TRAVEL/APPS SPECIAL....The 22 best travel apps for your phone

The 22 best travel apps for your phone

Triposo Free, iPhone, iPad and Android Though there are travel-guide apps from existing publications, none are so optimised for mobile as Triposo. This app from two ‘ex-Googlers’ who claim to ‘have an algorithmic approach to travel’ has access to information on 8,000 destinations and is remarkably accurate. An internet connection is not needed to access the guide and useful features include a currency converter, phrase book and active suggestions for exploration dependent on the day, weather and opening hours. TripIt Free, iPhone and iPad TripIt offers an easy solution, saving your itineraries in a simple, scannable format on your smartphone. Simply email your flight, hotel, or car rental confirmations to TripIt and the app will organise everything. Hailo Free, iPhone and Android Hailo is by cabbies, for cabbies. A smart, easy-to-use app, Hailo finds the nearest black cab, tells you how long it will take to pick you up and gives you the registration and driver’s mobile number. Urbanspoon Free, iPhone, iPad and Android Urbanspoon scans your location and helps you find the closest restaurants, bars and more. You can search by type, price and rating. XE Currency Free, iPhone, iPad and Android XE Currency is the ultimate financial companion for world travellers. It gets live currency data and includes a calculator. Saves data for offline use as well. Spanish Dictionary Pro Free, Free, iPhone and iPad You may find you know the basic words of a language, but what about all the unfamiliar vocabulary? This app lets you search by English as well as Spanish words. TubeExits Rs 60, iPhone Savvy travellers on the London Underground know which carriage to board so their exit is as efficient as possible – what the French call la correspondence. TubeExits brings this information to the masses. The New Yorker Free, iPhone, iPad and Android This is an unmissable listings app for Big Apple lovers that delivers the wit and wisdom of the New Yorker magazine. Look up events listed straight from their pages. HotelTonight Free, iPhone, iPad and Android Every day at noon, three deals from trendy hotels are released in this same-day booking app. Jetsetter Free, iPhone, iPad Members’ only website Jetsetter is known for their luxury flash sales and their slick app only precipitates more impulse travel-buying. Search by location, or by ‘collection’ – trips curated by their team – with cheeky titles such as ‘three day escape plan’ or ‘where the fashionistas sleep’. Every trip and hotel has a considered review from the prolific Jetsetter team. Outdoors GPS Rs 425, iPhone, iPad With complete OS mapping combined with GPS in your mobile device, this app is the locational companion for the rambler or road-tripper. Be warned – the maps are pricey and will take up lots of memory. Cartographer Rs 225 Plan your trip with vintage-style maps that are designed to inspire the intrepid traveller. Using Google’s mymaps, outline the route before downloading the maps to your device which can be accessed through the app. Google translate Free, iPhone, iPad and Android. This app translates between 64 languages, and can deliver audio translations for certain one. It doesn’t always get the translation right, but is probably the most comprehensive translation app out there. Journey Pro Rs 65 (ad-free), iPhone, iPad and Anroid The Journey Pro app directs you from station to station with real time updates. Plug in the time of departure and the stations at the beginning and end of your journey for a detailed itinerary. Getpacked Rs 130, iPhone, iPad For the scatty traveller, this is a handy tick-list app. An initial Q&A upfront will generate a personalised packing (and to-do) list when going abroad. Trip Lens Free, iPhone, iPad This app from the travel-guides helps document your travels through photos, text and maps into one continuous narrative, which you can share in a personalised blog. Skyscanner Free, iPhone, iPad and Android Tap your holiday destination and dates into the mobile version of the price-comparison website to see all the cheapest flight options around the dates you want to fly. Yelp Free, iPhone, iPad and Android Get Yelp’s enormous database of reviews on your smartphone. Includes reviews of restaurants, cafés, launderettes and more for the world’s major metropolitan hubs. Maverick Pro Rs 250, Android Maverick Pro is the perfect app for adventurous Android users. The app provides offline GPS tracking and compass and saves your routes; perfect for hiking in the wilderness and escaping from it all. Street View on Google Maps Free, Android Google Street View comes to your phone via this Android app. Simply open Google Maps and zoom in to get a local look of where you’re going. PetrolPrices Pro Rs 250, iPhone, iPad and Android With petrol prices in constant flux, using this app is a no-brainer. PetrolPrices shows you the cheapest stations nearest you and lets you filter by type of petrol as well. MyMapRide GPS Cycling Riding Free, Android If cycling is your favourite form of travel, give MyMapRide a try. The Android app lets you save cycle routes and helps you navigate via GPS. Daily Telegraph

DNA  Oct 23, 2012