Apps these days are literally what makes the world go round. There are those apps though that you’re going to use on a daily basis. For most people that’s going to be things like Instagram, maybe Twitter if you’re more news oriented, or Facebook if you’re a bit older! Then there are other apps that maybe have a very specific usage purpose. To the point where you’re only going to be using them in select situations. We thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of iPhone travel app ideas. In putting the list together though, we wanted to exclude some of the more obvious options. Like ride-share apps. Ultimately though, you would want to look into ride-share apps in the country that you’re traveling to. To make it easier to get around.
Other apps like Airbnb or some type of lodging app were also a given in our book. Making sure that you have a place to stay where you travel is important. That being said, ideally you’ll be able to plan the trip ahead. If you’re more of a free flowing spirit than by all means download the Airbnb app so that you can find lodging options quickly. Even if you haven’t planned things out ahead of time. Now that we got those two ideas out of the way though, we can talk about the real iPhone Travel app options that we’re going to be covering in this article. These are apps that will either help you find your way on your trip, or find you converge! We also threw in some entertainment options for good measure. Here are the categories for iPhone Travel app that we’re going to cover in this article.
- Find Phone Coverage Through an App
- Apps To Call Back Home
- iPhone Travel App : Maps
- Get Entertainment Options On Your Trip
- iPhone Travel App: Food
Find Phone Coverage Through an App
When you’re traveling it can sometimes be tough to find decent coverage. Even when you find decent coverage you could end up paying a ton of money for it. This is such a dilemma that we devoted 75% of this site to try and solve it! One of the best solutions that we’ve found is actually downloading this app. There are a couple of things that maybe don’t add up, but we’ll try and iron them out for you.
Name of The App: WiFi Map TripBox: Find Hotspot
With this app what you are going to be able to do is locate free, or open Wi-Fi spots in cities across the world. That way you won’t have to deal with hefty roaming fees when you travel, especially abroad. There’s certainly one main issue with this app. It can help you find coverage, but you need to have active coverage to be able to use it! There’s a way around that. For example, you could plan out your trip around areas that you know you’ll be able to find Wi-Fi coverage in.
The good thing about this app is that you can look for Wi-Fi spots in advance. You could be sitting at home a couple of days before the trip searching for Wi-Fi spots in the city that you’re visiting. Another really positive thing about this app is that it has information on cities and towns that are maybe not the most popular destinations. You don’t need to be in the heart of London for example to be able to find a Wi-Fi spot. You could be in the English countryside and still use this app to help. That’s why we could say that this is actually an app that can help you on local trips to rural areas. Not just trips that you make abroad.
Apps To Call Back Home
This is a subject that we’ve covered quite a bit of on the site. A lot of people, though, still wonder which app is going to work best for them. For the most part the answer to that is, that you should use the app that most of your contacts are on. If you want to call friends and family you could potentially just make calls through social media. Granted, some of those Facebook and Instagram calls aren’t exactly great quality calls all of the time. Especially if you happen to be in an area with limited Wi-Fi or cell coverage. Still getting your parents on WhatsApp, Telegram or Skype can be more of a hassle.
If there’s one positive thing about the COVID-19 pandemic it could be the fact that people are getting more and more used to calls through apps. Zoom is certainly the favorite app to make calls these days. There’s an argument to be made though that it’s not the best app. For starters on the free version the time on the call is limited. Plus, the sessions can be hacked into. So you might be talking to your family members and someone can indecently drop in on the conversation. Through the pandemic year companies, schools, and all sorts of folks found that out the hard way.
Which apps should you be using then? For more personal calls, WhatsApp and Telegram are potentially the go-to apps that you’re going to want to have. The big problem as we just mentioned though is that the people that you want to call need to be on the app as well. So at the end of the day maybe get a survey going before you travel to see what your contacts use. If not just make sure that maybe the 3 to 4 people that you are interested in contacting the most are on the app that you ultimately download. The list of apps to call back home include,
- Telegram
- Google Hangouts
- Zoom
- Skype and more
Any of these could work as your iPhone travel app for the very important need of calling home. If you want to figure out how important one of these apps could be just check out one of our articles on roaming fees!
iPhone Travel App : Maps
This is a little bit like the messaging app or app to call home. There are multiple options out there. You should be looking to find the app that fits your needs best. iPhone users are going to have Apple Maps as their predetermined iPhone Travel app. We can’t say that this is a bad option for travel. It’s really hard to differentiate Apple Maps from Google Maps. You can use whatever you feel more comfortable with. In fact there’s an argument to be made here, that usually people will feel more comfortable with an app that they know. Regardless of whether or not that app is objectively the best option.
If you’re going to go on a road trip Waze could be an interesting option to look at. Just because it has better traffic updates in different parts of the world. Google Maps also has some traffic updates. You’ll see the map turning red or orange when you run into traffic. That impacts the estimated arrival time. That’s all great, but Waze is actively making recommendations to look for the best route to your destination at that particular time. Due to traffic and other elements that it accounts for. With that in mind it could be an app that is worth looking into.
