Tuesday 26 February 2019

Must Have Travel Apps


By: Lauren Ward



Although technology can have its drawbacks it has made traveling a smoother experience in many aspects. From electronic boarding passes to live weather updates from around the world no one can deny technology has its benefits for trotting around the globe. I have compiled a list of a few applications (aside from your run of the mill flight and weather apps) to help any Harlaxton student or traveler make their time away from home faster, cheaper, and easier.

Skyscanner:
This is a mobile application as well as an online website that searches for the cheapest tickets for your desired destination. You enter in the dates that you want to fly out and return. You also input what airport you wish to use. Luckily for us Harlaxton students you can tell it to search every airport in the London area! It also conveniently gives the option for multi city travel. An example of this would be flying from London into Rome but flying back to London from Florence. It takes in all your desired specifications and generates a list of flights for you to choose from. Often it will tell you to book from two different airlines to save even more money for your travels. However, my personal favorite setting on this app is the ‘Everywhere option’ which means it will tell you the cheapest place to fly to on the days you want to go. This can be helpful when you’re stumped on where to travel to next or if you’re torn between a few locations!

Google Translate:
This application can be a extremely useful tool to use when traveling to foreign countries. They have a mobile application that can be downloaded onto your phone that has many useful functions. For example you can save a language to use offline so when you are suck in a city with no wifi or data you can still communicate with the locals. By far the most impressive feature is the camera function. You can open up your camera, align any text in a foreign language, and it automatically translates it on the spot. This can save lots of time when looking at menus, train time tables, or signs around a city.

Currency exchange app: 
When studying abroad and booking trips with different people, to different countries, with different currencies every weekend it can get pretty stressful. Money definitely gets moved around quite a bit. And with fluctuating currency exchange rates you want to make sure that you are always paying and getting paid the correct amount. I would highly recommend downloading a currency exchange app, although google can work perfectly well too. It can be really convenient to be able to open the app and search for your destination quickly.

HappyCow:
If you are vegan or vegetarian this app will make traveling so much easier for you! You put in your location and it lists nearby restaurant options with reviews by fellow vegans or vegetarians. You can then filter your search for strictly vegan restaurants, bakeries, farmers markets, or grocery stores. No longer will you be worrying about doing extra research or settling for a restaurant that doesn’t work for you.

Hostel World:
This website is great for finding the perfect hostel. This website compiles reviews from past guests and ranks hostels based overall value. You can select your location, a price range, and what amenities you want. It then generates a list and you can pick the hostel that best fits what you are looking for. This is definitely a helpful and reliable website when you are traveling and trying to save some money.

Tube Map: 
If you are attending Harlaxton College chances are that you will be spending quite a bit of time in London. And the fastest, cheapest, and (sometimes) easiest way to get around is by taking the infamous London Underground. If you download the Tube Map app you can GPS yourself from you current location to wherever in the city you want to go. Tube Map then will give you the cheapest and most efficient way to get there with step-by-step instructions of what lines to get on. This can save you valuable time on a short weekend when you want to see a lot of different places around the city. (Apple/Android)

I hope these apps will help in all of your future travels while at Harlaxton or wherever else you may travel to!

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