Travel apps have become indispensable in my life. They provide organization, help keep my budget in order, but also they relieve stress that I might otherwise feel, when traveling for business or pleasure . With the right apps, travel can be a successful, stress free experience. You can have all you need before your trip and on location right at your fingertips. Today I’m sharing a selection of 10 apps I use to make my trip and stay a lot more enjoyable.
1. Trip it
TripIt takes all of your travel plans and organizes them into one convenient itinerary. You can just forward all of your email confirmations and booking references to plans@tripit.com, and the service will automatically create a travel plan and sync it with your phone’s calendar. You’ll have your flight details, hotel address and confirmation, and rental car all in one place, and in your calendar. I’ve been using this app for 4 years now and it makes life so much easier! No hassle with printing and scribbling down addresses. You’ve got it all stored in one place.
2. Viator
Viator enables you to book tours, sightseeing tickets and excursions before your trip or while traveling. It helps you find deals and last minute offers, maps top attractions and gives you access to your paperless voucher right from the app. Skip the lines at popular museums or attractions, and walk right in with your phone. The app gives you access to more than 9000 top-rated activities worldwide.
3. Lonely Planet City Guides
The Lonely Planet guides have been my best friend on all my travels ever since I can remember. But I have to admit, they can be a little heavy after a whole day of strutting the big city streets. But hey, who needs those print books if you can download the app, right? All the information on your light-weight phone, leaving you with more strength to carry your shopping bags and that coffee latte. The city preview guides are full of valuable info, but you can extend the app with even more content by paying an additional fee. The country guides aren’t free, but then again, neither are the print books are they?
4. Expensify
An essential app for business travelers and those who would like to keep track of their expenses. Because overspending while on vacation isn’t that difficult. Expensify allows you to scan or log your receipts, categorize them and compile into expense reports which you can then download as pdf and e-mail.
5. Converter Plus
I’ve never been good at math, let alone on the spot when the cashier is announcing the total of your purchases. Or what about those annoying differences in international temperatures, distance and weight? Is 10 miles too far to walk? Do I have to wear a coat when it’s 70 degrees Fahrenheit? Converter Plus helps you convert currencies, and all other numerical and metric problems you run into when traveling. It also offers a variety of calculations option like for instance density, dog years, and your BMI. But seriously, who wants to know their BMI when traveling and eating out every night?
6. Wikitude
Using augmented reality technology, Wikitude lets you position your phone’s camera to discover information and points of interest around you. You can even save your own myWorld and share with friends on your social networks. It’s like walking around with an encyclopedia! Dive into historic information or read reviews and see pictures from previous visitors. You can even make notes on the go so next time you’re visiting you can easily rediscover that favourite restaurant or the spot where you had your first Italian gelato.
7. Seatguru
Seat Guru is your ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline recommendations. It gives you access to over 700 seat maps from over 100 airlines. It features advice and insights drawn from passenger reviews on a specific seat. So you can always find the best seat suited for you. Find out more about leg room, sitting near a restroom, the least noise, or where to have the best view in any type of air plane. The app also helps to compare prices and find low air fares and gives you your flight status.
8. Jetsetter
Jetsetter gives you access to the world’s greatest hotels, homes and vacations. It features exclusive deals, reviews and insider tips, and amazing pictures of travel destinations and popular hotels. Mind you, it is as the name of the app suggests, for the real jetsetters who enjoy luxury and want to travel in style. However the app has some amazing deals and lets you book hotel rooms and vacation packages under a minute.
9. Rail Europe
Finding out about transportation on site and getting the tickets can be very time consuming. Fortunately there is the Rail Europe app. You can check schedules, book tickets and reserve seats on 35 European railroads across 32 countries. It’s a digital itinerary and alert system in one app. No more waiting in line and walking around on train stations in search of platforms and information boards. It’s all in the palm of your hand!
10. Luxe City guides
Last year I already featured the Luxe City guides extensively in 30s magazine (read here), being my all time favourite cityguides, ranking high in fab-ness. The app is no exception. Quick to read and easily navigable they remain short, sharp and snappy in style, and exclusive in content. The perfect read for on the plane or even concise enough for the taxi ride from the airport to your hotel. They now also have Luxe city guides for kids. Oh yes, you can’t start early enough to teach them how to become travel savvy.
