My Favorite Travel Apps
a screenshot of my phone
Many websites list "the best new travel apps," but half of them end up with poor user reviews. Deciding what to download can be frustrating. So instead of recommending the hottest new trends and writing reviews of apps that look cool, I'm going to share with you my personal favorites that I have actually used. These are what I have on my iPhone right now:
CityMaps2Go: I've recommended this app before because I use it so much. I love that you don't need wifi to use it. Just download maps that you will need ahead of time and it'll be ready to go when you arrive at your destination, GPS included. One trick that I have learned with this app is to actually open up each of the maps before you leave so that that they are completely loaded. I also like to pin my hotel so I can always find it. ($4.99)
Rick Steves Audio Europe: This app has some awesome walking tours that have really enhanced my trips. In Rome, the Forum and the Colosseum were really fun exploring with his audio guide in my ear. The museum guides can be tricky because artwork gets moved around sometimes, so those can be hit or miss. But for the most part, he's way more interesting to listen to than the typical museum audio guides. I also enjoy listening to his podcasts of a region or city before I arrive. Once again, download what you need while you have internet access. (free)
Hopper: This app is all about finding the best flight deals, and it does most of the work for me! First, I type in where I want to fly to. Then, I select my dates on a price-based color coded calendar (try saying that ten times fast). Next, I always check out their tips to make sure I have the cheapest travel dates and airports. If not, Hopper will let me know exactly how much I could save by changing one of these variables. Finally, I select the flight of my choice and (here's the cool part), the app will watch for deals and constantly make predictions on the best time to purchase. I can go into the app at any time to view predictions, but the more convenient feature is that it sends me push notifications when there are changes. It's a really cool app. (free)
Triposo: I wrote about Triposo in this article. I love this app for many reasons. Not only can I explore a city's sightseeing, food, history, day trips, and other recommendations, but it also has a pretty good map, 7 day forecasts, and gives me one recommendation via push notifications per day. I love how it recommends activities according to the weather. For example, if it's raining, Triposo will suggest a set of activities to do on a rainy day. Make sure that you download your destination ahead of time if you are leaving the country. This way, you can access most of the features offline. (free)
Word Lens: There are multiple apps now that translate text, but this is the one that my husband and I use. The company was recently purchased by Google, so it is now part of Google Translate I guess... You hold your phone over the text and this app translates it in real time without internet. We use this frequently on menus and signs. Of course, some things will always be lost in translation. For example, did you know that in French, the word for sea bass is translated as "wolf of the sea"? We've had some good laughs over Word Lens. (free)
TouchNote: I've used this a couple of times, and it's pretty fun. You snap a picture, write a note to someone, and the app will send a card or a postcard by snail mail to someone for you! It's a much more personalized way of sending a postcard, and there is something special about getting something in the mail. (free to download-pay per card)
TripAdvisor offline: If you like using this website, their app now has an offline option when you download a specific city. As someone who relies on Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews for restaurant choices, I am super excited to use this offline! (free)
Vivino: Winos, listen up! I actually use this app at home just as much as on vacation! Vivino helps you keep track of wines that you like, and provides an array of information for you. You snap a pic of the wine bottle label. Then, if you have internet, it will bring up ratings, origin, food pairings, average costs, and information about the winery. You can read reviews, find out where buy it, and rate it yourself. It stores your wines in a list to refer to, so I have some tagged from over a year ago. If you don't have internet at the restaurant, you can still take the picture, and then just upload the information when you have wifi again. (free)
TripIt: This is the easiest way to get organized! I'm newer to this app, but I'm using it on a business trip this week. After giving my trip a name, all I had to do was forward my fight and hotel confirmation emails to plan@tripit.com, and it automatically showed all of the details in a calendar including confirmation numbers, seat numbers, directions to the hotel, etc. I can also add in restaurants and activities, and it will notify me before upcoming events. (free)
Dropbox: It is essential to have access to documents, itineraries, and bookings during a trip. I use Dropbox for a lot more than travel, but here's why I love it on the go. If you open each document to load before you leave home, it will be accessible without internet later. So whenever I get a confirmation or I find a good PDF resource or anything, I save it into my Dropbox folder. (free)