Travel Planning Apps Lecture Notes

Overview

• Focus on most popular travel planning apps.
• Apps reviewed: Trip Advisor, Travel Mapper, Wanderlog, TripIt, and Road Trippers.
• Criteria: User experience and learning curve, features and capability, price, pros and cons.
• Excludes: Scrapbooking, flight/hotel deals, social media features.

User Experience and Learning Curve

Trip Advisor

• Known for reviews and ratings.
• Simple UI, easy to save and organize trips.
• Rated 5/5 for user experience and learning curve.

Travel Mapper

• Works with Google Sheets.
• Easy for spreadsheet users; steeper learning curve otherwise.
• Rated 3/5.

Wanderlog

• Detailed planning, browser and mobile compatible.
• Cluttered UI, better for browser use.
• Rated 4/5.

TripIt

• Detailed planner, improved UI.
• Can’t easily reorder items.
• Rated 4.5/5.

Road Trippers

• Focused on road trips.
• Decent planning, features mainly for routes.
• Rated 4.5/5.

Features and Capability

Trip Advisor

• Strong in travel-related information.
• Weak map utility and collaboration.
• Rated 2.5/5.

Travel Mapper

• Strong organization, automation, collaboration.
• Export capabilities with Google Maps.
• Rated 5/5.

Wanderlog

• Strong recommendations, filtering.
• Some automation issues, requires app for collaboration.
• Rated 4.5/5.

TripIt

• Limited mapping and automation.
• Great for organizing information and travel updates.
• Rated 3/5.

Road Trippers

• Excellent for road trip recommendations and mapping.
• Focus is narrow, not ideal for international travel.
• Rated 3.5/5.

Price

• Trip Advisor: Free.
• Travel Mapper: Free trial, $12/year.
• Wanderlog: Freemium, $49.99/year.
• TripIt: Free, premium features $48.99/year.
• Road Trippers: Free (limited), $35.99/year.

Pros and Cons Summary

Trip Advisor

• Pros: Free, easy to use.
• Cons: Lacks key features.

Travel Mapper

• Pros: Detailed, great features, affordable.
• Cons: Steeper learning curve.

Wanderlog

• Pros: Good experience, suggestions.
• Cons: Most expensive, potential bias towards hotel recommendations.

TripIt

• Pros: Easy to use, good for updates.
• Cons: Lacks a good map.

Road Trippers

• Pros: Great for road trips, strong map and recommendations.
• Cons: Limited to road trip planning.

Conclusion:

• Wanderlog is great if willing to pay.
• Road Trippers is ideal for road trips.
• Travel Mapper offers best value, especially for Google Sheets users.