Travelling is fun but stressful – it’s always this balancing act between relaxing to enjoy the moment and keeping a careful eye on your tickets and the clock to ensure you don’t get stuck somewhere along the way. I’ve been traveling a lot recently – first to CeBIT in Germany, then a Hadrian’s Wall Cottage in Cumbria, and now to my parents in Yorkshire – and I’ve increasingly found that my Android smartphone has got my back.
Let’s have a look at my five most used apps, and why they’re gonna be your five most used travel apps too.
5. Train Tickets
If you often travel by train, listen up! The Train Tickets app is the first one on our list, and beyond its titular ticket buying ability, it gives you something even more valuable: Live train times, including each train stopping at a given station, which platform it’ll be at and how much it’s been delayed by.
Getting that information before you enter the station can be a lifesaver, as you don’t have to fight your way to a physical station board to know where and when you need to go – you can just head directly to your train.
4. Trip Journal
Trip Journal is an interesting travel app – instead of being about organising the trip you’re about to take, it’s about remembering the places that you’ve been. It works by referencing the GPS coordinates of your location with media that you’ve created at that place – whether it’s textual notes, photos or videos.
Once you’ve finished your trip, you can share it with friends over the social networks of your choice, allowing you to show off that quirky Cumbrian bed and breakfast or fun day out on horseback in a media-rich travelogue format.
3. TripIt
TripIt is an app that takes a simple concept and executes it really well. It simply takes the confirmation emails sent out from your plane or train company and turns them into easily readable and locally stored itineraries.
These are further complemented with relevant information, like maps of the surrounding area and weather for the day and time you’ll arrive.
The app is definitely impressive, working with emails sent out from all kinds of sources (flight companies, hotels and such) and providing the results incredibly quickly.
2. Flight Track
Flight Track is a good example of a standout app in a crowded market – in this case, flight tracking. I’ve found the app quite easy to use, with essential flight information like live timings and gates overlaid with more comprehensive details like a delay forecast (estimates the chance the flight will be late or cancelled based on prior flights) and SeatGuru integration (shows you the best reviewed seats on the plane you’ll be on.)
It’s a well put together package that does enough to stand out from the crowd, which is ever-growing for Android users.
1. TripAdvisor
We’ll round this round-up off with a well-known travel app that you might have heard of: TripAdvisor. This app shows you local information on attractions in your area, making it easy to find great places to eat, stay and visit. It’s also brilliant for finding things to do, particularly when you have only a few hours to spend and no time to research – just put in your location, and it’ll find something interesting nearby.
The app’s popularity has made its ratings very accurate, with thousands of reviews of the most popular attractions easily readable. It’s a great app, and should definitely be on your phone if it isn’t already.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading this article on the top five travel apps I’ve found. There are literally hundreds of travel apps out there, so please feel free to leave a few of your favourites in the comments below, as I’m sure other readers will appreciate finding even more apps to check out.
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