and automatically syncs your trip data.

Even if you decide to, for example, add a rental car after you’re done booking everything, the app will automatically add it.

This is everything that the app compiles:
Airline tickets.
Hotel reservations.
Taxi bookings.
Restaurant reservations.
Car bookings.
And everything else that you’ve booked with your e-mail.

Upcoming flights

If you click on “upcoming flights”, you’ll be able to say the time of your flight, if it has been delayed, which terminal to go to and the gate, along with the confirmation e-mail.

Timeline of your previous vacations

Google Trips is retroactive, meaning that all your previous trips will be put in one place in case you wanted to a timeline of your previous vacations.

Helpful guides, rather than strict instructions

I am usually against joining any tours unless they’re extremely different or offer a unique experience because I like to be able to do exploring using my own pace and interests.

That’s why I particularly liked using Google Trips – the app gives you all sorts of suggestions that act as more of a “guide” than “instructions”.

Google Trips divided all the top activities into different sections, including:
Things to Do – categorized into different interests (museums, outdoors, concerts…etc.)
Day Plans – We’ll go into that in a minute but that feature is one of my favorites.
Food & Drink recommendations.
Getting Around – Public and private transportation information.
Customizable itineraries.

Things To Do:

The Things To Do section is just that – it compiles all the top things you need to see, do and experience in the city you’re visiting and has personalized recommendations based on your interests.

Food & Drink:

Google Trips has an in-depth list of all the food & drink options per city. You’ll find everything from chap to eats, to fine dining to street food, all in one place. It’s not just recommendations, though; you’ll get to see crowd-based restaurant recommendations, detailed reviews and amateur pictures of the food, making it a lot more credible.

Day Plans

There you go, the cleverest feature and my favorite. Google Trips builds an entire itinerary based on how many days you have and what your interests are.

It’s one thing to try and figure out everything you have to do, but it’s another to try and figure it out how to plan it around the number of days you have. Think of this feature as your virtual tour guide who plans full + half-day plans for you automatically.

For example, when I traveled to Paris, it gave me a detailed “48 Hours in Paris” to-do list including the top attractions, what to order to see them in, and how to optimize time to my advantage. It’ll even tell you how long it takes to get from one place to another.

There are also pre-built itineraries that cater to different interests including architecture, history or kid-friendly things to do.

Customized day plans:

If you’re not interested in any of the existing plans, you can create your own plan. Just zoom in on the different areas you’re interested in (or will be staying at), and the attractions you want to see and it will automatically create a plan for you.

It’s available offline!

If you want to avoid roaming around the city searching for WiFi or incurring roaming charges, then you can download the whole city ahead of time. Meaning you’ll get all these recommendations, your itinerary, and even a map offline.

Need to Know

The “Need to Know” section is wildly helpful. If you’ve ever found yourself in a foreign city wondering “what the number for 911” is, then you’ll love this feature.

You’ll be able to access all information related to health, emergency needs, and transportation. This includes information on how to get to and from the airport, where to get public transport, and who to call in case of emergencies.

Of course, this isn’t unique to the app and all this information is easily accessible, however, there is a sort of serendipity that comes with having everything in one place.

Getting Around

Another handy section is the “Getting Around” section. Arrive in one place and you’re bound to be overwhelmed with the amount of information that you need to know to get from one place to another.

This section will give you:
Detailed information on how to get from the airport to your hotel or the center using: public transport, buses, taxis, airport pickups, or rental cars.
You’ll also get estimated fares for Taxis.

Maps

There is a Maps section that is available offline when you download the city that’ll help give you a bigger picture view of where all the sights you chose are, how far away they are from your hotel, how to get from one place to another and more.

Discounts

So, Google is kind of a big deal. That’s why offer exclusive discounts to those who you use the app. Think discounts on tours, attractions, restaurants and more.

Local Favorites

Are you interested in exploring the “hidden gems” of a city, rather than the major tourist attractions? That’s where the local favorites section comes handy. You’ll be able to see what places are recommended by locals, which will definitely lead to some pretty cool under-the-radar discoveries.

Overall, the Google Trips app will replace your dozens of to-do lists, itineraries, and a lengthy search history on Google. The app is very easy to use, straightforward and cuts a lot of time off your planning.