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Use iPhone Contacts as travel tool

Posted by on

Hi fellow travelers.
Here is a tip I figured out.
When you know all of your travel info for a destination, use your Contacts to put in pertinent info in your phone.

For instance, use "Madrid 5/10-5/16" as the contact name. Then enter all data for that city: phone numbers (including the elusive +), the address where you will be staying, Air BNB or hotel. If you enter the address correctly, google maps will pin point it. Then when you are out to dinner and walking around, you can just select your address and it will talk you back to your destination or your hotel. You can put into the "notes" nearest metro stops or other info. You can "share" the contact with your fellow travelers so you can all find each other and your hotel and destinations. I find this much easier than typing up all of the info, leaving copies with my fellow travelers and the folks at home (with my iteniary and copies of my passport). Has anyone else figured out this? Happy travels! Barbara

Posted by
5697 posts

Interesting idea! I put everything in Tripit and add the kids as "viewers". DH is a "traveler" so he has a copy with him at all times.

Posted by
49 posts

Barbara - this is a great tip. I will be doing this before my next trip! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by
7882 posts

Some years ago, Apple Maps was denigrated, especially in comparison with Google Maps. Today, young drivers rave about Waze. Is Apple maps reliable and satisfactory in non-U.S. countries? I ask out of ignorance, not a slam. I use Google Maps a lot, but the 30-day expiration of downloaded Google Maps is both a blessing and a curse.

Posted by
3 posts

I want to correct the map app I use. It is Apple Maps not Google that is automatically brought up in your contact info once you put in an address into the iPhone. It works extremely well in other countries. For instance, if walking, it will tell you "walk 100 feet, turn right on "Calle Miguel" etc. Very accurate. You can also type in your destination such as a restaurant name. The map will automatically locate you and the destination and give you step by step directions in English of how to walk there and how long it will take to get there.

Posted by
3070 posts

Barbara, what a great idea. Thank you for sharing. I will be adding all my hotels to contacts as you suggest.

Posted by
11569 posts

I always add phone numbers for necessary contacts in Europe, hotels, landlords, etc. Makes life so much easier. I make a contact page for each one though.
My itinerary is in TripItPro, and I could not travel without it.

Posted by
11294 posts

Yes, this is a great tip - thanks for sharing it!

I have a Samsung Android, and I put all kinds of things in my phone contacts list. As you say, it is searchable, so I put things in the "notes" section that can be easily found later.

At least on my phone, you don't even have to have a phone number in a contact. The two things that I love having in my phonebook that are not phone numbers:

Under "Voting," I have my Election District, Assembly District, and address of the voting place (in New York City, there are actually two different voting locations on the same block; we used to use one and now use the other so I sometimes get confused!).

Under "Canon Printers," I have the model numbers of my printers (home and office) and the kinds of cartridges they take. That way, if I need more ink or toner, I don't have to worry that I'll be in the store and get the wrong kind.

Now, for travel related things besides hotels:

I put in the airlines I'm taking, with the contact numbers for both the US and any country I'm traveling in or transiting. For instance, when I flew Lufthansa from New York through Frankfurt to Marseille, I had contact numbers for Lufthansa for the US, Germany, and France. After being in Russian on 9/11, and having to call SAS in Copehnagen from Moscow to see if my flight home was going or not, I know that emergencies can happen.

I had a paper ticket from SAS, and it came in a folder listing all their contact numbers for different countries. Remember those? Even in 2001, these were rare, but I was very glad to have it. Now, of course, I'd have to find this online; I much prefer to have it done before any emergency.

I also put in the embassy or consulate of the places I'm going. Again, like airline info, if I ever need it in an emergency, it will be good not to have to try and find it.

Posted by
56 posts

Great idea. I will be doing this for the hotels and airlines. Thank you.
Also, I’m giving Tripit a try as well.

Posted by
3961 posts

Barbara,
Thanks so much for sharing this travel tool! Can hardly wait to use this on our next journey!

Posted by
7799 posts

Hi, you could also use the free version of TripIt. I love that app for loading the entire itinerary, and it will automatically input the addresses of hotels, restaurants, etc. The loaded address has the map link in it, too. You choose who can see your itinerary, so it’s easy to share with family, co-travelers, etc.

I’ve found it SO easy that I use it now for my reference rather than my previous methods. When planning the trip, I also just load in possible ideas with “Need to reserve” in the title, restaurants, etc. - even train ticket preference times. Then before the trip, I can delete the entries that didn’t make our final cut.

It grays out the activities and hotel reservations, etc. as the time period passes in the day, so it’s easy to glance at the current day.

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