Once you arrive in your chosen destination, knowing what to do and where to go become the keys to a successful or fun visit. Several apps are tailored specifically to tourists, while others can help you find reservations at a suitable restaurant for a business meeting, or even ensure you don’t make any significant language faux pas.
Though it may have hit some bumps in the road of user-appreciation (the latest update has some users questioning what happened to check-in notifications on iPad) it’s still a well-designed app that offers an easy way to find the kind of food you want as close as possible. User reviews on Yelp helped prove to many the voracity of social networks for exchanging information (I mean, who would think to review a Starbucks?), but its value shines when you’re on the road. In a new city, finding a restaurant type in the right price range is simple. Scan a few user reviews and decide if it’s for you—a phone number is right there to call for a reservation, or perhaps you’ll find you’re standing right in front of an ideal place. Find yourself in a new (U.S.) city, and it could uncover a culinary gem.
If you’ve traveled abroad, you’ve probably butchered the local language courtesy of a phrasebook with weird symbols to indicate pronunciation. (I can tell you the story of using my Ancient Greek knowledge to sound like I’d stepped out of the 4th Century BCE when trying to rent a motorbike in Athens, much to the amusement of the kid manning the counter.) So instead, arm yourself with a phrasebook that actually speaks out the words for you. This Lonely Planet collection (each of the languages costs $5.99) offers very popular options like Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Arabic. These are all handy when the written alphabet isn’t easily understood. The apps are a hit-and-miss of consistency and completeness, with some obvious words or phrases missing from some languages, but in general, if you’re a first-time traveler to any of the countries where reading a road sign won’t help you find your way, then having this app in your back pocket will be welcome relief. Handily, these apps don’t require an internet connection, either, so if you’re traveling free of a data plan, you’re still in the game.
Lonely Planet 1.4
Lonely Planet
www.lonelyplanet.com/Us
$5.99
Whether on vacation or taking an hour between business meetings, managing your time to know where to go in a new town, what to see, when it’s open, and how far it is from your current location can streamline any visit. This app provides a full audio guide for a huge range of locations around the globe. Using the GPS, it can tell you what attractions are nearby, and then tells you core details about that location. That can mean a lot less reading. The maps let you find interesting locations nearby, and then hear details on their background and significance. You can also search for specific locations if you happen to know what you’re looking for. At $4.99 the app covers a lot of locations, and can provide pre-travel information if you simply search by your destination city, so that you can sound smarter when you get there if traveling with friends or a spouse.
HearPlanet 2.4.2
HearPlanet
www.hearplanet.com
$4.99
Occasionally, an app comes along and makes you realize for a moment that you are living in the future that was promised in the comic books and TV shows of your youth. We may not having flying cars or colonies on Mars yet, but we do have Word Lens, and it’s a glimpse at the Augmented Reality potential of truly smart phones. While the core app is free, and a proof of concept, it’s the $9.99 English-to-Spanish or Spanish-to-English translation tools that you have to see to believe. Launch the app, point it at a sign, newspaper story, or hotel check-in details and it will—in real time—translate so you can see what those words are in a language more familiar. Whether you’re vacationing in a Spanish-speaking part of the world, or Spanish is your first language and you need a quick translation, pointing your iPhone camera at the text and seeing it transform before your eyes can make you believe that magic pixies are inhabiting the device. If it has weaknesses, they are that it requires printed, clear text in solid fonts to make its translations and, like most translation devices, you may find a few words transposed or misinterpreted. But still, it will more than get you by.
Word Lens 1.0
Quest Visual
www.questvisual.com
Free/$9.99
Wherever they are in the world, iPhone users will be on the hunt for Wi-Fi. Whether it’s free or paid, this app helps you find cafes, public buildings, hotels, and other locations where you might be able to get connected. A set of filters lets you search by service provider or for free options, popping them up on the familiar map format so you can head right there. The creators claim it currently tracks over 340,000 Wi-Fi spots in over 140 countries, which should be enough to cover most travel needs.
