These are the best apps to use for information and updates during your travels.<\/p>\n
getty<\/p>\n
Travel apps are a fact of modern life. They allow us to check in and receive a boarding pass for our flights, tell us where our rental cars are parked and waiting, and even open the doors to our hotel rooms<\/a>. But if you search for an app on most app stores, there are thousands of them out there. Most large travel companies from airlines to cruise lines have at least a rudimentary version of an app, and many individual hotels, resorts, and even entire destinations have also developed their own.<\/p>\n A guiding philosophy is to at least always have the app for the airline you\u2019re flying with. Airlines typically provide the earliest and most detailed flight updates via their app, allow travelers to rebook and receive vouchers during flight delays, or chat with an agent for assistance. Even infrequent fliers can smooth their travel experience by having their airline\u2019s app on their phone.<\/p>\n Hotel companies are also going full bore on apps to replace the unwieldy and un-updated paper compendiums that used to be standard in hotel rooms. On a lark, I tend to check a paper compendium whenever I come across one these days, and they invariably contain the toll-free numbers for airlines that haven\u2019t existed in decades. On apps from mega chains like Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt, you can often view your bill, chat with customer service staff, or check the operating hours for hotel restaurants and other outlets. <\/p>\n Aside from the purpose-built apps for the providers they\u2019re traveling with, what are the best apps for travelers wanting to keep on top of factors that might affect their travels? Read on for some tips. <\/p>\n The Best Travel Apps For Flights<\/p>\n Airline apps are great for managing your own flights, but some of them have their limitations. Flighty<\/a> allows you to add upcoming flights for yourself and your friends. It\u2019ll track the aircraft assigned to the flight and send alerts on the potential for delays or seat changes, such as when the aircraft changes or travels through an airport experiencing delays. It also keeps a record of past flights, so if you\u2019re ever curious whether you\u2019ve previously flown on the same plane before, it\u2019ll tell you. <\/p>\n For the aviation geeks among us, the app will also tabulate all your flight statistics, giving you the number of flights on each airline and aircraft type for each year in your history. <\/p>\n Flighty only tracks flights you\u2019ve chosen to track, so if you want a higher level view of air traffic flows around your location, a good option is Flightradar24<\/a>, which also has a comprehensive desktop site. It\u2019s great for \u201cOoh, where\u2019s that going?\u201d plane-watching, but also helpful for determining whether an airport has been closed and flights rerouted because of weather. <\/p>\n Cruise lines have also put a lot of energy into building useful apps for their passengers.<\/p>\n gettyThe Best Travel Apps For Cruises<\/p>\n Cruise lines are becoming increasingly wired. Princess Cruises and Virgin Voyages have both invested heavily in mobile apps and wearable tech. You can shake you phone for champagne on Virgin, and order food and drink to any location you\u2019re at on the ship with Princess Medallion Class. <\/p>\n When you see another cruise ship in the wild, Cruise Mapper<\/a> can identify the ship, give stats on the current itinerary, upcoming schedule, and deck plans, in case you might want to try that ship on a future sailing. There\u2019s also a feature to check the port schedule for the ports on your itinerary, so you\u2019ll know when planning your day how many other ships are expected in port, and what their expected arrival and departure times are. <\/p>\n For other marine traffic (\u201dWhere\u2019s that oil tanker going?\u201d) Marine Traffic<\/a> is another helpful option. <\/p>\n The Best Travel Apps For International Trips<\/p>\n For bridging language barriers, Google Translate is indispensable. It supports 133 languages, has a camera feature to aid in translating signage and documents, and can translate spoken word and speak a reply. The service is web-based, but there\u2019s also an app, and an upcoming \u201cpractice\u201d feature<\/a> will also help users learn a language themselves.<\/p>\n Arriving in Athens one afternoon, I requested an Uber, and got in a local cab (in Athens, Uber is essentially a dispatch app for local taxis). With the fare already set and paid, and the driver speaking almost no English, I noticed her speaking into her phone near the end of the ride. I realized she\u2019d been speaking into Google Translate when she held up the phone and hit the \u201cspeak\u201d button, and an electronic voice thanked me for coming to Greece, and hoped I had a good stay. <\/p>\n For quick currency exchange, the app XE helps when quick math fails, particularly if you\u2019re working in a currency you\u2019ve never dealt with before (although it\u2019s helpful to keep in mind that credit cards and exchange houses typically offer exchange rates slightly less favorable than official bank rates). <\/p>\n