Google Earth Price: Free iTunes Rating: 3½ out of 5
The opening line of the iTunes Store description of this wonderful app is, ‘Hold the world in the palm of your hand,’ and quite frankly there’s no better or more accurate way to sell it. The app works perfectly and once you’ve got the hang of it you’ll be finding your way from your hotel to the beach, or to your business meeting, or wherever you’re headed. The only criticism is that it doesn’t have street view photos integrated, which may well come in a future update, but even so it’s an extremely useful – and entertaining – app for travellers.
AroundMe Price: Free iTunes Rating: 4½ out of 5
Handy as hell whether you’re globetrotting or stuck back home, this app provides information on the nearest banks, bars, restaurants, cinemas, hotels and supermarkets are. It will tell you where they are, and it will even show you a map of how to get there. If you fancy a pizza when you’re in the middle of Buenos Aires, AroundMe will sort you out quicker than you can say ‘¿Dónde están las pizzas?’ Highly recommended and it won’t cost you a penny.
CoolGorilla Phrasebooks Price: Free or £0.59 each iTunes Rating: 3½ out of 5
These apps come in a shedload of languages, including Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese – and many of them are now sponsored by lastminute.com meaning that you’ll save a few pennies too. All you do is find your phrase, listen to the audio clip and then repeat what you hear, trying your best not to butcher the pronunciation. They’ve really thought of everything, with topics including accommodation, food and drink, shopping, socialising, medical, numbers – and the all important ‘essential’ categories with fundamentals such as ‘hello,’ ‘two beers,’ and ‘please.’ The only missed opportunity in this app is a profanity category, although you have to give them credit for keeping it clean.
Kayak Pro Price: £0.59 iTunes Rating: 4½ out of 5
A must-have app for frequent travellers, this one lets you find and book the best deals on hotels, rental cars and flights; you can check the status of your flights once you’ve bought them; and it gives information about airports and airlines and baggage fees and a host of other useful stuff. There’s also a sponsored free version where you can only search for economy flights, but the Pro app comes without intrusive adverts and lets you search business and first class flights too.
Skype Price: Free iTunes Rating: 3½ out of 5
Still free, and works beautifully. The iTunes rating really falls short here – Skype is a terrific app that has changed the world for people who are away from home, no matter if it’s a day trip to Paris or six months in darkest Peru. Now with the added bonus of the front-facing camera on the iPhone 4, you can have crystal clear video calls that have to be seen to be believed. You can now share the view from your hotel or the concert you’re at, the only limit is your imagination. Buy Skype credit and use a Wi-Fi connection – with low international call prices you can save a packet on roaming fees or hotel room phones.
Travel Money Monkey Price: £0.59 iTunes Rating: 4 out of 5
Use this app to compare exchange rates in the UK’s leading travel money bureaus. The up-to-date information can save you loads, and the app will do all the shopping around. It will tell you which is the best rate you’ll find, and which is the nearest. Once you’ve got your money, it has a handy feature that highlights bureaus that will deliver currency to your front door. It’s elegantly designed, easy to use, and users have reported savings of up to £65. You can even find the best rate to convert your leftover currency to sterling when you get back home.
Lonely Planet Guides Price: £3.49 iTunes Rating: 4 out of 5
The Lonely Planet Guide App series covers more than 130 cities around the world, and as long as you don’t go too far off the beaten track you’re sure to find what you need. Bags of helpful information on everything from airport bus services to crime hot spots and happy hours. It beats lugging the book around with you everywhere, and it includes GPS tracking to show you how lost you are, and offline maps so you won’t get stung on roaming data charges. Some users say the app is a little over-priced, but compared to the book you’ll still save at least a fiver.
Packing Pro Price: £1.79 iTunes Rating: 3½ out of 5
If you’re as disorganised as I am, and if you leave everything to the last minute, this is the app that’s going to save your skin. The interface has evolved and improved over various updates and the app comes with plenty of features that make it worth paying the price instead of downloading one of its more austere free competitors. You can customise your lists, search for items in the huge master catalogue, and easily navigate between the four main sections in the app (Packing, Catalogue, Design and Help). If you don’t even know where to start, the app will automatically generate a list of basics you’ll need depending in the number of people travelling and the ages of each traveller. An app that really makes life easier.
foursquare Price: Free iTunes Rating: 4 out of 5
This app is a cross between a social network and a travel guide. You can upload pictures and comments about your trip, and access the insider tips from other users who have been wherever you’re going. The perfect app if you want to know the real secrets that don’t appear in guidebooks. There are even discounts and giveaways available around the world just for being a foursquare user – and with it being a free app you’d be silly not to take advantage of that offer.
EveryTrail Pro Price: £2.39 iTunes Rating: 4 out of 5
This ingenious little app uses your iPhone’s GPS tracker to follow you around and record you route no matter where you are in the world. You can take pictures along the way and attach them to your route, you can share your route with users around the world, and best of all you can access more than 400,000 trips that others have already uploaded. They also come with audio guides you can listen to as you follow the trail. This app can be used for city tours, or for biking, sailing, skiing, or hiking routes. You can even search for trips according to where you are or what you want to do.
Source: Protect My bubble
