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My top 10 Travel Apps for the iPhone

When I travel internationally there are a number of apps I use for anything from finding a restaurant or my way around to video calling my family. I prefer to do so without the high roaming charges associated. See my post on data plans and travel here.

Please keep in mind that a good data plan is best in order to use some of these apps, especially for calls, video calls or maps. Having said that, you could still make good use of this list with wifi only. I am speaking as a Canadian user though I’m certain most of these would apply to our friends north of the border and International users as well.

Top 10 Travel Apps for iPhone

 

Updated for relevancy in 2015. 

1. FaceTime, included with your Apple product — I love video calling my family and close friends back home and sharing some of my experiences while travelling. FaceTime is my number one choice for video calling both for clarity in video and sound. Of course to use FaceTime the other person needs an Apple product such as the iPhone, iPod, iPad or Mac computer. You also need a good data plan so if your data plan is not 1gb or more or I would wait until you find wifi. If your internet connection is not as great, you can still use FaceTime without video.

2. Skype, a free app – A fantastic alternative to FaceTime for video calling and calling. It is also available for android phones. I have the Unlimited US and Canada plan for $2.99 per month which allows me to call landlines and mobiles anywhere in those countries from anywhere. If the other party has skype on their mobile device or computer then skype is always free. Again be mindful of your data plan when travelling.

3. WhatsApp, a free instant messaging app that allows you to share photos and your location as well. While I do use iMessage a lot within my family, not everyone I communicates with has an iOS device. This is a fantastic app regardless of the operating system your phone uses. — iOS, blackberry, android and windows.

4. Vonage, free to download works with credit. When I first mentioned this app, it was free to call any phone number in Canada or the USA. Now you need to purchase credits. Vonage works well and the clarity of the call is wonderful. Vonage to Vonage calls are always free anywhere in the world.

5. Google Maps, a free app. I use this app often, even at home. The map will find where you are (blue dot) and get you where you want to go. As you move, the iPhone updates your location automatically. If you have a favourite location, drop a pin to mark it and bookmark it to find it again. You can also search along the way. You can type in something like “cafe or coffee” to find places associated with the keyword and it works with addresses and business names. When you find what you’re looking for, tap the pin and touch the blue arrow to bring up more information, such as phone numbers and web or location addresses. If you see a circle icon with a person inside then that location has street view. I love to use street view to see where my hotel is and to get an idea of what is around it. Tip: Bookmark your hotel/hostel as soon as you know the information so that wherever you are in a new city/town, you can always find your way there. It’s a great idea to keep the map open when you’re in a cab as to keep tabs on your cabbie as there are many cities that are notorious for ripping off tourists. Hello Prague, I’m talking to you. Saved some money by doing this there. If you’re driving, it has the GPS function with turn by turn information. Also be mindful of your data plan before using it.

6. Yelp, a free app – a great app to find recommendations for restaurants, entertainment, services, shopping and more. You can sign up to give reviews and check in as some places have check in offers. It also has the “nearby” feature which locates restaurants or everything close to you.

7. TripAdvisor, a free app – it is my go-to resource for accomodation reviews and activities as there are plenty of reviews to be found.

8. XE Currency, a free app – a great app for converting Canadian dollars to whatever currency you’ll be using. Came in really handy when I recently travelled to 6 countries but needed 4 different currencies.

9. iTranslate, a free app – a fantastic app that you can type into that translates in 50 different languages. Works well if you’re typing in a word or phrase. For an additional fee you can have the option of talking into the phone with voice recognition. I haven’t used that part of the app so cannot say whether the voice recognition is good or bad.

10. TripIt, free app. Admittedly, I was late to jump on the bandwagon. Many of my travel friends have mentioned this app, but for some reason I didn’t look into it. Now that I have, I can’t travel without it. It organizes your travel plans so beautifully, so seamlessly. Flights, accommodations, car rentals. It’s all there for you and it can be accessed offline.

