Ten travel apps that help you get the most out of your holiday
From a handy travel organiser to useful maps and new ways to use social media to keep in touch with family and friends
Hit the road these days, and you do so with your own mission control centre in your palm, all the intel you need at the touch of a button. Truth is, I try not to be a slave to technology once I'm on the hoof: I like to leave a little of the adventure to serendipity. Once I've crowdsourced tips from Twitter, and found my flight through Skyscanner, I mainly prioritise making sure I know where I'm going once I'm there – although apps and a Wi-Fi-feeding dongle didn't stop me getting completely lost up dirt tracks in Umbria recently in perfect darkness, but at least I could FaceTime my other half back home. Mobile apps that only work when you've got supercharged Wi-Fi are no fun. There was the time I relied on GoogleMaps to get me out of a sticky situation down another dirt track somewhere else in Italy, and my roaming charges cost more than the airfare. So I especially love apps that work when you're offline. At Mr & Mrs Smith we like to think our new free app follows our edict for everything we do: it entertains and informs. A "tempt me" function flaunts some of our favourites, and lets you create your own hit list. There's 24/7 booking support tacked to your location, the facility to search and filter by map plus access to exclusive discounts and offers. I'm pretty sure the only reason Jack Kerouac slummed it on his roadtrip was because our hotel app wasn't around back then. Assuming you've planned and booked your escape, and you're now at your destination, here's how my appy time away might roll(documenting my journey via Instagram, naturally) …
Tripit
PR
This free travel organiser is the next best thing to a PA. Like a virtual Filofax, but even more streamlined, it lets you migrate all your confirmation emails (flights, car rental, hotel reservation) to one place, then it creates a fully loaded fuss-free itinerary. Although devotees to Apple's Passbookapp needn't convert.
Maps with Me
PR
Give it a tap to locate coordinates (the usual shtick) then download a map of where you are. As a pedestrian, this feels more user-friendly than Googlemaps and speedier than other navigation apps. Stick to the free version.
Spotted by Locals
PR
This helps you find little places you might otherwise miss: I was smitten after opening the London guide (£2.49) and the first tip was for a house by my favourite architect, Ernő Goldfinger, complete with an intelligent write-up.
Unesco World Heritage
£1.99 iOS
PR
It's a wonder how many historic sites pass you by on your escapes that you might have found interesting. This app's a whopper to download with so many massive images, but it is a true encyclopedia. You may not need signposting to Stonehenge or the Acropolis – but how about when you're in Ibiza, say? It ain't all clubs and cocktails: it's edifying to know when a Spanish-measure of culture awaits in the Renaissance architecture hidden away in the Old Town too.
PR
It's not just mood boards with pretty pictures: the launch of Place Pins last year gave this free discovery tool and social network added function. I curate my own stylish destination guides, which I share with friends as a way of recommending the best places to visit: geotag (or repin) images of tiny specialist shops, secret bars, under-the-radar galleries, etc, and using Foursquare technology it plots it all on an illustrated map with a sidebar including all the contact info.
Mountain High: The Greatest Cycling Climbs
iOS £2.99
PR
The app version of a beautiful coffee-table book by Daniel Friebe and Pete Goding, at £2.99 it's a snip. While I'm not a cyclist, I'm a sucker for breath-nabbing views and my other half is a mamil (middle-aged man in Lycra) so hopefully this will inspire long bike rides around Europe.
Tip Me
Android
PR
Brits can be awkward about tipping, but as someone who grew up in New York I fear I'll be struck by lightning if I don't get local gratuities right. Having spent a lot of time in Asia too, I know it's important you get the balance and not over-tip out of context with the local economy or under-tip in places where workers rely on it. Tip Calculator is a similar app for iOS.
Postagram
PR
It seems a bit long-winded to upload an image from a far-flung tropical destination and ask a computer to send it from the States to a UK address. But hey, it means the grandparents get a photo of their cutey-pies on a beach instead of the clichéd purple sunset card, I'll never get around to sending anyway … Shame the design of the glossy mailed item is a bit tacky, with an ugly QR code. The app is free then it's $1.99 to send a card internationally (outside of the States).
Notabli
PR
I hate clogging other people's social feeds with my daughter in the pool/on a camel/covered in blue ice-cream; this free channel lets you share holiday snaps and videos privately with friends and family who elect to be subjected. And when your kids turn 18 they're less likely to sue you for circulating pictures of them naked on a sunlounger but for some massive sunglasses.
Cloudspotter
iOS £1.99
PR
On days when you wake up to grey skies, this helps you appreciate the fluffiness above and have fun looking up rather than grizzling at the cumulonimbus blocking your sunshine. As a game it lets you earn points for spotting rarer formations such as a sci-fi-looking bubbly mammatus. A silver lining when it's overcast on your jollies.