Opentable
I booked several dining experiences for our London trip in advance and they all used the Opentable reservation platform. Practically every element of your trip can now be managed digitally. Whether you’re a frequent flier or you haven’t been on the road in a while, you’ll want to be sure these apps are set up and ready to go before your next trip. However, if you are headed to a large city like New York or London, you will most definitely want to be sure you have Apple Pay and/or Apple Wallet set up with your preferred payment method. This helps you have instant contactless payment in big cities and is absolutely essential if you plan to ride public transportation like the London Underground. Practically every single restaurant, store, and attraction we visited accepted contactless payment. If you get hacked on the road or need to contact them, the fastest way to cancel a stolen or lost card is through your bank app. Once we arrived at the airport, the app let us head directly to the luggage drop station where we printed our luggage tags with no line. This free app helps you navigate all the potential transportation options in a big city. Enter point A and point B and the app will give you several options for how to get there ranked by time and cost. It is absolutely essential if you plan to use the tube but it will also help you navigate all the different ways to get around London. Uber is so easy to call a ride as compared to a taxi in a foreign city. Double check that Uber is available in your destination and have it loaded and ready just in case. You can find the app here. I purchased our tickets on my desktop computer but accessed our account and tickets digitally on my phone with their app. If you plan to ride the Eurostar, be sure to have the Eurostar app logged in and ready with your account. You can download your tickets directly to your Apple Wallet. If you choose an AirBNB, be sure to have the AirBNB app loaded on your phone because you can easily communicate with your host via the messaging there and get a hold of them in case of an emergency. You can also invite your family members or friends or travel companions to contribute to your trip itinerary so everyone can access it from their own phone. The app itself is totally free to use but they do offer an upgraded subscription that adds additional features. However, if we had been there any longer or wanted to engage any more with the people, signs, or menus, we would have absolutely needed this app! Having the app handy on my phone allowed me to check in, edit, or cancel our reservations in a pinch. It allowed the families to stay in touch with each other on this giant group trip without requiring everyone to pay the roaming fees on their phones.
