With whom along the way. The best apps and services to help travelers

BeepCar Shared rides- an application that allows drivers and passengers to find each other for long trips in just a few clicks. The program, first of all, was developed with the aim of saving money, because traveling with fellow travelers is much more profitable than traveling alone, because the amount spent on gasoline is divided among all participants in the trip.

The application has a user-friendly interface, which makes working with it pleasant. Everything is divided into several tabs: Find, Create, Trips (meaning completed ones), Notifications. If you are a passenger, then with just a few taps on the screen, eligible trips will appear.

Of course, travel settings are also available (date, car, cost, time and the route itself). It’s interesting that the application itself suggests intermediate points in order to reach an even larger number of people (that is, the driver will pick someone up not at the starting point, but halfway through the journey).

The program contains a rating system for both drivers and passengers. After completing the trip, participants write reviews. This is done in order to see who you are dealing with (a kind of reputation).

One of the advantages of such a travel system is not only savings, but also the opportunity to share the road with someone, chat and have a good time. In addition, this is a good competitor to the well-known BlaBlaCar, which only benefits the end user. BeepCar Ride Sharing is an app that allows users to easily go on long journeys with fellow travelers and save money by splitting the costs equally.

Peculiarities:

User-friendly interface
Nice colors
Possibility to leave reviews
And much more

Download the application to find profitable trips and reliable travel companions - BeepCar on Android you can follow the link below.

Developer: Mail.Ru Group
Platform: Android 4.4 and higher
Interface language: Russian (RUS)
Status: Free
Root: Not needed

APP OVERVIEW

A travel companion is a mobile application that will help coordinate the owners of personal vehicles traveling along certain routes and their potential passengers. In this case, the former can earn money by using free seats in their cars, and the latter can save on the services of transport companies.

The main menu of the application is accessible by clicking on the button in the upper left corner. Here you can find items such as “Find a driver”, “Find a passenger”, “New routes”, “My routes”, “Favorites”, “Requests” and “About the application”. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

The first two points provide integration with Google maps to create a route where you can find a passenger or driver. The route is determined by the starting and ending points, each of them is set on the map with a long press. After determining the route, information of interest to the user will be displayed at the bottom of the screen - the approximate duration of the route, a list of drivers or passengers, etc. In the future, this information may be useful for establishing contact with relevant persons. For example, a driver will be able to offer a seat in a car to a passenger found on his route for a certain amount, and the passenger will also be able to contact the driver he is interested in and make a request.

The “New routes” menu displays a list of routes offered by drivers or passengers, indicating the frequency (days of the week), number free seats, cost, estimated travel time, as well as personal user data such as name, gender, age and a number of other parameters.

Clicking on brief description of the desired route, you can go to its full details and if everything is satisfactory, click on the blue rectangular button “Take a seat” (or “Get a ride” if the route is offered by a passenger).

The “My Routes” menu item provides information about those routes that have been used previously or those recently created by the user. New routes are also formed there by indicating the starting and ending points, departure time, number of seats, etc. It can be convenient to add the most frequent routes to “Favorites”. The Applications menu displays sent and received applications from other users with their current status.

The application interface is very convenient and informative, while in terms of functionality, “Helper Traveler” has practically no analogues close to it, which can definitely contribute to audience growth in the coming years.

Zfzgjngtubxjo, 09/24/2017

Specify your car

The lack of information about the car is very annoying. I have to refuse a reservation because of cars that are not comfortable to drive. I would like to be required to indicate the car!

Developer response ,

Good afternoon Thanks for your feedback! We handed it over to the developers.

Creativ 3307, 09/13/2017

What nonsense!!

Why do you now determine the maximum amount? And not us?

Developer response ,

Good afternoon The site has always had an upper price threshold to prevent the service from being used for commercial purposes. Do not forget that the idea of shared rides is for passengers to partially compensate the driver for the travel expenses, and not to cover them completely.

💥Kristina💥, 09.15.2017

Good application

I really like this application. But it would be better if passengers could also publish planned trips, thereby the driver would have the opportunity to choose a travel companion and adjust the departure time, otherwise it often happens that the same driver posts trips from the city at intervals of an hour.
Well, ban those who charge double or even triple the specified amount.

Developer response ,

Christina, hello! We are glad that you like the service :) We also thank you for your suggestions, we will pass them on to the team. If you experience overpricing, please leave a complaint in your user profile so that we can take action.

A modern person does not need to stand in line at train station ticket offices and read advertisements on poles in search of a driver who will transport things to a new place of residence. It is enough to use one of the Internet services, where you can find not only trusted travel companions and carriers, but also save significantly. Today we will look at six such resources that have already gained popularity among active Internet users.

