Planning a trip this summer? Still figuring out what to do while you’re away? If so, throw away your road maps and toss those 500-page travel guides! Everything you need for your trip can be accessed on your smartphone.
There’s an app for just about anything nowadays, and there’s no exception for travel apps. The six apps below are great for exploring, finding accommodations, translating foreign languages, tracking your journey and much more!
Although some of these apps can be used at all times, you’ll need to connect to the Internet for a few of them. Whether you use these apps or not, though, it’s important to know how to use your phone when traveling abroad. Some ways you can use your phone in all locations is by using roaming mode, buying a local SIM card or using a VoIP.
After your phone is connected, make sure you check out these six apps for your summer travels!
LiveTrekker (iOS | Android)
Summer vacations are all about exploring new places and experiencing different cultures. Although you try to live in the moment, it’s important to capture your experience so you can recount it later and tell friends about it. This is where LiveTrekker comes in handy.
LiveTrekker is your personal journal. You can track where you went on an interactive map, broadcast live events and capture pictures and videos of your trip. With one click, you can share your journey on social media for all your friends to see.
You can also search other people’s trips on LiveTrekker. Maybe someone went to the same place and discovered a great restaurant or new terrain. You can have all of this information in the palm of your hands with LiveTrekker.
Vurb (iOS | Android)
Don’t you hate it when you get to a new place and, apart from the tourist attractions, you don’t know what to do? You’ll never have this problem with Vurb.
Search anything in your new location and Vurb will give you the best results. You can connect with the Vurb community for new ideas and accurate reviews. Save and organize your favorite picks by making shareable lists in the “Decks” feature.
Go through reviews from popular platforms like Yelp, Foursquare and Rotten Tomatoes. You can also purchase tickets and book rides from Fandango, Uber, Lyft and several others. All of this can be done from within the Vurb app!
Google Translate (iOS | Android | Chrome)
Spending your vacation in a foreign country? If so, the Google Translate app will help you communicate with the locals.
This app will translate 103 languages just by typing in the words. However, you can use Google Translate with no Internet connection and it will still translate an impressive 52 languages. You can also take a picture of words and translate the text into 37 languages. This is helpful for signs or menus. Don’t want to use the keyboard? No problem! Hand draw certain characters and translate into 93 languages!
Airbnb (iOS | Android)
Don’t want to spend a fortune staying at a hotel? Find a cheap, comfortable place to stay on Airbnb!
Airbnb is an app where people with extra space in their house put it up for rent. The rates are usually pretty cheap, so they can make a little money on the side while you save money. You can look at pictures of the place, read reviews and contact the host through the app. This way, you know what you’re getting into before you seal the deal.
Foodspotting (iOS | Android)
Looking for the best spots in town to eat? Or maybe you want a specific dish? Foodspotting is the app for you!
Most food apps offer reviews of restaurants that are nearby. Foodspotting, meanwhile, takes this a step further. This app lets you read reviews of specific dishes. In the mood for steak? Now you can instantly get reviews and see pictures of steaks at different restaurants.
mTrip Travel Guides (iOS | Android)
mTrip Travel Guides is your ultimate travel guide app. Not only can you access everything you need for your trip, but you can also do it all without using precious mobile data.
You can access reviews and ratings for all kinds of attractions on this app. You can also use the “Trip Genius” feature and have the app create a custom itinerary based on your travel interests, accommodation and dates. You can also get real-time information about different locations and track everything in the app’s journal feature.
Enjoy Your Vacation!
These apps offer unique features that will make sure you’re taken care of. The only thing you have to worry about is having fun and staying safe!
Photo credit: Esmar Abdul Hamid
