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The 50 Best New Travel Apps for 2017

The 50 Best New Travel Apps for 2017

By Christopher Tkaczyk , Christopher Tkaczyk and Shivani Vora and Shivani Vora

January 19, 2017

Credit: Courtesy of GM

Choosing the right app can be just as confusing as deciding where to stay or how to get there. So we’ve combed through dozens of the latest travel apps (and a few mobile websites) to determine which tools are the most useful for planning a trip, getting around, finding friends, and saving money along the way. Unless noted, all apps are free and available for Android and iOS.

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Dealray

Credit: Courtesy of DealRay

The $9.99 per month members-only airfare tracker finds low-cost flight deals and sends notifications when it detects massive price drops, error fares, or flash sales. iOS only.

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Freebird

Credit: Courtesy of Freebird

Register your flight on this website up to two days before departure, and if it gets canceled or delayed by four hours, book a new ticket on any airline. Fees start at $19 for a one-way flight.

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Skiplagged

Credit: Courtesy of Skiplagged

Find “hidden city” one-way tickets with a stopover where you get off the plane instead of continuing on to the destination on your ticket— they’re often cheaper than a nonstop fare.

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Grab

Credit: Courtesy of Grab

If you’ve only got a few minutes for a meal before boarding a flight, Grab will let you look at airport restaurant menus ahead of time, map them in the terminal, and in some locations order in advance and pick up your food on the way to the gate. The app currently serves 174 eateries at 17 airports in the U.S.; by early 2017, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport will offer Grab’s mobile ordering at all of its 200 dining outlets.

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HappyCow

Credit: Courtesy of HappyCow

HappyCow lists vegan and vegetarian restaurants in nearly 10,500 cities worldwide, from major cities like London (Book & Kitchen) and New York City (Blossom du Jour), to obscure places like Vatra Neamului, in Chişinău, Moldova. Each restaurant listing comes with a short description of the menu and user-generated reviews. $3.99.

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Velocity

Credit: Courtesy of Velocity

This slick reservation app offers a highly curated collection of the hottest restaurants, such as Drunken Dragon, in Miami Beach, or Petty Cash, in Los Angeles. You can also use it to pay your bill or split it with your dining companions. Coming soon: popular nightlife spots in Aspen, Colorado, and Gstaad and Verbier, Switzerland.

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Credit: Courtesy of As You Stay

AsYouStay

A typical hotel stay has you checking in around 3 p.m. and checking out by noon. This new last-minute-travel app is looking to upend that tradition by giving guest more flexibility to choose when they arrive and depart. AsYouStay has partnered with more than 50 properties in New York City, including the Park Lane and the Paul Hotel, and a dozen hotels in Miami’s South Beach, with properties in Chicago and San Francisco coming later this year.

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Chatnbook

Credit: Courtesy of Chatnbook

Call it Tinder for hotels. After you’ve entered your destination, dates, and preferences (rating, free Wi-Fi, etc.), the app (the Android version is still in beta) presents a series of property profiles with photos. Tap on the green thumbs-up or the red thumbs-down and you’ll later be contacted by the hotels you’ve “liked” with their best rates.

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Dayuse.com

Credit: Courtesy of Dayuse.com

Extra-long layover? Use this app to book a hotel room for a few hours to grab a shower, take a nap, or just freshen up after a red-eye. Dayuse offers hotel rooms for up to 75 percent off regular nightly rates at 3,000 hotels around the world.

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Hostelworld

Credit: Courtesy of Hostelworld

Touting private rooms, fun communal spaces, and booze-fueled events to bring together solo travelers, Hostelworld is the go-to app to book 33,000 hostels globally.

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Oasis

Credit: Courtesy of Oasis Collection

A cooler version of Airbnb? This short-term-rental company has a pared-down list of coveted luxury apartments and homes in close to two dozen destinations, including Rio de Janeiro, Miami, and Milan. Guests can also use the app to access a 24/7 concierge to help with restaurant reservations, theater tickets, and tour bookings.

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One:Night

Credit: Courtesy of One:Night

Similar to Hotel Tonight, the new app from the operator of Standard Hotels offers same-day stays at more than a dozen luxury hotels in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Austin, Texas. Every day at 3 p.m., the app unveils discounts for that evening. We recently saw rates of $189 per night for the Standard Spa in Miami Beach and $568 for a stay at New York’s 1 Hotel Central Park.

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Roomer

Credit: Courtesy of Roomer

Use this app to get deep discounts on hotel rooms from people who have had to cancel their trips, and save 30 to 80 percent. Likewise, if you’ve prepaid for a nonrefundable room, you can sell your reservation on the app.

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TripHappy

Credit: Courtesy of TripHappy

This browser based customizable search tool uses big-data analytics to comb through 37 million user reviews to determine the best places and neighborhoods to stay in. Sort results by price or rating. triphappy.com.

