2016

Travel Apps!

With ALA’s annual conference in Orlando just around the corner, travel is in the plans for many librarians and staff. Fortunately, as I live in Florida, I don’t have that far to go. But if you do, then you’re going to need some good apps.

I travel frequently and have a few of my favorite apps that I use for travel, and I’d like to share them with you:

Airline App of Choice

I personally only use two airlines so I can only speak to their particular apps, but seriously, if you have a smartphone and you aren’t using it to hold tickets or boarding passes, you’re missing out. You can also use your app to check flight times and delays, book future travel, or just to play around (one of my airline’s apps lets you send virtual postcards).

PackPoint

Even if it’s just a weekend trip, this app is great at letting you know what you should bring depending on the weather and your activities. You can adjust the lists according to your preferences as well. Though this is the free version, there is a paid version where you can save your packing lists to Evernote. (Android)

Foursquare

I only use Foursquare when I travel. It got put through its paces in Boston when I needed to find a place to eat near my location or was looking for a historic site I hadn’t been to. It also helped in giving me tips about the place: what to order, when to avoid the place, how the staff was. On top of that, it links with your Map App of Choice (Google Maps FTW!) to give you directions and contact information. It’s not Yelp, but I feel it’s more genuine. (Android)

Waze

Take it from someone who lived in Orlando: driving in that city is not fun. This is why you want Waze: it can show you directions as well as let you input traffic accidents you happen across as you drive (well, maybe after you drive). It even helps out with finding cheap gas. (Android)

Photo-Editing App of Choice

You’re no doubt going to be taking a lot of photos on your trip, so why not spice them up with some creative edits and share them? There are a plethora of photo apps out there to choose from, the most ubiquitous being Instagram (Android), but I love Hipstamatic (paid, iOS only) because you can randomize your filters and get a totally unexpected result every shot. Other apps that are fun are Pixlr (Android) (there’s a desktop version, too!) and Photoshop Express (Android)
What are some travel apps that you cannot live without? Post them in the comments or tweet them my way @LibrarianStevie!

2 comments

  1. Pingback: Travel Apps! – LITA Blog | Libraries News...

  2. Andromeda

    TripIt! It can hold all your flight, hotel, etc. plans in one place, and you can forward itinerary emails to it directly. It knows your confirmation numbers and the gate you’ll be taking off from. With the paid plan, you can share your plans with other people (very convenient with family), and you get realtime notifications about delays, gate changes, etc. (Touching down, turning on your phone, and getting the email that says “you’re at gate X, your next flight takes off from gate Y, and you have Z minutes to make your connection”? Fantastic.)

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