More than ever, it seems that a trip to a far off destination isn't complete unless you've logged into Facebook everyday in order to tell all your friends and family back home of what a great time you're having without them.

However, thanks to an update to the Expedia Facebook app - Tripcompanion - you at least have a travel-based reason to log in, which will hopefully make your time abroad a breeze as well as all the prep that goes with it.

Expedia TripCompanion

Format

Facebook

Price

Free

Where

Facebook

The latest major upgrade to the Expedia TripCompanion service comes off the back of some extensive consumer feedback and "interaction insights", and builds on existing features within the existing app offering increased customisation and targeted information, along with a greater focus on functionality that'll be useful during your trip.

The new app maintains a lot of the content from the original version and continues to offer all that pre-trip goodness of currency conversion, weather information and countdown timer. However the new and improved version gets some swanky new features that you're bound to find super-useful.

So what's new?

Well you if you've failed to equip yourself with a relevant travel book the new Tripadvisor geocode with Google Maps dishes out mapping functionality that allows you to view points of interest around your destination, and if you don't want to be bombarded with suggestions there's also a filter so you get only the stuff you're interested in.

And it wouldn't be a Facebook app if it didn't have a "like" function so you can share activities or points of interest with networks and gather feedback.

However, perhaps the most interesting change is a new flexible back-end system which will enable Expedia to work with a number of third party content providers in order to come up with more targeted in-trip suggestions based on the traveller‘s location.

The app is available in the UK now, although France, Germany and Italy will have to wait up to 6 weeks for the new functions.