TripRider travel planning app review

TripRider say they have built an “ultimate trip planning app”. With so many really useful stand-alone apps already available, why do we need another?

TripRider is like a blank notebook and incorporates much of the functionality of other apps. For instance, like Tripit, it allows to keep track of schedules, like Google Maps, it allows to take screenshots of maps and directions, like Evernote, you can keep note of things you’d like to see and do, and like GetPacked, it helps with building a packing list.

In fact the app has so much functionality that it was daunting to get started with it. But the vintage design and user-friendly interface was reassuring.

Features

Packing List

This is organised into 9 categories such as Documents, Clothes, or Gadgets, which turned out to be a useful tool in remembering all the items I needed. I didn’t enter everything at once, but just added items gradually, as I thought of them. Then, on the day of packing, I checked items off the list as I put them in the suitcase.

Wallet

I normally always take a photocopy of my passport and credit card, in case they get stolen. With TripRider, I was able to take a photo of my important documents to store them electronically. I also found that I could password-protect Wallet via the settings and I thought this feature was so important it should have been enabled by default.

Location List

I was able to keep track of places I visited by pinning them onto a map and adding a photo to each location. The problem with this feature is that I didn’t always have internet connection so my iPad’s location feature did not work. But I was able to manually pin the location on the map once I returned to the hotel and connected to free WiFi.

Trip Plan

I am the type of a person who only plans a few “unmissable” attractions and improvises the rest, but TripRider allowed me to add a detailed day-by-day schedule if I wanted to. I added several attractions and used the checkbox to highlight a few of them as “must see or do”, which then regrouped them by date and by place in the Must see and do section. I also uploaded images of maps with directions, so I had them handy even when there was no internet connection for my iPhone’s GPS to work.

Briefing

I used this feature before the trip to check if I have covered everything I wanted to see and if my spending was within the daily budget. I also used it at the destination to keep track of my plans for the day.

Travellers

I was travelling with my partner and we were visiting a friend. TripRider allowed me to add both of them as ‘travellers’. Since they didn’t have TripRider installed, the only way to share my trip with them was to export it into a PDF. One feature I would have liked to see was the ability to collaborate on the same trip — e.g. the person in New York could have automatically updated my trip with her suggestions, instead of emailing me to say that a museum was closed on the day I planned to visit.

Trip Book & Photo Album

Once I was back from the trip, TripRider did a great job in organising my trip into a PDF iBook so I could both, print it and show to friends at home, and share it with my friends on Facebook.

Expenses

I was adding expenses as I incured them (I could even choose different currencies, as we had a stopover in Madrid) and kept track of my spending. The app also allowed me to organise expenses into categories, so I knew exactly how much I was spending on what.

I liked

• The flexibility: TripRider allows you to enter just the basic information or a detailed day-to-day plan of things to see and do, attach photos, keep track of expenses, add offline maps, password-protected space to add important documents, and more.
• Design: I loved the app’s retro look. The functionality is sophisticated and modern, but the design is vintage.
• Ability to organise the entire trip into a PDF book, together with diary of things I have seen, notes, and photos, and then to share this with friends.

I didn’t like

• Lack of collaboration feature, so that different travellers on the trip can contribute their must see/dos.
• The fact the app only works on iPhone and iPad, as sometimes it would be easier to type and copy/paste plans on a desktop than on a mobile.

In a nutshell

TripRider helps travellers get organised with their packing list and itinerary, yet it is versatile enough for keeping detailed diary notes about the trip, including maps and photos. If you love to share, all this can be exported into a trip book. Bloggers would love it.

Price

The full version costs US$4.99, €4.49, £2.99, AU$5.49.

There is also a free version, which has all the same features as the full version, but is limited to 3 trips, 3 day duration, 3 maps, etc. Try it out on your next weekend trip and tell us in the comments below what you thought of it.

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Value for money

TripRider is a complete, well designed and friendly app. You may not need all of the features, but the more you use it and the more familiar you become with everything it offers, the more you will realise this is the “ultimate travel planning app” and represents an excellent value for money.

Would you like to win a FREE copy of the full version of TripRider?

We have 5 voucher codes to give away. To be in the chance of winning, just share this review with your friends, fans and followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and make sure you include the hashtag #TripRiderTTM so we can find it. The winner will be announced on 27th January.

The competition is now closed. Congratulations to Emma-Leigh, Stephanie, Lys, Tamsin, and Mylene who each won a copy of the full version of TripRider!

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Disclaimer: we were offered a free version of TripRider for review and Minoa compensated us for our time, but our review is independent and truly represents our thoughts.