Tech for Travel Talk Sat July 18 - Getting Started with TripIt for Travels (online)

Who Should Join This Session

Anyone who is already using TripIt and would like to learn new things about it from others.
Anyone considering using TripIt for their Travel Planning.

First Half of Session: Show and Tell
- why would I use TripIt for travel planning? What does it give me?
- what is it good at doing? what is it not so good at doing?
- show the integration with Google Calendar
- what have you learned from using TripIt that you can share with others?

Second Half of Session: How To and Technical (optional, for anyone who would like to stay)
- we will walk through the technical setup
- how to synch with your Google Calendar (for display only)
- tips, tricks and a timing gotcha with the synch

Advance Planning for the Session:
Read about what TripIt does for Travel:
https://www.tripit.com/web/free/how-it-works

If you don't already have a TripIt account, you might like to create one.

Future Sessions in the Tech for Travel Talk Series:

Getting Started with Wanderlog:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/tech-for-travel-talk-sat-aug-22-getting-started-with-wanderlog-for-travels-online

I will be traveling then so cannot make it. I use TripIt but I'm not all that well versed on it anyway, so doubt you'll miss me. 😉

I love using TripIt and recently upgraded from the free version to "Pro." I use it for itinerary planning and keeping all my pdf confirmations in one place. Would love to learn more about Tripit from other travelers.

I am also going to be on the road and won't be able to participate. I have been using Tripit for several years and absolutely love the way it helps me organize and visualize my trip. It helps me see where I have gaps in my itinerary and what I need to work on. I presently have 6 trips on my free app. However, I almost had a heart attack last week when I opened the app up and it said I had no trips listed- it did show that I'd had some, but I thought I'd wiped them out somehow. I spent the next day completely retrieving all my information and printing it out on a word sheet for a month long trip. Sure enough, it wasn't me, there had been a glitch and the day after I did all my work, it came back on my app. I still will use my Trip it app but learned my lesson and now keep a back up. I also had not synced it with my calendar before (didn't know I could) but not it is all on there. Still a great app:)

Carol, I nearly had a heart attack at that glitch as well. It was bad enough that my six upcoming trips weren't there, but I was really distressed that my trips since I started using TripIt in 2013 we're gone.
I could get the upcoming trip info from my email, but I use TripIt to note restaurants, activities and hikes as well as transportation and lodging and I wouldn't have been able to reconstitute that.

CWSocial, I'd like to RSVP for the discussion, please. I'm always interested in finding out new travel info.

I'll try to join this session. Thanks.

I'd be interested in joining. I've been using it since 2013 and really like it but I'm sure there is more I could learn.

Welcome everyone for the TripIt talk! I'll send out the meeting details nearer the meeting date.

Carol and Jone, I had a similar glitch one day with OneNote, which I use extensively for my travel planning. I had to calm myself down and remind myself that it had to be a system glitch that caused all of my notebooks to temporarily "disappear."

If you've not already done so, please RSVP on this thread to join the Tripit Tech for Travel Talk.

I'll be sending out meeting details within a few days.

I have sent the meeting details to everyone who RSVPd, above, that they would attend.

Others are still welcome to join - please RSVP by Friday, thanks!

I would like to join you. I have only used TripIt for the last couple of years, and only for reservations. I would like to know how others use it or how I can take better advantage of its features. I have the Pro version.

Wray, I have just sent you a forum message with the meeting details.

Everyone, I'm hoping one or two of you might be willing to show how you use TripIt - either directly within TripIt or in Google Calendar. I will be prepared to do either or both, and will be happy to allow others to share your screens.

I have a conflict that day—darn!

Please send me the link but I am not 100% sure I’ll make it.
We’re suppose to go to my daughter’s beach club for the day but rain is predicted. If it rains, I’ll be at the zoom.

Hi CWsocial, I will be with my family this weekend so can’t attend this one. I have used TripIt for at least 7 years, and it says I’ve had 41 trips logged during that time.

