5 Android Apps that Make Thanksgiving Travel Suck Less

I’m not going to sugar coat it for you.  I’m not going to try to convince you, or “Jedi mind trick” you into thinking that this Thanksgiving is going to be any better than the last one.  It is gonna’ be stressful.  Thanksgiving travel is one of the most painful things I do every year.  Think about it…

You have to travel (with or without family and kids) during some of the most hectic and busiest times of the year and you won’t actually enjoy the holiday until you’re sitting down eating.  Then you have to travel back to where you came from…  Yeah, it’s going to suck again this year.

The least I can do is give you my picks for a little less travel stress and the Android apps that I’m going to be using to do it.

5 Apps to Make Thanksgiving Travel Suck Less

Kayak (FREE)  You may be familiar with the Kayak commercials and the “search one and done” slogan they like to use.  You can search all the big online booking services all at once.  What’s the big benefit?  Instead of downloading multiple apps or searching multiple websites online, you can use the Kayak Android App to compare flight, hotel and car rental prices right on one screen on your Android Tablet or phone.  It’s a little late in the game right now, but you can also use Kayak to help predict the best time to purchase US domestic flights.  Oh, and you can track flight statuses via Kayak as well…

Flight Track ($4.99) Yeah, Kayak can track flights but when it comes to the best flight tracker on the Android Market then this little baby is worth its weight in gold.  There is a FREE version of the app but this premium paid version will be worth the $5 you pay to download it if you run into holiday travel trouble.  If you run into delays and cancellations Flight Track will help you find alternative flights and routes from over 16,000 airports.  You’ll also get a home screen widget and SeatGuru service with the premium version.

Hotel Tonight (FREE) Ever been stuck in an airport over night or for ultra-long delays and had to rest your head on an airport seat bench?  Better yet, how about on an airport carpet with your head supported by your carry on?  I have…and it sucks.  With Hotel Tonight for Android you’ll never have to rest uncomfortably again.  You can use the app to search for great hotel deals in the area you’re in (or going to!) and book all the way up until 2 a.m.  And, it’s now international.  If you’re coming from across the pond then you can find hotel deals in London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Liverpool.  BONUS:  Find Hotel Tonight on Google Play and download for $25 off your first booking!  Promo Code:  TONIGHT

Pandora Radio (FREE)  There are a lot of free music apps out there on the Android Market, but I will continue to push Pandora Radio at Android Market Central.  When you’re on long trips by bus, car, plane or train you can pop the headphones in and listen to some music.  The app is clean and allows you to create a vast play list of stations.  Some people complain about the ads but what’s the holiday season without being inundated with commercials, right?  Seriously, though, you can spring and pay for ad free listening but I don’t think it’s necessary.  Create a bunch of stations on this app and you can get almost anything that you want to listen to, when you want to listen to it.

TV Food Maps (FREE)  I’m throwing this one as number 5 to have a little fun.  In many cases, the Thanksgiving holiday is a time that you’ll be brining family and friends to your “home town” for the first time and you may be spending an extra day or two in the area.  What better way to show them a great time by bringing them to eat at restaurants and eateries that were made famous by the likes of the Food Network?  Food and travel shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Man v. Food, Best Thing I Ever Ate, No Reservations and more.  Even if you’re not brining people home with you, it’s a fun way to explore the area alone!