As a flashpacker, you probably like your great outdoors adventures to come with that little extra bit of flair or style. Luxury is also a bonus if you can get it. To get the very best of every location you travel to, you can download numerous apps that can help you travel in style and encounter unique experiences.
No more getting lost on the trail or staying in an awful hotel because you had to book sight-unseen. Now your technology can serve as your tour guide and guarantee top-notch lodging, cuisine, sightseeing and service along the way.
Here are five must-have travel apps that you won’t want to be without on your future travels.
Foursquare
Foursquare gives you the ultimate lowdown on where to eat, stay and visit in any city anywhere in the world. With more than 75 million users weighing in on their top choices, you won’t ever find yourself booked into sub-par accommodations or sitting alone and bored in the middle of an unknown city.
Foursquare can help you book your time with top picks from locals and travelers alike, whether your goal is to find the best cup of coffee in Curacao or the hottest disco in Trinidad.
The app is free and it’s available for iOS, Android, and Windows phones.
Hopper
Hopper makes sure you spend as little of your precious free time booking airfare as possible. And it must be working, because Hopper just won the 2016 Google Play Awards.
Hopper works by analyzing billions of different flight prices. Then it plugs those prices into its formula to predict whether the pricing is going to go up or down. You can use this algorithm to your advantage. Users report saving up to 40 percent on the cost of their tickets.
Hopper is a free app available for iOS and Android and is very simple to use. Just select your desired destination and travel dates, then wait for Hopper’s verdict. The app will tell you the lowest current price to book that itinerary and advise you to book or wait. If you decide to wait, Hopper will begin its analysis, sending you notices for when prices drop so you can book your travel at the lowest price.
PackPoint
When you are traveling with limited luggage, knowing what to pack for your trip can sometimes be difficult. For example, if you are going on a sailing trip for the very first time, you will need to know what to bring, what kind of clothes to wear, while keeping in mind the limited space on a sailboat.
This is where PackPoint can come handy. This app gives you the option to build a custom packing list for each leg of your trip. Just tell PackPoint where you are going and what you plan to do there, and it will get to work checking local weather forecasts and building a list of suggested items to pack.
The app is free, can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play, and in its Premium version, PackPoint lets you share your packing list with others and sync to TripIt and Evernote.
TripLingo
If you have your eye on a destination where you literally can’t even pronounce “hello” in the local dialect, then TripLingo is just the app you need to download.
TripLingo teaches you the conversational versions of essential local phrases and will even connect you to a live person for translation assistance if you need it. At the same time, you can use TripLingo to study the culture at your destination to ensure you won’t make any social faux pas. And when the time comes to tip your waiter, TripLingo is right there to help you calculate a locally appropriate tip.
TripLingo is available for iOS and Android and the basic version of the app is free. For $9.99, the premium version offers full features for one language and other language packs can also be purchased.
Wifi Mapper
All the smart devices in the world aren’t much use without Wifi. You probably know where all the local hotspots are in your home city, and now with Wifi Mapper you can travel like a local, finding hotspots whenever you need to connect.
With more than 500 million logged hotspots all over the globe, you won’t have to pay excessive roaming charges or even sip bad coffee while you surf. Wifi Mapper can not only help you find Wifi, but it can also help you find the hotspot with the best coffee.
You can download the app for free from the App Store and Google Play.
Final Word
Of course, it is easy to read about a great new travel app, add it to your app library and then promptly forget it is there. But these apps are the kind of hard-working travel partner that’s hard to forget about. From booking your flights and preparing your menus, to translating what your new local friend just said and helping you get online to share your adventures with family and friends, these apps are the kind of traveling companions you will want to bring along on every single trip.
Guest article written by: Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor and a striving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in the business world. She spends her free time trying out new recipes or reading Scandinavian crime novels. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels.