From packing to booking tickets and hotel rooms, these five mobile apps help ease your travel planning stress.Nadezhda1906/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Timeshifter
This app aims to help travellers beat jet lag through personalized recommendations and a neuroscience-based program that has been used by NASA astronauts and elite athletes. You punch in your trip details, some personal info (when you normally fall asleep/wake up, whether you’re an early bird or night owl, gender, age) and whether you want to use melatonin. It then produces a plan that may start even before you take off. The first use is free. timeshifter.com
LuggageHero
One of the frustrating things about using AirBnbs is that there is typically nowhere to store your luggage before and after check-in. And schlepping a bag around is no one’s idea of fun. LuggageHero lets travellers stash goods at vetted businesses (shops, restaurants and hotels) for a fee. More than 1,100 locations are available in 35 cities around the world. All bags are security sealed upon arrival and protected by insurance, and rates start at $1 an hour. luggagehero.com
Nightly
When you book a hotel for multiple nights, the price often varies across the stay: For example, a Friday night might cost more than a Monday, or vice versa, depending on the area you’re in. Nightly.travel takes advantage of these fluctuations through “hotel splitting”: Put in your dates and it creates a two-property itinerary that’s cheaper than staying at just one of them. Of course, you have to unpack/repack, so its usefulness depends on how much you value money over time. nightly.travel
Culture Trip
The number of travel guides and sightseeing tips available now is, frankly, overwhelming. When it comes to urban trips I find Culture Trip to be a great starting point. The award-winning start-up (for both its business plans and its content) provides excellent suggestions on what to see and do and delves beneath a destination’s surface to offer up quirky ideas and bits of history. Note to self: Check out the 130-year-old coffee shop in London where lattes are only £1.20 ($2). theculturetrip.com
PackCheck
Packing apps are often more of a hassle than a help, but PackCheck stands out from the crowd because of the detailed suggestion lists it generates when you add an activity to your itinerary. For a hiking adventure it included everything I could think of and some things that had never crossed my mind (such as a small roll of duct tape). Also clever: when you add an item to your list, it reminds you to pack related accessories (such cords and portable GPS for electronics). Available for iOS.