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Get More Bang for your Buck with These Travel Apps

Tech
Jun 28, 2017

Get More Bang for your Buck with These Travel Apps

BY: OLIVIA MORREALE | ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF SERGEY NEAMOSCOU

Get More Bang for your Buck with These Travel Apps

and save money for a Louis Vuitton travel trunk...

Summer’s rays are being blocked by your cubicle’s chambers, and yet you still haven’t used those fourteen vacation days. We’re here to tell you it’s time to get a much-needed paid holiday, even if your bank account is feeling a bit thin. Instead of hiring a travel agent (is that still a thing?) for the trip of your dreams—with the budget of your dreams—you could be weighing your options with these lesser-known travel hack apps. Although AirBnB is an obvious choice for quick and easy lodging, there are several other app creators who have already thought of the next best thing for making the most of your two weeks off.

 

 

Skiplagged

Skiplagged is a rebel with a cause. The app was created by 25-year-old Aktarer Zaman specifically to circumvent a system called “hidden-city ticketing;” Zaman first discovered this when trying to book a flight to Seattle from New York City, and found that the cheapest flight, for under two hundred dollars, had a layover in San Francisco—he then searched for a direct flight to San Francisco and found that the cheapest one was around three hundred. Skiplagged uses hidden-city prices to find better deals where the connecting flight layover is the actual destination and provides the percentage saved by booking the hidden-city flight. In a world where flying by the seat of your pants is becoming the norm, Skiplagged fits right in.

Oasis

It’s a bougie AirBnB. With the tagline “Home Meets Hotel,” Oasis is for travelers who want to feel at home but also refuse to pretend they are not paying hotel prices. The app provides an on-call concierge, professional cleaning service, and an in-person check in, as well as access to local gyms and members clubs in the region. The pricing works just like at a hotel, and Oasis also has options for corporate housing in various cities. All they’re missing is room service, but that’s what Grubhub is for.

Cool Cousin

This app is for the true hipster in you. Part Tinder, part Yelp, Cool Cousin connects you with locals who share your interests in whatever city you’re traveling to and allows you to chat with them about their favorite spots. The app provides a full list of the recommendations of the individual you’ve linked up with, and supports local businesses by not showing any stores with more than three branches on the Cool Cousin map. The app relies on individuals becoming “Cousins” who share their recommendations from the goodness of their heart, which may not be a business model that lasts for too long—but facilitating support for small businesses and capitalizing on the pride people take in their cities is definitely cool.

Sidekix

Created specifically for travelers who love to be on foot, Sidekix allows users to plan their journey through a city based on their interests and passions. Just insert types of places you’d like to stop into, and a system “curated by bloggers” will create a path to the eventual destination that includes suggestions for food, museums, parks, and other spots along the route. If you’re into taking the long way home, Sidekix can hook it up.