1. BlaBlaCar

The undisputed leader in the ride sharing market, a proven European service that has relatively recently firmly established itself in Russia. What is the secret of his popularity?

The first is convenience. Through the website and its mobile application, you can quickly find a driver who will go in the right direction, on the right day and even at the right time. Narrow settings are also available: for example, you can really choose a non-smoking driver who will not turn on the “chanson” or talk about politics the whole way.

The service is actively used for traveling around the country (both between settlements and between regions). It is also possible to find travel companions for trips abroad (the service, we remind you, is international). When choosing a driver, the user sees his age, make and class of car, personal preferences and the proposed cost of the trip. Availability of reviews and good rating– an additional factor of choice.

Despite the convenience, there are still disadvantages - mainly related to our special mentality. For example, some drivers don’t bother and fill out the information in the form at random. So it turns out that instead of the stated two passengers, four are crammed into the cabin. And the silent non-smoker turns out to be a puffing lover of conversation. And one more thing - the service is focused only on finding travel companions. Finding a driver to transport cargo here is difficult, if not impossible.

2. " Throw the Hog »

This is an online service ordering service that quickly burst into the market and quickly gained good positions. It is focused on finding performers in several areas: from courier services to professional ones. It is also possible to find a driver for a shared trip and a car owner for cargo transportation.

There are no problems with the service’s website: while the previous service made it possible to search for drivers among the available options, “Throw the Kabanchik” allows you to become a customer yourself. To find a driver, you need to fill out a task, indicate the conditions, date and price you plan to pay. This process takes on average 2-3 minutes. Afterwards, all you have to do is wait: interested drivers will see the task themselves and submit applications.

When choosing among candidates, the customer can view their profiles, which contain reviews, ratings, and personal information. “Arbitrariness,” by the way, is not allowed here: the administration of the service strictly monitors the objectivity of the information specified in the profile, checks the passport details of performers, and does not provide the opportunity to “cheat” ratings or reviews. The result: a comfortable and safe trip, the conditions of which are determined by the customer himself.

3. " Everyone is lucky »

Online service for ordering freight transportation. It also aims to put the customer in a privileged position. If in the “real world” the customer rushes between cargo carriers who dictate their terms, then with the help of the service he himself can determine who, for how much and under what conditions will carry his cargo.

The service works with cargo from 1 kg, servicing private moves, commercial orders, delivery of large cargo, etc. To order cargo transportation, just place an order on the website (or in its mobile application). In just a few minutes, the first offers from interested drivers will appear. Each of them offers its own price, which ultimately allows you to save on delivery. Having selected a contractor, the customer receives his contact information for further communication.

The system offers several additional features– for example, cargo insurance and route tracking. In general, most clients are satisfied with the service, but there are also disadvantages: for example, the selected driver on the spot may try to change the price of transportation or dictate his own conditions.

4. " I'll give you a ride»

A site for finding travel companions in Moscow and Moscow Region (mainly), as well as in Russia. Using it, you can find travel companions for your daily commute to work, for traveling to the airport (to save on taxis) and for other personal purposes.

The first thing that catches your eye is the absolutely “no” design of the service. The feeling of being on a site from the 90s does not leave the user on any page of the resource. Because of this, functionality suffers: users accustomed to convenient interfaces may experience difficulties. On the other hand, the service copes with servicing one of the most popular ways of traveling around Moscow - ridesharing. Placing applications allows you not to catch a ride or a taxi on the side of the road, but to negotiate with the driver online. The system is quite similar to previous services: similar placement of applications (placed by drivers) with a search for potential travel companions.

Conclusion: the service justifies itself as a means for organizing trips around the vast capital. For convenience - minus, for opportunities quick search travel companions are a plus. There is nothing more to say about him.

5. " I'll take you there »

A service for finding travel companions, organizing trips in the “people’s taxi” and private cargo transportation. However, the site still separates the search directions: “fellow travelers”, “people’s taxi” and “cargo transportation”. The service operates in all major cities of Russia, but the advantage, naturally, goes to Moscow and St. Petersburg. By the way, the project has a “child” resource “Mahnem!” to find travel companions when traveling abroad. But it needs to be discussed separately.

The principle of operation, as you might guess, differs little from previous services: drivers post advertisements, informing about the route and travel time, and the number of available seats. A potential passenger uses the search bar on the website, looking for a trip, and finds current offers from drivers. Using the same principle, it is proposed to look for cargo carriers. The website has a rating that allows you to choose the best carrier based on comfort and level of service.

