Cheapflights.ca Shares Its Picks for Top Social Travel Planning Apps

TORONTO--(Marketwire - Aug 25, 2011) - The Internet has changed the world and particularly the world of travel. Travellers can now research, plan and book their vacations all with a click of a mouse. However, if planning a trip with friends or family, the number of emails and phone calls to discuss booking and itineraries can often become frustrating. Cheapflights.ca, the online leader in publishing travel deals, is here to share with you our Top 10 Social Travel Planning Apps -- a new breed of travel applications that makes 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.

Each of these sites has a different focus, but all have impressive capabilities and features that allow for socially connected travel experiences. Similar to Facebook, Flickr, and Foursquare, all these sites have mobile applications for access on the go. Discover which ones work best with your travel style and social needs by trying them out.

Below are five of Cheapflights.ca's top web apps 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.
  
  
• Dopplr - Dopplr displays trip details and tips in a colour-coded timeline and shares them among users within a created network. Users can receive tips, reviews and advice on locations, restaurants and hotels from friends. Dopplr creates a "social atlas" so people can utilize the collective travel knowledge of all users.
  
  
• Globetrooper - Globetrooper finds travel partners based on shared travel interests. Users create trips and indicate their ideal travel partner(s) based on cost, date, and location, as well as in-depth factors like difficulty and degree of culture shock. Prospective travellers then browse the trip and chat with organizers to see if it's a match. Whether travelling in a pair or with a large tour group, Globetrooper is a fantastic app for travellers looking to put the "social" into social travel.
  
  
• Gtrot - Short for globetrotter, gtrot has morphed from a site for backpacking college students into a full-service social gateway for travel. Built on Facebook's platform, gtrot shows members which of their friends are going where and with who, and helps them coordinate to join in on their trips.
  
  
• Kukunu - Users on Kukunu 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.
  
  

Rounding out Cheapflights.ca's Top 10 Social Travel Planning Apps and worth checking out are: NileGuide,TravelMuse,TripIt,Tripline and WAYN. To read more about these and review the complete list, visit www.cheapflights.ca/travel-tips/top-10-social-travel-planning-apps/.

About Cheapflights Media
Cheapflights Media is an international media network helping over 11 million visitors a month find top travel deals. Our Cheapflights brand was launched in 1996 and pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users. Today, users compare a wide range of deals from hundreds of partners including online travel agents, consolidators and airlines to find the very best flight deals. With a mission to be the starting point for travel, Cheapflights works to deliver the industry's best airfare bargains, expert tips and inspiration. There are currently Cheapflights sites in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Germany, Australia & New Zealand, France, Italy and Spain. For more information, visit www.cheapflights.ca. Our newest brand, Momondo, is a leading travel search engine for finding comprehensive worldwide pricing and availability on airfares. Winner of several awards, the site is ideal for users on specific travel schedules. For more information, visit www.momondo.com.