The warm weather and long summer days offer the perfect opportunity to take a break from the daily grind. Ironically though, many find vacation planning to be a source of stress.

Figuring out where to go and affordable ways of getting there doesn’t have to be a headache. BlackBerry recommends leveraging the right technology and strategy to help you focus on enjoying the time off with family and friends in a productive and memorable way.

Here are some simple tips from the productivity experts at BlackBerry to help you navigate this summer’s adventure:

• Expect the unexpected: In 2013, 58 percent of travelers surveyed by AAA ranked “unexpected expenses” as their top vacation frustration.

Keep your travel budget in check by downloading the right tools in advance: airline-specific smartphone apps provide specific baggage guidelines, expense tracker apps such as My Budget Tracker or Expense Manager keep expenses organized, and travel booking and management apps help you stay on top of the best booking deals. More information about apps that are useful for travel can be found at Appworld.BlackBerry.com.

• Keep kids occupied: Thanks to the long battery life of today’s mobile devices, keeping kids entertained during travel is a lot easier than it once was. Even the days of crying during a longer flight can be gone: You can now use some personal electronic devices during takeoff and landing. Certain airlines even offer gate-to-gate WiFi.

• Ditch the accordion file folder: We live in a time where tickets, schedules, local recommendations and memos can be stored on your mobile device.

Give your printer and the planet a break and use your device’s native pass keeper app to manage boarding passes and ticket show stubs.

• On-the-go recommendations: In unknown territory, location-based apps can quickly get you up to speed on what’s good locally. Don’t know where to book dinner? Ask Yelp Restaurant Finder, WhereIs or Nearest Locator. Find a restaurant that looks good? Download and log onto Open Table to make reservations at the best eateries around you.

• Capture memories: As you’re navigating your days, flag specific photos in your camera roll to easily identify the best shots or to create a themed collage later.

Camera features on mobile technology can help you take better photos and get the angle just right, relieving the need for an extra camera.

To get the whole story, download a movie-making app, such as BlackBerry StoryMaker, to easily polish phone-filmed travel shorts for social sharing.

• Balance work and play: If work must make a cameo on vacation, try connecting with your team without lugging your laptop. Smartphones allow you to easily save and share files, video chat and screen share, so collaborating is as natural as if you were in the same room.

Take advantage of intuitive features like BlackBerry Balance, so that you can securely send emails to colleagues, while ensuring you still have your personal space to share memories across your social channels.

Use your technology to assist you with planning and enjoying your vacation, for happier summer travels.

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