It's hard to even imagine travel without a smartphone.
In my iPhone Travel App folder I have a bunch of fabulous apps that make maneuvering my way around the country and around the world so much more efficient, and vastly easier.
Here are my favorites!
Seat Guru
This one has seating plans for more than 750 types of airplanes, and they are color coded red, green and yellow to help you make your seat choice.
Red is for a "poor seat". This indicates the seat has multiple things going wrong - too little legroom, seat width diminished, doesn't recline, no window view, next to a toilet or by the galley etc.
Yellow is for "Be Aware". This typically means there is one of the above going on.
Green is for a good seat.
Another great feature is that travelers can post comments, so you can access even more info before you choose your seat, or, you can post your own review.
Gate Guru
This one lets me know which gate my plane is leaving from, or which gate someone is arriving at.
It's especially helpful when you have a connecting flight, letting you know which gate you need to get to before your inbound flight gets to the jetway. Often flights get delayed, making the best planned layover or connection super tight. Gate Guru takes some of the stress out of that.
My TSA
You already know by now (hopefully!) not to try and board a flight with a gun or a knife in your carry on luggage, but what about jars of fresh jam from a local market, or local honey? With My TSA you can ask if an item is acceptable or not, and have the option of packing it into your main suitcase rather than your carry on.
It also has rules and guidelines for those traveling with medical needs.
Sleep Pillow
This one is for Apple products only. There are tons of white noise apps out there to help you drown out the sounds of airplane engines, the buzz of an aircraft, the noise of people sitting around you. This one is special because the sounds are so authentic, and it gives you multiple options. Rather than just a rain option you an choose rain on a tent, rain on a car (with windshield wipers!), rain on leaves etc. There are wonderful nature sounds options, a variety of beach/ocean sounds, there are even 4 different options for fans blowing the air around!
Not only can you get very specific with the sounds you want, but you can layer sounds to create mixes too, for example start relaxing with rain on leaves, then have train in the distance, followed by maybe some soft waves at the ocean, and then close it out with some soft wind chimes.
You can also set a timer on this app, and an alarm.
Flight Aware
This one is great both for travelers and for when you are picking someone up at the airport. You enter the flight details and can see up to the minute departure and arrival status. It's also fantastic when you have connecting flights and need to see if the next flight is arriving on time or is delayed.
Hotel Tonight
Sometimes things go wrong, or maybe they've gone right, and you need a hotel room, tonight. ( I recently found my connecting flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Houston, and faced spending the night in the airport. This was a great way to find a hotel nearby, now.)
However it transpires, if you need a last minute overnight, Hotel Tonight finds you hotel rooms available where you are, and helps you to book them from your phone or tablet.
iTranslate
Another apple product, this lets you translate to and from 80+ different languages. Not only does it have a typing feature, but also a microphone option - either you can speak to it in your own language, or the person you are having trouble understanding can speak to your phone and it will translate for you.
Converter
I not only check international exchange rates every day with this app, but also any other conversion I need to make into metric.
Need to know how kilometers per hour convert to miles per hour? How to put weight into metrics, change celcius into fahrenheit or vice versa? This app is brilliant, incredibly easy to use, and invaluable when traveling abroad.
In my iPhone Travel App folder I have a bunch of fabulous apps that make maneuvering my way around the country and around the world so much more efficient, and vastly easier.
Here are my favorites!
Seat Guru
This one has seating plans for more than 750 types of airplanes, and they are color coded red, green and yellow to help you make your seat choice.
Red is for a "poor seat". This indicates the seat has multiple things going wrong - too little legroom, seat width diminished, doesn't recline, no window view, next to a toilet or by the galley etc.
Yellow is for "Be Aware". This typically means there is one of the above going on.
Green is for a good seat.
Another great feature is that travelers can post comments, so you can access even more info before you choose your seat, or, you can post your own review.
Gate Guru
This one lets me know which gate my plane is leaving from, or which gate someone is arriving at.
It's especially helpful when you have a connecting flight, letting you know which gate you need to get to before your inbound flight gets to the jetway. Often flights get delayed, making the best planned layover or connection super tight. Gate Guru takes some of the stress out of that.
My TSA
You already know by now (hopefully!) not to try and board a flight with a gun or a knife in your carry on luggage, but what about jars of fresh jam from a local market, or local honey? With My TSA you can ask if an item is acceptable or not, and have the option of packing it into your main suitcase rather than your carry on.
It also has rules and guidelines for those traveling with medical needs.
Sleep Pillow
This one is for Apple products only. There are tons of white noise apps out there to help you drown out the sounds of airplane engines, the buzz of an aircraft, the noise of people sitting around you. This one is special because the sounds are so authentic, and it gives you multiple options. Rather than just a rain option you an choose rain on a tent, rain on a car (with windshield wipers!), rain on leaves etc. There are wonderful nature sounds options, a variety of beach/ocean sounds, there are even 4 different options for fans blowing the air around!
Not only can you get very specific with the sounds you want, but you can layer sounds to create mixes too, for example start relaxing with rain on leaves, then have train in the distance, followed by maybe some soft waves at the ocean, and then close it out with some soft wind chimes.
You can also set a timer on this app, and an alarm.
Flight Aware
This one is great both for travelers and for when you are picking someone up at the airport. You enter the flight details and can see up to the minute departure and arrival status. It's also fantastic when you have connecting flights and need to see if the next flight is arriving on time or is delayed.
Hotel Tonight
Sometimes things go wrong, or maybe they've gone right, and you need a hotel room, tonight. ( I recently found my connecting flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Houston, and faced spending the night in the airport. This was a great way to find a hotel nearby, now.)
However it transpires, if you need a last minute overnight, Hotel Tonight finds you hotel rooms available where you are, and helps you to book them from your phone or tablet.
iTranslate
Another apple product, this lets you translate to and from 80+ different languages. Not only does it have a typing feature, but also a microphone option - either you can speak to it in your own language, or the person you are having trouble understanding can speak to your phone and it will translate for you.
Converter
I not only check international exchange rates every day with this app, but also any other conversion I need to make into metric.
Need to know how kilometers per hour convert to miles per hour? How to put weight into metrics, change celcius into fahrenheit or vice versa? This app is brilliant, incredibly easy to use, and invaluable when traveling abroad.
