One of the advantages of meeting friends in the 2000s is being able to use apps to organize group outings.
Whether they are city trips or nearby excursions, dinners or aperitifs, these activities can be planned in every detail thanks to the many tools offered by new technologies.
With the advent of digital technology and thesmartphone era it’s not even important where this planning takes place. You can organize a group outing wherever you are and at any time of day: all you need is an internet connection – wifi or data doesn’t matter – and a phone or laptop.
The apps we’ll talk about are varied and have different purposes and features.
Apps with Maps and Geolocation
First of all, you can use apps that show maps and work through geolocation like Google Maps or, alternatively, Maps.me.
You can use them interchangeably to plan all your movements from one place to another even offline. This is very useful when the data connection signal is absent, weak, or intermittent.
The advice is to use these apps to set (and reach) the location where the group will meet: a restaurant, a square, a monument, or any other spot that is convenient for every member of the group.
Tripadvisor: The Usefulness of Reviews
Tripadvisor is used as a travel app but we also recommend it as an app to prepare a group outing. Why? Tripadvisor’s functions go beyond the needs of a simple trip.
It is the reviews section that you should focus on in this particular case. Thanks to other users’ opinions, you might discover places and venues truly unmissable where you can decide to spend time together.
The same goes for TripIt, a competing app with very similar functions to Tripadvisor. It’s just a matter of choosing which one to use, and you’re set!
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Evernote and Similar: Digital Planners for Smart Outings
Evernote is a very useful app for planning enthusiasts. With it, you can easily and smartly organize anything, from your daily routine to a trip.
For this reason, why not use it to plan a group outing? Like its sister app Notion, Evernote works like areal planner, but all your notes will be digital and interactive: you can add links, photos, videos, voice messages, addresses, and all kinds of information to your notes.
Once you’ve created and filled the file dedicated to your group event , it will become a true content collage. Download it and share it with your friends, so planning becomes a shared effort. This way you’ll also avoid forgetting important details, meeting the needs of everyone.
The Meeters App for Special Group Outings
So far we’ve talked about generic apps to organize group outings from what we could call a logistical point of view. But know that there are also more specific apps that connect people who want to go out in groups but don’t know where to start.
The reasons behind this need for socializing are many, and all valid. Overcoming loneliness, discovering new people and new ways to spend the days… we encourage them all.
Among these apps is the one branded Meeters, which helps you organize not only trips but also local events, evenings, dinners, aperitifs, and pizza nights in good company.
It’s easy to use: first attend a community event, then once you’re back home, smartphone in hand, you can download it (on both iOS and Android) to stay in touch with the people you just met.
The Meeters app resembles a social network: you send a contact or friend request to users you’ve already met in person and through a chat you can start chatting, nurturing relationships to lay the groundwork for new meetings and to organize future group activities.
The app is intuitive and lets you stay informed in real time about all the events and activities organized by Meeters.
Another app that is more mainstream for organizing group meetings and outings is Tinder in its “Social” feature. Similar to Facebook Local, it allows you to meet new people and decide to go out together, going beyond Tinder’s original purpose of finding a partner.
The fact that even this app, originally for romantic interest, has expanded its range of activities really shows that the demand for group socializing, with its never trivial benefits, has increased.
Google Translate for Multicultural Group Outings
We recommend this app as a bonus.
If you’ve decided to organize a “blind” group outing and want to open it to as many participants as possible, including people who speak other languages, we suggest keeping Google Translate
handy. Having a simultaneous translation app will help all participants communicate better
and fully enjoy the meeting. Such a tool is also useful when your group decides to eat at a foreign cuisine restaurant in case the menu
is written in a language not well known, to avoid surprises in case of intolerances or allergies.