Traveling is an adventure! It can be fun, exciting and sensational. Traveling to different places and exploring new things is always exhilarating. But traveling can also be difficult—it can be filled with stress, anxiety, confusion, frustration and homesickness. Although nothing can impede you from having at least one mini-anxiety attack while traveling, we’ve found five free apps that will lighten the load of stress during your travels:
Airbnb
Hotels are expensive and hostels can be sketchy. Airbnb is the perfect in-between—it’s got the price of a hostel with the privacy you can get from a hotel. Airbnb is a company that allows you to rent a bed, a room or a house from a local for a reasonable price. It’s completely safe and doesn’t break the bank. How it works: you sign up, find a place to stay, reserve it (or request it) and pay through Airbnb, contact your host and discuss with them your arrival details. It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s trustworthy, and I highly recommend using it if you’re traveling on a budget.
iTranslate
Communication is essential while traveling. If you’re visiting South America and speak either Spanish or Portuguese, then you’re pretty safe. But on some continents, every country you go to speaks a different language. Let’s be honest, when you’re traveling through multiple countries in Europe, you won’t be able to memorize the languages. It’s good to know as much as you can, but apps like iTranslate help you decipher essential signs and find important phrases you might need while traveling.
XECurrency
If you’re traveling to Europe, the American dollar and the euro are currently very close, so it’s easy to round. But if you travel to countries like England, Romania or Hungary (in case you want to see Budapest, the ancient treasure chest), the exchange rate is completely different, and you want to know how much you’re spending. XECurrency is super simple and calculates the amount for you into whatever currency you want. If you’re traveling outside of Europe, every country has a different currency, so an app like XECurrency will help you understand how much you’re spending.
PackPoint
When you’re packing, it’s super easy to forget things. Especially important things like your camera charger, your power adapter, your contacts solution, etc. PackPoint makes a list of things you might need based off of a number of days you’re going, the weather of your destination and the purpose of your trip. When you’re traveling, you have a hundred things on your mind and it’s difficult to remember everything. PackPoint gives you a full list of what you’ll need and is extremely helpful for anyone who is traveling.
If you want to keep in contact with family without having to call them, WhatsApp is great. There are also apps like FaceTime and Skype, but if you just want to shoot your mom a quick message reminding her to feed your cat, WhatsApp is perfect. It’s pretty much like iMessage except it works on all smartphones. It’s also cheaper. In America, we’re used to having unlimited texting; however, many international phone plans don’t offer that option. Since WhatsApp uses barely any data, texting via the app is much cheaper than texting over normal messages. If you’re planning on living abroad for a period of time and planning on making friends with locals, they all use WhatsApp. From people in Europe to people in parts of Africa and Asia to people in South America—WhatsApp has around 450 million users. Wherever you’re going, the locals probably use WhatsApp. I highly recommend using WhatsApp because it helps you stay in contact with your friends and family back home, but it also helps you stay connected to new friends!
Google Maps
If you’re an iPhone user, I get what you’re thinking: “I already have maps on my phone.” This is true, but normal iPhone maps do not give you the option of public transportation, which is extremely important if you’re trying to get around a big city you’re not familiar with. Google Maps is a lifesaver when it comes to public transport; it allows you to put in your destination and gives you multiple options for getting there through bus, train or metro. Trying to figure out the metro in a new city where English is not spoken can be challenging, which is why I made good use of the public transportation option on Google Maps.
So if you're planning on doing any international traveling in the near future, these apps can be a lifesaver! Not literally, but they have definitely made my traveling experiences much smoother than they would have been had I not had these apps. Plus, they're all free! Happy travels!
