Traveling can be fun, transformative, and even life changing. But without the right tools, it can also be expensive and difficult to get around. You’re in a new place, and sometimes a little technology can go a long way to making your vacation a smooth sail. Here are the five essential apps you need for your next trip.
1. For Cheap Airfair and Hotels
Kayak lets you search for the best deals across popular travel sites. Find flights, book a hotel rooms, track your flight status and even check baggage fees. You can also call an Uber, find cheap rental cars, and create an itinerary. Helpful reviews make sure you aren’t spending the night with a mysterious stain on the floor.
2. For Discovering the Cheapest Days to Fly
Skyscanner lets you see every days with price on a bar chart, so you can determine when the cheapest months, weeks, and days are to book your travel.
If you’re the spontaneous type, Skyscanner has an “Everywhere” search option to find cheap travel deals around the world.
3. For Buying/Selling Your Non-refundable Hotel Room
If your looking for a room or more importantly, if you need to sell the paid, non-refundable room you’ve already reserved, download Roomer. Roomer matches you up with fellow travelers looking to buy/sell their reservations in the area.
4. For Finding Free Wi-Fi
There’s nothing worse then not being able to find a free Wi-Fi connection when you’re discovering a new location. OpenSignal combines the technology of signal finder with their user-generated database to point you in the right direction of the closest free Wi-Fi or cellular service. Every time you use it, that information is fed back into its database, and the coverage maps improve for all.
You can also use their Speedtest feature to check your connection’s speed, and My Stats to check your cell and Wi-Fi data usage.
5. For Translating Street Signs
The Google Translate app was recently updated and can now translate visual signs from 27 different languages into your language of your choice. Just hold up your phone to a sign, turn on your camera, and shoot. Almost instantly, you’ll see that sign translated before your eyes.
It’s also great for communicating in general in another language. Just type what you want to say and translate your words into one of the 90 languages Google Translate supports via text.
Check out the video below to see Google Translate in action.
What are your favorite apps for traveling? Let me know in the comments section. Happy travels!
Mickael Marsali handles capital management for biotech investors as a Senior Consultant in the UK. Please see his professional website for more details.