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For the last couple of years I've brushed off travel apps. I thought they were cool, but I didn't own a smart phone and honestly I thought they were more of a conversation item than something that would help save money or time.

 

But with the proliferation of cheap tablets and no contract smart phones I started using some apps the last few months. BTW—Walmart will begin selling iPhones for their budget no-contract Straight Talk.

 

Below are three apps I use that are really useful to me. They were all free. I'd like to get a translating app for my next trip too.

 

The first free travel app I got was a phone app called Talkatone. It allows me to use my tablet as a free phone calling regular numbers over Wi-FIThere is even a way to hook it to your Google Voice number and receive calls too. I haven't done that yet, but I will. For iPhone or iPad users, Line is supposed to be a great app that does about the same thing.

 

The next App I have is Wi-Fi Finder.That maps out alot of free and paid Wi-Fi connections in an area.Very useful if you need to send a message home or use your'free phone'.

 

And the last app I recommend is a weather app called AccuWeather. You can load several cities and get the forecast quickly. Saves time looking it up and easy to compare cities, because they're right in front of you.

 

Please share your apps that you recommend and use for travel below.

If you want a thing done, ask a busy man.

Last edited by Travel Rob
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Translation app is easy! Google Translate is free, and runs on Android, iOS, Mac and Windows (and probably everything else, too.)

 

It allows you to see or hear the translation, it can translate your incoming text messages, and by using the camera, you can have it translate signs, menus, etc.

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

Google Translate was indispensable when my teenage son came down with a throat infection while in Bangkok. I typed in his symptoms, translated it to Thai, and showed the pharmacist. Ten minutes later he had a regimen of amoxicillin and some throat lozenges.

 

I like XE Currency app for my tablet and iPhone. Also Groupon - there are franchises in foreign countries and right now I'm keeping an eye on Dubai Groupon for an upcoming trip. Finally I like Yelp when I'm traveling in the USA.

A lot to be said for what might be the ultimate travel app category: Maps and GPS. I know people have their favorites (Google's not the only one, according to my wife...) but almost everyone uses some version on their phone or tablet.

 

Another good one is local transit. Most big cities have a route-finder on their transit site, but you have to find it. But Google Maps and HopStop and some others have transit info for most big cities. One downside: Apple is as bad as Google about business; when they bought HopStop, the first thing they did was kill the Android version. But you can still use it in a web browser.

I love Yelp as well, and there is a app called Happy Hours. It shows me restaurants with their own happy hours and happy hour menu. I also like hiking trail apps. Those apps tells me hiking trails in the cities I am traveling in (in the US). I recently tried Wishbeen. It is a web application though. It's a travel planning and sharing web. I like it a lot because it helps me browse travel itineraries made by other travelers, and I can easily modify them for my own trip. It also has a map function that is connected with google transportation info, so I can plan and get the transit routes, etc. 

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