Can Hopper Help YOUR Travel Dreams Come True?

This article was written by Sia Ling Xin, who travels and writes about it for Asiarooms.com, a blog and online community focused on travelling in Asia. You can also find her on Twitter. The modern traveller knows there is no need to carry various maps, train schedules, and a hefty guidebook. After all, there are a whole host of mobile phone applications that cater to just about every possible scenario. And Singapore may just be the perfect place to start practicing your techy-traveller skills. The government alone has pushed out 1600 WIFI hotspots so far, and just a few weeks ago, a dedicated WIFI zone was launched in tourist hotspot Chinatown. If you're planning a visit to Singapore, check out these five free apps that are bound to help you out. HungryGoWhereThe name of this app, a lexicon of Singlish, means 'where should you go when you're hungry?' You can search by location, cuisine type, name of restaurant, or for different occasions. It includes everything from Michelin restaurants to hawker centres, and even various branches of chain restaurants can be found. Simply look at the overall number of stars each establishment has, and counter-check against reviews left by those who have patronized the place. A good gauge is to see how the recent reviews make the place out to be—a 4-star restaurant that suffered a drop in standards in recent months might not have its overall ranking pulled down yet, or a 3-star café that revived its menu might be gaining a following but is still affected by older reviews. Their app also collects information from diners on how much they spent and the must-tries in the restaurant, so it is easy to budget and plan your order. Whether you are intent on planning your gastronomy adventure and making reservations in advance, or just making a last minute search for a highly recommended dinner place, this app will come in handy. AsiaRoomsIf you're the sort of person who hunts for hotel deals while on the go, check out the AsiaRooms app, which recently made the Apple App Store's list of 'Best New Apps.' Doing important research on your mobile device can be tricky, but the updated app makes checking hotel reviews and prices a breeze. No matter if you are on a squeezy morning bus on the way to work, or boarding the plane for a spontaneous getaway, the app is designed for the busy, multi-tasking traveller who also wants a great hotel room. Spontaneous souls can score great last minute hotels; early birds can kick-start their vacation excitement by booking hotel rooms up to a year in advance, especially with the 'book-now-pay-later' feature. The instant confirmation also really comes in handy if there is a deal you want to snap up. GoThere.sgA common traveller fear is getting lost. Sometimes, all the online research and all the maps you consult still leave you baffled. GoThere.sg is shows you the various ways to get to your destination (a train then a bus, or a bus then a walk, etc.), the journey time, and costs. It even prompts you to just walk to your destination if it's just a short distance away. IrisIris is the acronym for Intelligent Route Information System. Essentially, it tracks the arrival timings, routes, and operating hours of buses under one of Singapore's two major bus service providers, SBS Transit—easily identifiable by the red and white bus exteriors. The app is useful for instances when you have a choice of two or more buses to take, as it allows you to check which one will arrive first. It also shows you the itinerary of bus stops, so it's handy when you are counting stops and need a guide. In the event of any delays, the app also sends a notification on the cause and how long the wait is expected to be. Taxi BookingYou can always call for a taxi in Singapore, but the insider tip is to use the Taxi Booking app, which is much faster. A traveller caught in the rain trying desperately to grab a taxi so he can make his flight would be better off booking through the app. Simply enter your mobile number and pick-up point. If you are not sure where exactly you are, there is always the 'location services' option which can detect your location. The app will give you the license plate number, location, and estimated time of arrival of your taxi once a booking is successfully made, so you can track the progress of your taxi. Hailing a cab this way is usually faster than over the phone, as there is no need to wait for a free operator to pick up the call. It is a godsend for peak hours or rainy days, which often see a half an hour wait before hotline operators to get to your call. Tip: the standard booking charge, same as if you were to book over the phone, applies.

