There’s so much information online between the good: great blogs and websites, to the bad: Pinterest images that go to the wrong link, and viral articles missing vital information. Sometimes it seems exhausting and time-consuming to plan a trip. A lot of people buy a guide-book to condense down to the absolute necessary information, but they can be outdated or not written by someone who knows the place like a local. There’s a new app called CreateTrips that fixes this problem, and it’s much cheaper than a guide-book (and lighter too).
Now when I travel, I like to really experience a place rather than checking off “what you should do”. Oftentimes that means traveling somewhere where I have a friend (or friend of a friend) that can give me local tips. This app is kind of like that friend… on your iPhone. Imagine well-traveled bloggers’ information curated together into an app that tells you where to eat, what to do, where to shop and more in every city. Instead of a guide-book, its people you trust!
I just wrote a guide to the city Mysore with loads of tips. It’s all organized in an easy to read format with categories like “food, shop, transportation, to do, hotels” and the venues are listed in each one with maps you can download to use offline. It was actually a lot of fun to make and I think I’ll do more for India, starting with Karnataka.
Basically, CreateTrips is a shortened guide to cities that gives you the information you need to know without having to read through a whole guide-book… and we know sometimes guidebooks feel obligated to mention everything you could possibly do in each city, even if they aren’t worth your time.
The app is free to download from the app store, then you purchase the guides individually, although many are free.
The TravelBooks within the app that aren’t free and are written by a blogger or expat that is giving away personal advice, and you’re kind of paying for their secrets – which are given to you in a really convenient easy to read way. The bloggers then make a little money for sharing their secrets. Win-win.
Even though I answer a million questions about India on my blog, I still get emails asking those same questions… this is because information can sometimes be hard to find! With this app, you can think of it as hiring a travel planner so you don’t have to sift through their blog. Kind of wish I had thought of this ;)
Saffron looking up Ibiza tips at the pool
If I’m trying to decide if an app is easy to use I ask myself “could my mom and dad (who just got iPhones last year) figure this out?” for CreateTrips, the answer is yes, they easily could. The interface is simple and direct.
Added Perks of CreateTrips
- If you’re reading this and are a traveler, YOU can make money by building a city guide. The more travelers who start using this, the better the app will be.
- You can add your dates to help organize and venues you choose within cities link to maps. As you add cities you can align them with appropriate dates.
- Although only on iOS, the Android version is on it’s way out!
Great post! We’re writing one up on CreateTrips as we speak – great travel minds think alike, I suppose ;) Enjoyed the article and am happy to have been introduced to your blog through it!! Happy travels!
oh how fun! it’s a great app
This sounds like a great app. I am looking forward to the Android version.
me too, i’m android myself!
This is so cool! My phone is getting a little slow, so I may wait until I get a new one to get the app…or until I get home.
Hello Rachel,
Thanks for sharing this App. I am planing my trip to LA and I believe this app will be very helpful!
awesome!