Is it harder to make a plan or to follow it? When you're a frequent traveler, you want both steps to be as easy as possible. Smartphones and laptops have made keeping track of your itinerary simpler, but sometimes a printed flight plan, calendar, and schedule of meetings are not enough to make sure you are where you need to be on time. For a business trip, you need to know where your gate is and if your flight is delayed. You need to know where your hotel is located and where you can pick up a rental car. In short, you need to know every aspect of your trip in order to ensure it will move along smoothly.

There are many Web sites and applications available for business travelers who need their travel information all in one place. They will help you map out your trip from start to finish, and some will provide alerts when something doesn’t go according to plan and offer alternatives. We examined three solutions for travelers that provide different options but have the same goal: to make your trip a successful one.

Traxo is a free Web site that is focused on creating a trip using multiple itineraries and sharing it with others. When you create your account, you can add which airlines, agencies, hotels, transportation options, and other sites you want to add to your profile. Traxo will automatically upload information from these sites and add it to your trip. You can also upload trips manually if you prefer. Trip information can also be uploaded to your calendar of choice, such as Microsoft Outlook. Your membership page on Traxo.com is a personalized hub that shows your upcoming trips, alerts, and more.

Travel Buddies are a large part of Traxo, and the aim of the system is to create chance encounters between friends. You can search for friends via your Yahoo!, Gmail, or other email account, as well as use Facebook (www.facebook.com), which is integrated into the site. Once you’ve compiled a group of friends and set your privacy settings so that they can view your information, you’ll be able to share your trip with them on the Web site or on Facebook.

After you’ve finished planning the trip, you’ll receive email alerts from Traxo whenever a change is detected. You can set the frequency and type of alerts that are sent to you by adjusting the settings in your profile. When you’re done flying, you can keep track of your travel points and miles and use them to plan your next trip. Note that this site is in beta testing phase and so there may be bugs. If you run into one or have any suggestions, you can simply click Feedback at the top of the page and fill out the online form.