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Ever try planning a trip with friends or family? If so, you know how quickly the many emails and phone calls to discuss booking and itineraries become frustrating. Fortunately, a new breed of travel site has arrived, making planning and sharing multi-person trips much easier. Known as collaborative travel planning sites – or social travel sites – they harness social media so numerous travellers can share and access information.

Like Facebook, Flickr, and Foursquare, these sites have mobile applications for access on the go, a far cry from the days of chain emails and postcards.

Here are a few web apps we found helpful for planning and sharing trips:

Bumped.in

Rather than limiting interaction to an existing group of friends, Bumped.in introduces people with similar interests. It alerts users when similar travellers are in nearby proximity, which is especially useful for those taking frequent routes or trips.

Rundavoo

Users on Rundavoo create an itinerary with dates and destinations and notify their friends. There’s also the option of booking hotels and activities from its extensive partner inventory, with a special discount to Kukunu users. It supports full integration with Twitter and Facebook, so users can share their travel plans within their broader social network.

NileGuide

Aiming to be the go-to source for travellers, Nileguide offers unique guides and articles on destinations, activities, events, and travel technology, written and curated by their own network of local travel experts. An added bonus: Users can create personalized travel guides to take with them.

TravelMuse

Like similar sites, TravelMuse builds itineraries by destination, but takes it a step further with a “Find Inspiration” trip creation capability. After picking a departure point, users choose what kind of trip they want based on activity and the maximum amount of time they are willing to travel, offering suggestions that users may not have considered on their own.

TripIt

TripIt imports and sorts through details like itineraries, flight times, car rental details, hotels and other useful information, which are then pulled directly from a Gmail account. Updates are shared through Facebook and LinkedIn with an embeddable badge for a blog or personal site.

Tripline

Travellers share their trips – through photos and written details – with users on newly-designed Tripline. Besides dates and destinations, they can search for specific points of interest and customized places, invite friends and Tripline members to check it out, and even add theme music. The result is a clean, clickable, and personalized view of a trip.

WAYN

WAYN, or Where Are You Now, is a more established travel social network focusing on younger travellers. Users list their personal contact information and travel history, including pictures, videos, and itineraries. The interface is simple to use and includes its own messaging capability to communicate in real time.

Each of these sites has a different focus, but all have impressive capabilities and features that allow for socially connected travel experiences. See which ones work best with your travel style and social needs by trying them out.

 

Featured image: Jason Howie

About the author

Brittany DietzBrittany has travelled to London, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico, The Caribbean, Canada and all over the U.S. She's passionate about travel and has big plans for future trips! Brittany is a Content and Social Media Executive at Cheapflights.

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