Trip planner in the browser: what it must do

Not everyone wants another app for a single trip. Storage is full, the company phone does not allow installs, or you simply want to try a planner before committing to it. A planner that runs in the browser solves that: open a web address, start planning, and the same plan is there on your laptop in the evening.

But "works in the browser" is not the same as "works well on a phone in a foreign city". This guide explains what a browser-based trip planner has to do on a phone, how to test it in five minutes, and how YesTrip handles it – including what it cannot do.

The short answer

Look for a planner that does four things in the mobile browser: it opens without signal once loaded, it can be added to the home screen, it keeps your plan and tickets on the device, and its screens are built for a thumb rather than a mouse. YesTrip is built that way. It runs in the browser on phone, tablet and computer at app.yestrip.app; add it to your home screen and it behaves like an app. YesTrip is also available as an app on Google Play for Android and in the App Store for iPhone and iPad. YesTrip is free, and you can try the full app in a demo without signing up.

For a broader comparison of planners, including features like email import, see our comparison of seven AI trip planner apps.

Browser or installed app?

The main advantage of a browser planner is that it costs nothing to try and nothing to leave. The main risk is offline use: a normal website shows an error page without signal. A planner made for travelling has to store itself and your data on the phone – technically this is what a progressive web app (PWA) with a service worker does.

The checklist: what a browser planner must do on a phone

1. Open without signal. Load it once, switch to flight mode, close the tab and open it again. If you see your trip, it works offline. If you see an error page, it will fail you on the metro.
2. Store the plan on the device. Your day plan, addresses and tickets should be on the phone, not only on a server.
3. Offline maps. A plan without a map helps little in an old town. Check whether you can download the map of your destinations, and how big the download is.
4. Add to the home screen. On an iPhone, open the page in Safari, tap the Share button and choose "Add to Home Screen". On Android, open the browser menu in Chrome and choose "Add to Home screen" or "Install app".
5. Thumb-friendly screens. Big buttons, a tab bar at the bottom, nothing that needs hovering with a mouse.
6. A "today" view. On the road you do not want the whole trip, you want the next stop and the way there.
7. Your data, clearly explained. What is stored on the phone, what in an account, and what happens if you clear your browser data?
8. Sign-in that works on a phone. A code by email is easier on a small screen than a long password.

One browser detail worth knowing: Safari on iPhone can delete data that a website has stored once you have used Safari for seven days without interacting with that site. Web apps added to the home screen are not affected in the same way, because they count their own days of use. If you plan in Safari on an iPhone, adding the planner to your home screen is the safer choice – and with an account, your trips are saved there as well.

How YesTrip works in the mobile browser

You open app.yestrip.app, sign in with a code sent by email, with Google or with Apple (no password) and see your trips. The start screen shows the trip that is happening now with its next stop, buttons for a new trip and for ideas ("Where to next?"), your wishlist, upcoming trips with a countdown and your past trips.

Planning works the same as in an app: say where, when and for how long, and the AI suggests a plan day by day with times, short walks and a map. You move, remove and add stops until it fits. How that works in detail is in our guide to planning an itinerary with AI.

Offline package

Your trips and tickets are stored on the device anyway, and without a connection the app keeps working with that data. For the map, the offline package downloads the map, places, photos and routes of one trip to your phone – down to street level, with the light and the dark map. The sheet shows the status, the size and when it was last updated. In the example, the package for four days in Lisbon is 27.6 MB. If you add places after the download, YesTrip tells you to update the package.

The package is made for the places of that one trip, so a round trip goes into one package. More tips on saving maps, tickets and bookings before you leave are in our guide to offline maps for travel.

Base map: Natural Earth

Today view

During the trip, the Today view shows the day of the trip, the weather and the next stop with the time it takes from the previous one. You choose on foot, transit, car or bike, open the route with one tap and mark the stop as done. If rain is likely, it offers to rethink the plan with the AI, and a reminder tells you when it is time to go.

What needs a connection

The AI and the search for flights, hotels and tours need internet. Without signal you can still see your plan, tickets and – with the offline package – the map. If your phone plan does not cover your destination, a travel eSIM is often the cheaper fix; for Portugal there is an eSIM for Portugal^* from Airalo, for example. Our guide to travel eSIMs explains how they work.

Browser or the YesTrip app?

The browser version and the apps use the same account and the same trips, so you can switch at any time. The apps add what a browser cannot do well: reminders that it is time to go arrive even when the app is closed – in the browser only while the tab is open. On Android, the app also scans receipts on the phone, sends push notifications for shared trips and price alerts, takes links and booking emails shared from other apps and shows your next stop in a home screen widget. Use the browser to try YesTrip or to plan on a computer, and install the app for the trip itself. What each app can and cannot do is in our guides to the best free travel planner app for Android and the best free travel planner app for iPhone and iPad.

Five-minute test before you rely on any browser planner

• Plan a short test trip and add one place.
• Add the planner to your home screen and open it from there.
• Download the offline map, if the planner offers one.
• Switch on flight mode and open the planner again from the home screen.
• Check the plan, the map and a ticket. What does not open now will not open abroad either.

What YesTrip is not

YesTrip is a planner, not a travel agency: it shows you the way to the provider but never books for you. It is free and earns a small commission if you book through a partner link; your price stays the same. There is no email import of bookings. And the browser version does not replace your phone's navigation: for turn-by-turn directions you use your maps app.

Lisbon trip planDay by day, with map and tips

* Ad – Partner link: if you book there, we earn a commission. Your price stays the same.