With so many travel apps out there in the market, but only so much space on your smartphone, how does one choose which ones to get? Here are 9 of my favourite to help you get the most out of your travels in 2017.
Citymapper - Comprehensive and easy to use, Citymapper offers more detailed journey planner information than Google, including real-time departures and disruption alerts, as well as Uber integration and cycle routes. It is available in around 30 cities worldwide, with all the obvious city-break destinations covered.
• Free, iOS and Android, citymapper.com
• Free, iOS and Android, citymapper.com
Duolingo - Over 70 million people have registered with Duolingo, a free and incredibly well-designed language learning app. Though not a replacement for proper language tuition, the app is a fun way to get the basics, or to keep yourself fresh on grammar and vocabulary, before a trip abroad. Just like a computer game, the app guides you through levels that you need to complete before advancing, and you gain experience points along the way.
• Free, iOS and Android, duolingo.com
• Free, iOS and Android, duolingo.com
XE Currency - XE is the go-to site for currency conversions on the web, so it’s no surprise that its app is so popular: with over 20 million downloads since launch. It has lots of business-oriented features, such as rates for precious metals and historic currency charts, but for the traveller it is most useful for the simple fact that it’s able to convert every world currency. It also functions offline by saving the last updated rates, which is great if you’re in a place with limited connectivity or trying to save on data.
• Free, iOS and Android, xe.com
• Free, iOS and Android, xe.com
Splittr - There is a selection of apps out there to help you split bills (Tipulator, Splitwise etc), but Splittr is geared up for travelling, providing a simple platform to share costs between friends and family. You can enter expenses as you go, including who paid what, and the app will do the rest. A nice touch for longer, multi-destination trips is that all currencies are supported and you can mix currencies without having to do the conversion yourself.
• £1.49, splittrapp.com
• £1.49, splittrapp.com
Google Translate - This translator can be a useful tool to support your own, more serious language learning, but realistically, it’s most useful on a practical level quickly translating day-to-day words you come across on your travels. For example, you can hold your camera up to text – such as a sign, or a menu – and Google will translate it for you instantly. It’s an essential app for any traveller.
• Free, iOS and Android
• Free, iOS and Android
Rebtel - Skype and Whatsapp will always be staples when it comes to international calling and messaging, but a wifi connection is needed to use them. To make cheap calls around the world without the internet (or faffing around with phonecards), the app to choose is Rebtel. By “hijacking” local phonelines, it gets the best available calling rates. Recently launched, it is currently offering a “Rebel calling” deal, which means friends or family can be called for free if they are also using the app (until 2018).
• Free, iOS and Android, rebtel.com
• Free, iOS and Android, rebtel.com
Waze - Loved by taxi drivers, who know a thing or two about traffic avoidance, Waze is a GPS navigation app that draws from its active community of drivers to create the most up-to-date and accurate road data. It functions in the same way as Google Maps (Google actually bought it a few years ago) but users can easily share information about hazards, traffic or accidents. If you’re navigating an unfamiliar city and aren’t sure where the traffic hotspots are, this app is the best you can get.
• Free, iOS and Android, waze.com
• Free, iOS and Android, waze.com
Tunnel Bear - If you want to stream things such as iPlayer or 4oD, as well as keep your internet connection secure while abroad - which is worth it if you connect to lots of random wifi spots - then you’ll need to use a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs hide your IP address and location and can “tunnel” you to another country. There are lots of apps to choose from but TunnelBear is a particularly easy one to use, and has a free version for those who don’t use much data, or just want to test it out before going premium.
• Free, iOS and Android, tunnelbear.com
• Free, iOS and Android, tunnelbear.com
Accuweather - Once you’ve left the jurisdiction of the good old Met Service, you’ll need to find a wider-reaching weather report source. For international forecasting, Accuweather tops the charts. The website and app, which provides services in over 100 languages, is used by around 1.5 billion people and offers everything from general long term forecasts to minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts hyperlocalised to your exact address.
• Free, iOS and Android, accuweather.com
• Free, iOS and Android, accuweather.com