A is for Apps these days! Gone are the days when planning a trip meant printing out maps , pouring over best route to take , budgeting on paper and finding the way by asking the locals. The apps are new pocket-sized supercomputers and are the best thing to happen to travel world since online check-ins and roller bags. Given the sheer amount of planning and time it takes to plan a trip ,it will not be an understatement that apps are a real life saver. From managing your finances to providing you with the best deal on local hotels , apps have brought the power on your finger tips. So before you pack your bags and see the world, do not forget to take these apps with you.They neither take any space unlike your clothes and nor do they cost anything 😉 The following apps have certainly worked their magic for me and I assure you it will make your travel easier and better too..
Tripit : Tripit is one of the best travel “all around” app. Its like your personal travel agent that keeps track of all your itineraries including hotels, flights, trains, travel documents and even travel directions all fitted in your phone. I have recently upgraded to Tripit Pro which is a paid version and I found it totally worth it. Trip it has been my life saver on more than one occassion specially in the cases where neither did i have my hotel address written and nor did I have WIFI. What I like most about Tripit is that you can simply forward the email confirmations of your flight, rental car, train tickets, and hotels to [email protected] and TripIt constructs the itinerary for you. It even alerts you in case you have better seat option for your flight.
Similar Apps : TripCase, Tripadvisor, Worldmate
Platforms available on : IOS, Android
Is it free? : Yes (Pro version for 0.99$)
GateGuru : Gate Guru is truly (in words of Washington Post ) a handy antidote for terminal frustration. How many times has it happened that you are on an unknown airport and your departure gate gets changed without any notification. I found this app perfect for novice travelers ( like my parents) where terminal change and passing layover time becomes a daunting task. GateGuru navigates you through an unfamiliar airport seamlessly and sends you push notifications in case of a gate change. It also provides you with the list of restaurants, shops and services near your gate. You need to have a network connection to use this app most effectively but none the less most of its features are available even if you are not on network.
Similar Apps : IFlyPro, Airport Transit Guide
Platforms available : IOS Android
Is it free? Yes
Free WI-Fi finder : I have no shame in confessing that I am an internet addict and without internet access I feel stranded and helpless. The Wi-Fi Finder helps you in finding wireless connections and you can even filter the list to see only free or paid ones. Well that is not the only reason why it is one my favorite apps. You can access this app offline which makes it totally indespensable for me. All you need to do is to plan ahead and download it beforehand, while still on a network, but once it is saved locally, you can look at the map and search the database without having to be online. This is really useful when I need to get online and I have no idea where the nearest hotspot is.
Similar Apps : Boingo Wireless Wi-Finder, HotspotFinder
Platforms available : IOS ,Android
Is it free? Yes
Musement: Now this app is surely gonna come handy to all my friends who are planning a trip to Europe. Musement is one of a kind app that eliminates waiting time for smart travelers like you and me by finding cheapest tickets for museums and art exhibitions and give you the power to book it in one click. Musement is an online platform for activities, tours, attractions, museums, shows and art events around the world . They claim to offer “Lowest Price Guranteed” and if you could find any deal offering lower price than them, they will match it and will give you additional discount. Sounds good to me! 🙂 I used this app a lot on my trip to Europe and trust me , it saved me a lot of time and money.
Similar Apps ; Its one of a kind
Platform ; IOS
Is it Free : Yes.
Triposo: Though there are many travel-guide apps out there like Tripomatic Wallpaper City Guides etc, none are so optimized as this one. This genius app from 2 ex-google employees pulls data from a variety of internet resources ,analyses , combines and categorizes it in such a manner that a complete guide of your destination gets on to your finger tip and you can even access it offline. Yes you heard it right. Triposo is designed so as not to need a data connection once you have started your travels. You just have to make sure you preload the data for the countries or cities you plan to visit prior to your trip.
Similar Apps : Tripomatic
Platforms available : IOS, Android
Is it Free? Yes
XE Currency : Now I know you will say why do I need an app when I can simply type in google to check for currency conversion . But then for google you will need to be online and this app gives you the power of conversion even when you are offline. This app comes very handy specially if you want to check the cost of meals before ordering and you are not that well versed in the local currency yet, or for checking if the currency exchange counter at the airport actually gives a decent rate or if I should wait until the next place.
Similar Apps : Oanda, Currency Notes
Platform : IOS, Android
Is it Free ? : Yes.
