There are hundreds of thousands of apps out there, and while I love technology, I find myself overwhelmed at times. I have more apps on my phone than I could ever use in a lifetime. That said, there’s always a few that stand out. Here are seven of my favorite.
I’m a fan of apps that serve up a breadth of useful information and Allianz Global Assitance’s TravelSmart app does just that. It provides real-time flight status info; local emergency numbers for police, ambulance and fire; a medication dictionary with names of over 750 common drugs, and the ability to store a photo of your prescription to make refilling easier. There’s a database of terms and translations for over 60+ illnesses, injuries and first aid needs in 18 different languages, and an “Assistance Button” that uses geolocation to direct travelers to local hospitals, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, and embassies. Should you have an Allianz policy, the number is displayed on the home screen for easy access, along with a handy-dandy “Contact Us” button if you need help. And if your travel doesn’t go as planned, you can use the app to file and track claims. For Android
Trying to convert distances, temperatures and currencies used to make my head spin. So I started using the Amount app to set it right. It converts over 700 units across 30 categories, including ones I never thought of. The design is simple and intuitive and customizable, and includes a log if you want to reference what you’ve converted in the past.
Whether you shoot RAW or Jpeg, this nifty app edits both. It even works on Apple’s live photos. Like many editing apps out there, there are plenty of filters to choose from. What makes these different, is the filters recreate the styles of the world’s top photographers. There’s also super-fast editing tools you can use to tweak photos in seconds. Edits are non-destructive, which means you can revert back to your original at any time. For android
Still photography is my passion, but now and then I take video with my iPhone and edit the footage using Adobe Spark Video. It’s a painless tool that creates surprisingly nice clips considering how easy it is to use. There are templates to get you rolling, or if you prefer, start from scratch to create your own look. (I like the latter.) Clips are easy to upload, edit, duplicate, add text to, move around, and delete. Plus, there’s plenty of cleared music choices to score your creation. –Coming soon to Android
Here’s a little video I created this summer:
Many of my trips are in remote locations where hotels don’t even exist. That said, when I need a hotel at the last-minute, Hotel Tonight is where I turn. It works for bookings farther in advance too, but I really love it for its great deals on short notice. You can search by city, attractions, nearby hotels or on a map. See what other users have to say about a property and favorite your own hotels to see when they become available. Plus, there’s 24/7 customer support. For Android
I love listening to podcasts when I fly. Planes are so dry, watching the inflight entertainment can be a nightmare on my eyes. With podcasts, I just kick back, close my peepers and listen. Stitcher is a great app for discovering new podcasts and episodes, syncing playlists to listen offline, and streaming. Some of my favorite pods are: The Daily (by the New York Times), Embedded (NPR), Serial (NPR), Pod Save America (Crooked Media), Fresh Air (NPR), How I Built This (NPR), Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR), Inside the Hive w/Nick Bilton (Vanity Fair), Longform (University of Pittsburgh), Outside Podcast (Outside Magazine), Recode Media (Recode), Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, S-Town, and the Nerdist Podcast. For Android
Want to know what the weather will be like in an hour or maybe two hours from now? If you’re in the U.S., UK or Ireland, Dark Sky is the app to check. It’s a great source of hyperlocal, down-to-the-minute weather information. It has a gorgeous, animated global map and an intuitive interface. There are standard severe weather push notifications as well as options to create your own alerts for temperature, precipitation, wind, you name it. For Android
What are your favorite apps to use when you travel? Let me know in the comments below.
This post is sponsored by Allianz travel insurance. Information and sentiment are my own.
All travelsmart apps are great. I really like the Stitcher. Is syncing playlists to listen offline?
Thanks for putting the travelsmart app on my radar! Sounds amazing! Downloading now!
Thanks for checking the post out!