It’s hard to believe that less than a decade of ago when we had a road trip planned we had printed out directions from MapQuest. Shuffling through the pages making sure you didn’t miss a turnoff was always a worrying experience. But paper directions and atlases are a relic of the past thanks, of course, to smartphones.
Traveling in the digital age has opened up a myriad of possibilities and discoveries in exploration like never before. Finding an off-the-beaten-path gem of a restaurant while visiting Kauai or understanding locals in Barcelona, smartphones have drastically changed the way we travel the world. Here are the best smartphone apps to have when hitting the road or skies.
PackPoint
There is nothing more infuriating than getting to your hotel and realizing you forgot to pack a toothbrush or a bathing suit. With PackPoint, the app helps you make sure this doesn’t happen to you again. PackPoint creates checklists for various activities while you are on your trip like Fancy Dinners, Babys, Leisure, Gym and many more. In addition to making checklists, the app also looks at the weather forecasts for where you are going during the days of your stay and adjust the lists accordingly.
PackPoint is available for both Android and iPhone users.
Google Maps/Waze
A navigation app like one of these is a no brainer when you are hitting the open road. Not only do these app deliver step-by-step instructions to get to your destination, you can also use them to find new restaurants or activities when in a city, which is nice so you aren’t tied down to what is close by the interstate.
Both apps are free to download for Android and iPhone consumers.
TripAdvisor
Similar to Google Maps and Waze, TripAdvisor gives you a ranking of all the hot spots of a city or town. TripAdvisor saves time from combing over the internet to find the best sights to see. Simply search the city you are in and the app lists all the popular restaurants, monuments, parks, museums or historical sites that you can visit. The app also gives you user reviews who have recent went to these places so you can make the right choice with the time you have in the area.
Android and iPhone users can download the app for free.
Memrise
If you are heading overseas for your trip, Memrise can help you learn the language of the land. Granted if you have a couple months to prepare for your trip, this app will be more effective, but it can still help you learn basic words and phrases utilizing mnemonic devices. The app is said to adapt to your learning style the more you use it.
The app is free to download for Android and iPhones, however to unlock the full features of the app there is a $8.99 monthly subscription.
XE Currency
Another app that is extremely useful if you are heading overseas is XE Currency. As you might imagine, XE Currency helps convert the currency you have to the currency of where you are going. Not only is it a converter, the app can track and monitor the currency you are interested in. The conversion rates are current and updated every minute.
The app is free across the board, however there is XE Currency Pro which allows you to track multiple currencies at once. The Pro edition runs $1.99.
