iOS App of the Day: Yahoo! TimeTraveler

Have you ever traveled somewhere but only had a day to tour a city? What happens if you only have a few short hours? Prime example, I have a trip planned to Chicago and I have exactly four hours to kill. I complained to a friend about how I was going to have to either wander the streets of Chicago aimlessly or cough up the money to buy a guide book. Luckily, that same friend turned me on to the Yahoo! TimeTraveler app and within moments of downloading it I was hooked.

This app allows you to select a destination, choose a start and end time, and then the app takes over to map out a perfectly timed adventure. In just seconds you have a full itinerary of exciting things to visit and see. The best part about TimeTraveler is that you now know exactly how much time you have to spend at each sport in order to maximize your limited time. If you’ve got a planned trip coming up to any of the app’s supported cities, then this app will make the ideal travel companion.

Pros:

• Generates optimized trip plan based on user input including destination and start/end time
• Trip duration options from 1 hour to 10 hours
• Integrated map support with routing and directions
• Ability to generate multiple trip plans for one or more cities
• User can see how much time to spend at each point
• Save trips
• Ability to share trip plan via email, Facebook and Twitter

Cons:

• Only 29 cities are supported
• You will have to double-check to make sure hours of operation work for the day and time you select your trip
• Some destinations are out dated

How it works:

• Download the app
• Turn on your location settings on your device before starting
• Take tutorial
• Select a destination
• Select a start and end point
• To select a star and end point use the map or search for a location by name
• Set a duration time (1hour to 10 hours)
• Use the menu to perform actions like search, save, share, and edit
• App will create a time-based tour for you
• Check and confirm hours of each destination before proceeding to destination
• Start exploring on your adventure
• If trip is for a future date you can save it for viewing later
• Share trip on Facebook or Twitter

Conclusion:

I will now use the TimeTraveler app each time I stop in a new city or pass through an area where I need to maximize a limited amount of time. The app’s interface and helpful tutorial make the service a breeze to use and I love that the app takes all the stress out of planning day trips. I have been able to see an eclectic mixture of historic landmarks, parks, and museums across my travels and have never had to worry about wasting time or getting myself lost. TimeTravel is the perfect travel app for anyone who has a short amount of time, in an unfamiliar city, and doesn’t want to rely on a travel book.

Yahoo! TimeTraveler app is available for free in the iTunes Store. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.0 or later. iTunes Link

This is part of our iOS App of the Day series. We take our favorite app for iOS for each day and post it here for you to check out. Feel free to check out all of our App of the Day posts here.