Health & Fitness
Travel Tips: Turn Your Smartphone Into a Guidebook
From airport guides to maps to reviews, mobile technology plays an essential role in summer 2013 vacationing.
More people plan to boost spending this year on leisure travel, according to research conducted by American Express, and family trips are particularly popular as 60 percent of parents plan to have kids in tow during this summer’s vacation.
Nielsen reports use of guidebooks is on the decline in favor of mobile apps for planning vacations. So, which apps do you need to download before you leave town? Verizon Wireless recommends the following apps for popular family trips:
Road Trips
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Before hitting the road, store favorite spots and points of interest on a smartphone through the Place Book app, which can log destinations in custom lists and connect to Yelp, Foursquare and Google Places. Check Gas Buddy between pit stops to find the cheapest fuel.
Theme Park Trips
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Get the most out of your theme park vacation with Disney Mobile Magic. Use GPS maps to get around the parks, locate your favorite characters and even make dining reservations.
Air Travel
July is the busiest month for family air travel. A little mobile pre-planning can help simplify the airport experience. Download an airport guide app such as GateGuru to help identify dining spots during layovers, track flight schedules and find ground transportation. Also, TSA’s app provides answers to most commonly asked questions about flying as well as airport status and even expected security wait times.
Camping and RV trips
Want to go bird watching? Boating? Hiking? Climbing? With Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder app, it’s easy to select from a list of things you want to do. If all that fresh air makes you hungry, try the Classic Camping Cookbook and Meal Planner App for the latest and greatest in campfire inspired fare.
Once you reach your destination, keep the kids interested with apps such as Mom Maps, which highlights kid-friendly restaurants and nearby play areas. Or, check out Spotcycle, which shows a digital map of bike rental stations. Pick up bikes, take a ride and then check the app for the nearest drop-off point.
Once you reach your vacation destination don’t let mother nature rain on your fun. Apps like The Weather Channel and Weather+ give hourly forecasts and live views of weather radar.