Top Travel Apps For Your Mobile Co-Pilot
My smartphone is my co-pilot, and though Siri always has my back, providing the tools necessary to do her job falls on me. As it stands, however, the road to the top travel apps is long, winding, and at times steep.
Long, winding, Peak 9 Road, Breckenridge, CO – we arrived here by smartphone.
With countless adventure enhancing apps to choose from, you may find yourself confused, overwhelmed, and generally traumatized by the rugged, muddy path to technological glory.
Worry not though my friends, as I too have felt your pain and after years of careful exploration through various parts of rugged technological backcountry I have arrived at a short list top travel apps with which you can equip your co-pilot.
Best Travel Apps For Your Smartphone
The best travel apps are like good mountain men – well-built, versatile, helpful, aesthetically pleasing, loyal, and reliable.
Mountain Men In Their Natural Habitat – Hornet Lookout, Flathead Lake National Forest, MT – via my good friend and occasional male caregiver Ryan Lima
I’ve found that the more I travel the more I stray from my need to disconnect from the phone. Smartphones, such as my beloved iPhone are compact, contain a top quality camera and have GPS for safety and ease. I feel safer knowing that my mobile device, when loaded with strapping, vigorous travel apps, can (like a good mountain man) keep me connected, location tracked, organized, and entertained.
Best Road Trip Apps
Hitting the open road is one of my favorite things to do, but like all the best things in life it brings inherent risks and annoyances. Getting lost, waiting to get gas at the next stop only to find higher prices, and terrible radio stations are just a few of the frustrations that, thanks to solid mobile networks and rad smartphones, we no longer have to expose ourselves to. With a little help from these road trip apps, we can be in control of our travel fate!
Gas Buddy
Check the prices of gas in areas you are driving through, so you know when it’s most cost effective to gas up. Every penny saved with Gas Buddy can go towards that expensive Tinder date you’ve planned between Jackson Hole and Missoula, Montana. Getting duped into higher gas prices is a thing of the past.
We will not be fooled by you gas stations.
Roadtrippers
Travel planners have gotten smarter with apps like Roadtrippers. Having some spontaneity on the road is a necessity, but it is wise to know that the general area that you are traveling to has the supplies you need to stay happy and comfortable. Require a place to park an RV, can’t live without wifi, or need locally roasted coffee? You can search for it in the app and add the listing to your trip. Prepare yourself ahead of time by finding restaurants, camping spots, national landmarks, or whatever your traveling heart desires, and never again have to look away from a fairytale landscape, while consulting Yelp to ward off starvation.
Audible
Sometimes, when my brain needs a certain kind of tickle and music isn’t cutting it, I instead crave a thought-provoking story. Audible has been on my top travel apps’ list before, and for good reason. Transform your journeys with over 180,000 book titles, download them to your devices and listen on fellow bored travelers.
Spotify
Ever the classic crowd pleaser, Spotify is a must have on the road, on the mountain, in the air, or pretty much anywhere else you can think of. I drive to it, run to it, cook to it, eat to it, and do just about everything in between to it. If you have a way of linking your phone to your vehicle’s speakers, or any speakers, there is no reason that you shouldn’t buy Spotify Premium.
Play tunes that you want, when you want, with no ads, and no shortage of new and old music. You can choose to downloaded playlists for offline use, allowing you to listen without any data loss or need for reception! Add in a portable speaker and make every pit stop a dance party.
Hotels Tonight
Get last minute deals on lodging with HotelsTonight.
Best Travel Apps For Responsible Adventures
TripIt
Forward your travel itineraries to the TripIt app to keep all your travel info in one, easy to find place, that you can view offline. You can set up notifications so you never miss your flight again.
Evernote
Stay productive on the road with Evernote, an easy to use and share meeting, messaging, presentation building, task managing, list making freak of an app. I use Evernote daily for work, but it can also be used to track your receipts, maintain a travel packing list, and stay in the loop with your team.
Adventure Apps
AllTrails
Use AllTrails to search over 50K trails with reviews, photos, and descriptions. Find a great spot to hike, bike, explore, or camp on. Filter hikes by difficulty, duration, what to see, and what to do. If hot springs are your things, there is a trail to that.
Kelvin found it – Jerry Johnson Hot Springs, Idaho
Postagram
Make a digital postcard on your phone and, with just a few finger strokes, shoot it off to friends or family around the world. Upload photos from your photo library or Instagram, personalize with a message and use Postagram to send a physical copy almost anywhere on Earth. Staying in touch has never been so personal and effortless at the same time.
Did I miss any of your favorite travel apps? If so, share in the comment section below! 🙂
Want more app, gadget and telecommuting ideas?
Check out some of our earlier posts:
19 Smartphone Optimizers You Shouldn’t Live Without
