KAYAK Flights Hotels Rental Cars Flight Tracker Status Ultimate Travel Planner

CNET Editors' review

by: Jason Parker on January 12, 2011

There are a great number of travel Web sites on the Internet that let you search flights, hotel listings, and car rentals, but if you want a quick way to get that info while on the go, check out the new Kayak for iPhone app. Though Kayak has been around for some time, the latest version for iPhone includes a completely redesigned interface and faster search results making it much easier to get your travel plans in order quickly. Like the older version, Kayak works seamlessly with the Kayak.com Web site.

Instead of the older tilelike interface, Kayak has instead gone with a list view in this version that makes it easy to browse flights, hotels, and car rentals. Once you choose the type of info you want, you can enter your travel dates and Kayak goes to work finding you the best deals. As Kayak searches sites, it presents you with a progress bar and updates flights as they come in.

Beyond regular travel searches, Kayak also offers extras like the My Trips section where you can keep all your travel info (flights, hotels, car rentals, etc.) for a specific trip in one place. You also get a Flight Tracker so you can check early to make sure your flight will be on time. Our favorite feature might be the Price Alerts, which uses a specified search and sends you price alerts every week via push notifications so you can hunt down the best deals over time.

Kayak comes with several other useful tools for more info, like baggage fees for specific airlines, airport information, and even a place where you create a checklist of what to pack (with premade general lists you can use) for your vacation or business trip.

Anyone who travels for business or just wants to check prices for various vacation destinations around the globe should check out this latest version. With a streamlined interface and faster searches, Kayak is definitely one of the better travel apps at the iTunes App Store.