App of the Week: Google’s Trips

Google’s Trips app is becoming an even better travel companion

by Jacob Kastrenakes of The Verge

Google introduced an app called Trips last year to help people organize their travel plans and figure out what to do once they arrive at their destination. And today, the app is getting a few new features that’ll make it even more useful.

First up, Trips will now automatically pull in train and bus tickets that have been sent to your Gmail address. The app already collates all of your flight, hotel, and car reservations, so today’s update makes its overview of your travel plans far more comprehensive.

It sounds small, but that addition really sells me on using this app: I have a trip planned a couple months from now, and the app automatically pulled in my flights, Airbnb reservation, and three train tickets I have booked. (Though the app did incorrectly identify the Airbnb reservation as part of a separate trip, during the same dates to the same location.) All the information can be saved for offline viewing, which is great if you’re heading somewhere with limited cell service.

Google has also added the option to manual add reservations, which’ll be useful for anything it still doesn’t pick up.

The final new addition today is the ability to share trips with others. I’m not actually seeing this right now on the Android version of Trips, so it may not be live yet, but it makes a ton of sense and seems like a really handy way of sharing info with everyone you’re traveling with.

Breakdown of the App:

Google Trips makes exploring the world easier by organizing your essential info in one place and making it available even offline. Get activity suggestions based on what’s nearby, customizeable day plans, and your travel reservations from Gmail.

AUTOMATIC TRIP ORGANIZATION
Your travel reservations are automatically gathered from Gmail and organized into individual trips. Each trip contains day plans, things to do, food and drink suggestions, and more.

BUNDLED RESERVATIONS
See your flight, hotel, rental car, and restaurant bookings in one place without having to search for them individually.

DAY PLANS
For several hundred of the world’s top places, find popular day plans organized on a map that you can customize based on your interests and available time.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
Find out when you’re near popular attractions (and whether they’re open) as well as reviews and ratings from other travelers.

THINGS TO DO
Every trip contains ideas for things to do automatically organized into useful categories like Top Spots and Indoors or Outdoors. For many of the world’s top places, you’ll get curated local suggestions and travel tips.

OFFLINE ACCESS
No Internet? No problem. Google Trips is available offline, so you’ll always have access to your info.

Available for free on Android and iOS.

What’s your favorite Travel App? Let us know in the comments below!!