International travel is one of the greatest gifts that you can give yourself. It opens your mind to new cultures, ways of thinking, and fabulous foods around the world. As glorious as travel can be, it can also be confusing and chaotic. Here are some of the best travel apps that help us stay centered, connected, and safe on our travels.
Travel can be chaotic, but your mind doesn’t have to be. Headspace is a meditation app that has dozens of guided meditations. It can be hard to find a quiet space in cacophonous airports and overcrowded airplanes, but if you plug in some noise canceling headphones and open up Headspace, you can bring a small slice of harmony to a frenzied travel day.
One of the best ways to authentically experience a country is by drinking its wines, which is why we’re big fans of drinking local wines wherever we go. Vivino is a great way to keep track of the different types of wines that we taste. The app allows you to rate the wine, make tasting notes, and it even recommends other wines based on your ratings.
Similar to Vivino, Untappd is a beer drinking application that keeps track of the beers you taste around the world and share them socially. This application gamified beer, allowing you to earn “badges” based on beer type, location, and other factors. It’s also a way to keep track of your favorite beers. Somehow, after my third Belgian trappist, I can’t seem to remember the names of my beers…but now Untappd helps me J
WhatsApp is a travel app that is absolutely necessary if you want to communicate with others while you’re traveling. Unlike text messaging, WhatsApp doesn’t charge you for every message you send. This travel app is extremely common in other countries and it will be your best form of texting communication abroad. All you need is a WiFi connection and you’ll be connected to the world. WhatsApp will also work if you have cellular connection.
Similar to WhatsApp, Viber is an app that allows you to make free phone calls over a WiFi connection. While the connection won’t be as strong as when you’re on a cellular connection at home, it’s a good option for phone calls abroad.
Raise your hand if you love keeping track of your country count! Been is a great travel application that allows you to keep track of all of the countries and U.S. states that you’ve been to. If you feel like you need extra wanderlust, it even has an animated 3D globe that spins and shows you all of the places you’ve visited.
Instead of relying on exchange rates and calculators, Globe Convert instantly converts currency for you based on up to the minute exchange rates.
Before traveling to any country, we always download the “offline map” in Google docs. Even if we don’t have WiFi, we can still view the map and find our way around. Tip: “Star” your accommodations and other important locations (restaurants, points of interest) so that you can navigate your way on the map without WiFi.
Google Docs / Sheets
It’s important to keep track of your travel documents in the case that you lose your phone. Google Docs and Sheets keep your itinerary in the cloud so that you always have a way of referencing your itinerary no matter what.
Travel can be noisy and chaotic. You don’t have your normal sights, smells, and especially not sounds. When we’re on the plane (or in our destination) and need to go to sleep, we turn on the white noise app to drown out any extra noise.
This application is perfect for the photographers reading! This application turns your phone into a bright light so that you can take better photographs.
Mobile Passport is a great way to skip long customs lines without having Global Entry. Simply upload your flight information prior to your flight, setup your passport information, answer customs and border protection questions about your trip, and expedite your entry into the U.S.
Just as the name sounds, Google Translate translates languages into your language of choice. We find this especially helpful when reading menus. You can download the language in advance and use it for offline use.
Ride sharing apps are now in most countries throughout the world and they offer an easy way to safely get around without any exchange of currency. Prior to your travels, check if the app is available in the country that you’re visiting. Most Asian countries have outlawed Uber and use the app, Grab.
Audible is an application that is home to audiobooks. Download books ahead of your travels and listen to them on the airplane, in the car, or anywhere your phone travels with you!
Good post it was great and really highlighted step by step
These are great apps, even helpful for first time travelers. Thanks for sharing this post here.
Wow great apps.
Buy real passport online –buy real passport online – buy fake passport online – buy ielts online – buy driver license online.