Seeing the world has never been easier. These travel apps take the frustration out of packing up, speaking out, and finding your way so you can focus on having the time of your life.
1. Packpoint
There are plenty of free packing lists online, but it’s hard to find one that totally fits your needs. That’s the beauty of Packpoint. This app asks for your travel date, destinations, planned activities, and other info about your trip — then uses that to generate a custom packing list.
Packpoint accounts for climate, weather forecasts, trip duration, business vs. leisure, and even where you’ll stay (are there laundry facilities?) It takes the guesswork out of packing for any trip, from camping to globetrotting.
2. Waze
Map apps are a must for travellers who plan to rent a vehicle. Waze is a navigation app with street smarts. Along with giving directions from point A to B, Waze delivers live updates and alerts about traffic, police, road hazards, and more. When there’s trouble down the road, Waze can re-calculate your route instantaneously.
There’s no shortage of navigation apps out there (and most phones come with one), but Waze’s intelligent alerts put it above the competition. Check out the Waze Wiki to see if it’s available in your destination country.
3. OpenTable
There’s something to be said for the adventure of trying a new restaurant blind. But there are times when you want to be sure your eatery of choice can serve your needs and preferences. OpenTable lets you browse thousands of nearby restaurants in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Japan, and more. Once you’ve found one to your liking, you can make a reservation instantly.
What sets OpenTable apart from other booking apps is the multitude of filtering options, letting you search by party size, date, time, cuisine, price, or distance away.
4. TripAdvisor
With so much to do and so little time, you want to make sure your vacation excursions are worth every penny. TripAdvisor (and its adorable mascot Ollie) has been a trustworthy source of travel info for almost two decades, and it’s still the top destination for candid traveller reviews and photos. You can trust your fellow wanderers to provide an honest take on destinations large and small.
In addition to reviews, the TripAdvisor mobile app lets you near for interesting places near your current location. It’s a great source of information if you can’t decide what to do next.
5. SayHi
We’re pretty lucky, you and I. Why? As English speakers, there is seldom a major city on earth where we can’t find help from someone who speaks our language. And if worse comes to worst, SayHi is there to help.
SayHi is a translator app that repeats your words in a foreign language of choice, then translates the reply back into English. It’s not a perfect universal translator, but it can help bridge the language gap when you need to give directions or ask questions on your trip.
6. Moovit
If there’s one thing worse than trying to decipher a bus schedule, it’s doing it in a foreign language. Many travellers avoid public transit because they’re afraid of getting lost. Fortunately, Moovit is helping to change that.
Moovit is the world’s top transit app, with over 200 million users in over 2,500 cities all over the world. Travellers can use Moovit to check up-to-date bus and train schedules, transit maps, and bike routes in 44 languages. It empowers you to use transit like a local, saving you time and giving a unique cultural experience in the process.