Wi-Fi Finder 2.7.0
JiWire Inc.
www.jiwire.com
Free
Though similarly helpful in your pre-trip planning, a quality restaurant guide can ensure you don’t miss a trick or opportunity when you arrive at your destination. The Zagat series has long been a dominant force in the travel-guide business, and on the iPhone you can own 45 different complete guides for $9.99. As app prices go, it’s on the high side, but you do get a ton of content. Maps; restaurant details filtered by cost, food, and even decor; and an Augmented Reality tool that lets you point at a particular place and pull up its ratings and information ensures foodies will be well-served anywhere in those 45 cities.
Zagat To Go 4.0.2
Handmark
www.zagat.com
$9.99
Of all the detailed GPS systems on the market, this one has stood out as offering the best features for the price. Though it’s not cheap, it’s better value than standalone GPS devices, and still provides turn-by-turn directions across North America. The instructions and details are very well presented within the interface. You can navigate to an address pulled from your contact list, see multiple routes, and even see local points of interest for the drop-in tourist in you. Other apps in the CoPilot family include Europe ($64.99), UK & Ireland ($32.99), Australia and New Zealand ($49.99), and several more. Those points of interest integrated into the detailed direction-planning should ensure smooth sightseeing if you choose to drive to your destination.
CoPilot Live 8.2.0.341
ALK Technologies
www.alk.com
$19.99
Memorializing the events, sights, and sounds of your vacation can be more than just snapping quick photos, applying a filter, and uploading to Facebook. Trip Journal does cover those basics, but also allows you to write notes to keep track of your experiences alongside the geo-tagged photos you can snap. If you want to keep a cadre of family and friends updated in a moment-to-moment walkthrough of your vacation, this is likely the best way to achieve that. Between the integration to key social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and others, and functions that can be tricky to access but are ultimately fairly comprehensive, you can record tons of details about your trip, and regale anyone who will watch and listen (and hasn’t already seen the social network blow-by-blow) on your return.
Trip Journal 5.7
iQuest Technologies
www.trip-journal.com
$2.99
Just when you think the iPhone has everything, you find out it can tell you where to find a restroom. Seriously, the free app SitOrSquat: Bathroom Finder by Densebrain can save your bacon if you find yourself in need of emergency relief. Essentially, it’s a restaurant and store finder, highlighting those with bathrooms. But the crazy part is that you can even review bathrooms. If your race to FourSquare mayor-hood isn’t enough social media fame, maybe being the most prolific bathroom reviewer in your city will earn the kudos you desire. The app continues to display a few bugs, but you can’t knock its overall intention (and for families, that includes differentiating those bathrooms with changing tables).
Travel apps are extremely popular on the iPhone; you can spend hours browsing options, reviews, and comments. We’ve pulled together a few of our favorites, covering many topics, that you can use to enhance your vacation by getting the information you want right in your hand exactly when you need it.
So, to kick off, the number of food-selection choices in the app store continues to grow. We’ve been fans of UrbanSpoon (Free) since it introduced that random element of shaking your phone to find an eatery, where you kinda hope you get lucky. If that’s not the kind of experience you want from your vacation, then try LocalEats ($0.99), which covers a large range of U.S. cities, focusing purely on local establishments. That means no McDonald’s, just local knowledge distilled into an app that should help shape some great culinary vacation moments.
Odd as it sounds, you’ll probably look at maps quite a lot while on vacation. So, what if those maps weren’t your oh-so-familiar Google style? What if they were crafted, stylish, adding that little je ne sais quoi to the tourism experience? The Cartographer ($3.99) is more than just a map overlay. It lets you set favorite locations on a map and send those favorites to friends. If you’re traveling abroad, you don’t need to incur roaming charges, as you can download maps before you travel and still see points of interest and make your notes.
