Smart phones and apps have reached the point of ubiquity, even in many developing nations. As a result, many more people are traveling with their smartphones in tow and leaving larger laptops at home. The nature of smartphones and their software being bundled up in apps means that there are so many niche apps out there that can do some pretty specialized tasks, many with traveling specifically in mind. These are some of my favorite apps to use when I’m out on the road.
Trail Wallet
This app is an excellent budgeting tool for your trip, and by using it, I was able to come in under-budget on my trip to Nepal.
I’m not particularly good at keeping track of my money when I’m out and about in the world, but this app made it super easy. Before you leave, you can either set a budget for the whole trip or a daily budget in your home currency or the local currency and the dates for your trip.
If you set a whole trip budget, it will automatically calculate your daily budget for you. Whenever you purchase something, you can put in the total you paid and put it in a category, such as food, accommodation, transportation, entertainment and bribes.
You can also add your own categories, like souvenirs, tips, entrance fees or whatever you like. The app will tell you how much you have spent for the day and the trip, how much you have left in your daily budget and trip budget, if you’ve gone over budget for the day and will make a handy pie chart so you can see where most of your expenses are going.
I loved this app for all of my recent travels.
Available on iOS. First 25 items are free. Unlimited items is $4.99.
Travel Trainer
I’m not one who does much of a workout routine; I’d much rather get my cardio in by going hiking and walking instead of using public transit. But, that doesn’t mean that is everyone’s fitness choice.
I know it can be hard to stay faithful to a workout routine when you’re traveling, or even just away from your gym for an extended period of time, which is what makes this app so perfect.
No equipment is needed, just your body and space to move around. Through a series of algorithms, you’ll get three circuits, each with three different actions – one for lower body, one for upper body and one for general cardio. If you don’t know how to do one of the actions, it will even explain it to you.
You’ll get a timer that once you stop, you’ll be prompted to put in how many you did, allowing you to keep track of your progress over time. Don’t like a certain things? For example, think burpees are just the worst? That’s fine! You can take them out of the options for the algorithm.
Not to mention, 10% of your purchase will go to funding projects that help improve the health and wellness of disenfranchised groups.
City Maps 2Go Pro
Before I arrived back Stateside, I did not have a smartphone with me. I did have an iPod Touch, which allowed me access to almost all of the apps in the iOS App Store, but no cellular capabilities. I used it as my connection to the Internet when I had WiFi access, but when I was out and about, I did not have the luxury to just open up Google Maps and find out where I was at.
However, with City Maps 2Go Pro, I was able to download the maps for the area that I was in and it would be available for use offline. Not only that, but the maps also include marked points of interest that are crowdsourced allowing you to find neat little things in your area, that you may have otherwise walked right past.
There are maps for all countries, including provincial or state and city maps for a variety of countries. And even if you have cellular data turned off, to avoid roaming charges, you can still orient yourself on the map that uses the GPS.
Unlimited maps available on iOS for $4.99.
What apps do you rely on when you’re traveling? Is there an app that you wish existed when you were traveling but haven’t been able to find yet?