Best iPhone Travel Applications
A world of useful applications is now available to travelers on their iPhones (and other smartphones). Have you enjoyed using any particular apps to enhance your travels? And, since we're designing apps of our own: What features do you think the ideal travel app should have?
Also, check out Rick's new iPhone apps! What do you think of them?
iPhone off-line Maps
With new and improved apps all the time, I've had to keep revising my collection. The latest one, and the one that I think is the best at the moment is PocketEarth (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketearth-maps-guides/id481679745?mt=8)
Versatile, global, fast, accurate, economical... Check it out!
mutro
SUNNYVALE, CA USA 04/23/2013
Travel App
MTrip Travel Guides for your smartphone. More than a guide, it helps you build your itinerary, with your personal sightseeing preferences, or build it manually to your own preference. Great because you can see your Points of Interest in Map view or in List view. The list view actually estimates how long it takes to walk to the next POI, great for planning your day most efficiently to maximize walking and sightseeing along the way. Zoom in and see what other POI's are along the way and add them to your itinerary if you like. Lot's more... used them in Rome and in Paris. They come with built in Maps that let you navigate, and using GPS let you see your current position as you walk etc. Very useful.
J
Dean, New York USA 04/14/2013
iTrans London Tube
Can't get the ITrans London Tube app from the US iTunes App Store. Anyone know how to download a British app?
Mary
Columbus, OH USA 04/02/2013
I love Frommer's tools.. It is very useful.
USA 03/23/2013
MY TRAVEL APP
MyTravelApp - this is very useful stuff, I think the major one missing is mytravelapp, this app is designed specifically for travel and travelers who will be making long distance calls and as we all know roaming can be very expensive, this is an amazing way to save on long distance with rates in the pennies! Go my travel app
MARCOS
SAN DIEGO, CA USA 12/12/2012
Travel iPhone App
I like Frommer's Travel Tools. It has a currency converter, time translator, tip calculator, flashlight, packing list, and you can send a "postcard" with a photo you just took!
Dianne
Victoria, BC CAN 06/20/2012
Easily map and share my vacation iPhone photos.
When I'm traveling around the world, I use the Photo Mapo iPhone app to map and share my photos. This is the best way to show my friends and family where I was when I took that great photo with my iPhone. You can use the app to share your photos via facebook, twitter, flickr and email.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-mapo/id525258687?mt=8#
www.PhotoMapo.com
And... it is free!!
Joe Smith
Denver, CO USA 06/05/2012
Save time and money with Best Travel Offline Map App
Using paper maps in many parts of Europe presents a lot of challenges. Not all locations have proper signage for road names - especially true in Italy. Foreign names are slightly harder to read - especially true in countries where there are additional symbols. Plus, you need to locate yourself on a map, which is a big hassle.
Using iPhone maps would be ideal, except that it consumes copious amounts of data and you pay through your nose ($20 for 20MB !!).
I use Best Travel Offline Map from http://besttravelapp.org
The app for iPhone lets you download unlimited number of maps for free for most European destinations and use it without data connections. It contains points of interest which you can locate on the map as well as locate yourself.
David
Fremont, CA USA 02/28/2012
iPhone app for the adventure traveller
Full Disclosure - I am a mobile apps developer & I am posting this because I would like to share this app with this wonderful community.
The app is CairnStory, made for adventure travelers like trekkers, hikers, bikers or skydivers and of all kind who want a better way to easily and conveniently document and share their travel experiences with friends and relatives and is available for download in the the Apple iTunes store.
Have a play with it :)
Ed Dawson
USA 11/17/2011
Use this app to stay in touch and save $$$ on your ATT iphone!
