Traveling without a smartphone seems almost unthinkable. Imagine: There was once a time when embarking on a road trip required a paper map, booking a hotel room meant you actually had to call the concierge, and word of mouth was pretty much all you had to rely on to find a great restaurant in a new city. Thankfully, in a day and age where smartphones are incorporated into most aspects of our lives, we don't have to worry about doing any of this the old fashioned way. All of the tools we need to plan a memorable trip are literally in the palm of our hands.
You're likely familiar with popular travel smartphone applications designed to help you book a flight or find a place to sleep or eat. But there's also a plethora of other apps you may not have heard of that were created to help you stay safe and healthy throughout your travels. Here are some of the top smartphone applications for the healthy traveler.
HappyCow
Unless you're headed to one of the best cities for vegan travelers, finding restaurants in a new city that cater to specific dietary needs could pose a major challenge. HappyCow is a website and application created and run exclusively by vegans to help travelers locate vegan, vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurants in over 10,500 cities worldwide. At only $3.99, it's a must-have for travelers who subscribe to a meat-free lifestyle as well as for those that are just looking for healthy options.
Entrain
Nothing ruins the beginning of a trip quite like jet lag. Exhaustion, insomnia, and irritability certainly aren't a great way to kick start your next vacation or business trip. With Entrain, smartphone users can significantly reduce the negative effects that come hand-in-hand with traveling through multiple time zones. The application focuses on adjusting your circadian rhythm by creating a customized schedule of light exposure during your trip, helping you minimize the likelihood of bad jet lag.
TravWell
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, created TravWell in an effort to help travelers stay safe and healthy during trips abroad. By simply entering where you'll be traveling, the application provides vaccine recommendations, a pre-departure checklist, and a customizable healthy packing list. You can also store travel documents, set reminders to take medications, and access destination-specific emergency phone numbers in the app itself.
Can I Eat This?
Another smartphone application by the CDC, Can I Eat This? is designed to help travelers prevent food-related illnesses like traveler's diarrhea. All you have to do is select the country you're in and answer a few questions pertaining to what you want to eat or drink. The app will then tell you whether or not it's likely to be safe. It's easy to use and there's no data required, so you can avoid getting sick wherever you may be.
PackPoint
As someone who once forgot to bring her passport for an international flight, I understand what a drag it can be when you forget to pack something important. But writing out a long packing list before every trip can also be an inconvenience. PackPoint is a smartphone application designed to create this list for you. You enter your destination, the dates you'll be away, and what you plan on doing (work, beach, photography, etc.) and the app will provide a customized packing list. The best part? PackPoint takes weather forecasts into consideration so you don't have to.
