5 Best iOS Apps for Travel

This article about the 5 best iOS apps for travel is the result of the research I made before my last trip. I chose them because most of them are pretty new, but they address a demand and have great potential to grow.

Every time I travel, I tend to pack my mobile with the best and most helpful apps that I can find, especially the basics such as city maps, subway maps, and language translators. But lately, travel technology has changed the way we experience our trips. We are constantly looking for something more interesting and unique to experience during our holidays, and we will seek out the best technology to find it.

Now we know, for example, that there’s more to Hong Kong than Disneyland and Ocean Park, with a number of fun outdoor adventure tours in the outskirts of the city.

Anyways, let’s get started with the information!

Video is one of the most vivid ways we can capture our travels. It’s the perfect method to keep all those good times you experienced during your trip for future generations; like that time you had a bit too much to drink and fell out the hotel window and into the pool – you get the idea. Storie is an app that lets you take videos and share them with a very active community of travelers from all around the world (most of them constantly on the road).

The most interesting part about this app is that the videos you upload can be several minutes long and are created by putting together bits and pieces of all those short videos you shot throughout the day. Yes, you don’t have to shoot something for 2 seconds and then pray for the app not to crash before you prepare your next shot which will last a couple more seconds and so on until you’re done with your 6 second video which loops infinitely. I’m looking at you, Vine!

In Storie you can actually create “short films” about your adventures that can be edited using the in-app video editing tools. It’s definitely worth checking out if you are a constant traveler or if you dream of being one but require a bit of inspiration from others in order to take the first step.

Download it here.

Language is one of the greatest barriers that travelers face all around the world, especially when it comes to ordering food. Have you ever encountered yourself famished after a long flight or a long day of sightseeing and the only place open when you get back to your hotel has a picture-less menu in the local language that, needless to say, you cannot read? And on top of that, no one working at the restaurant speaks a word of English nor do they try to find a way to understand what you are saying. That is the true meaning of desperation. Thankfully, the folks at Edible Innovations came up with Blue Cheese, an app that instantly translates menus through simple scanning of single or multiple lines of text.

Simply open the app and scan the items on the menu in the foreign language and Blue Cheese will immediately translate it. And if that is not impressive enough, this translator will also show the detailed ingredient and flavour descriptions with images of every dish on the menu.

The bad news is that it’s only available in English and Chinese; therefore, if you’re going to a country that does not speak Chinese or English, then you might not be very interested in this app… unless you’re planning to eat only at Chinese restaurants everywhere you go.

Download it here.

Ok, so you’ve booked your flight tickets and hotels, now what? It’s time to see what there is to do at your destination, right? You Google interesting sightseeing places, touristic spots, parks, shows, and discover that you can book tickets online for most of the places you’re interested in visiting, but the truth is that you have to print out each single ticket and for some of them, you even have to pick them up on arrival at the park, which means that you’ll have to wait in line behind the other hundreds of people that also were smart enough like you and booked everything online in order to skip the ticketing line. It seems your idea backfired, alright.

Well, you can forget that old-school method because Klook has come to the rescue! This innovative app is your online travel concierge. You can easily book and buy tickets in a matter of minutes for attractions and experiences in over 10 destinations across South East Asia and by almost always dealing with e-tickets, you’ll never have to worry about printing out anything at all. Plus, you can leave reviews and recommend activities to your friends. However, the BEST PART is that Klook guarantees the lowest prices in the market. You read that correctly, the lowest prices.

In my experience I saved a ton of time when I went to Disneyland Hong Kong, not to mention the HK$10 credit just for signing up to the app (use promo code ‘Mobile10’), so I actually paid way less for my entrance ticket. In many countries there are 2 types of prices: the price for locals and the one for foreigners. After asking around in Hong Kong and Bali, with the Klook app you really do get the price for locals.

Download it here.

If you are anything like me, then you don’t care about planning anything during a vacation. And I mean nothing at all, besides hotels and flight tickets. I love to wander around my travel destination and get lost while exploring. Love it. However, I know some travelers prefer to have a detailed itinerary of the places they will visit, transportation methods, places to eat, etc. That’s also a cool way to travel. Well, for all of you who like to add a touch of organisation to your holiday, Funlidays is a great app to add to your travel essentials.

Funlidays not only helps you organise your traveling schedule, but it even provides suggestions on transportation, places nearby, and even directions to get to everywhere you want. You can even organise your trip on map mode, which means that you can plan your entire route for the day and all you have to do is follow the map from one activity to the next one with precision. Never ever lose time trying to find places or things to do. Turn your holidays into Funlidays!

Download it here.

How many times do you travel per year? Once? Twice? 20 times? And I bet every time you do, you love to share all your experiences with everyone on Social Media. Maybe Instagram your meals, Vine stupid or inspiring moments, Facebook some photos, Tweet any revelations you get during your trip, and even also show off on Foursquare every single place you ate at. That sounds troublesome, to be posting on so many Social Media Channels all the time. Oh wait! I don’t have to do that because I have Spottly!

This app helps you find interesting places near you to visit as well as all those places your friends visited previously. Did you find a nice touristic spot and want to save it for future reference? No problem! Spotly helps you keep track of every single detail of every single place you visit. Simply take a photo wherever you are and Spottly will fill in the details such as address and phone number (if there is any).

With Spottly, collect places at any destinations and share them with the world!

Download it here.

These apps can be very helpful and make your trip more interesting and hopefully, such as with the Klook app, make travelling cheaper to help you get more “bang for your buck”. These are the top 5 apps I found, tested, and really enjoyed; however, I’m pretty sure there are many more out there waiting to be discovered. If you have any suggestions for our next top 5, please leave them in the comments section below.   

Safe travels!

Cheers!