 

Until next time,

Andrea… and my wandering iPhone

Data Plans + International travel + the iPhone

airplane raindrops
Lufthansa flight from London Heathrow to Munich

If you are like me, you want mobile data when you travel internationally and don’t want to have to pay the incredible roaming prices your wireless provider charges. Personally I like to and need to stay in touch with family at home as well as tweet, facebook and instagram my way around the world. Since March 2011 I have tried 3 companies that specialize in providing data for international travel. In my case, travel was to the United States, the UK and Europe as I am in Toronto, Canada. I am going to discuss my experiences with each of the companies and the service they provide. Since pricing is fluid, I won’t discuss that, but will say that it is much cheaper than what your home wireless providers charge.

I generally go for the data only option as there are a number of apps that I use for video calling, phone calling and texting so I personally don’t need the phone or texting options. I won’t discuss the travel apps I use in this post but will do so in coming days. Stay tuned.

The first company I used for travel to London, UK was Tep Wireless, previously known as Fonmigo. In March 2011, I travelled to London and was there for 2 days. I had a locked iPhone 4 at the time so I could not use another sim card. I had 2 choices, I could either rent a smartphone or rent a pocket wifi device. I went with the pocket wifi since I wanted to be able to use my own iPhone that was already loaded with my preferred apps.

With Tep wireless you could either pick up the device or have it delivered to your home or destination. I went with the pick up option as there is a pick up location at Heathrow. Upon pick up I found that the battery for the unit was completely drained and there wasn’t a ‘storefront’ so I couldn’t get another device or battery. Once that was resolved, the unit worked very well all over London. I was also able to get data in Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor. With a portable wifi unit you can connect up to 5 devices so my friend that travelled with me also had data. Once you are finished with the device you put it in the mail with the pre paid envelope they provide in London. I did voice my concerns about the drained unit after I returned home and they were quick to respond and remedy the situation. Great customer service on their part.

In March 2012, I travelled to 8 cities (Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Munich, Innsbruck, Paris and London) in 6 countries in Europe. This time I went with iPhoneTrip. I now own an unlocked
iPhone 4s so I could use any sim card. IPhoneTrip provides sim card rental for all over the world. If you don’t have an unlocked device you could rent a portable wifi unit or iPhone from them. With iPhoneTrip they mail you a sim card as well as a back up sim card. Rental is for a minimum of 7 days. Since I was going all over Europe I went with the Europe option to have a seamless connection. Upon arrival in the UK I found that they had some technical problems which meant a significant delay in service. Fortunately once that was resolved the connection was fantastic and was indeed seamless from country to country. I did call iPhoneTrip while in London and their customer service was great as well.

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In May 2012, I travelled to New York City and used iPhoneTrip for that visit as well. This time service was without a hitch and the data connection was great.

In July 2012, I travelled to Washington state and Oregon. I was only going to be in the United States for 3 days so I didn’t want to use iPhoneTrip as their minimum service is 7 days. I went with a Canadian based company called Roam Mobility. They provide a few different options but since I have an unlocked phone I went with the sim card option. With Roam Mobility you can purchase a sim card for $19.95 CAD in a number of locations around Canada. I was in British Columbia at the time so picked up a sim card at a store in Abbotsford where I was staying with friends.  Their service is a ‘pay-as-you-go’ type service with 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 day options for talk, text and data, talk and text or data only. I went with the talk, text and data option for 3 days. The talk and text was unlimited and you get a US phone number. I had no issues signing up and activating online. I did have a minor problem connecting to data but was able to call customer service to get it resolved easily. Unfortunately if you have an iPhone you are currently limited to 2G or Edge service while in the United States as their data partner is T Mobile. As a result it was slower than the 3G service I’m used to but was still okay and workable for light surfing, email,  facebook and twitter. I tweeted to them while in Washington and learned that T Mobile will be making changes and should have 3G and 4G by the end of the year. Again, great customer service with Roam Mobility both on the phone and on twitter.

Until next time,

Andrea… and my wandering iPhone