What I like the most about TripIt:

• I can forward my reservations into it, so there’s no missed day/month vs. month/day glitches when I’m doing final checks.
• It does a better job of informing me about anything related to flights vs. Delta, etc. For instance, for my flight home from Rome in May, it gave me the terminal & gate info far in advance, so I didn’t need to wait around in the intermediate spot at the airport, waiting for a section/gate #. And any changes for gates mid-trip always come through TripIt quicker than my other apps.

I admit that I don’t use all of the features of TripIt. In fact I rarely open it during a trip….like maybe once. I use other tech options for map/addresses & I don’t have as intensely filled itinerary days as 20 years ago, so my 1-page Excel summary of a month’s trip works very well to just glance at it to see what’s coming up the next day. I did use it as the main source back in 2018 during my solo European vacation, and it worked well for all of those details.

Barbara - beach club, or TripIt Zoom meeting. I'm cheering for the beach club! Though, of course, we will be glad to have you if it rains.

Jean, thank you for that writeup And enjoy your family this weekend!

You make some really good points about the value of TripIt. The flight details that you receive from it sound like the pro version?

I also don't use TripIt very often during my trips. I use the resulting synch with Google Calendar quite often, to answer questions like "which day is my food tour?" or "what time is my dinner reservation?"

My best use case of TripIt was when I (earlier this year) rescheduled a trip from spring to fall. I booked the wrong return flight date and realized it when I saw in my revised Google Calendar feed (from TripIt) that my new flight home was before my 2 extra nights after the end of a tour. Thankfully, I figured that out in time to change the flight, and even saved a (tiny) bit of money with the reschedule.

I use OneNote for the details of my daily itinerary, such as "what time is the hotel breakfast." There can be a lot of that with my typical weeklong city stays.

I also like to use Wanderlog for my spatial planning for a big city visit - figuring out which sights are near each other. While I use it for that early trip planning, I haven't incorporated it well into my trip execution. But that's a discussion for the August 22 Wanderlog session!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/tech-for-travel-talk-sat-aug-22-getting-started-with-wanderlog-for-travels-online

For tomorrow, I'll be interested in hearing everyone's use of TripIt, such as:

Do you use the TripIt app?
Do you use the TripIt app during your trips?
Do you use the Google Calendar synch?

Do you use TripIt for flights? hotels? dinner reservations? activity bookings?
How much detail do you add in TripIt? For example, is that where you look for your confirmation numbers?

What do you do about those pesky reservations that TripIt can't decipher? ("There's a problem with your TripIt submission.")

And probably lots more questions when I hear how others are using TripIt in ways that I haven't considered.

I just searched for TripIt tips and found this article on the TripIt website for how TripIt (often TripIt Pro) can help with travel disruptions:

https://www.tripit.com/web/blog/travel-tips/travel-disruptions-TripIt-can-help

To Jean's point, TripIt Pro sends flight-day alerts:

1. If your terminal or gate changed—and you went to the wrong one… Flight alerts can also help you in this situation. On the day of your flight, TripIt Pro sends notifications for:

Arrival and connection summaries
Departure summary and gate changes (beginning four hours before departure)

Hi, yes, I have the pro version.

One area where TripIt would be very useful would be to store lots of restaurant (or gelato) options. But, I am typically a wanderer and just look at menus as I stroll during the evening, or I have a specific reservation ahead of time.

I have the Pro version as well and it nearly always notifies me of gate or flight changes well before the airline does.

I started with the free version of TripIt and upgraded to the pro last year. I like that the pro version has unlimited pdf space for all my reservations.

Good to know, Christine, thanks!

So it sounds like you do access TripIt during your trips to get at those reservation files.

We'd like to attend. We don't have any experience with TripIt. In the past we use a spreadsheet to keep track of all the details and apps for the flight and hotel specifics. How do we attend?

Sara, the TripIt meeting was this past weekend. I've sent you a message with the forum link for the upcoming Wanderlog meeting, on August 22nd, which I think will also be of interest. Please RSVP there if you would like to join:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/tech-for-travel-talk-sat-aug-22-getting-started-with-wanderlog-for-travels-online