Our US trip helpers (apps/services)

I am writing while we wait for our flight to Istanbul. It is the end of our month-long US trip. I want to list a few apps or services I used during the trip. Nothing too unfamiliar, though!

I thank Booking.com. As you might know, Booking.com is not very useful for Turkish users in Turkey. There are some government-imposed restrictions. However, it is always my first place to look for accommodation. What is new for me is that I could also rent a car or book a flight! I haven’t used the attractions sections, but you can find other travel services there. In a few cases, my Turkish Mastercard credit card wasn’t accepted for online shopping (i.e., Spirit Airlines website), and that’s why I ended up using Booking.com for kind of booking.

Spirit Airlines. Despite its low-cost status, all our flights went well, and boarding always went smoothly! I cannot say the same for another low-cost service: Thrifty. If you are not careful, they will overcharge you, you will wait literally for hours to get your car, and their car may not be well-kept. We had a flat tire accident in the middle of the highway between SF and LA, which would have fatal consequences! I paid more and tried Budget, and their service was great!

I have recommended Perplexity a few times before. But this time, I asked the most tip-yielding questions:

between Washington DC and Pittsburgh would you recommend a steakhouse or a grill place to stop by in the middle of the road trip?

or

where can I find printed newspapers in Hampton, Vi?

TripAdvisor proves itself to be a reliable service, and the locals have also approved some of its local restaurant recommendations.

Can you live without Google Maps’ navigational services? I could not reach level 9 as a local guide yet, and I could not unpin as many places as I wanted, but it was still a tool I could not do without!

Well, it is the end. I believe this trip will be memorable despite many friends and places we could not see. I mostly tracked where I had been before. This time with Sinem as we start the rest of our lives together back in Istanbul.