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Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

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Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#61

Post by bazzargh »

SonicSoul wrote: post #37
joeyspn wrote: post #28

A "Travel app" that shows so many clichés condensed in its presentation video (and to top it all, a goat in a spanish street?) hints of enormous amounts of ignorance about the destination. And even feels insulting ... I'll stick to my carrier with free voice and data roaming in UK-EU-US for reading TripAdvisor/Yelp reviews... and a normal GPS Navigator for moving around. Also, maybe Google has missed the minor detail…

2020? that's like a century away in internet years.

Barcelona has had widespread free municipal wifi since 2011. So...since a century ago in internet years ;)

To be fair, the person in the video may have been out of range of the hotspots, but they're easy to find (at all the underground stations, among other places)

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#62

Post by kyletns »

While this app obviously has a few incredibly useful-looking features, am I the only one who feels travel is best done talking with locals? Asking your hotel manager for recommendations - THAT'S how to travel well. See a slice of pizza that looks good? Go ASK the guy where he got it. Do we really believe we can Google/Yelp our way to a genuinely local experience? Or do we think that local experiences start with local people? Is this just another app that helps us stare at our phones while traveling, instead of searching for real culture through real connection?

That said, I already offline Google Maps before any trip, and this app will probably make it easier, so I'll use it. But I'll always place way more weight on a local recommendation than anything else.

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#63

Post by burkaman »

kyletns wrote: post #62

While this app obviously has a few incredibly useful-looking features, am I the only one who feels travel is best done talking with locals ? Asking your hotel manager for recommendations - THAT'S how to travel well. See a slice of pizza that looks good? Go ASK the guy where he got it. Do we really believe we can Google/Yelp our way to a genuinely local experience? Or do we think that local experiences start with loca…

I think part of the idea is that in many places, local people use Google too. So the app can combine your preferences with popular local spots, effectively getting recommendations from way more people than you could ask yourself.

I have no idea if that's actually how it works though.

But also, sometimes you don't really want a genuine local experience. Maybe you're in Washington DC for 2 days and want to squeeze in as much touristy stuff as possible. Locals aren't going to tell you about the great new exhibit at the National Gallery, they're going to tell you about their favorite dive bar on U street.

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#64

Post by tedmiston »

guard-of-terra wrote: post #29

Sounds totally like a promotional piece. Count "It's recommended that you check opening hours before visiting." That's how you do UX these days? Anyway, I'm pretty happy with skyscanner, maps.me, tripadvisor and booking (they have crappy UI tho, check alternatives in countries where they're viable).

That seems like an allusion to seasonal hours and whatnot to me. AFAIK none of the travel POI apps account for aspects like that today.

Aside: I got frustrated that none of them offer tracking brunch hours, so I made a one-page site for my city that has just that (http://www.qcbrunch.com). I'd like to do the same for kitchen hours at bars.

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#65

Post by sksksk »

kyletns wrote: post #62

While this app obviously has a few incredibly useful-looking features, am I the only one who feels travel is best done talking with locals ? Asking your hotel manager for recommendations - THAT'S how to travel well. See a slice of pizza that looks good? Go ASK the guy where he got it. Do we really believe we can Google/Yelp our way to a genuinely local experience? Or do we think that local experiences start with loca…

>While this app obviously has a few incredibly useful-looking features, am I the only one who feels travel is best done talking with locals? Asking your hotel manager for recommendations - THAT'S how to travel well

That's kind of a pretentious statement to make.

If one extreme is arriving in a city without plans, and the other extreme is meticulously planning every detail out. Then the way most people travel lies somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.

As long you enjoy your trip, then you have found the right way to travel for you personally.

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#66

Post by guard-of-terra »

tedmiston wrote: post #64
guard-of-terra wrote: post #29

Sounds totally like a promotional piece. Count "It's recommended that you check opening hours before visiting." That's how you do UX these days? Anyway, I'm pretty happy with skyscanner, maps.me, tripadvisor and booking (they have crappy UI tho, check alternatives in countries where they're viable).

That seems like an allusion to seasonal hours and whatnot to me. AFAIK none of the travel POI apps account for aspects like that today. Aside: I got frustrated that none of them offer tracking brunch hours, so I made a one-page site for my city that has just that ( http://www.qcbrunch.com ). I'd like to do the same for kitchen hours at bars.

Doesn't make sense to repeat it multiple times out, and you definitely could crowd source that kind of info if the mapping wasn't usurped by opaque Google not interested in that.

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#67

Post by pfranz »

kyletns wrote: post #62

While this app obviously has a few incredibly useful-looking features, am I the only one who feels travel is best done talking with locals ? Asking your hotel manager for recommendations - THAT'S how to travel well. See a slice of pizza that looks good? Go ASK the guy where he got it. Do we really believe we can Google/Yelp our way to a genuinely local experience? Or do we think that local experiences start with loca…

Locals are commonly a poor source of good information. I definitely wouldn't use them as an exclusive source. I make it a habit when going to the other side of town when running an errand to ask the teller where's a good place to grab lunch. More often than not they'll point to something like a Subway or KFC across the street. Their priorities are generally something quick and cheap.

It's just too easy to live some place and not seek out the unique, locally available things. Many times when visiting other countries the people working there have never done the main thing people visit that area to do. Also tastes vary greatly. These apps offer an aggregate or editorial filter for something instead of a sample size of 1.

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#69

Post by mbrock »

tedmiston wrote: post #49
caio1982 wrote: post #35

It's not a killer travel app at all, sorry. As of now I wouldn't trade having some Wikitravel pages offline for this Google Trips app. Let's wait and see before calling it a "killer travel app", shall we?

Wikivoyage, Wikitravel, I can never remembered which is the most up-to-date. There are some offline apps for them on iOS (okay not great) but they've worked for me abroad a few times. The ones that come to mind are Turdus and Voyageur, both free.

I have Wikivoyage's XML dump saved on my laptop.

Recently I arrived in Berlin and realized I wasn't sure how to get to the city from this secondary airport in the best way, so I opened my computer and one easy incremental search in Emacs later and I knew just what to do...

Re: Google Trips is a killer travel app for the modern tourist

#70

Post by rajathagasthya »

scotth wrote: post #58
rajathagasthya wrote: post #2

The trips feature in Inbox is incredibly useful, but I hated having to go back to the email app and scrolling till I find the trip details. So I'm glad they came up with a new app to manage your trips.

Did you know there's a "Trips" section in the navigation drawer? https://support.google.com/inbox/answer/6228360?hl=en under the "Find your Trip in Inbox" header

Ah, yes. I feel dumb now. :) For some reason, opening the navigation drawer isn't my first thought.
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