The success of business and leisure trips depends on proper planning. However, without accurate and reliable information, planning a trip is impossible. This is where travel apps come in. The best apps make it possible to check destinations, weather, and travel information from the convenience of your mobile screen. You can look up and book your holiday accommodation online, check distances and directions, manage transport logistics and more.
In this article, we shall reveal the 5 most essential travel apps for smart travel. We will also give you a brief summary and discuss the features and benefits of each app.
1. Google (News - Alert) Maps
Most of us have a lousy map reading skills. We would be hopelessly, possibly lost, with a traditional map on our hands. Luckily for us, Google Maps has revolutionized navigation.
The app’s GPS navigation has a voice activation feature to give you step by step directions for whichever city you choose. Thanks to its aerial photography and satellite imagery, you get 360º views that enable you to see just about everything on the ground.
Considering that all this is happening remotely, its 45º angle aerial shots function is pretty neat as it gives you instant yet detailed visuals.
With this app, you can reliably receive real-time traffic updates and details about your city tour from the comfort of your couch! The current version even boasts of parking assistance features. The app is compatible with most IOS and Android (News - Alert) devices.
2. Airbnb
Tired of staying in hotels? As an app, Airbnb offers you a plethora of houses to choose from at a fraction of the cost demanded by traditional hotels.
From castles in the English countryside to quaint cottages in Africa, you can book any kind of dwelling for any duration that suits your preference through this app. Or would you rather stay in beach houses and villas on the coast? Airbnb has them all. The app functions as a broker between the visitor and the owner or tenant of the house.
It has made it possible for travelers to customize their holiday by connecting them with local guides, enabling them to book accommodation, and listing fun things to do around a certain location.
What’s more, the app shows real customer reviews, allowing you to make informed booking decisions.
Prior to travel you can ascertain all details pertaining to the house, its location and the amenities it carries. You can for example, get to know if it comes with a swimming pool, a washing machine or anything else in between.
In addition, you get to select between shared spaces and houses that will be exclusively yours for the duration of your stay. In a way, the Airbnb app is about tailormade accommodation on the palm of your hand.
3. Uber
Uber is a convenient ride-sharing app that allows you to beckon a cab in most major cities. The pricing of the ride is heavily dependent on the flow of traffic and the time of travel. More often than not, an Uber ride turns out to be cheaper than the run of the mill traditional taxi. Also, depending on the locale, Uber avails different luxury levels for you to choose from.
With every booking, the app displays the rates applicable in respect of each category. Once you confirm your selection, you are informed of the details of your driver and how far he is from your pick-up point. Should you wish to cancel the booking, a free cancellation is allowed within the first five minutes of confirmation. Other added features include trip sharing, where you can combine two drop-offs in one ride at a subsidized rate.
4. Calm
Like all the other apps on this list, the Calm app qualifies as a travel companion due to the wealth of benefits it offers. As the name suggests, the app is a relaxation and meditation aid designed to ease anxiety. It does this through bedtime stories, guided meditation and soothing music.
Despite our best efforts, travel and foreign travel for that matter are sometimes fraught with unforeseen and unavoidable developments. This could be anything from flight delays, unexpected layovers or even cultural shifts.
The app helps you ease into these situations by providing you with something familiar and soothing to listen to as you acclimatize to your environment.
The soothing tunes on the app can serve as bedtime melodies or even yoga music for the traveling yogis.
5. Google Translate
Wouldn’t it be awesome if every time we travel, we could comfortably speak the language(s) we find at our host countries? We all agree that nothing beats flawless communication. While it may not be possible to speak different languages, Google Translate brings us pretty close. This app makes it possible to translate entire sentences from one language to another.
The app is capable of handling typed word translations in over 100 languages. Even more amazing, is that you can also have content translated even when you are offline.
There is also a two-way instant speech translation for over 32 languages. So extensive are the app’s features, that they even include translations of handwritten characters of over 93 languages!
For languages with a unique alphabet, it is sometimes a bit challenging to write some of these special characters. In this regard, Google Translate once again saves the day through its camera mode feature. It allows you to photograph the text in question and the app then translates it!
All said and done, Google Translate is your pocket version of a personal interpreter.
Wrapping Up
As we wind down, two other apps (tripadvisor.com and booking.com) may not have made it to this list, but they are integral tours and travel apps. They host a wealth of client reviews for most accommodations. So, if you wish to know whether your hotel is a good pick in terms of services and amenities, these two will have you sorted in a jiffy.
