The best free travel apps are easy to use and provide a service or information you’ll need while away from home. These 5 free travel apps provide pertinent airport info, make it handy to find what the weather is locally wherever you are, gives you the ability to keep all your travel info and confirmation numbers at your fingertips, can help you locate the nearest wi-fi got spot, and makes it possible to hail a taxi without wasting time.
GateGuru
GateGuru is a free app that lets you know what’s happening at the airports. If you have to make a connecting flight, this app can help you find your way through the airport to the right gate. It also keeps you updated on wait times for security lines, and for travelers who are stuck waiting at the airport for any length of time GateGuru lists the airport restaurants and stores.
Weather+Free
When visiting a new place, it’s not always easy finding a local weather forecast. Instead of trying to catch the evening news, the Weather+Free app gives you the temperature, humidity, plus local time, visibility, windspeed, and other details that make it much easier to decide on what to wear. Plus it provides the information in English.
TripIt
TripIt is like a personal secretary for travelers. This free travel app keeps all your travel information in one place. This includes confirmation numbers, calendars, and itineraries. While the app is free, they do offer an upgraded version that includes perks like learning what seats are available on your flight, alternate flights if you get bumped, and keeps you updated on delays and cancellations.
Find the nearest hot spot with this free app.
Free Wi-Fi by JiWire
In ancient times, the most important thing a traveler needed to find was water. For modern travelers, it’s wi-fi. Without it, we feel helpless. The Free Wi-Fi Finder by JiWire app locates free wireless connections in urban areas. You can connect to the nearest hot spot, or choose a connection using a directory.
Google Translate
When traveling overseas, it’s helpful to know basic words and phrases in the native language of the country you are in. The free Google translator app is free and can quickly provide you helpful words like: how much, please, thank you, and more.
Be aware that this app can work in tandem with Google Googles to identify text or provide info on art, landmarks, etc. that you take pictures of, however, Google Googles runs all the time in the background, and some users have complained about it accessing personal photos.
Google Translate helps bridge the communication barrier.
Taxi Magix
When you find yourself in a strange city and need a taxi, who do you call? The Taxi Magix app makes booking a taxi booking easy, no matter where you are. It locates a taxi company based on your current location, books the taxi, and then tracks it’s arrival. That’s all pretty amazing, but it can even charge the taxi ride to your credit card and give you an e-receipt! (However, the receipt costs a little extra).
Photo credits: travel.usnews.com, mashable.com
Thank you for the great app recommendations Donna. I recently started a position at DISH which requires a lot of travel. I have been looking for some good apps to help make things a little easier. I have TripIT and Google Translate, but the others are new to me, so I will have to give them a shot. I have one app that was useful, but now it has become indispensable. It’s the free DISH Remote Access app and I use it to stream live TV and DVR recordings from my Hopper DVR. I used to only use it to watch baseball while fishing, but now that I have to put up with Denver International Airport on a weekly basis, I use it to save my sanity.