One of the perks of academia is the opportunity for occasional travel to conferences, archives, or field-work. But keeping travel plans organized can be difficult amidst writing deadlines, grading, and the blizzard of email that we all sort through on a daily basis. If you have a Smartphone, there several apps out there that might help simplify things for you. I recently discovered TripIt, and it was love at first use.
TripIt is a free program for BlackBerry, Droid, or iPhone that organizes all of your travel information (flights, hotel reservations, rental cars, etc.) into a single itinerary. It is easy to use from the get-go and does not require account numbers for your reservations. You will, however, need a map application on your Smartphone (if you do not have one pre-installed on your phone, GoogleMaps is a free option). Once you have installed TripIt, all you need to do to get started is forward your confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com, and it does the rest almost instantaneously.
The cell phone interface is impressive. Not only does it provide full flight information including flight numbers, departure and arrival times, confirmation codes, and seat assignments, but it also has links to maps of your destination and a website that provides seating advice for the specific kind of plane in which you will be traveling. Travelers familiar with SeatGuru will recognize the interface, but the added benefit to TripIt is that you no longer have to guess which plane you’ll be on--TripIt takes you to the right model automatically. If you check your itinerary from the website (instead from the mobile app), you can also see the weather forecast for your destination.
If you have forwarded a hotel reservation confirmation, it will also provide you with a link to turn-by-turn directions from the airport to your hotel. Rental car reservations are no less thorough; you not only have access to your confirmation number, but you also have details about the reservation including pick-up time and car type as well as contact information for the rental agency and instructions on where to go from the airport terminal. Users can also import reservations from Evite, Facebook events, OpenTable, TicketMaster, Amtrak, and many other sites. In addition, the application will import all of your travel arrangements directly to your calendar, and you can email your itinerary to family and friends. TripIt will also let you save people as contacts so that you don’t need to re-enter their email addresses for future trips.
There is an upgrade available. TripIt Pro costs $49 per year (there is a free 30 day trial membership). This version includes all the features of the free app and then some. It provides instant alerts when your flight is changed, whether your departure is delayed or the gate is changed; if you miss a connection or your flight is canceled, you have access to rebooking options including information on available seating; and if the cost of your flight changes so that you are eligible for a refund, you will be notified of that also. Lastly, it also allows users to travel frequent flier miles/points. If you are a frequent traveler, such features might be beneficial.
TripIt really impressed me with its wealth of information and ease of use, and I appreciate not having to carry around print-outs of my reservations and confirmations. It has also won numerous awards and acclaim from various online and print publications such as TechCrunch and PC Magazine as well as from individual users at the iTunes App Store and BlackBerry AppWorld.
Do you have a favorite Travel App to help you stay organized when you are on the road or flying the friendly skies? Please share in the comments section.
[Creative Commons licensed image by Flickr user Dave Heuts.]