Overall: the site is useful and full of offers. On a personal note, little attention is paid to the security of transactions: each trip is an area of personal responsibility for the driver and passenger. It depends on your luck here.

6. " On the way »

Another resource where drivers and fellow travelers can meet for trips within the city and between settlements. A Russian startup launched in 2012 and with great prospects.

Having examined the previous five services, nothing new can be said about the functionality of VPuti: it implements a similar principle of searching for drivers and travel companions to reduce the cost of a shared trip. However, there are features, and one of them is the search for travel companions based on interests. This is a good opportunity to overcome the distance while passing the time in a conversation on a topic that interests everyone. In addition, in this way you can expand your circle of useful acquaintances and connections.

It is worth noting the security factor: the service provides tracking of each trip, and if there are any complaints about violation of the rules by the driver or passenger, it blocks the violator’s account. This “cleaning of rows” can significantly reduce the risks of poor-quality trips.

Overall: the service is really promising and convenient. Especially for people interested in traveling safely and economically.

Hello dear readers of the site! Many of you have noticed that there have been no new blog posts for some time.

Don’t worry, I haven’t disappeared anywhere, I just decided to take a short vacation for myself, take a break from online and offline work, so with my whole family and people close to me I went to the Black Sea in Zatoka (Ukraine, Odessa region) for 10 days.

We have already had a similar vacation, so once again there is no point in retelling the same thing. Everything was as usual: a lot of sun, sea, fruit and entertainment.

To be honest, I would like to try to relax in other countries, and not just in the Black Sea cities of Russia and Ukraine. I hope next time I will be able to go to Turkey or Bulgaria. I will definitely include this item in my goals for next year.))

Well, for those who are just planning to go on a free trip, I will give you a number of services, sites and applications that will help you organize any vacation without any difficulties.

If previously only a compass and a map helped travelers on a trip, they could find their way by the stars, and find out the time by the sun, then in the modern world there are various applications that will replace all the old resources.

Where to go: find the route in the app

First of all, every tourist chooses the country and direction where he wants to go.

The following applications and websites can help with this:

Here you can find interesting routes and tips for different countries peace.

In addition, it contains mini-excursions that are available offline. For nature lovers, you can find interesting routes for recreation in the mountains or cycling.

Geotracker The application records your route on the map, so it can also be used as a navigator. People share their routes here, and you can also create your own ideal route here.

Redigo Contains useful information about countries, attractions, and culture. There is a phrasebook in six languages; you can use the application offline.

In addition, you can find interesting and unusual routes on various websites. For example, site Sygic Travel(formerly Tripomatic) will help you find the most popular and less boring places in the city.

And the site gq.ru/travel/ will give ideas for traveling by water, by car, in winter and others, here you can also read news from all countries and find out useful information.

Looking for travel companions through apps

Not everyone likes to travel alone, so it is always important to find a good travel companion.

The following services will help resolve this issue:

Hitch-hiking This application will help you hitchhike on the road. Here you can always see who is going in the direction you need, and where you can catch a ride.

In addition, the app shows how many kilometers and time you have left to travel to the desired location.

The application is able to find a traveler a car that is going in the right direction; in addition, the drivers themselves can see where there are hitchhikers, find them and help them get to the place.

BlaBlaCar A well-known application that will help you get to your desired point for little money, find fellow travelers or people who need assistance on the road.

You can use the resource and application “Bla Bla Car Travel Companions” not only in Russia, but also abroad.

It is in no way inferior to Blablakar, here you can also find a ride in the right direction. People agree to give tourists a ride for a small amount.

You can also find interesting people to travel with on sites such as mahnem.ru or poputchik.ru

Buy tickets online

When you have decided on the route and chosen your travel companions, it’s time to purchase tickets to the desired country.

You can order plane tickets online here:

Aviasales.ru Excellent Russian application, which will help you purchase the cheapest tickets.

Here you can subscribe to view a certain direction, if the price decreases, you will be notified immediately. There is also a calendar of low prices and a route map where you can see the lowest prices.

Another great app. Here you can select the “Everywhere” button, if you haven’t exactly chosen the destination city, in this case the cheapest tickets to different countries will be shown.

To choose the lowest possible prices, you can select the “cheapest month” button, but in this case you need to be ready to take off on a trip at any time.

OneTwoTrip The resource often holds competitions and promotions, you can grab great deals. Tickets are shown even for low-cost airlines.

The application compares prices from many sites, selecting the best offer. Sometimes prices here are several rubles lower than on other resources.

