Reddit, video games and other unexpected tools savvy travellers are using to plan and enhance their trips

Travel

Tired of big-name, spammy travel apps? There’s a world of inspiration out there if you look in odd places.

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18 Jul 2026 07:01AM

Are we living in a golden age of travel-enhancing software, or a nightmarish low ebb? As a frequent flyer who has unironically called myself a "wanderluster" more than once, I’m on the fence. On the one hand, there’s never been a broader haul of well-known apps and platforms to help make our journey smoother. Whether you’re planning a journey or already on the road, there’s thousands of translators, 3D maps and ticket-price comparison hubs on offer.

But many of those established players, the ones that started out so innovative, simple and free, have dropped the ball. Pop-up ads, spambots, fake reviews and paywalls are rife. Algorithms on trip comparison sites or social media often push sponsored posts or viral attractions, leaving true off-the-beaten path destinations harder to find.

What’s a wanderluster to do? Luckily, there’s a spate of surprising games, apps and widgets waiting in the wings. You just need to look beyond the obvious.

DON'T ASK CHATBOTS – ASK NERDS

A confession: I used to avoid Reddit, as I thought it was an unflashy gathering place for nerdy forums. Spoiler alert: that’s exactly what it is. And it’s brilliant. You just have to find the right subreddit. There are thousands on offer, each more specific than the last, with their own dedicated community.

And it turns out conversations here are warm, authentic and hugely useful. When I asked one subreddit for recommendations (“Where’s the best martini in Tokyo?”) a user replied effusively with their favourite spots, complete with bar addresses, dress codes, table charges and links. When I asked the same question on other social platforms, I was met with one-line replies, spam or silence.

The surprising exception is LinkedIn, which has evolved to be about much more than corporate humblebrags. As business travel rebounds and evolves post-COVID, it’s turned into an intriguing, heartfelt platform where people share interesting journeys, hints about cultural etiquette and curated links to eye-opening travel articles.

LOSE YOURSELF IN IMMERSIVE GAMES

Some people get inspired to visit a new place from obvious media, like travel shows. Juliana Lee, a real estate agent, traces her love of visiting Japan to a more interactive arena: racing video games. Specifically, Need For Speed: Tokyo Nights.

“You can drift through the night street scenes of Tokyo at Shibuya with your customised GTR,” she laughed. “Recently my boys have been playing Gran Turismo 7. It has beautiful Mount Fuji and Tokyo highway scenes.” Those immersive, neon-soaked backdrops became must-visit sites when her family recently flew from Singapore to Japan.

Passing those spots in real life became a great bonding experience, and something to look forward to. “When we were cruising by the actual scenes, my kids were excitedly saying ‘Oh, we drove here in the game!’” Plus, she said, on one ride, “I happened to take the hairpins of one of the game routes, which was super cool.”

GET LOST TO FIND NEW INSPIRATION

At a time when so much travel content is filtered to within an inch of its life, unpolished media feels more valuable than ever, and an authentic way to see what cities are truly like. Adding a dash of the treasure hunt into that mix is GeoGuessr, a lo-fi game that incorporates Google Maps Street View.

The premise is simple: You’re dropped on a spot somewhere on earth, minus any tabs revealing where you are. Your task is to click around the random plaza, highway rest stop or cobblestoned street, then guess your location.

Apart from being fiendishly addictive, the game is a fruitful gateway to considering destinations that would never have crossed your mind, from Kazakhstan to Kentucky’s Big Bone Lick, a state park so named for its treasure trove of mammoth bones. (Nineteenth century explorers Lewis and Clark even stopped off there to pick up fossils for President Jefferson; a fact I only know because I went down a rabbit hole after exploring the park on Geoguessr.)

DITCH CLASSIC TRAVEL APPAREL FOR ONLINE INNOVATORS

The best purchase my wife and I ever made was found on a random scrawl through crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. We just call it "The Jacket". Real name: the Baubax. Lightweight and warm, yet bristling with 15 innovative features including an eye mask integrated into the hood, hidden compartments, and pocket handwarmers, it’s come with us to every cold-weather destination. And it delivered to our house for a far cheaper price than big-name brands offering half the components.

My wife, Erin, is a big fan. “I love the built-in stylus pen hidden in the zip; perfect for when you have to scribble your details on an airplane boarding card. There’s also gloves hidden in the ends of the sleeves. All these nifty add-ons mean you don’t have to pack as much heavy stuff in your luggage: it’s right there in the jacket," she says.

Lesson learned: head to Kickstarter for your next gift to a travel-lover. It’s where the real innovators are lurking.

FIND HIDDEN FEATURES IN BIG APPS

Nic Blais, a marketing manager, likes bringing games with him when he travels, "for the boring parts". And one particular source he turns to, surprisingly, is Netflix.

“You can download amazing full-fledged mobile games that work offline through the app. I was playing Civilisation V (a strategy game) on my phone on the endless flight from Singapore to Canada,” he said.

Don’t like the existing games out there? Create your own. That’s what Alex Boulton, a consulting executive and father, does. “I made a children’s word search game using ChatGPT. I built it to keep the kids entertained, during airport waits and flight delays, with something interactive, versus relying on YouTube,” he said.

Just make sure you input a detailed prompt, so you generate something worth playing, he shared. His included details like “build a polished, mobile-friendly kids word search app themed around movies. Use a bright, playful design … include a hint button, progress tracking, encouraging feedback, and a celebratory win screen.” Hey presto, the kids have a new favourite educational past-time, created by someone who knows exactly what they’ll like.

LOSE YOURSELF IN MEMORY WIDGETS

Call me sentimental, but the best spur to plan your next holiday is getting nostalgic about journeys from years ago. But who has time to look through old photo albums, even digital ones?

That’s why I love simplistic features like Facebook Memories (the only reason I use Facebook anymore) and Apple Photos’ self-curated albums. Almost every week, I’m prompted to scroll through memory lane. In minutes, I’m getting misty-eyed over old backpacking expeditions in Ecuador or languid meals in Lyon’s Old Town. More often than not, I end up muttering to my wife, “Honey, isn’t it time we go back to…?”

Source: CNA/sr