I don’t know about you, but I get really excited when I’m planning trips…right after I get over the massive wave of procrastination that hits, that is LOL.

I usually book the flights first (because you gotta nab them when you a see piso fare, amiright??) and then build the trip from there. I’m sure that a lot of people do it the other way around, but it’s worked out for me so far. Thankfully, we are now living in the future where most things are available upon the tap of a screen and there are literally hundreds of apps out there designed to make your trip planning experience a whole lot easier.

Here are five travel apps that I’ve found to be extremely helpful when planning my trips.

1. Rome2Rio – rome2rio.com

Rome2Rio is literally the first app (or website) I open when I’m planning trips because it tells you almost everything that you need about getting from one place to another. I usually go to a couple of cities when I go to another country and Rome2Rio gives you details like how much it would cost to fly or to take the bus/train/ferry to get to the other city which is extremely helpful when you’re trying to build a budget and an itinerary.

Bonus: Rome2Rio has this neat feature that allows you to book your tickets from their site, like SkyScanner but for all modes of transportations. I mainly use it to check how long the travel time is between two cities and which option is the cheapest to get there so I know how much travel time to allot in my schedule.

2. Google Maps – maps.google.com

Google Maps is an absolute godsend when you’re narrowing down hotel options (which is what I mainly use it for when I’m in the trip planning phase) because it shows you exactly where the hotel is in relation to the different sites you want to visit. It also shows you the different modes of transportation to get from point A to point B so you see how long it would take if you drive, take the train or walk to your destination.

Bonus: The cool thing about Google Maps is if you have the Uber and Grab Taxi apps installed on your phone, it will actually tell you the estimated fare and I believe you an book your ride from Google Maps itself.

3. Agoda – agoda.com

I’ve tried many hotel-booking apps but I’ve stuck with Agoda because they actually give me the lowest room rates. The filters are also very helpful because you can narrow down your search to a specific area of the city you want to stay in and you can also set a limit to the room options you’re seeing. Their customer service is also pretty great. One time I booked a hotel in Baguio using the wrong dates and I called them up immediately once I realized my mistake. They managed to sort out the mess and get me the same room for the correct dates at no additional cost.

Bonus: They have a loyalty program where users can earn points every time they book a room and I believe these points can be used against room charges.

4. VisitACity – visitacity.com

VisitACity is a recent discovery of mine and I am so mad at myself that it took me this long to find out about this great invention. So assuming that you’ve settled on a city to visit and your accommodations are all set. The next step in the trip-planning phase is to find out the most efficient way to spend your time in this new city, right? Luckily, Google has invented VisitACity, an app/website that allows users to see lists of things to do, top attractions and even lists down sample itineraries for 1 to 6 days for specific cities. I really like it because their sample itineraries tell you which attractions are closest to each other and even give you the travel time in between places. It’s really awesome and I found myself consulting this app a lot when I was trying to figure out my Cape Town itinerary.

Bonus: VisitACity is linked to Viator and you can choose and book your tours from the app itself.

5. KKDay – kkday.com

It’s the Pinoy in me to try and look for the best deal possible so after I set up my list of activities to do and which tours I’d want to book using the previous app, I usually go onto KKDay to try and find a tour that’s more affordable. I mainly used KKDay when I booked my full day tours while I was in Taipei last year and I was supposed to book my Robben Island + Table Mountain tour with them but tours got sold out. I didn’t have a bad experience with any of my booked tours with them and the hand off from KKDay to the actual tour operator was pretty seamless. They detail the tours on their website in such a specific way that you’d know exactly what your schedule’s going to be.

Bonus: The great thing about KKDay is that they’re not limited to just Asia specific tours; they’re connected with tour operators from around the globe so if you’re thinking of hitting up Europe, better check out KKDay deals first.

And those are the 5 best travel apps that I use whenever I’m planning a trip, which is almost always because trip planning is fun for me. I’m usually logged onto one of these apps/sites because they offer a wealth of knowledge for future destinations that I want to visit.

What about you? If you use any of these apps or have any other recommendations, please feel free to leave them in the comments, I’d love to check more travel apps.