List of Map Apps
- Apple Maps
- Google Maps
- Waze
Get Entertainment Options On Your Trip
Sometimes traveling means having a ton of downtime. Waiting for a connecting flight at an airport can be exciting. For about five minutes, but when the flight gets delayed, or you’re making an 8+ hour flight it can get really boring! One of the main issues that we have these days with the gaming world in general is that you need an internet connection to play. Therefore, we think that a good mobile game that you can play while offline certainly qualifies as a good iPhone travel app. We’ve compiled a list of a couple of games that you can play on your phone while you’re offline. That way you’ll be able to make those long wait times that you may have to face a bit more manageable. Without having to use up your data!
Option 1: The Room: Old Sins
This is probably not a game that is going to appeal to everyone. We chose it though because we do feel that it’s a very well made game for mobile overall. It’s a game that you’re going to be able to spend a considerable amount of time on. That’s something that you do want in those long wait times. There are different versions of the game that feature different types of elaborate puzzle levels with an interesting backstory. Kind of dark for some tastes for sure. It is though an option to look into.
Option 2: Plague Inc
Speaking of dark games with how things went with the COVID-19 pandemic this game really was hit with all sorts of criticism. In defense of the developers of this game they made it before an actual global scale pandemic hit the planet! The objective of the game is literally to try and create a virus that kills everyone on the planet. It’s very detailed in the way that you need to go about it. You get to choose the type of disease that you want to create. Other than being dark for the times it can get old rather quickly. Still, it’s a favorite of the dark humor crowd.
Option 3: Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic
If you want to spark some nostalgia into your system this game could do it for you. It’s the PC classic where you create a roller coaster and have people ride it. Back in the day many people could spend hours messing with the physics of different rides and creating their own theme park. It is a game that you have to dive into. Some people are not going to feel as comfortable as others with this one as well. Still, an option to play offline.
Option 4: Download an Emulator
Were you into old gaming consoles? Then this very well could be the option that’s going to save you from boredom. We were certainly on the fence about including this option as an iPhone travel app. Especially because the Apple Store isn’t promoting these directly. The idea though is that you download an app that’s going to serve as your gaming console. There are emulators for Nintendo 64, PS2, PS1 and other famous old game consoles. When you have that app you can download files called roms, which are the games themselves. You can create a whole game library and play until your heart’s content. Be warned this option is a bit frowned upon, and considered bootleg gaming. It is, though, a ton of fun!
iPhone Travel App: Food
We are not going to be going over the usual apps that deliver food. That’s kind of a given. Although we would have to admit that one of the apps that we’re going to recommend has been around for a while. The issue we see with it is that it’s kind of been forgotten a bit. At the end of the day it’s still one of the best apps to find a place to eat. Yet, maybe it isn’t something that you would use on a regular basis. If you’re traveling abroad, and you’re looking for an app to order food Did Food, and Uber Eats are the two largest. If they’re not what you use locally you may want to incorporate them into the iPhone travel app list to download before you go.
Urbanspoon/Zomato
Urbanspoon started as an app to help people find places to eat in their town. It’s an India based app, but it has expanded around the world. Now it’s controlled by the Zomato corporation. It’s an app that can double up as a restaurant finder and a delivery app. We are not going to lie here. Users have smashed the app over the last few months. The updates to the app particularly after the Zumato name change have not been received well.
Yelp
This is the app that we were talking about in it being around for a while these days. Again, it may not be an app that you’re using on a daily basis anymore. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that this is an app or webpage rather that belongs to another generation. Still, it’s pretty well known the world over. So you’re going to be able to find locations and reviews on a ton of places. It couldn’t hurt too much to give it a peek once in a while. Particularly when you’re looking for something exotics.
Just Use The Maps Option
If you don’t want to add too many apps to the list of iPhone travel app(s) to download you could just use Google Maps. You can literally search for restaurants near you with one click. They potentially have the largest database. They can connect you to reviews on Yelp or other apps directly from there. Actually, the rise of Google in everything certainly killed a lot of other apps that we maybe would have been talking about in this space.
iPhone Travel App Conclusion
Different types of trips could require that you include more apps to your iPhone travel app list. For example, if you’re going to be camping you may want to download an app that features first-aid instructions that you can use offline. Maybe you can use a more detailed map app for those types of trips. In general though we feel that we provided a couple of good options here. As well as tips and tricks about what may be used across the world. A lot of times what works locally may not have as important of a user base abroad. So for example, apps like Waze in a place where it potentially has a small user base won’t be as effective. It’s hard to see these types of things when you’re sitting at home before your trip.
There’s also too many apps that you can download that are going to be able to provide you with a ton of hours of entertainment. If you’re again going to be off the grid, or have a long plane ride to catch, check that the app can be used offline. Most apps tell you that before you download them. The best way to double-check though is to just turn your data and your Wi-Fi off for a couple of seconds. Try to open up these apps when you know that you don’t have an internet connection. You’ll be able to see right then and there what works and what doesn’t.
*Map apps obviously don’t update if you don’t have an active internet connection. You can download a route though when you do have connection and then follow it! If you take a wrong turn though it won’t recalculate your route. So be extra careful with that.