Technology now serves us in our travel adventures in ways we never imagined. As a young person I carried a rumpled European travel guide with me all over the continent. When I moved on from one country, I ripped out that section and threw it away as I moved on to the next country. Travel apps can aid you in planning, executing and documenting your travels.
Black Label Travel will share with you a few of our favorites so that you can travel with more knowledge, comfort and mastery!
Let’s get right to it.
First, you should know, Black Label Travel works to be cutting edge and green as much as possible. Thus, we use Umapped as a trip planning tool so that there are no more paper itineraries necessary! We also use FlightAware to make sure we can keep up to date as to where you are in your travels. But you can also use the following Google products for your organizational needs.
Creating your itinerary is made very easy with Google Trips. This is a free app that, once you download it, will go to work pulling any existing reservations you may have in your email and add them immediately to your itinerary. It combines information from Google Maps and crowd-sourced contributions from other travelers to offer a personalized travel guide to help track everything from day trips to restaurants. Plus, it has a “getting around” feature as well as a “need to know” tab that gives general information like emergency services, currency, and where to use WiFi. And don’t forget Google Translate which can help you speak to people in 100 different languages.
While there are many very practical travel apps to use to make your trip more efficient, more intelligent and more joyful, some of the apps have to just be for fun!
Star Walk 2 is simply extremely cool. This is the best selling, award winning stargazing app you can’t live without. You can simply point your phone or iPad at the sky and it will instantly show you the positions of the stars, planets, constellations, comets, satellites, and all kinds of things floating in the sky! You need to check this out. It uses retina displays, 3D models of celestial bodies and real time motion tracking.
Here is a short list of some more apps we couldn’t resist telling you about.
- WiFi Finder – find Fast WiFi wherever you go. The offline functionality makes it possible to download places you are traveling to, so you can locate Fast WiFi anywhere.
- TripIt – organizes all your travel plans into an itinerary and puts all your trip details in one place.
- GlobeTips – know when to tip and how to present the tip in over 30 countries.
- Trail Wallet – an easy travel expense tracker for iPhone and iPad. Designed to be fast, it takes the headache out of expense tracking so you can focus on the fun.
- PackPoint – an intelligent packing app and packing list builder for serious travelers. It tells you what you need to pack based on length of travel, weather at your destination, and any activities planned during your trip.
- LoungeBuddy – makes it possible for all travelers to view, book, and access airport lounges around the world in seconds. It helps you make the most of your time at the airport.
- XE Currency – offers live proprietary exchange rates and historical charts. Plus, it stores the last updated rates so it even works when the Internet doesn’t.
Shannon Calder, travel writer [Follow her on Twitter & Instagram]
Star gazing with Star Walk 2