Here is my experience with using the Line 2 app on the iphone while spending 6 weeks in Europe. My goal was to avoid excessive ATT charges and yet still be able to be in touch. THIS WORKS!!!! Please carefully read the steps I am posting, it is critical that your phone does not ring or ATT will charge you. I combined this with an ATT international text messaging plan and I was completely in touch without surprises on my ATT bill
ON THE IPHONE: FORWARD PHONE Settings>Phone>Call Forwarding, ON ( forward to your line 2 assigned phone # )
TURN DATA ROAMING "OFF": Settings>General>Network>Data Roaming
TURN FETCH NEW DATA"OFF": Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calender>Fetch new data
IN THE LINE 2 APP: SET TOKTUMI SETTINGS TO TOKTUMI Settings>Do Not Disturb>ON TOKTUMI Settings>Dialing>Allow 3G VoIP Calls> OFF TOKTUMI Settings>Dialing>Allow Cellular>OFF
Record a Line 2 message telling people that you may not hear messages immediately, but will check them daily when in wifi ( I also said they could text me if urgent, and set up an ATT international text plan )
With these settings: The phone WILL ring The Phone WILL get texts The phone WILL NOT check e-mail or VM on the fly, nor use maps or apps requiring maps You will WILL NOT see VM's on the phone ( visual voice mail list or little symbol with #)
You simply hear your messages as attachments to your voice mail when you are in a wifi area. IT WORKS!!!!!!
The app is free, but the service from Line 2 / Toxtumi is $12.95 a month, no long term contract necessary
Mary Beth
Bainbridge Island, WA USA 10/31/2011
iPAD in Europe
iPAD Experiences on three week European trip:
First, we each took our iPad, not owning an iPhone. (We also had our iPods which we used mostly to tour museums with the RS Audio Guides) We did not use them during sight seeing, only in our hotel or in a WIFI capable restaurant. Being dependent on WIFI became frustrating. Some places (both hotels & restaurants) offered it for free. Some places charged by the hour. But for some technical reason we were not able to hook up about 50% of the time. Yes we know that we could have used 3G. That said, we still enjoyed having them.
Downloading photos at the end of the day was also nice. When we did connect successfully, we were able to email photos to family and friends, and to make arrangements via email to meet with friends for dinner - in Italy! So much fun.
Best iPad apps for our trip? (These might also be iPod apps.)
NIGHTSTAND CENTRAL: Great alarm clock with settings that are very pleasant. We awoke to the chime of bells, our personal preference. The chiming starts out as low in volume as you set it, and then increases over a period of time. It was dependable and never failed during a 3 week trip. It was only used when we had to catch a train or be at a museum with reservations.
A little aside, while in Florence, we heard bells and were not sure if they were our "alarm" or real. They really sounded the same. That was very cool!
PARIS METRO BY ZUTI: So very helpful. You input your location and or your home base (i.e. your hotel or metro stop) and it tells you exactly what stops to use, how long it will take, where to change lines etc. For trip to Paris #5, this was a great find. We were not new at the Metro, but this eased things quite a bit. Other city apps available, but not destinations for us for us on this trip.
iDREAM AND MEDITATOR by George Talusan: Basically the same app. Used to cover sleep disturbing noises, worked surprisingly well. Ocean surf, White noises, forest sounds, rain etc. Helped with sleeping on the train also.
We were able with the use of an adapter to recharge always in our hotels, sometimes on the train. We would certainly travel with them again!
One of our best finds? After a struggle to hook up to the hotel WIFI, the night person at our Paris hotel suggested we go to the Apple Store. He stated that it was in Carrousel du Louvre Shopping Center. That is located UNDER the Louvre. Easy to find, and wonderful help. After asking why we had such a problem, it was explained that different WIFI units have different speeds, and it would not always match up to the iPads. We were invited to sit there and "hook up" all we wanted. Very nice service and opportunity to use our iPads to email all those photos to home.
onlineslomama
San Luis Obispo, CA USA 10/25/2011
Iphone APP for touring Tuscany's best wineries
We discovered this APP on our trip to Italy last week. It's called Tuscany Wineries with Rebecca Wine - and it's a personalized APP-guide with lots of good advice on which wineries to visit in Tuscany, whether booking is required and what costs are involved, etc. We found it extremely helpful during our drive through the Chianti region which otherwise would just have turned into a back road country ride!
Anita
Boston, MA USA 09/30/2011
Louvre Tour App
The Louvre tour app starts with the WRONG directions! It took us 45 confusing minutes and a lot of walking to find out that we were supposed to go right at the start of the tour (as stated in his guidebook) instead of left as 'Kate' on the app directs you. It also would have been helpful to have had the actual room numbers of the galleries mentioned as terms like "the grand hall" aren't used on the official Louvre map. That said, the tour itself was helpful in navigating through the highlights, but I recommend just using his book. The app seemed like a waste of money and precious vacation time.
