Travel made easy - the world of apps
Yung Nam Cheah shares some useful mobile apps for your travel
It’s no secret that the internet has revolutionized the world: there are a whole host of information and applications available now that wasn’t there a few decades ago. People can now do everything on their phone that no one could even dream of before – in fact, I still remember putting my phone away for my travels a few years back and now I wouldn’t even think about not having it on me. Period.
With the apps market spring up like wild grass in spring, you can virtually download an application for everything. Through searching in the apps store and recommendation from friends and blogs, I have discovered some great apps that I want to share with you today and hopefully that would help you in your travel too!
- TripIt
An easy to organise your itinerary in one place, Tripit take snippets of information from confirmation emails you forward them from your bookings and put it altogether their app. Now your flight details, hotel bookings and tour itinerary are all in one place. You ca get directions, edit manually and syn it to your own calendar. And most importantly, it’s free (there is a paid version).
This handy little app allows you to save websites and read it later, offline. Available on your browser as well, you can save any articles, blog posts and even videos on your phone and read it later. So now you don’t have to screenshot it all.
- Guide apps
For the lazy fellows out there who don’t like to plan their trip, apps such as Pocketguide and rough guide will do all the planning for you. Bear in mind that they usually charge a fee (under a fiver), they set up a route for you to follow with information on the sights and monuments. While they are handy little things, you might want to check before you purchase or follow the route to make sure you actually enjoy what’s on it.
- Xe currency
We have all been there - when you see something beautiful on a trip and wants to buy it, but had to calculate the conversion every time. Xe currency not only allows you to quickly calculate the rate, it allows comparison with up to five currencies as well as their exchange rate profile.
- Tripadvisor City Guide
How do you know whether you should go to restaurant A or B? simple – check their rating on the Trip advisor city guide app. It downloads reviews on a map offline so you can rest assure that the restaurant you are going to is vetted. Make sure you download the correct city before you leave – this is made easier by the new Tripadvosor Catalogue app.
- Citymapper
Currently only available in certain metropolis, this urban jungle public transport navigation app is constantly expanding territories. Integrating all manner of transport, it helps you pick out the best travel routes from point A to B, and even tell you the cost. So if you are heading to New York, Paris or Madrid, this can make your life a lot easier.
- Rail planner (Eurail/Interail)
An offline app that shows you the timetable for Eurail and Interrail passes, this is perfect for anyone travelling through Europe by train. This is especially true for those who are compulsive at planning and knowing every part of the journey (like me), because it shows you all the stops and even the route on map so you can follow every part of the journey. The only down side is you can’t buy tickets through it.
- EventBrite
An app that I am sure most of you would already possess, it let you discover local events, buy tickets and show it on your phone. This is perfect for last minute night out at a foreign city where you won’t necessarily have access to a printer.
- Airline apps
Most airlines now have an app where you can check in and get your boarding pass. This is very useful, particularly for those who don’t have any luggage to check in because it saves you time at the airport. It also gives you update on the status of the flight so you will know whether or not it’s delayed (this had happened to me once).
- Kites
An app designed by an imperial graduate, this still expanding app shows you recommendations by users all over the world. With a twitter-based format, each kite is only 140 characters long, keeping things short and sweet with option to add photos. You can follow users and add your kites into a collection like a London Harry Potter tour.
