By Will and Nikki Gott
If you have traveled lately and simply looked around, you will notice everyone is using a smart phone. As soon as the plane lands, people are on their smart phones checking emails or finishing that text message they started before they had to turn off their data.
Smart phones have changed the way we communicate and how we enjoy traveling. Over the past few years, several smart phone apps have been introduced to the world and several have fallen by the wayside. However, today there are some tried and true apps that you can count on to make your travels more productive and efficient.
Here are 6 road-tested travel apps for your next business or leisure travel:
- TripCase: TripCase is a leading mobile and web service platform for travelers, travel managers, and other administrators. TripCase gives you the capability to quickly view documents and receive trip reminders, flight status notifications, and keep all of your travel details in one place and even get a ride through Uber with just a few clicks and conveniently stay on top of your trip notifications from your smartwatch.
- GateGuru: Hungry, but don’t have a lot of time between flights? Finished your book and need a new one for the next leg of your trip? Before you deplane from your first flight, get the lay of the airport land with GateGuru. The app offers gate-by-gate lists of restaurants, shops and services in most US and Canadian airports.
- Skype: If you’re traveling outside the US but don’t want to return home to a crazy big cell-phone bill, rely on Skype’s mobile phone app, which allows you to make low-cost calls over the internet instead of using your cell-phone provider’s costly per-minute international plan.
- Yelp: Use Yelp to search for restaurants and shops by category or by search term. Yelp can use your phone’s GPS to serve up nearby shops or you can search by ZIP code or city. You’ll have to take some of the reviews with a grain of salt, but it’s a good place to start looking for quality spots in a new-to-you city.
- The Weather Channel: This popular app puts television’s favorite weather broadcast into your pocket or purse. Easy to navigate, TWC app supplies travelers not only with current conditions at their location, but hourly and 10-day forecasts, local airport, beach, and boating conditions, radar, UV indexes, and weather news.
- OpenTable: This mobile concierge can make dinner reservations anywhere. Search for restaurants by location or name, browse top and trendy dining spots, and then let OpenTable search for available dates and times. When you’ve chosen one, book it with one tap. The app instantly confirms the reservation and sends you a reminder in advance.
So, the next time you travel considering using one or all of these apps to make your travel less stressful.