Kupibilet.ru The resource directly searches for tickets from airlines, comparing the best offers.

You can purchase train tickets on the following websites:

You can buy tickets not only within Russia, but also abroad. Destinations to neighboring countries, for example, the Baltics, are popular.

Russian Railways often organizes promotions and discounts; in addition, there is a system for accumulating bonuses.

Raileurope.com Helps you find train tickets in Europe. Often they need to be purchased in advance, which is convenient to do with this resource.

Tutu.ru The service will select tickets for trains or trains, but sometimes you can find tickets here both cheaper and more expensive than on Russian Railways.

Websites of railways of some CIS countries:

rw.by— Belarus
uz.gov.ua- Ukraine
railways.kz- Kazakhstan
ukzhd.am— Armenia
railway.ge— Georgia
kjd.kg— Kyrgyzstan

It is better to buy bus tickets from local carriers, who have their own websites and applications. In Europe they are popular Flixbus, Busfor, Luxexpress And Polskibus.

In Russia, bus tickets can be purchased through applications:

Here you can find schedules, prices and routes of any buses.

It’s easy to find tickets, just select the “Departures” and “Arrivals” items, the date and number of seats.

Stop The application is suitable for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Here you can find tickets between cities and countries.

Subscribe to local carriers, they will send you newsletters with news, interesting promotions and offers.

Looking for overnight accommodation for a trip

When it has already been decided exactly where to go and there are fellow travelers, then it’s time to choose an overnight stay for the trip.

This is easy to do with the following services and applications:

The site ranks first in the world in popularity among tourists. It is easy to find accommodation here even in the smallest towns.

In addition, here it is easy to choose exactly the hotel you need, since there are a lot of filters, you can search on the map, checking the most best options. Booking is able to search for even the cheapest hostels or apartments.

Ostrovok The service is able to find accommodation even sometimes cheaper than in Booking, especially in Russian hostels or hotels.

Hotellook The application will find all the best offers for your dates and city, and often shows promotions and discounts.

The service is not very popular among Russian tourists, but, nevertheless, it is better to use it for booking accommodation in Asia.

Hotels.com The site has a database of cities in the selection of housing more than 19,000, here you can find housing cheaper than on Booking.

Hoteltonight Here you can often find housing recently. You can book even a few hours before arrival, and the cost of the hotel will drop several times; promotions and discounts are always valid here.

In addition, tourists do not have to stay in hotels or hostels; there are several other options that can always be used, and this type of overnight accommodation will be free or for a small amount.

couchsurfing.com The site was developed a long time ago, but began to gain popularity in the last five years. The purpose of the site and application is simple: people invite tourists to stay with them for free, usually for a maximum of 2-3 days, this is an opportunity to make friends around the world, communicate with interesting people, and learn a lot of stories about other countries.
campings.com Here you can find an alternative to a hotel in the form of a tent! Campsites are places where tourists are allowed to stay in tents or cars. Most often you need to take your “home” with you, but you can also find an overnight stay where the tent will already be included. Camping is especially popular in countries where people go for beautiful nature.
Hostelworld A hostel is the cheapest accommodation option in any city. This site is able to find the best deals, in addition, there are often promotions and special offers for booking accommodation.
Airbnb The service will help you find separate apartments from local residents. You can rent the entire apartment for a small fee.
Homeaway Like Airbnb, the service will help you find housing with local residents. There are often offers here that cannot be found anywhere else.
WWOOF The application will help you find a farmer who needs help. It sounds strange, of course. But for a little work you will be offered accommodation and possibly food.

This type of overnight stay is especially popular in expensive countries: Iceland or Norway.

Getting a travel visa

It would seem that the visa issue is a problem that cannot be solved online using applications. But in the 21st century, many resources have been invented that will simplify your life and save time.

VisaPort The application can be downloaded to your phone or use the version for personal computers. The service will help you control all steps of preparing your visa.

You can find information about embassies, operating hours, and required documents. Here you can fill out a visa application form and book a hotel to confirm your place of residence during your trip.

Once ready, the visa can be sent directly to your phone, but not all countries will do this. The application database contains more than 16,000 embassies around the world.

Travel Visa Requirements The application can provide useful information about a visa for any country. Here you can see all the visa-free countries where you can go.

World Travel without Visa The application will show all the countries where you can go without a visa. The application base is more than 200 countries.

In addition, countries where you can apply for a visa online via a computer or telephone release their own applications that simplify the work of consulates.

An example of such services could be an application Cambodia Evisa, where you can apply for a visa to Cambodia, there are also resources that help you get an online visa to other Asian countries.

