My Top Three Apps for the Tech-Obsessed Traveller
Travelling to a new place is very exciting. The thrill of seeing new sights and experiencing new things makes travel very enticing. In the past few years, the use of technology such as tablets and smartphones on our holidays has increased. Some people detest this, which is understandable. A holiday, for some people, is time to disconnect and re-energise yourself. However, other people embrace it. People today love to share their holiday experiences to family, friends and the world. Apps have been also built to make travel so much easier.
As I am typing this, I am on a short vacation in New Zealand (or as what us Aussies call it, "across the ditch"). Here's my Top Three apps I had used in making my travel plans happen, and to make travelling that much more interesting and easier.
I don't have flight price comparison apps in this article because while planning for this trip, prices on flights to New Zealand from Australia are reasonable from all airlines.
1. TripAdvisor
Looking at hotels and can't decide where to stay? TripAdvisor's app can help. With thousands of user-submitted reviews of hotels and other forms of accomodation around the world, it has become the authoritative source in finding accomodation. Sometimes, the views of other people who had stayed at your intended choice of accommodation can make the difference. I was tossing up between two places to stay when planning for my holiday to New Zealand. One hotel was closer to downtown, while the other one was a fair walk up a steep hill. Without looking at Tripadvisor, I would have booked with the former. However, TripAdvisor comments suggest the first hotel was too noisy and the rooms were too cramped. The latter hotel had more glowing reviews and had consistent high ratings. Based on that, I went with the later and I could not have been happier with that choice. It wouldn't have happened without TripAdvisor. By the way, that steep hill wasn't so bad after all!
The app is free on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.
2. Tripomatic
You have your flights and hotel sorted. Now what to do during your trip? Of course, you could do the old fashioned way of writing down what you want to do. Or, look through the internet and store in to your head what to see. However, we're all busy people. This is where Tripomatic comes in. It is a itinerary planning app that you can share with friends or plan privately. Within the app, you can see places of interest in the vicinity of where you're staying. In addition, it shows you available tours that you can join. While the app also provides hotel and car hire options, I'd recommend you use TripAdvisor as above. Another great feature is the amount of offline maps available, handy when you're not able to roam or get a local SIM card with data.
I used this app extensively in planning my trip here to New Zealand. There were sights I wanted see from knowledge passed on to me by Kiwi expatriates living in Australia, but I also discovered that New Zealand has so much more to offer. In addition, I found some tours that I wouldn't have thought of taking through Tripomatic.
The app is free on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store, however if you want the full offline features, it will set you back with an in-app purchase. The complete package, Tripomatic Premium, costs between $18.99 and $23.99, depending on which app store you use. Offline map regions can also be bought individually. While expensive, it is worthwhile in the end because of the data cost savings if decide to use the service offline.
3. MAPS.ME
While Tripomatic Premium's offline maps feature may satisfy some people, and for others, an easy-to-access dedicated offline map app is what they require. This is where MAPS.ME comes in. The best thing - it's free! MAPS.ME uses the OpenStreetMap data. It allows you to download any map from anywhere in the world, and use it offline. From my use here in New Zealand, the app finds the places I want to go to quickly. It provides routing directions, however I would not recommend this app to use as a car navigation tool. I'll get to that later. Rather, the routing feature of this app is better suited for walking distances. I saved data too as I didn't use it to download the maps required (I only have a 1GB data cap).
MAPS.ME is available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
Honourable Mentions
Google Translate - Handy if you're not good with the language in the country you have selected. The Android version allows you to download selected languages to your phone. Hope the iPhone version gets this as well. I didn't use it for this holiday (obviously) but always have it installed just in case. Free.
HERE Maps - Free turn-by-turn navigation & offline maps. However, it is missing a few countries that OpenStreetMap-sourced MAPS.ME has. Handy if you rented a car. I was planning to rent a car for this holiday but decided not to. The price of petrol is expensive here! Free.
TransitTimes - Going on vacation and want to use public transport? TransitTimes for the iPhone is the app for you. Allows you to download timetables on various public transport systems across Australia, Canada, Hungary, New Zealand and the United States. The data is synced with online real-time information about location and approximate arrival times. I have used this extensively to navigate across Auckland's public transport system. $2.99 iPhone and Android.
So, what are you waiting for? Go out there and explore the world!
