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"  If you&amp;#039;re itching to get out of town before the summer ends, I recommend traveling the digital way. These smartphone apps and websites will help you maximize your trip (and perhaps save you some money, too). If You&amp;#039;re Going on a Road Trip  Planning on logging long hours in the car? Along the Way maps out restaurants, shopping, and other places of interest along your route. You can also search for a specific place (like a much-needed coffee shop) to plan your next stop. Similarly, Roadtripperslets you choose the kinds of places you&amp;#039;d like to visit (like national parks, historic landmarks, vineyards, and more), helps you plan a route, and offers reviews of places along the way. I also recommend Gas Buddy, a crowd-sourced app that helps you find the most affordable gas nearby. For real-time traffic reports, use Waze, which invites users to report police activity, red light cameras, accidents, and congestion.  If You&amp;#039;re Planning a Last-Minute Getaway  Never fear, procrastinators: These apps can still help you plan a great vacation. If you&amp;#039;re stranded in a new city without a room, try HotelTonight, whichoffers day-of deals on hotel rooms (you can book a room up until 2:00 am!). If you&amp;#039;re afraid to commit to a certain flight or hotel, OptionsAway will be your placeholder for up to 21 days before you&amp;#039;re ready to officially say yes. You&amp;#039;ll lock in the price from when you reserved, but you will pay a premium for the service. NextFlight is another good one, designed for when you miss your flight and need a new one quickly, or when you prefer to book last-minute. And for on-demand car service, check to see if Uberis available in the city you are visiting. Use the app to tell a driver to pick you up wherever you are. Since you link your account with a credit card, you don&amp;#039;t have to worry about carrying lots of cash. If You&amp;#039;re a Picky Flier  Do you care about ample legroom and access to electrical outlets on a plane? RouteHappy helps you comb through flight options based on details like these. The Hipmunk app offers another cool search feature: You can filter by &amp;quot;agony,&amp;quot; removing long layovers or super-expensive options. And SkyScanner is a friendly, simple app that helps you compare prices with neat bar graphs. If You Want to Feel Like a Local  For discovering the best of what&amp;#039;s around, comb tons of travelers&amp;#039; reviews on Trip Advisor, and use Yipit to search for deals at local haunts like restaurants and music venues. I also love Travelzoo, which curates local deals that have been vetted by its staff. If You Want to Stay Organized  Before I go anywhere I use the TripListapp, which has a built-in catalog of items to help you remember what you need for a camping trip, beach vacation, and more. I also use TripIt to plan my schedule. All you have to do is forward your trip-related emails (like hotel confirmations and flight details) to their email address and the app pulls everything into an easy-to-follow itinerary. TELL US: What apps do you use when you travel? Rachel Rothman is the Technical Director at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. NEXT: 14 Genius Space-Saving Ways to Pack a Suitcase \u00BB Photo: Serg Myshkovsky/Getty "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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