Gathering the motivation to plan a trip either solo or with friends can be a daunting task. Where do you start? Where are the best places to go? What should you see? The questions can start to pile up, and before you know it your planning window has already passed. Destination Salem recently created an app that is compatible with your smart device that helps you to plan and enjoy your trip to Salem Massachusetts.
Where to start?:
Step one is to go into the app store on your phone and download the destination app for free. Once you download the app you can open it up to the home page. The home page is the main landing page for all of your navigations within the app. Before heading out on a trip it is a good idea to research your destination. Users can click on the top three horizontal lines located on the top left corner of the app. At the bottom of the pop-out list is the ‘News, Social, & FAQ’ tab. The news section will show you all of the most recent press releases regarding tourism in the city of Salem, and what updates you should know before traveling to the city. Within the same tab is the FAQ section with various questions and answers that potential visitors can use to answer commonly asked travel questions.
Booking your accommodations:
Once you have done your research on what your destination has to offer the next step is booking your accommodations. In the same pop-out list that you previously used to do research, you will find the ‘STAY’ tab which will bring you to a list of accommodations available in and around Salem MA. You can customize the type of accommodation that you are looking for with the app’s selection of ‘Hotels’, ‘Inns and B&Bs’, and ‘Regional’ categories. After you find a place that you would like to stay you can simply click on the name and scroll down to the website link which will allow you to book your accommodation from a pop-up page within the app. If you want some of your favorites to look at later on, press the gray circle button to the right-hand side of the business name to add them to your ‘My Salem’ tab. You can scroll through your selections when you click on the star that reads ‘Favorite Places’.
Build your itinerary:
So you’ve done your research and you’ve booked your accommodations. Now comes the fun part, building your itinerary! Head over to the ‘Year Round Schedule’ tab to see a full list of events that are happening in Salem. The list is constantly changing with new events that are happening around the city each month. If something catches your eye you can save it to your ‘My Salem’ tab and fill in a full calendar of events that you are interested in going to. Some events will require registration in advance, but the Destination Salem App makes booking your tickets easy. Simply click on the event that you have added to your schedule and select the ‘Learn More’ button. This will create a pop-up within the app that allows you to purchase tickets directly from the event host’s website.
Customize your favorite places:
You can create your very own vision board for your Salem trip through the ‘My Salem’ tab and the ‘Favorite Places” section within that tab. Scroll through accommodations, restaurants, places around town, and shops to add to your ‘Favorite Places’. Click the gray plus icon to the right of a place that you want to add to your favorites and it will automatically be saved for you! You can easily navigate all of your places of interest that you have starred on the app, and make reservations or check out the hours of a location from your ‘Favorite Places’ list. You can also use the starred feature as a way to create a checklist of all of the places that you have been to around town. Once you have visited a destination or tried a restaurant or shop you can add them to your starred locations which will let you know the places you still have to try when scrolling through the app.
Stay in the loop:
The Destination Salem App is a great way to stay in the know about all things that are happening around Salem MA. With push notifications sent to your phone, you will be ahead of the curve when it comes to traffic alerts, event notifications, festival updates, exhibit openings, construction warnings, and so much more! Make sure you go to the notifications settings on your device.
Know where to go:
With the map tab located on the app’s pop-out menu, you can literally ‘Know where to go’ with a map of restrooms around the city, parking, and all of our local restaurants, accommodations, attractions, and places to shop. The map feature allows you to choose from three populated maps with drop pins showing you exactly where things are located. You can zoom both in and out to get a better look at street names, or what is available in a densely populated area. You can select the multicolored pins that are listed on the maps with a pop-up option to see the location’s details or open the address in your maps with directions on how to get to each selected location. You can allow the map to know your location, and see exactly where you are in reference to your surroundings. By pressing the search icon in the bottom right corner you can choose from a list of locations and be directed to where you need to go to reach them.
Now you are ready to go:
Now that you have all of the tools to make your trip a breeze you are ready to enjoy your trip to Salem! You’ve done your research and you have created your itinerary, and we would be app-pauled to hear that you didn’t have a fabulous experience.
Check out the video below to see what it looks like to use our Destination Salem App!
