Being prepared when you’re holidaying abroad is key…and it’s useful to fill your smartphone with some apps that could really come in useful. Here are a selection of our favourites, tried and tested!
- XE Currency App
In the office we use the desktop version of XE.com to get accurate currency conversions. It’s the most popular of its kind on search engines too, so it’s a no brainer for us. Now however you can take it on the move by downloading the app version on either iOS and Android smartphones or tablets. It’s had over 5 million downloads and is a really useful resource when you’re travelling all over the world.
- Google Translate
Essential app to help you out of potentially sticky situations! It can help you out translating most languages into others, whether you’re fluent or a novice. A huge advantage of this is that it can recognise things like signs and menus, translating an image from your camera into its meaning instantly. It’s free on iOS and Android.
- LiveTrekker
A useful resource to look back on your journey via an interactive map. It tracks your exact route wherever you go, monitoring things like your speed and altitude. You can adding things like photos, audio clips and video – so it’s essentially a portable ‘scrapbook’ of your travels. We love it! You have to keep your ‘location’ setting enabled on your smartphone though, which drains the battery faster. It’s available on Google Play Store and iOS.
- Skyscanner
Something you’ll probably find more useful before you go on a trip, but useful none the less. Rather than searching manually for different flights, this does it all for you – in the same way a price comparison site would with insurance etc. Its filters are really good, so it’s very flexible and you can find the closest flight options to suit your needs. Free on Android and iOS.
- Guides by Lonely Planet
Like the popular guide books, but in an app! It’s not as in depth as a book, but really useful. There are many city guides included (over 100), so it’s worth seeing if it features a place you’re visiting. There are also useful features such as offline maps (should you not have an internet or data connection), audio phrasebooks for 19 languages and easy bookmarking to store your ‘must-sees’ easily. It’s free on iOS and Android.