09 Mar 10 Top Apps for Adventure Travelers
The newly updated Google Translate app lets you point your camera phone at a sign and get an instant translation.
In a digital world where the number of apps is rapidly approaching 1.5 million, there are thousands upon thousands of travel apps. You could spend all your time searching and sifting through them…or you could spend that time exploring the actual world, and let us point you toward some of the best ones to make your travels easier, better, safer and shareable. From keeping track of your reservations to overcoming jetlag, reading a menu in Mandarin to converting kilos so you can figure out just how heavy that elephant is…yep, there’s an app for that. Here, then, is a list of my personal Top Ten (15, actually – I couldn’t resist tacking on five more at the end). Some are fresh, some are familiar, but all of these apps offer a big value-add for the roving global adventurer.
TripIt
If you’re detail-challenged as I frequently am, you’ll love this award-winning mobile app that creates a master itinerary from all your trip components, including airline reservations, hotel and car rental confirmations, tour itineraries, etc. All you do is forward every element of your trip to plans@tripit, and TripIt generates one, seamless itinerary with all your details in a single location.
Pack Point
Great for active travelers, Pack Point builds a custom packing list based on expected weather at your destination, length of trip, and activities you’ll be engaging in – the app includes items for the beach, hiking, skiing, camping, photography and more, and you can customize it for individual pursuits. If you always manage to forget your cell phone charger or swimsuit, create a checklist to help – and share it with others via the individual link Pack Point generates for each trip.
Entrain helps you reset your body’s circadian rhythms and overcome jetlag by telling you when to seek light or dark.
Entrain
Entrain allows you to monitor your body’s circadian clock using your smartphone. To minimize the impact of jetlag in order to maximize your time spent enjoying your travels, consult this app based on research from scientists at the University of Michigan. Entrain helps you overcome jetlag by making mathematically optimal lighting recommendations (whether to seek light or dark) to help you adjust as fast as possible to new time zones and schedules. You can track and add your own custom “lighting history” which the app will use to adjust its recommendations.
The Converted
When you’re traveling internationally, you need a quick, handy app for all sorts of conversions, including currency, distance, temperature, area, volume, and various weights and measures. The Converted is your one-stop, all-purpose app for that. The Wall Street Journal calls it “slick and versatile.” But it doesn’t just spit out the requested number – it provides visual context by giving you a sense of the proportions between the conversions being made as you adjust, slide, and pinch the screen to get to the point you want to be. Currency exchange rates are updated daily.
WeatherPro
Updated every three hours for more than 2 million locations worldwide, WeatherPro is the ultimate weather-tracking app. And for adventure travelers, when safety may depend on a crucial update, this resource is an essential. The comprehensive app features 7-day forecasts, temperature (including what it actually “feels like,” worldwide alerts and extreme weather warnings, wind direction and speed, air pressure, precipitation and relative humidity, sunrise and sunset times, high-resolution weather maps, radar images and live webcams.
TravelSafe Pro
I like “round-up” apps where I can get a whole bunch of information in one place, and TravelSafe Pro fills that bill – it’s basically an international database to help keep you safe while you’re abroad. Lose your passport? Access phone numbers and addresses of embassies and consulates in any country. Wallet stolen? Call the local police. Numbers are also included for fire stations and emergency services. Injured and need medical care? Find the nearest hospital and call it directly. And since this highly rated app downloads the information onto your phone, you can use it offline.
Google Translate
Upgraded in January 2015 and processing more than a billion translations per day, this popular app is arguably the best among the many language translators available. A quick and easy way to translate portions of text and conversational phrases, the program excels at voice recognition: just speak the words in English into your phone and receive a pretty accurate translation in one of 90 different languages. The Google Translate app will even type them out in foreign characters so you can show a local person what you mean. The recent update also includes a visual translator using Word Lens: trying to read a Russian street sign in Cyrillic? Need to order off a menu in Mandarin? Just place the item in your phone camera’s viewfinder, as if you were taking a picture, then see an instant translation of the text on your screen.
With Trip Journal, you can track, record, document and share every detail of your journey.
Trip Journal
So much for the old-school handwritten journal! Recipient of Google’s #1 Travel App award, Trip Journal lets you track, record, document and share every facet of your travels. Send real-time updates from your destinations using Google Earth integration, and show maps, routes and locations visited. Geo-tag full-screen photos and videos and write blog entries. Stats junkies can record trip data such as distance and geography traveled, viewable through Google Earth Export. And, since Trip Journal is integrated with a host of popular social networks and content-sharing portals including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Picasa and Flickr, it’s easy to bring all your family and friends along for a virtual adventure.
EveryTrail
A bit like Trip Journal above, but geared more for outdoor adventurers, EveryTrail uses GPS to track your route as you hike, bike, run, ski, climb, paddle, sail or use any other mode of travel. Watch your travel map drawn as your trip is in progress, and see photos and video from your camera pinned instantly. View stats as you track your trip, including distance, speed, elevation and more. The app works anywhere in the world with satellite reception, whether you’re gorilla trekking in Uganda or circumnavigating Mt. Kailash. View topo and terrain maps and download them for offline viewing, ideal for wilderness trips and to avoid high roaming charges when traveling abroad. Users can also access a cache of more than half a million EveryTrail Guides added to the database by experts and actual travelers, including audio guides – plus information on hikes and points of interest near your location. Then, share your own trip details on EveryTrail via Facebook and Twitter.
Viber
Sure, there’s Skype for staying in touch while you’re away, but some plans require a prepaid monthly fee. Try Viber instead, which allows you to make free calls and send free texts, photo and video messages anywhere in the world, as long as both parties have the Viber app on their phone or computer. The app can be used over Wi-Fi or 3G networks, and Viber users can call any non-Viber number at low rates using ViberOut.
…Plus 5 More Mentions for Good Measure
Wi-Fi Finder
Freebie app to locate Wi-Fi in more than 650,000 locations in 144 countries.
Gate Guru
Top air travel app: Track airport weather, check security wait times, find food, view real-time flight status data for thousands of airports…and more!
PhotoSynth
Capture and stitch together photo panoramas in 3D and share them via social networks using this free app from Microsoft
Touchnote
Send a real custom postcard from anywhere in the world, from your phone. Choose a photo or create a collage, add a map, include a note, and mail it – for $2-3 each.
SkyView
This free app will enhance your stargazing experience. Just point your phone at the sky to identify stars, constellations, satellites and more! You can even point it down at the ground to see what’s visible on the other side of the world.
Want more travel apps? Check out Time Out’s 50 Best list, for solutions to ‘travel problems’ you never knew you had!
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