Best apps for travel


Recommended Posts

So I'll be doing a round the world trip in a months time.  I'm wondering if people have recommendations for apps.  
 

Apart from our little Kiwi neighbour, I've never been out of Australia to see the world.  So I'm wanting to make sure we have everything we need.  We will have full data, text and all that jazz, so not concerned with communication apps.  But just apps to help us.

We will be in Singapore, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland, Canada, USA and New Zealand.

All I've really thought about it Google Translate, but I'm pretty useless at this.  Any mind numbing games to pass my long hauls would be appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You just wing it. Sounds funny but it's true, for me at least. When I went to Italy, I found that there is so much to do that an app wont help with. Same thing for Belize, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, you get the point. Headed to Cuba in March and it's the same thing. The BEST you might find is trip advisor but they usually end up telling you about all the tourist areas which is good if that's what you are looking for.

 

As far as passing the time, try podcasts. Most games become boring on 10+ hour flights but if you find a podcast you love, the time will fly by because most podcasts are 1.5 - 2 hours. Get yourself a schedule, and do some exploring. Most importantly, enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

 

A few things come to mind:

  • currency converter
  • first aid app
  • list of embassies and consulates
  • loyalty programs (airline, hotel, etc.)
  • points of interest guides (museums, zoos, whatever you're interested in)
  • travel booking programs

Some kind of lightweight blogging or photojournalism app might be useful as well.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beyond the mapping and notation apps on every phone:

 

TripAdvisor

FourSquare

Tinder

 

Not joking about Tinder, when travelling it seems to change purpose and I've found lots of people use it to just find likeminded friends in new cities to meet up with, go for dinner, explore the city, etc.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, goretsky said:

Hello,

 

A few things come to mind:

  • currency converter
  • first aid app
  • list of embassies and consulates
  • loyalty programs (airline, hotel, etc.)
  • points of interest guides (museums, zoos, whatever you're interested in)
  • travel booking programs

Some kind of lightweight blogging or photojournalism app might be useful as well.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

Really great post! I have a currency converter, never used it though lol. I always get my money BEFORE going on the trip so that there is no mix-up. Never thought about a First Aid app though. Awesome. Great list.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go into Google Translate, and there should be an option to translate with the camera. This used to be a separate app. But I think the language packs have to be downloaded. So make sure you do that in advance as, even if you have data, you'll not want to wait on the download to translate. Anyway, it's really cool. Point the camera at any printed text (handwritten text is not supported) and it will translate it, and put the translation over the original, and attempt to match the font. This will be a real game changer if augmented reality ever gets big. But for now you can do it on your phone and it's great.

 

Google Maps is a given, and someone already said TripAdvisor. Uber and/or Lyft might be a good idea, too, if you need to catch a ride.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

Google Maps is a given for any device - and regardless of how you travel.  (Last year, I went to Las Vegas, and spent three days walking the southern side of Las Vegas Boulevard (the famous Strip) - from MGM Grand to the Wynn. While I had, in fact, been to LV before (2005), I still found Maps all too useful because merely the area I was walking had changed big-time - let alone the new territory (to me) from Paris Hotel-casino (and the clone Eiffel Tower) to the Wynn itself.  While there IS a Google Maps app (for Android), you can STILL access it via any browser - so you're not dependent on Android to leverage Google Maps - put this shortcut in your browser to access Maps: http://google.com/maps.

Rather amusingly, I find myself using Maps locally - not JUST when travelling - so having a browser-based shortcut to it makes sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.