Whether you're playing hooky to take a trip with your significant other on Valentine's Day, or want to spend a romantic weekend together before or after the lover's holiday, you're going to need to plan ahead to make your getaway as perfect as possible. With a little help from your iPhone, you can impress your partner by having the whole trip set up so you don't have to worry about a thing.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is an excellent source for reviews of trips. Lots of people rate their flights, hotels, and even destination experiences. It uses the data collected from travelers to offer suggestions and recommendations for the best options for you, including how soon you should book your Valentine's trip. You can also sign up for alerts to let you know when prices have gone down for flights and hotels. If you are willing to wait until the last minute, you might get a better deal.
- Free - Download now
HotelTonight
For an ideal romantic getaway, you're going to want to stay at the fanciest of hotels, but you don't have to pay the fanciest of prices to linger in luxury. With HotelTonight, you can get in on some fantastic deals on some of the top places to stay. You will find yourself checking into a premium palace without having to dish out the extra dough. Save that money for the dinner. If you are good a flying by the seat of your pants, you can wait and check for last-minute deals on rooms that you can't book until day-of. The prices are lower, but the risk is higher.
- Free - Download now
TripIt
To keep everything you've booked organized, use TripIt as an itinerary keeper. When you sign up, you can have any emails with dinner, flight, or car reservations automatically added to the trip. You can also manually add plans, including times, locations, seat numbers, and more. When the trip arrives, all you have to do is open TripIt to get all of the information you need to smoothly glide through your getaway. I use TripIt every time I plan a trip.
- Free - Download now
Lyft
Even if you drive to your getaway destination, you'll be much happier if you park the car and leave it until it's time to go home. Instead, use Lyft to get you around town. It offers inexpensive transportation (when prices aren't surging), and you can book a ride without having to deal with cab companies. Since the entire transaction is done through the Lyft app, you can pay for your ride, and even tip the driver, without having to pull out your wallet.
- Free - Download now
OpenTable
You are not going to want to wait until the last minute to make dinner reservations on Valentine's Day. Even the weekend before and after will be bustling with lovers on vacation. Book a table soon to ensure you'll be eating when and where you want, instead of wandering around a strange city, cramming street hot dogs in your face (unless that's what you want). With OpenTable, you can find eateries in your destination city, find out what the most popular dishes are, and see pictures of the location, to make sure your dinner date is perfect. You can even see how many tables have been booked at a given restaurant, which gives you an idea of how popular it is.
- Free - Download now
Spotify
The perfect romantic getaway is not complete without the perfect playlist. Whether you're taking a road trip, or flying first class, make it memorable with a personalized playlist, created especially for your sweetheart. Be sure to include songs that are special to the two of you, like the first time you danced together, or the tune you sing at the top of your lungs when making breakfast together on Saturday mornings. Make it special. That's all you need to know.
- Free - Download now
What's your plan?
Are you planning a special trip for Valentine's Day? Where are you headed? Are you using tech to help plan it?
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