If there is one thing that makes me cringe most is travel planning. Don’t get me wrong; I love to travel to new destinations and discover sights I’ve long had my eye on. But from where do I go to how do I go, there is always a bridge to gap. While an enriching experience whatever the mishaps, travel is often unexpected. Traveling from point A to point B always takes longer than you think, and that incredible coffee shop you’ve crossed half of Paris to try out, might turn out to have closed early. It’s happened to me, and most likely, it’s happened to you. Which is why when I first came across the RueBaRue app, which simplifies planning your upcoming trip to a city, I was sold.
More than providing a list form alone, RueBaRue adjusts your interests to your pace, and delivers ample information on travel times between each point of attraction.
I’ve realized, in recent years, I don’t want to see everything. I really don’t. I don’t care about history museums nor do I care about posting selfies from the number one tourist attraction (ok, expect for that one or two at the Sydney Opera and Versailles). What I do care about – art, design, cutting-edge interiors & eateries, and contemporary museums for the most part – I want to do them well. And this is where RueBaRue comes to my rescue. The app includes timely updates of whether a point of interest is currently closed, and allows you to input your city accommodation from where you start and come back to.
To plan a city trip using RueBaRue, you can choose from the 17 destinations presently listed, including major cities around the world such as New York, Paris, Singapore, Barcelona, Dubai, Tokyo and Istanbul (more coming soon).
I chose New York City as my city, as I already know it as the back of my hand, my home for a decade, and to whom I will always travel to often. Interest-wise, I went for Art Lovers – Museums – Architecture. As for pace, you can choose between Slow – Medium – Fast. I am definitely a Medium. While planning your trip, you can either start from Scratch, or plan using a Starter Guide (which I recommend, given you can still choose your interests and pace). From there on, you can easily add or remove attractions, replace with alternatives, or even edit the dates and time.
Also extremely useful is including your actual trip dates. RueBaRue lets you know whether the attractions you intend to visit on your chosen days are open or not. This is a paramount feature, because even the most experienced traveler can often be mistaken. You might otherwise forget that in many cities, museums are closed on a Monday (or Tuesday in other cases), or in European countries such as France, even restaurants. Thus, this feature alone saves you a lot of headache and unnecessary lost time.
On top of that, for each day, the app provides travel time from place to place, by walking, by car or by public transportation. To avoid any further doubt, it also connects you to both an Apple and Google Map. While your itinerary is created, a map is built for your trip alone, which remains available even while offline. I found this most beneficial, as throughout my international travels, browsing large physical maps or turning on roaming (hello, hefty roaming fees) to check my location when lost, adds to my stress and increases travel time. I generally don’t like maps, so the convenience of RueBaRue’s imbedded map for my trip alone is a nice feature to have handy.
I also found it convenient that each targeted attraction includes easy access to their phone number, their website, access to a map, and Uber.
There are so many travel apps out there, I’ve frankly lost count. But RueBaRue is the first one that provides a clear picture of how your city trip might actually look like. In terms of improvements, what I look forward to next is new city destinations (which are in store to arrive soon), like Lisbon or Porto, Copenhagen and Lyon, cities I recently planned trips for.
The RueBaRue app, now available on the Apple Store, is free and easy to use. Unlike most apps, no registration or log-in is required to explore or plan a trip.
Disclaimer: I was compensated by RueBaRue in reviewing this app, however all opinions are my own. I use many travel apps, and I genuinely recognize the benefits in this one in making travel planning easier. You can also visit RueBaRue’s website for additional Trip Ideas, including scour through My Secret Places in Paris.