I am a worrier. There's a little voice in my head that whispers sweet nothings like, "Who is going to want to read America's Most Awesome Boardwalks?" and "What if nobody votes for America's Coolest Small Town this year?" And I'm happy to report that my "worry voice" is almost always wrong. (In fact, I sometimes tell it to shut up.) But when that little voice says, "Yikes! Summer is only five months away and you haven't booked your vacation yet??" it is actually spot on. Our friends over at FlipKey gave us a surprising heads-up the other day: Vacation rentals for June, July, and August 2014 are already filling up. According to FlipKey (a vacation rental marketplace owned by TripAdvisor that has more than 240,000 listings in more than 12,000 locations worldwide), more than 90,000 rental requests have been made on properties for summer 2014. A full 30 percent of FlipKey's properties have received at least one summer 2014 request. While I'd never suggest that this news—or anything we report here—put you in a panic, I will suggest that now is an excellent time to start browsing vacation rentals and other summer options. We'll do our part by sharing more early-bird advice on summer 2014 here over the next few weeks. In the meantime, it might interest you to know that FlipKey's three most popular summer 2014 vacation spots so far are: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Ocean City, MD; and Myrtle Beach, SC. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start my summer planning right about now…

You know, I didn't need one more reason to love JetBlue. With JetBlue's comfy seats, ample in-flight amenities and entertainment, and reasonable fares, what's not to love? When my wife and kids and I recently flew from New York to San Francisco, JetBlue treated us so well you'd think the staff and flight crew knew I was the executive editor of Budget Travel (they didn't). I suppose that's one reason we included JetBlue in our 12 Best Budget Airlines story! But now, there's even more to love: JetBlue announced last week that it is rolling out TrueBlue Family Pooling as part of its TrueBlue loyalty program. Yes, it's as good as it sounds: JetBlue is now the first U.S. carrier to allow families and other small groups to earn and use points as a group for no extra charge. Here's how it works: visit TrueBlue Family Pooling and set up your "family"—up to two adults over the age of 21 (including married couples, same-sex couples, relatives, or friends!) and up to five children under 21. You can then choose whether to pool 100 percent of each flier's points or as little as 10 percent. A designated "head of household" is responsible for redeeming points from the family account. Award flights start at 5,000 points (plus taxes/fees) with no blackout dates, and loyalty points don't expire. JetBlue's director of loyalty marketing and partnerships, Dave Canty, noted in a press release that TrueBlue "rewards all of our customers, regardless of their frequency." TrueBlue is a free loyalty program allowing members to use points for any seat on any JetBlue-operated flight with no blackout or expiration dates. Participants can also earn points via JetBlue's social media platforms, adding an element of gaming and fun that travelers have, in the past, rarely associated with an airline. At Budget Travel, we applaud JetBlue's efforts to make travel more accessible to families—and for its inclusiveness!

Whether you've got your heart set on carving a turkey with family on the other side of the continent or just popping down to Key West to raise a glass to the setting sun, it's time to start thinking about holiday travel. And I'm pleased to introduce you to your new holiday travel best friend: CheapAir's Holiday Cheap Flights Index. Tracking more than 11,000 airfares every day, the index cuts through the clutter and allows you to pinpoint the most affordable flights. As you've probably noticed in years past, holiday airfares in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas do a lot of yo-yoing. That can be confusing, frustrating, and downright off-putting to even the most seasoned traveler. "Our goal is to give travelers the data and knowledge they need to find the most affordable flights," says Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir. I think what I like best about the Index is that it turns those fare fluctuations into an asset for fliers: For instance, since the Index began tracking holiday fares on May 22, fares rose steadily until mid-July, then fell dramatically in the first two weeks of August. That amounted to about a 6 percent average discount on the peak fares of mid-July, translating into a savings of more than $100 for a family of four. You can also find out which holiday travel days around Thanksgiving and Christmas will be the busiest and least busy, which typically correlate with high and low fares. (For example, CheapAir is already predicting that you can save big by flying home from Thanksgiving on either November 30 or December 2 instead of December 1, the busiest travel day. January 5 also promises to be a crazy-busy, and expensive, travel day.) Still nervous about booking holiday travel in September? CheapAir's Price Drop Payback credits customers up to $100 per ticket in the event that a fare drops after tickets are bought.