August
Shoreline, WA USA 09/19/2011
Paris Metro App
I am just using "Paris by Metro" app in Paris, it is a very useful app. Thanks to the developer for saving lots of time at Paris.
Frank
Amsterdam, Netherlands 09/15/2011
A whole backpacking trip in an app.
YongoPal is an iPhone app that isn't exactly a travel resource, but it tries to provide vicarious travel experiences and cultural exchange opportunities to people who might not be able to afford to travel right now. It's kind of cool [INVALID] it pairs you with people in different countries and then treats you as each other's local guides, so you can see how other people live through photos and conversation. It's got some issues with bugs, but it's pretty new, so hopefully they keep making improvements. I've been sharing pics from around Seattle with a guy in Korea and a guy in the Netherlands!
Mikey
Seattle, WA USA 09/06/2011
Iphone App for Paris Metro Rail
I just used an app at Paris two days back called " Paris By Metro " developed by Mallow. I have say that this is a very simple and useful app for using Metro system at Paris
Richie
Los Angeles, CA USA 09/04/2011
Best travel app for iPhone
And allSchedules????
The same app for a lot of cities and a lot of transport types. The map search is amazing.
List of supported cities here: http://allschedulesapp.com/
Catherine
Baltimore, MD USA 08/24/2011
GoodReader
I second James' endorsement of GoodReader. I scan Rick's and other local maps and save them as PDFs to GoodReader. I can access them if I don't want to carry the guidebook. Also, use Google Maps to map your destinations. Take screen shots and open them in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. You can put colored circles around your hotel and places of interest, then save them as PDFs or GIFs to GoodReader. Personalized maps in your pocket!
Tom Nelson
Minneapolis, MN USA 07/07/2011
Metro App
Loved the Metro App! It's free, easy to use and got me to my destination every time (with 1 exception when a metro stop was recently closed due to construction).
It's received mixed reviews. You have to use it from metro stop to metro stop. For example, you can't just type in your address and where you're going and expect step by step directions. You can, however, type in your current stop, and the name of the stop you want to go to and receive step by step info on how many stops, changes and minutes it will take to get to your destination. Was able to use it last month in Paris, Barcelona and Madrid with no problems. Would definately use it again.
Brittany
bellingham, wa USA 06/05/2011
My app picks
In my Travel folder on my iPhone:
Trip Tracker, input all my freq fly #s and it automatically organizes my flight info.
Airport Monitor EU, tap on the airport you're in, and it pops up the Arr/Dep info you find in the airport.
Cultures, an interesting ap that tells you do's and don'ts and other info bits that broaden your understanding of the culture you're visiting.
XE Currency Exchange, Best app ive used for live checking of foreign currencies you're not familiar with, very easy interface.
Translator by Codesign, language translator.
WordLens, an amazing app that allows you to point the phone's camera at text and it instantaneously and magically turns that text into english!
Google Translate, good, basic, free.
Krister
Spokane, WA USA 04/28/2011
iPhone 4 Skype
For those of you that have the iPhone 4, download the Skype App. With the new camera they installed on the front of the phone, you can use it to Video chat with others - without having to use Facetime. It's also great for just voice chatting on your phone as well.
Matt
USA 03/24/2011
Tripit! iphone app
Tripit! is great for creating an itinerary and it has a web based application as well.
It imports reservations for air travel, hotels and anything else regarding plans. You can tag favorite things and import them into Tripit. It will also allow you to create maps and hour by hour activities for your trip to get a good idea for timelines.
Shannon
Orlando, FL, FL USA 02/08/2011
iphone photos
I take photos with my iphone and then email them to family and friends. I can write comments if I want or just put something in the subject section. I also post photos using the facebook app. I find both of these options easier than doing a postcard.
Leslie
Kirkland, WA USA 09/04/2010
German Public Transport
For traveling within Germany, Fahrplan displays up to date timetable information for German public transport. Enter the name of a city, station, tram or bus stop and it will list the departures or arrivals.
