When traveling to a new city, it’s always fun to engage in the local culture. Sometimes that means visiting a museum and learning about the Native Americans or early settlers.
Other times that means attending a local festival. For foodies and those who love to try various alcoholic beverages, that means finding Happy Hours.
Let’s discover a few simple ways you can use Happy Hour apps to find the best spots to grab a drink in your area.
What Is Happy Hour in the USA?
In the United States, the phrase “Happy Hour” is found in song lyrics, books, movies, and more. It means a time to relax after the work day. Typically, Happy Hours run from 4 pm to 8 pm on weekdays, but some restaurants and bars offer different times. The afternoons before the dinner rush from 3 pm to 6 pm is another popular time frame.
In the 1920s, a ‘Happy Hour’ was when sailors would participate in recreational activities to keep themselves entertained. More recently, during Prohibition, speakeasies hosted ‘cocktail hours’ so guests could drink before going to a restaurant. So Happy Hours have been happening countrywide for a hundred years.
How Do You Find a Happy Hour in America?
If part of your love for travel stems from savoring local cuisines and relaxing at a brewery or winery, you probably love finding hidden gems. Sometimes they’re hole-in-the-wall shacks in a coastal community or warehouses in forests. Other times they’re hot destinations with high ratings on TripAdvisor or Yelp.
When searching for these unique places, it can be challenging to find Happy Hours without going to every website and browsing specials or menu items. The good news is that several Happy Hour apps help make the search easy so that you can enjoy a fun evening out. Instead of worrying or spending much time looking, you can pull up an app, find a location near you, and be on your way.
Pro Tip: Want to get the happy hour started while still on the road? We uncovered Can RV Passengers Drink Alcohol While It’s Moving?
The Best Happy Hour Apps
Below are six Happy Hour apps that can replace the time spent scrolling through websites. You’ll also find live music, trivia nights, and other fun events. Additionally, they have pet-friendly information.
Appy Hour
About: If you’re traveling to Minneapolis, Louisville, Denver, Tampa, St. Petersburg, or Iowa City, Appy Hour can help you find events and specials. Search for rooftop seating or dog-friendly locations. See which nearby area has the best drink specials on a particular day. For example, Urban Cantina in Tampa, Flor., has $6 classic margaritas on Wednesdays, while Gen X Tavern features $6 wines. Depending on what you’re in the mood for, you can easily choose your Happy Hour location.
You can also browse events during a specific time frame. For instance, Joe & Stan’s Pub & Grill in Minneapolis, Minn., has Bingo Nights, and Bryant Lake Bowl has Monday Cheap Date Nights.
Which Devices It Works With: both Android and iOS
Price: free
Loople
About: If you’re traveling in Baltimore, Annapolis, or Washington, D.C, the Loople app will help you discover the best Happy Hour deals. You can choose from two options once you’ve selected a city: right now or later. Additionally, you can search for drink and food specials and outdoor seating, plus live entertainment and social sports. There are tags like shuffleboard and pool table that you can select to find what you need. You can also use the map view to see what’s nearby.
Which Devices It Works With: iOS
Price: free
Checkle
About: Checkle allows users to search for food from barbeque and Chinese to seafood. You can also search for atmospheres like a speakeasy, sports bar, or food truck. For families, there’s a kids-eat-free search. Chuckle isn’t location-specific like Appy Hour and Loople. It will search anywhere in the country.
Which Devices It Works With: iOS
Price: free
HungryHour
About: With HungryHour, users can search for Happy Hours that day or look later on a specific day of the week. HungryHour is currently only in California, covering the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley, and Davis. A fun way to interact with the app is by upvoting your favorite Happy Hours. This Happy Hour app helps others search for fun places to explore. You can also share new Happy Hours to build the community.
Which Devices It Works With: Android
Price: free
Drink Happy
About: Drink Happy is the most straightforward of all the Happy Hour apps on our list. There’s a map with your location and pins for restaurants or services near you. Users can add a venue by entering the venue name, city, and state. Then a new pin will drop on the map. You can check ratings by other visitors, but there are no search functions or menu options on this app.
Which Devices It Works With: both Android and iOS
Price: free
Pro Tip: Looking for the perfect place to go to happy hour? Head to one of these 7 Best Breweries in Arizona.
Are Happy Hour Apps Worth It?
If you’re on the move and want to check out local happenings, Happy Hour apps can help save you time and energy. Looking at a map of locations near you and comparing deals and services is quick and easy. The apps that also display activities like game nights are excellent ways to find a fun place to hang out with friends for the evening.
So the next time you visit a big city like Denver or San Francisco, check out these apps to find the local hot spots. Save some money with kids-eat-free dining and enjoy a local brew.
Which apps will you download and use first? Tell us in the comments!
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