Apps are there to make your life easier, and they don’t just stop at providing you with Facebook statuses on the go and giving directions to the nearest pizza place. There are tons of apps that can make your travel experience as carefree as having a travel agent right beside you, guiding your every move. If you have a smartphone charger, you’re set to maximize your time discovering the sites. So if you’ve got a big trip coming up, make sure to bring along these five must-have travel apps.
Wikitude
Wikitude app image by WIKITUDE via Flickr.
Available for all devices, Wikitude analyzes your pictures to answer questions like “what is that building?” or “what body of water is that over there?” You can take pictures at your leisure and Wikitude (free) will identify your surroundings as soon as you get an Internet connection, according to Mashable.com. Even better, you can take a picture of the cash in your wallet to find out what the exchange rate is at your international destination.
Dcovery
Designed for iOS, Dcovery ($4) makes your foreign destination feel like home. A Place Finder browser extension combines points of interest collected through your own research and allows you to prioritize and categorize them according to your own interests. Add pictures, link them with your maps, and sync information from your computer to create your own personalized travel guide.
BestParking
Available for iPhone, Android phones on t-mobile, and BlackBerry, this free app is an ideal companion for U.S. road trips, according to Mandi Woodruff of Business Insider. BestParking uses a GPS-powered search engine that points you in the direction of the most inexpensive and convenient parking spots in your vicinity. In fact, the app is so confident in its parking-space-finding abilities that it even offers a $5 Starbucks gift card if you find a better alternative.
Wi-Fi Finder
It’s 2013, why don’t we have free Wi-Fi everywhere yet? Since we still don’t live in the futuristic society promised to us by sci-fi novels, the free Wi-Fi Finder app is the next best alternative. The app makes it easy to stay connected wherever your travels lead you, with a GPS feature that finds the closest Wi-Fi hotspots for you. It even allows you to save locations for later in case you have trouble connecting while you’re searching. The app works across the board for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.
ICE: In Case of Emergency
It’s probably not what you had in mind when you first started planning your fun-filled vacation, but it’s important to always be prepared while traveling. ICE ($4) keeps you ready for the unexpected with a list of your medical professionals’ phone numbers, insurance information, and details about any unique medical conditions all in one place. The information can be accessed even when the phone is locked, and can be easily translated into 10 different languages.