Oh, summertime! For families, schools are winding down and summer vacation plans are in motion, while those of us living la vida solo also have people to see and places to go. For everyone that’s got travel in their near future, there are apps aplenty for Windows and Windows Phone devices that can help book trips, keep track of plans and help you while you’re on the road. We give you some here, but you can also explore more options through the Summer Vacation collection of apps in the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store.

Bing Travel

Before you head out: Apps that help you plan and book your trips

Whether you’re going near or far, Bing Travel (for Windows Phone, PCs and tablets) is a great way to start planning your trip. Relax, sit back on your couch and browse through maps, reviews, photos and tips on this beautiful app on your tablet or laptop. You can also search flights and filter booking options by price, airline, stops or departure time. Hotels are also easy to find using filters and photos that really help you narrow down choices. I love looking at the images on this app – especially the 360-degree panoramas, slideshows and videos. I like that I know what to expect when I’m there, including can’t-miss sights I’ll be able to experience in person. Another app that’s useful for looking up flights, hotels, rental cars and vacation packages in one place is Orbitz. When I’m more pressed for time, I turn to Kayak for streamlined flight and hotel searches that cover a lot of ground quickly.

I tend to be a couch/guest bedroom surfer when I travel, thanks to my compact size (I’m 5-feet-2-inches) and ability to fall asleep pretty much anywhere. So, many of my travel searches focus on transportation bargains. That’s where Alaska Airlines Deals & Destinations comes in handy. It keeps tabs on sales to places I want to go, as well as hot deals to new ones through the interactive Deal Map. Once I’ve booked my flight, I can use the Alaska Airlines Windows Phone app to check-in, pull up my boarding pass (paperless is so much easier) and even change my seat before I board. I find the same ease using the phone apps for Fly Delta, United and American Airlines. There’s also Skyscanner, which searches millions of routes on more than 1,000 airlines to find the lowest priced flights. I try to use public transportation to get around and explore my new surroundings, but sometimes it’s just not convenient. I can use the Avis and Hertz to help secure rental cars, and when I’m able to ride the rails, I call on Amtrak.

Sometimes, I have to stay in hotels. (As much as I love staying with friends, it’s also nice to have my own space, too.) TripAdvisor is my go-to app because of its more than 100 million reviews and opinions by travelers. I’ll also try and see what deals I can score through Priceline.com, where savvy bidding can lead to deep discounts. Then there’s Agoda, which was built specifically for the Windows Phone 8 platform and includes more than 250,000 hotels worldwide and nearly four million customer reviews.

When you’ve got your plans finalized, keep everything in one place with an app like My Trips on your Windows Phone device (and also available in the Windows Store). My Trips connects with TripIt.com to synchronize your travel plans and take it with you – especially handy when you don’t have Wi-Fi or Internet access. My Trips displays all the important details of your upcoming trips, including flight arrival and departure times, confirmation numbers, lodging, car rentals and other parts of your itinerary in one place.

Left to right: FlightAware, Flightradar24 and Flight Status

After you’ve booked your flight and you’re up in the air, you may want to track your journey – or whoever is expecting you may want to know if you’re going to be on time. You can use FlightAware, Flightradar24 and Flight Status once you’re at cruising altitude with Wi-Fi access for real-time updates as you make your way to your destination.

HERE City Lens

When it comes to exploring cities, I vacillate between tightly-packed plans and going with the flow. It depends on how many people I’ll be catching up with while I’m there. But usually, I’m game for indulging in wanderlust, so apps like HERE City Lens and Wikitude hold a lot of appeal for me. With both, all I have to do is hold up my phone as if I’m taking a photo, and then shops, restaurants and other points of interest pop up on the screen. In addition to these resources, I can pull up Bing Translator when I need help navigating a foreign language. And, when I need to figure out how much I’m spending – or want to spend – in a different country, I can use the XE Currency Converter.

Left to right: HERE Transit, Waze and GasBuddy

Many people are probably going on road trips this summer, and while some folks may still be using a standalone GPS device, I’ve found that having a smartphone works just as well most of the time – especially with apps like HERE Drive+ and HERE Maps. Both have turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation for 97 countries that you can download before your trip, so you can get where you need to go without needing an Internet connection or racking up roaming charges. (There’s also another sibling in the family for public transportation fans: HERE Transit.) Once you’re on your way, Waze can alert you to crowdsourced accidents, traffic jams and road closures – and re-route you. GasBuddy makes bargain hunting for necessary fuel easier, as you can quickly gauge the best prices around you.

Left to right: Instagram BETA, Photosynth and Camera360.

Finally, you’ll want to document your trip – and maybe share it. I’ve stopped carrying my point-and-shoot camera and rely on my phone for the majority of my photo-taking. On vacation, you may see breathtaking landscapes, and trying to capture that in one frame may be tricky – except when you have apps like Photosynth and Nokia Panorama, which help stitch together images for one panoramic shot. Blink solves the problem of getting the perfect shot the first time, as it can capture a burst of images before I even press the shutter, and continues to do so after the shot. Save and share the one that turns out the best. Trekkit Traveller is another handy travel companion. It can capture photos, videos, voice clips and geo tag locations to help tell the story of your vacation. 

Also worth checking out for saving precious memories and spreading the love to your social media crew: Instagram BETA, Hipstamatic Oggl and Camera360.

Wherever you end up this summer, have a great time!

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• Cozi Family Organizer: One stop for your busy brood’s schedules, lists, recipes and activities
• Use Zello on Windows Phone as a walkie-talkie

Athima Chansanchai
Microsoft News Center Staff