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Vacasa

Credit: Courtesy of Vacasa

This vacation-rental manager recently expanded to 15 states in the U.S. And it now also offers apartments and homes in Latin America, Italy, and Spain. Unlike VRBO or Airbnb, the properties are cleaned and managed by Vacasa, so you’re not dealing with the owner.

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Credit: Getty Images

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Cool Cousin

Credit: Courtesy of Cool Cousin

Collections of off the-beaten-path recommendations from savvy residents in 14 destinations, such as a mixologist in London and an artist in Paris. Their suggestions aren’t ones you will find in a typical guidebook; expect hip new spots in emerging neighborhoods.

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Credit: Courtesy of Sidekix

Sidekix

This urban route planner will help you find the best way to get somewhere — which doesn’t necessarily mean the shortest route. Sidekix will choose the best walking directions based on your interests and preferences. Looking for a trendy cafe for a lunch on your way to an art gallery? The app is filled with curated suggestions from in-the-know locals. Currently available for use in more than 100 major cities, with more coming each week.

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Streetography

Credit: Courtesy of Streetography

For anyone missing the recently retired Maps feature on Instagram comes this new service that allows you to preview neighborhoods with user-generated photos. Want to check out an area before you book an Airbnb stay? With better photos than Google Maps, Streetography covers most major cities in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Russia, and Australia.

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Walc

Credit: Courtesy of Walc

Plug in your destination and Walc will give you directions based on easy-to-spot landmarks. A Pocket Mode feature gives step-by-step audio directions. Just plug in your ear buds, and you won’t have to constantly pull out your phone.

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AutoSlash

Credit: Courtesy of AutoSlash

With rates for car rentals fluctuating every day, it’s not easy to know if you got the cheapest price. AutoSlash asks you to input your car reservation details into its mobile site—an app is in the works for later this year—then tracks the rates for your dates and scouts competitor pricing, including coupons and discount codes. If a lower price for the same rental becomes available, you’ll be notified by e-mail and can rebook your reservation.

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Maven

Credit: Courtesy of GM

The new car sharing app from General Motors is taking on Zipcar as the most affordable short term- rental service on the market, starting at $8 per hour for most vehicles and $14 per hour for SUVs. The fleet features many Chevrolet brands, including the eco-friendly Volt. Every Maven vehicle is equipped with 24/7 OnStar assistance, remote start, Sirius XM radio, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. It’s currently available in 10 cities in the U.S., with more coming.

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Rideways

Credit: Courtesy of Rideways

Instead of taking your chances with an Uber after your flight lands, use Priceline-owned Rideways to book reliable airport transfers, taxi rides, trains, and buses in more than 500 cities worldwide. Just enter your trip details and the type of transportation you want, and the app presents you with several options; on a recent trip to Paris, we had the choice of taking two different buses to our hotel for $5.30 each or splurging on a $160 transfer in a chauffeured Mercedes-Benz.

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Turo

Credit: Courtesy of Turo

Formerly known as RelayRides, the peer-to-peer app that lets you rent cars directly from their owners has received a big upgrade. Available to users in the U.S. and Canada, Turo allows you to search for exactly the type of vehicle you want—often at prices lower than what the big rental agencies charge. We found a 2014 SUV for $40 per day, while rates on Kayak were $140 per day from Hertz and Avis. The company recently expanded into Europe.

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Wingz

Credit: Courtesy of Wingz

Prebook affordable airport and other point-to-point transportation in a dozen metro areas across the United States. There are no surprises: travelers know in advance the total cost and who their driver will be—and can even request their favorite driver on future trips. Reliability and safety is a company hallmark: all drivers have had their DMV records checked.

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Binaural

Credit: Courtesy of Binaural

Alleviate jet lag and reset your sleep clock with the help of binaural beats—repetitive sounds that cultures around the world have relied on for centuries to create relaxed states of mind. Besides helping you sleep, the beats can improve focus and attention, foster learning, and reduce anxiety, according to the app’s creators.

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Geosure

Credit: Courtesy of GeoSure

This location-sensitive personal security app will provide a safety score reflecting health risks, political uprisings, and environmental threats, and gives crowd-sourced information about thefts and assaults that have occurred in the area.

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My Panda

Credit: Courtesy of My Panda

Founded in response to the 2015 Paris terror attacks, My Panda tells you the level of security in the area via GPS. In some destinations, such as New York City and Los Angeles, there’s a feature for the fastest route to the nearest police station and the option to call local authorities with one tap.

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The 50 Best New Travel Apps for 2017

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Dealray

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Freebird

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Skiplagged

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Grab

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HappyCow

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Velocity

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AsYouStay

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Chatnbook

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Dayuse.com

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Hostelworld

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Oasis

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One:Night

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Roomer

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TripHappy

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Vacasa

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Cool Cousin

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Sidekix

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Streetography

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Walc

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AutoSlash

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Maven

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Rideways

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Turo