Back in the good old days, travel accessories used to consist of a sturdy backpack, a pair of decent hiking boots and a map. Today, that’s no longer the case. Yes, these things are still useful out on the open road, but so too are many travel apps that make up the modern traveller’s arsenal. We’ve selected five of the most useful applications available at the moment.
Pack the boots, but don’t forget your charger.
An obvious place to start, but has there ever been an app more useful for regular travellers? Find out the best places to eat in town, from the high-end gourmet treats to the little-known family run eateries. Fancy a drink off the beaten track? Consult the app for a cool place to spend the evening. With potentially just one day in any given place, you want to make the most of your time there and that means finding the best possible place to eat, drink and have fun.
On top of food and drink, there’s also a highlight of the best attractions in any given city, plus the reviews from people who have been. With an easy-to-understand five-star rating system, you can get a glimpse of the good stuff when you’re in a rush and check out the comments for a more in-depth view when you’ve time to spare.
If you haven’t ever used it, you really should give it a go before your next big trip.
Because no matter how many phrases you learn in Thai, there will be a point when the words for “please, no more buckets” escapes you.
On top of a regular translate mode, complete with phonetic guide, the newest version of this helpful app includes ‘Conversation Mode’; a really useful piece of kit. Simply hold up to two people having a conversation in another language and the app will tell you what they are saying. It’s excellent for those times when frantic gesturing and pointing just aren’t enough.
If you are planning a big end of year trip and you really want to learn a little language, try Duolingo as well.
One for the more cautious travellers, TravelSafe Pro contains the emergency numbers for almost every country on the planet – or at least the ones you’d want to visit on holiday.
As well as numbers for police, fire, ambulance and emergency medical assistance, the app also contains numbers for your embassy within a country, in case your passport is lost or stolen.
Available on Android, the app only costs 99p, which is nothing when you consider how important it could prove to be.
Even the most intrepid modern travellers still need a good internet connection every once in a while. WiFi Finder helps you avoid excessive roaming charges for those times when you need to transfer money to your travel card or when you absolutely must update your Facebook status in order to induce envy among your friends at home.
Download it for free on all major smartphones and use the offline mode to avoid further charges. Just fire up the app and follow the directions to that sweet, sweet internet.
Snap happy travellers might want to invest in this handy cloud storage app to keep the holiday pics safe and secure. There’s a free initial service of 2GB, or you can pay a monthly fee to ensure you have maximum capacity – it really depends on how many pictures you intend to take on your trip.
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
We always book our big trips with E-shores, great service from Dave.
Michelle was brilliant! She was patient whilst we changed ideas & dates of what we wanted to do, and made sure it was just right for what we wanted! Explained everything really clearly & booking our trip was effortless! Will definitely be using eShores again!
Kady was so informative concerning my Cruise and happy to answer all my questions she made the process extremely easy and stress free
Excellent support with planning a 2 centre trip with internal flights. Very pleasant to deal with.
Dave was excellent in finding what we wanted on a trip to Corfu and the Albania riviera. Cannot wait to visit these two places later this year.
First class service. Michelle was so helpful and obliging, nothing was too much trouble. We now have a great 2 centre city break planned, the second we have booked with eshores. Would highly recommend the company.
Wanted a 2 centre holiday and contacted E-Shores, within 48 hours had a quote and when spoke to agent talked me through all aspects and gave some really good advice.
The staff, especially Anna have been excellent, so helpful and professional. Thank you
Thanks Claire for helping us to find our dream itinerary for the Caribbean. You really helped us work out the best places.
Excellent service that offers such a wide choice of holidays. In fact they'll try their best to fit wharever you want into a hiday package!
Very pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable
My experience with e shores has been brilliant, nothing was too much trouble, Rob ensured that we had the perfect hotels for our trip to Greece.
I always find eshores to be very helpful and efficient, we have never been disappointed with their recommendations and our travels have always been a success. We have recommended them to serveral of our friends who have been equally happy with the service and experties provided.
Claire was unbelievably helpful. She listened to what I was looking for and then spent time putting together a great package. I made several requests for adjustments and alternatives were sent. Nothing was too much trouble and I will certainly use Claire again for my next holiday.
Hannah was very helpful and informative about our requirements. Very professional and easy to communicate with.
Extremely helpful. Provided some great suggestions for an itinery in the Caribbean. Nothing was too much trouble. Very competitive price. We will certainly use them again.
Just booked with eShores, Rob was very helpful and knowledgeable, the whole process was very professional. Excellent service.
We have just booked our first trip with eShores and first trip to Sri Lanka. The help and assistance we received from Andy was second to none and made the whole experience easy going. We’ll leave a second review once we’re back. Thus far; highly recommend eShores
Reliable friendly service, follow up good, cheapest quote for the Philippines.Contact quick and easy
Excellent customer service, happy to adjust as your needs require. Delighted with speed of response, and value for money. Highly recommend