Foodspotting: So you are in foreign country, hungry and having trouble deciding where to go for dinner. what do you do ? Just fire up this app and see the magic. Foodspotting is an awesome app that basically points out, a visual guide to good food and where to find it. How is it different from yelp? Rather than reviewing restaurant itself , it reviews the specific foods at restaurants. I find this app very helpful specially when I am clueless what to order in a particular restaurant or if I want to know the delicacy of the restaurant I am in. And did I tell you that its free too. I could not stop myself from sharing this cartoon strip with you all (photocredits : www.techcrunch.com)
Similar Apps : Yelp, Opentable
Platforms available ; Ios, Android
Is it Free? Yes
ToiletFinder: You might be thinking ‘R you kidding me?, An app to find toilet”, but for me this has been a real life saver on more than one occassion. As the name suggests this app helps you finding nearest public restroom and you can even narrow it down to free or paid. Just launch the app on your iphone, the program will request access to your location and give a list of public toilets located nearby. Any visitor has the possibility of adding information about either working toilets or closed ones and also about those, which were put into operation lately. So next time you are in such a tricky situation , you are not at the mercy of passers by. Just fire up this app and head to nearest restroom 😉
Similar Apps: Istone, iPee Address
Platform: IOS only
Is it Free? : Yes
Globe Tipper: I love this quote from this apps’s website ” “…and you don’t have to be a math genius, which we love”.. I mean how true is that. Tipping is indeed tricky specially in an unknown territory. This app features a simple and straightforward calculator that allows to calculate the amount of tips to be given, handles currency exchanges and even splits the bills if paying in groups. This app has saved me from embarrassment for so many times that it is a must for me.
Similar Apps :Tipulator, Good Tipper
Platform available : IOS, Android
Is it Free? Yes
Google Apps: Well you cannot leave house without google apps ,can you? The whole set of google apps specially google maps and google translate are a must for any kind of traveler. We all know these apps so I will not go much in detail. For all those who have not tried it yet , you can always hack Google Maps for offline use by caching the data if having a mobile data connection on the road isn’t an option. Sadly for Google Translate you need an internet connection to work, but has the ability to translate over 70 languages from audio, keyed-in text and text on images!
Similar Apps : City Maps, Cam Translator Pro
Platform : IOS, Android
Is it Free ? : Yes.
So now whether you’re hitting the road or taking to the skies , do not forget to pack these apps with you. Download them, play with them and start planning your next trip – because with these apps in your pocket, you may never travel the same way again. These digital companions will help you plan your itinerary in a way that you will have time to do everything you want in best possible way . Just sit back, relax, and let them do all the work.Let me know if you have tried these apps before? Do you have some other better alternatives? Join the discussion below . I will love to hear about your best travel apps. Thank you for stopping by.
aqesome article… Loved it
Thank you so much 🙂
Kanika it’s very interesting and infofmative.its definitely going to help us while planning our next trip.
I would like to introduce a new trip planning app Funlidays. Funlidays is a trip planner that helps you to plan your trip and enjoy your vacation. Easy to organize your trips, find attractions and get directions. Funlidays has thousand of destinations. You can explore all the attractions that you are interested in and simply add it to the trip planner. Funlidays will help you to organize schedules, routes and present you those information.
Website : http://www.funlidays.com
Download : https://itunes.apple.com/app/funlidays-trip-planner/id905768387
Thank you so much , I will certainly have a look at it.
God, it’s really time that I arrive in the 21st century! 🙂 I do have a smartphone, but don’t use any apps (except the Facebook one and Whatsapp) TripIt looks so handy, I’m still struggling with different copies of all kinds of reservations 🙂
Hahhahaha I tell you this cyber/apps/internet space is a universe in itself 😛 … Tripit indeed is one of my favs
Definitely downloading Foodspotting, we will visit Japan soon and I will let you know how it worked. Thanks for sharing this!
http://www.brockandtanj.com
Definitely try it… I am sure you will not regret…
Great apps, I have a lot of these downloaded.
Hey Christine….thank you so much .. I love your blog… I am sure you are having a lot of fun in Costa Rica….. R u back??
Great compilation! Triposo sounds really cool. Gonna have to download it for sure
Thank you 🙂 let me know how do you like Triposo.. 🙂
I’m also using a navigation app Spyglass that supports different maps, depending on my current needs: google maps, apple maps, open street map and open cycle map. It’s also very important that the app can read pre-downloaded maps when offline. Besides, it has many useful features for those people that are not very good at orienting. The app shows your current position on the map, can save waypoints and locations, for example, your car or your hotel location. https://itunes.apple.com/app/spyglass/id332639548?mt=8&at=11lLc7&ct=c
I am definitely going to try this app .. looks cool 🙂
great tips and good apps. Have you tried the KAYAK App. It also keeps track of your booking confirmations, etc.
Thank you so much… I do use kayak a lot specially for finding cheap flights..