Travel the world with Windows Phone 8 on Bing Travel Beta

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page," says Augustine of Hippo. A Windows Phone 8 app that may help you read more pages from that book and help you travel is Bing Travel Beta. It has just been released at the Windows Phone Store. The travel app provides you with destination guides, user travel photos, reviews, daily trip ideas, hotel listings and much more.

Bing Travel Beta is a very attractive app. There are photos everywhere. The first thing you see when you open the app is the Top Stories section. One of ten photos is displayed. Click on the photo for more details. Swipe left or right to see the other photos.

Another great section on this app is the trip ideas. With interesting topics like, “10 iconic dishes and where to eat them” and “5 free things in Milan,” you probably want to keep checking for more.

Enable location services for Bing Travel Beta, so they can have more specific recommendations. For example, the destinations section recommends several places near New York. Each destination displays a summary syndicated from Frommer’s, traveler photos, attractions, restaurants, and hotels. Prices for hotel rooms are displayed by the app, grabbing rates from services like Booking, Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia, and more. Click on the rate you like and the web browser opens for you to continue the booking on that particular site.

If there’s a destination you really like, you can add it to the favorites section by clicking the star button at the bottom. There’s also an option to pin them to the home screen.

Bing Travel Beta also includes a general travel news section. This includes articles from Reuters, Associated Press, The New York Times, and more.

Bing Travel Beta is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments!

Thanks for the tip, Stu M.!

Mark Guim

Mark Guim is Video Editor at Windows Central. He switched to Windows because the MacBook Pro isn't Pro enough. You can follow him on Twitter at @markguim.