Troy
Heidelberg, BW DE 07/10/2010
mpassport app
There is an app for the iphone called mpassport for a bunch of different cities that has the information on english-speaking doctors and maps of where they are located. It also has a bunch of other useful stuff incase of a health related problem, like useful translations and emergency numbers. It can also tell you the name of the medicine you need in different countries.
mary
blue bell, pa USA 07/01/2010
Metro transit app
Metro is the best transit application. It is free, contains transit maps from all over the world, and will give you point to point directions. Best of all, it works offline, so it will work on an iPod Touch/iPhone. You just have to download all the maps you want beforehand.
Bryn
Olympia, Wa USA 06/30/2010
SBB Mobile app for iPhone
SBB Mobile has timetables for all trains in Switzerland (and most, if not all, of Europe as well I think). It is a FREE app and I used it daily on my 8 day vacation to Switzerland. I thought it was terrific.
Jeremy
Princeton, TX USA 04/28/2010
I phone apps for postcards
I love the Hazelmail app for making postcards from my photos. For $1 each (if you buy 10 at a time) they print out a high quality image and print it like a real post card. I send them to my family members who aren't on the internet.
Diane
Bisbee, AZ USA 03/20/2010
fCards postcard App
The fCards App is by far the coolest, easiest to use postcard-related App I've used: www.itunes.com/apps/fcards
Frank Millstone
Brooklyn, NY USA 03/10/2010
GoodReader
GoodReader costs 99 cents and is a fairly robust document reader. It supports PDF, Excel, MS Word, txt and a few other formats, including image files. It also enables you to create folders on the iPod/iPhone and transfer files from your PC over WiFi.
I've found this particularly useful for transit maps, particularly those that are PDF, which don't go fuzzy when you zoom in on them. It's also a good way to look at ordinary images (instead of through the normal iTunes photo folder transfer, which compresses most maps beyond legibility).
Here are some links to some transit maps:
Prague metro and trams: http://www.dpp.cz/download-file/2947-MAPA_1_denn%C3%AD_provoz.pdf
Krakow trams: http://www.mpk.krakow.pl/image_popup.aspx?img=/mapki/tramwaje/www_duza_rem.gif
Budapest (not great resolution, but readable): http://www.bkv.hu/downloads/terkepek/volanos_vonalhalozati_20100101.jpg
Salzburg: http://www.stadtbus.at/media/pdf/pdf168.pdf
Munich: http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/web4archiv/objects/download/4/innenraum09.pdf
James
Durham, NC USA 02/27/2010
website dedicated to iPhone travel apps
I used to travel with Rick's guides. So good. Now I travel with my iPhone and listen to his podcasts! http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/travel-with-rick-steves/id79063354
Currently, I blog about iPhone travel apps and give tips on how to travel with your iphone. I think you'll like it.
http://azitravel.com/blog
taige
london , USA 02/18/2010
London Underground
For navigating the London Underground, I suggest "iTrans Tube". It works well for planning, and tells you about any delays and closures.
Alistair Cunningham
London, UK 01/25/2010
evernote.com
Evernote is a great "app" for travelers. You can store and tag all the documents and information you need for your trip before you leave, including PDF's, Photo's, even hand written documents scanned into the computer. It's stored and sync'd with your desktop/laptop, smartphone and online (so you always have a back up). Great for those of us who have the Touch and no online access.
It'll even read the text in photo's so you can just take a quick photo of a document when your in a hurry.
Jonathan
Glendora, CA USA 01/13/2010
Evernote.. Opps i forgot
I forgot to mention that the Evernote app also allows you to take written or audio notes and photo's as you travel and, as with all evernote notes, they can be sync'd with the online back up and your desktop/laptop if you want to refer to them in the future.
Evernote is free with a $40.00 premium version. The only difference is a higher monthly upload quota for the premium version.
Jonathan
Glendora, CA USA 01/13/2010
Send a real postcard from iPhone
I just started using the Postcard Star App to send real postcards made with the pictures taken by my iPhone camera. I no longer go to the local post office while traveling to buy stamps since this cool iPhone App prints, stamps and mails the postcards for me! You should take this App with you when you travel and give it a try- why not, the first postcard is included free!
Bob Green
Sacramento, CA USA 01/06/2010