Top iPhone Apps for Travellers

May 20, 2010

Going travelling? Ditch the guidebooks and push your smartphone to it’s maximum potential with an array of very useful apps.

• Urbanspoon – this much-lauded app is popular for a reason. Install it, shake your iPhone and hey presto – suggestions of where to eat. You can get a completely random selection or filter if you know what you’re looking for. Urbanspoon uses GPS to determine your exact location and give you information on excellent restaurants in the area. As well as filtering by the type of food you would like to eat, you can also see results according to price range. As long as your city is included in the app, it’s definitely a good bet.

• Trip It – Travelling can be a bit of a logistical nightmare, particularly if you’ve got a busy itinerary. TripIt is an excellent app that takes a lot of the pain out of the organisation. Your full itinerary can be shown in the app whether you are online or offline, you can access maps and directions to your next destination with one tap and even make phonecalls directly from it. All airline, hotels etc can be contacted easily too as the app provides you with links.

• HotelPal – find and book a hotel straight from your iPhone. You can choose your destination or use the touch and hold map feature to find out where your nearest hotel is. As the app is powered by Travelocity, you can book securely straight from your iPhone. One excellent feature of this app is that it operates in real-time and therefore only shows you available rooms. Full lists of hotel amenities and comparisons using Google Maps are also available.

• Cheap Gas! – Fuel can be a huge expense if you’re on a road trip, so use this handy app to find out where the cheapest gas is. The cheaper the gas, the more money you have for fun! Search by your zip code for detailed results on exactly where to go for the best fuel prices. Cheap Gas! uses a very accurate search to make sure you can get the cheapest gas possible at all times. You can sort your results by either distance of price, depending on what is most important to you at that particular time.

• World Customs & Cultures – when you’re travelling abroad, it’s important to know about the local customs and cultures. This neat app lets you search the information for over 165 countries worldwide. Whether you want to make sure you don’t offend anyone on your travels or just want to learn more about the world, this app is definitely for you. Information provided includes appropriate greetings, the communication style used in a particular place, local etiquette on eye contact, touching and gestures. Of course, it also includes local laws.

• AAA Roadside – for those of you about to embark on a road trip, this is a must have. A breakdown can be a total nightmare but this makes it a bit more bearable by allowing you to register your AAA membership and request roadside assistance without having to sit in a phone queue. AAA will call you back promptly to confirm your request has been received. While using the app, you always have the option to make a voice call to AAA, should you decide you would prefer to do so. AAA Roadside includes a lot of useful information on nearly approved garages, local car rental and details of accomodation and parts shops if you need them. If you’re not an AAA member, you can still use the app as it allows you to join up.

Tags: AAA Roadside, Cheap Gas!, HotelPal, Travel, Travel Apps, Trip It, Urbanspoon, World Customs & Cultures