This Genius App Will Organize All Your Vacation Photos

"Imagine that next time you drive to the airport, you don't have to pay for parking and at the end of your trip your car will be returned to you freshly cleaned." FlightCar CEO Rujul Zaparde sure got my attention when he posed that travel scenario to me the other day. If you’re like me, one of the most stressful parts of air travel is the drive to the airport, the hassle of finding long-term parking, the inevitable-yet-somehow-always-shocking expense, and the prospect of having to do the whole thing again after the return trip. FlightCar, launched by Zaparde in 2013, is taking the sting out of airport parking and sweetening the prospect of renting a car (when was the last time you actually looked forward to picking up a rental car?). Inspired in part by sharing-economy models such as Airbnb, FlightCar makes sharing cars more convenient than you might have thought possible, adding up to a win-win for both car owners and car renters: Car owners save on parking fees and even make a little extra money. Instead of parking your car at the airport when you fly, FlightCar allows you to list your car online in advance of an upcoming trip. Travelers planning to visit your town can browse listings and book your car. Instead of parking at the airport, you drop off your car at a FlightCar station, where staff shuttle you on a quick ride to the airport. For each day that a visitor to your town rents your car, you’ll receive some money. At the end of your trip, you’ll return to a clean car with a full tank of gas. Car renters get a way cooler set of wheels. Prospective car renters can see what type of vehicles are available that match their dates of travel and their needs, and they enjoy a unique car for their visit. Renters can contact FlightCar at any point for assistance, and when it's time to return the car to a FlightCar station before the flight home, renters get a quick shuttle ride to the airport. On top of the potential savings, I’m impressed by how FlightCar has been relentlessly improving its already efficient and enjoyable customer experience by building a sharing community online, taking customer questions and suggestions seriously, and offering clear and transparent information on pricing, insurance, and rental policies. And the FlightCar app, available for iOS and Android, offers its own seamless, intuitive experience. FlightCar is currently available at 12 major U.S. airports, including Newark, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and others, with more coming soon. Learn more (and take the FlightCar app for a spin!) at FlightCar.com.

Now this is the kind of study we love: The Application Resource Center, an editorial and research arm of the app quality and testing company Applause, analyzed close to 3 million app store reviews of 122 travel apps and crunched the numbers based on user feedback. One travel-booking app blew the competition out of the water: Booking.com. With a score of 84 on a scale of 1 to 100, Booking.com rated high across the board for quality—higher than the other booking apps, but also higher than apps in more specific categories like drive (Uber, Lyft, etc.), fly, and stay. What's important about the booking category, though, is that it's the most highly used category, meaning you're more likely to tap on a booking app than, say, a cruise app. Why do users find Booking.com's app so great? It all boils down to ease of use and "does it work?"—especially in real-world conditions around the globe. Applause's digital experience analyst, Ben Gray, says the app offers "unparalleled choice, offline maps, exploration features, seamless switching across devices, auto-filled forms, and more. Booking.com's Android and iOS customers love how stable their apps perform, how richly its content is presented, and how elegantly designed their experiences are." Here are the rest of the winners and losers, by category: Book Best-rated: Booking.com Worst-rated: Travelocity Cruise Best-rated: Cruise.com Worst-rated: Royal Caribbean International Drive Best-rated: Hailo Worst-rated: Budget Explore Best-rated: GasBuddy Worst-rated: Zagat Fly Best-rated: Alaska Airlines Worst-rated: Aer Lingus Navigate Best-rated: Citymapper Worst-rated: GPS Navigation & Maps by Cygic Ride Best-rated: Rail Planner by Eurail Group Worst-rated: Amtrak Stay Best-rated: Hilton Worst-rated: Hyatt

We’ve all been there: You’re exhausted after a long flight and can’t wait to get home, but someone just stole your Uber at the airport and the taxi line is a mile long. So what’s a traveler to do? Book with Wingz. The new startup exclusively provides scheduled airport rides. Whether you opt to book on their site or through their Android or iPhone apps, it only takes a few seconds to schedule your ride, so there’s never any waiting time before or after your flight. And unlike other ride sharing companies, there are never any surge charges, so you’re guaranteed the flat price quote when you book regardless of the weather or traffic. You can even choose a favorite driver or car.  Wingz has more than 20,000 active customers and thousands of local drivers, who are all vetted with a background check, trained, and provided with a $1 million insurance policy, plus all vehicles are professionally inspected. Payment is processed online or through the apps.  Wingz is currently servicing most major airports across the western U.S., but thanks to an $11 million investment—Expedia is a backer—they’ll eventually go nationwide, giving you one less thing to stress about on your next trip.  

Trend alert! Just in time for National Park Week (admission to every park is free right now through Sunday, April 24), we've become obsessed with the on-trend national parks–themed clothing, jewelry, and outdoor gear from Parks Project (from $10, parksproject.us). The organization organizes park volunteer days and donates proceeds from every item sold to initiatives like habitat and trail restoration, animal conservation, and educational services in the parks. Need help deciding which one to visit? Read BT's Which National Park Is Best For You? or go to FindYourPark.com. Not only is the Parks Project's made-in-the-U.S. gear vintage cool, but its causes correspond with the park the clothing depicts: Pick a graffiti-style T-shirt featuring a benevolent Bigfoot in Yellowstone, Great Smoky Mountains, and Sequoia, and proceeds go toward planting trees, maintaining trails, and protecting animals in those parks. Same deal if you buy this women's racerback tank top emblazoned with an iconic, sun-soaked Joshua Tree in Joshua Tree National Park: Money from the sale will help the Parks Project plant two Joshua Trees, a species facing challenges due to a recent drought brought on by climate change. Another favorite: This Big Sur National Park tee, designed by psychedelic-pop artist Steven Harrington. A portion of proceeds help support art programs at the park's Henry Miller Memorial Library Arts Center. The Parks Project's motto is Healthy Parks Make Healthy People. We couldn't agree more.