While there’s no shortage of travel apps in app stores, Google Trips was just announced by the Mountain-View tech giant. It’s a new travel app for both Android and iOS you can use as a guide and planner for any and all trips.
It’s no wonder Google Trips encompasses so many features since it harnesses the power of other Google apps and their massive amount of data collected from users.
You can do pretty much everything travel-related with Google Trips such as keeping track of hotel reservations and plane tickets, receive personalized recommendations and read numerous city editorial guides.
Since roaming data fees are still quite expensive, the app lets you download all the data you need in advance including navigation directions and maps.
To use Trips you will need to log in with your Google account – this lets you view a list of past and future trips which is convenient, to say the least. If you choose to view an upcoming trip, the app shows you various options including the ability to review flight, hotel, and rental car reservations and related details.
There’s also a “Need to Know” section where you can find interesting information like the local currency, navigation directions from the airport to the center of the city and even emergency instructions.
One of the most useful sections of the app is “Things to Do”, perfect for tourists as it can create custom itineraries and show you popular points of interest.
There are plenty of guides you can read that include a wealth of activities from visiting museums to shopping and restaurants. Long story short, visiting a foreign city and making the best of your staying seems like a piece of cake thanks to Google Trips.
While the app can be used in offline mode as long as you downloaded all the data in advance, having an active cellular connection gives you real-time information about the schedule of the destinations you’re interested in visiting.
What’s more, Google Trips is even weather-savvy and will change its recommendations based on current weather. In other words, it won’t send you to the beach when it’s pouring outside. Instead, you will receive recommendations for indoor activities.
Google Trips uses information from your Google account (based on your actions while browsing the web and in other Google apps) to offer recommendations. This is great but for now, it doesn’t support multiple accounts (like a personal account and a business account for example). This means you can switch between accounts if you want to, but it only pulls data from one at a time.
Even so, Google Trips makes a valuable travel companion app that will help you plan trips with ease and find many interesting activities once you reach your destination. And while there are benefits to having an active data connection, it’s certainly nice to be able to use it offline while abroad since a lot of providers still like to overcharge for international data.
Download Google Trips (Google Play Store)
Download Google Trips (iTunes)
Have you tried Google Trips and what are your impressions about the app so far?
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