Planning a vacation? Going on a business trip? Traveling has become a whole lot easier thanks to technology. Now, you can have quick access to all the information you need, and all the information you didn't know you need, with a huge variety of apps that promise to help travelers of all sorts go on a fun, stress-free trip.
If you're a jet-setter or if you're getting ready for a one-off trip, check out our top 10 picks for the best travel apps to take out the hassle and add more convenience to your vacation.
Skyscanner will help you find the best flights based on your budget and schedule by scanning millions of flights from more than 500 airlines around the world and comparing their prices. From there, you can book flights through links to the airlines or travel agencies. Skyscanner will also scan the ground for you to help you find affordable car rentals connected to your flight.
More than a flight and hotel search engine, Hipmunk is really a one-stop solution to all your travel booking needs. Aside from giving you price comparisons on flights, Hipmunk also offers other information such flight duration, number of stopovers, and other factors that could increase your flight agony, as well as last-minute hotel deals and the hotel's proximity to restaurants, shopping outlets, and other attractions. From the app, you can link to the external sites to book your desired flight and hotel.
TripIt syncs to your Google and Apple accounts and will run through your inbox looking for reservation emails, booking appointments, and other activities and will consolidate all of them into one convenient itinerary that you can view on your phone or share with other people who might be going with you. This app will also offer suggestions on things such as where to eat and where to go based on the information it gathers. TripIt has a free version supported by ads, while a premium version is ad-free.
4. TripAdvisor Offline City Guides (Android, iOS)
If you're a fan of TripAdvisor's comprehensive, user-contributed travel guides, you'll also like its Offline City Guides, which gives you access to all the curated content for several of the most popular destinations around the world without requiring you to be connected to the Internet. It's extremely helpful especially in places where it's hard to come by a Wi-Fi network or when you don't want to rack up on roaming charges.
When you don't know where to stay, where to go, and where to eat, Minube can help you with that. This app will let you browse through photo-filled travel guides by other users to help you gain the information you need to decide what you want to do for your vacation. It will also let you download the travel guide you like the most, so you can access it all the time, even when you're not connected to the Internet.
Packing is probably the least fun part of going on a trip, right next to unpacking. PackPoint will make it a whole lot easier for you by creating your packing list. You simply have to create a trip profile and tell the app what kind of trip it is, where you're going, when, and how long you will be staying. Based on the information you provide, PackPoint will deduce important things such as the weather and bring you a list of what kind of clothing and other things to bring.
If you're bored with conventional hotel rooms, Airbnb can help you find alternative accommodations you can rent, sublet, or even swap with your own home while you're on vacation. From treehouses bedecked with swinging bridges and hammocks to 15th century castles and $10,000 Indonesian yachts, you'll find all sorts of unique and interesting places to stay in.
WeatherPro will give you highly reliable weather information for the next seven days in more than 2 million places around the world. Your forecast will give you everything, from temperature to humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and air pressure, so that you know what you have in store for the entire week. WeatherPro is a premium app that costs $2.99 to download.
9. Google Translate (Android, iOS)
It can be hard traveling to a country where you don't know how to speak the language, so Google Translate can help fill in for you. This app lets you type or dictate short sentences and offer you with a short, accurate translation of what you input. You can also take pictures of signs with your phone's camera and have the app translate the sign's meaning.
10. XE Currency (Android, iOS)
XE Currency will help you track exchange rates so that you're aware of how much money you're shelling out for all your travel expenses. This app covers virtually every currency in the world and lets you monitor exchange rates for up to 10 currencies, which should be more than enough for any moment during your trip. XE Currency keeps track of all currencies you monitor so that you still get updated exchange rates for these currencies even when you're offline.
Photo: Moyan Brenn | Flickr
