Your iPhone is the perfect travel companion, especially when packed with our selection of essential Travel apps. There are apps for every style and way of travelling, whether you are going abroad, or just trying to get across London. You can track your flights and those of loved ones – even seeing the exact location of the plane live if you so wish. There are some great looking and detailed travel guides that can be downloaded and used offline so you avoid any data-charge issues while abroad, and there is even an app to take with you if you’re just going for a walk in the country, allowing users to capture and blog every step of the journey so you can share what you’re up to with others. There’s even an app that turns your iPhone’s camera into a foreign text translator (though it is limited to dealing with short signs with clean fonts). And it all takes up a lot less space than an A-Z and a phrase book!
5 essential apps
01 Hailo
Price: Free Developer: Hailo Network
An ever-expanding app that allows users to order a cab directly from their phone, quote a price for the journey and then pay before you open the door of the cab. The application puts an end to having to stand on that pavement in the rain desperately trying to wave down a taxi as they fly by. Now you can use the in-app map to see how close the nearest cab is, tapping the pick me up icon and start to see the taxi icons head towards you.
02 Flight+
Price: £1.49/$1.99 Developer: I.A.F.T.T.
Described as the ultimate air travel companion, Flight+ is most definitely an incredibly useful app to help calm the inevitable frenzy that can be the trip to and around the airport. The app contains all your flight details on near-genuine digital tickets, so you can quickly check your departure time and gate number without having to dash to one of the screens. The app also includes weather forecasts.
03 GuidePal City Guides
Price: Free Developer: GuidePal
There are two crucial factors that make this app such a good download for the traveling iPhone user. The lesser of the two is the wonderful interface and impressive detail that has gone into compiling these guides. They may be digital and therefore bitesize, but there is more than enough to get you out and about near your destination. The other huge selling point is that these guides are available offline.
04 ramblr
Price: Free Developer: Bientus
Turn your walk into nature into a cool blog full of images and posts, complete with a map of your route. Ramblr makes all this possible by allowing users to map their hiking route, and add multimedia updates as they go for others to view in chronological order
05 Tube Map
Price: Free Developer: mxData
An absolute must-have if you are visiting London for the first time, or even if you’re using an unfamiliar section of the tube. The app can help you to calculate a route, including the estimated time it will take you, as well as use live service updates to help divert you around engineering works and other problems. You can use your location to find the nearest station.