FIVE APPS THAT REDUCE STRESS WHEN YOU'RE TRAVELING
I sometimes wonder how I ever went anywhere before smartphones. I do have faint memories from my early days of travel when I had a compass on my watch and carried a giant language dictionary (along with MapQuest printouts for directions) feeling like I was on the cutting edge of late 2000s travel technology. Saying that out loud now makes me feel about as cool as when I tell people that I was the coolest kid on the block with my portable CD player that didn’t skip (If you’re under 30 you likely have no idea what I’m talking about, LOL. It’s something that only makes sense if you lived in a time before iTunes, just Google it.)
Phone apps have definitely made life in general easier, and no traveler should attempt any trip without them. These are five of the apps that make my travels easier and have saved me on more than one occasion from a never-ending game of charades (when we couldn’t find a language we both understood) or from wandering around in the wrong direction for hours.
Google Translate: Travel fearlessly to any country knowing that this app will roughly give you an idea of what’s going on. It’s obviously not perfect in its translations, but when you can hold the camera over foreign writing and speak or type into your phone and get immediate translations that are at least 75% accurate, it could mean the difference between ordering chicken or a plate of spiders. Don’t forget to download the offline file so that it will still work even if you don’t have a data connection or WiFi.
Uber: Check ahead of time to make sure it’s available at your destination, but there are times when every traveler is just exhausted and can barely form a sentence in any language. When you just want to get there without language barriers or hassles, just call an Uber and make your life easier.
Google Maps: As I mentioned earlier, I remember a time when you had to print your driving instructions out, so this is definitely more convenient and allows you to be spontaneous. Plus, if you’re like me and like to wander on foot you can get walking directions, as well as public transit options for when you want to experience life as a local.
NordVPN: We all connect to public WiFi networks at some point during our travels, and I like knowing that using a VPN will make my connection safer. You may find it handy to access things online that might not be available in your current country, as you can use the VPN to make it look like you’re connecting from another country. I’m subscribed to NordVPN, but feel free to choose whichever VPN makes you happy.
FlightAware: When your flight is delayed you’re usually given very little info, so that’s why I use FlightAware to figure out how far away the inbound flight is so I can decide how to best entertain myself with the time remaining (e.g., do I go find a bar at the airport or rent a sleeping pod). You can also sign up for notifications for your flight's departure and arrival info, gate changes, delays, and cancellations. I’ve even gotten notifications through the app before the same message is sent by my airline.