Staycation Apps

I’m a tech junkie. Maybe it’s the pilot in me, but I love anything and everything technology. That’s why I love my iPhone, & iPad. The thing I love most about my iPad and iPhone are the new apps that I discover and the uses that I find for them. I was thinking recently about an upcoming staycation and some apps that I could use to discover new local places. Here are a few that I found (feel free to add your staycation app ideas in the comments)

1. Urban Spoon

This is one of those apps that’s appropriate for staycationers and vacationers alike. I discovered this app while looking for restaurants in cities I was visiting professionally but fell in love with the app while using it to find places locally personally. I found great restaurants right in my neighborhood that I had never heard of before! Urbanspoon is a a restaurant guide serving major cities in North America as well as London. Search for local restaurants by neighborhood, cuisine or price. Find reviews from local newspapers, food blogs and fellow diners. Vote on restaurants and share your take on the best and worst places to eat with your friends.

Urbanspoon – Urbanspoon

2. Gas Buddy

No matter how far you are driving on your staycation (even if it is within your own town) you want to find the cheapest gas on the go – for free! In one click, locate gas stations near you and see their current gas prices. Never overpay for gas again.

GasBuddy – Find Cheap Gas Prices – GasBuddy Organization Inc

3. Any travel app by Sutro Media

Sutro Media develops travel apps that cover a range of cities all across the United States; from Madison to Milwaukee, they have you covered. If you live in an area that applies to one of their apps, I’d encourage to download and install your city’s app on your smartphone. You would be amazed at the destinations right within your neighborhood. You can see the current list of their available apps here (expanding weekly):

http://www.sutromedia.com/apps.html

4. Living Social

Want to save 50%-90% at restaurants, spas, gyms, and more? Download Living Social. This free iPhone / iPad app lets you access LivingSocial’s daily local deals. Each day, they introduce a new, cool thing to do in your city — and give a HUGE discount for trying that new thing. They like to refer to themselves as the “United States of Savings.”

LivingSocial – LivingSocial