Getting insurance

Insurance must be provided to the visa center or embassy to obtain a visa; sometimes it may be required at the border, and without it entry will not be allowed or you will have to pay a fine.

You can get insurance in a few minutes; it’s easy to do on any insurance company website.

But there are also useful resources that will compare prices from all companies and select the best deals for you.

Strahovkaonline You can choose insurance for any travel parameters. The tourist is offered to compare several companies and choose the best price.
Cherehapa On the website you can compare prices from the most popular agencies; choosing insurance will not take even five minutes.

In general, it’s easier to go to the company’s website and purchase insurance there. The most popular: Liberty, Rosgosstrakh, Tinkoffstrakhovaniye and others.

Controlling your money while traveling

Money is always the most difficult issue to control when traveling. Changing exchange rates, transferring money online - all these problems can be solved using online applications.

OANDA The service will help you quickly calculate the cost of services in the desired currency, convert one currency to another, it is very convenient, because you don’t have to multiply or divide numbers yourself.

Beacon Smart Store The application will help you find the required object in shopping center, see all the discounts in stores that will save you time and money.

In addition, you can always find a resource that shows discounts in museums, or has coupons for buying food or things; Biglion can be an example of such a resource.

We select excursions

When tickets have been purchased and overnight accommodation has been purchased, it’s time to take care of the cultural part of your trip.

Izi travel The service has collected free audio guides for tourists in many locations around the world. There are both paid and free excursions.
Wheatlas The service will help you find Russian-speaking guides around the world; the application has more than 500 cities in its database, so here you can definitely find the necessary excursion at the right price.
Tripster Except useful information about countries, a tourist forum, here you can also find ideas for a route or unusual excursions from local residents.
Sputnik8.com Allows you to find the excursions you need in many cities.

In addition, excursions may be free.

For example, book a tour from Free Walking Tour possible in a couple of minutes. The system operates in many European cities, excursions are conducted by volunteers, at the end of the event you will be asked to give you some money as a tip, but you are not obliged to do this, although many guides conduct excursions in such a way that it is simply impossible not to pay.

Other apps for relaxation

Preparing for vacation and travel does not end with purchasing tickets, hotels and excursions. You also need to pack your bags, prepare the required tariff on your SIM card, and so on.

Packing suitcases: what apps will help?

Of course, the online service will not bring you a robot who will start carefully putting things into a suitcase, but they will be able to tell you how to get ready for the trip.

This online application on Android will help you put things away and remember to take something.

Here you can find a ready-made list of what you can take; you just need to select the appropriate one in the catalog and pack things according to this list. There is a list for a pharmacy, for a day trip, for a business trip, and so on.

PackPoint: packing list A slightly similar resource. There are ready-made lists of things, but you can also create your own. As the list is replenished, it will be shown how many percentages still need to be added.

Selection of online and offline maps for tourists

All tourists are tormented by the question of how to take a walk and not get lost, because being in an unfamiliar city for the first time can be scary.

But with maps in your phone, you have nothing to fear, special applications will help you get out of any area and get to the desired point.

MapsWithMe You will have to download the city map in advance, but then you can use it without the Internet. The map selects the fastest and most convenient route from point A to point B.

City Maps 2GO Plenty of cities offer the app, but they may become paid over time. The map works without the Internet and will tell you how to get to attractions.

MapMyRide These maps will help those who travel by bicycle. In addition to the usual city maps, there are interesting cycling routes in a variety of directions.

HERE The applications can be used as a regular navigator, because there is even voice guidance. It is convenient to travel in a car using such maps.

2Gis For now, only Russian cities are available, but this is good for travelers to our country. The developers promise that other cities around the world will soon appear.

How to get Wi-Fi while traveling

You can always stay connected using several applications that will help you connect to free and paid Wi-Fi networks.

WifiMapper The map of any city in this application will open to you in a new way, you can see all the points on it open networks Internet.
Wi-Fi Space Similar program. Many cities around the world are available in the database, showing access points of open networks.

With such applications and resources, your vacation will be unforgettable; the main thing is not to forget which application is responsible for what.

In addition to all this, you should carefully choose a translator (Translate will do) or a phrasebook that will help you negotiate with locals; this is especially true in places where basic English does not help at all.

And before going anywhere, read reviews of tourists who have already been to these places, ask for advice from locals.

Remember that it’s important to relax when traveling, and the apps on your smartphone can do this without you having to at least look for your way using a compass or stand in line for tickets at the box office.

That's all, it would be interesting to know in the comments which cities and countries you managed to visit this year?