Which apps have been useful to me on my journey

Before the trip, as usual, I decided that everything would be under control. I made up a route, looked at a map, estimated my expenses roughly, and even saved a few addresses in notes, after which I felt like a man who could conquer any country on his own. However, it turned out at the airport that my heroic travel plan was based on about one percent of my phone's charge and my ability to pretend that I knew where I was going. Therefore, this time I pre-installed several applications that were really useful, and not just took up the memory in the phone.

Maps are my main navigator

The first thing I needed was the maps. Moreover, I did not limit myself to one application, because for some reason, when traveling, I have a strange confidence that if the phone loses the Internet, satellites, communication and any hope of salvation, then at that very moment I will need to find a hotel in some alley. Therefore, I downloaded offline maps of the required areas in advance and saved the address of the hotel.

It turned out to be especially useful when I was walking around an unfamiliar area without an Internet connection. I could see where I was, find the right street, and figure out which way to go. However, sometimes the map showed that it was a five-minute walk to the right place, and ten minutes later I was still walking somewhere along stairs, courtyards and suspiciously quiet alleys. At such moments, I began to suspect that five minutes for the cards and five minutes for me were completely different units of measurement.

The translator is the very person who saves the conversation.

I installed the translator at home and realized very quickly that it was a great idea. Even if I know a few words in the local language, in a real situation, it suddenly turns out that for some reason the right word flew out of my head, and instead I remember the name of some dish from my childhood.

It was especially convenient to use a translator with a camera when it was necessary to understand the menu, sign or instructions. You point your phone at a text, get a translation, and within seconds you feel like a person who is completely free to navigate local life. However, sometimes the translation turns out to be so strange that I have to read it several times and hope that the restaurant does not offer me "fried uncertainty with rice" for dinner.

The app for transport

If there are subways, buses, commuter trains or trains on the trip, I definitely install the application with public transport. It turned out to be especially useful in large cities, where at first glance it is possible to understand the routes only after obtaining a second higher education.

I liked to look at the route from the hotel to the right place in advance, check transfers and approximate travel time. Thanks to this, I at least understood what I was going to do: ten minutes on foot, then the subway, then the bus and a little more on foot or ten minutes on foot, three transfers and a meeting with my own destiny.

The opportunity to see the nearest stops and stations was also useful. When you leave the hotel in the morning and still don't fully understand where you are, having a phone with a normal transport schedule saves a lot of time and nerves.

An application for booking accommodation

I try to book accommodation in advance, but even after confirming the reservation, I keep the application with information about the hotel. There's always an address, photos, booking details, and sometimes messages from the host or the hotel.

One day, I went to look for a hotel from memory so confidently that after about twenty minutes I realized that my memory was working fine, I just remembered a completely different twist. After that, I stopped being a hero and just open the app, check the address and go to the map. It turns out that you can travel without adventures, at least sometimes.

Taxi app

I also consider the taxi app to be almost mandatory. It allows you to see the approximate cost of the trip in advance, choose the pick-up point and not try to explain to the driver with gestures that I need to go to that building over there, and not to the neighboring building, which for some reason looks exactly the same.

Besides, I feel better when the trip is processed through the app and I see the route. Especially after a long flight, when my head doesn't distinguish the airport from the mall, and my only desire is to get to bed and not talk to anyone for at least the next half hour.

Payment application and banking applications

I checked the banking applications several times before the trip. Not because I particularly like to look at the balance, but because when traveling, it is important to understand how much money was debited, where the payment was made, and whether anything suspicious happened.

I also checked in advance whether my cards work abroad, and saved several payment methods. Because relying solely on one bank card when traveling is like taking one sock with you and hoping that the other one will somehow be found in another country.

Weather

At first, the weather app seemed like something optional to me. Then one morning I went out in light clothes because the app showed the sun, and an hour later I found myself in the rain, and suddenly realized the value of meteorology.

Now I look not only at the temperature, but also at the probability of rain, wind, and the forecast for several hours ahead. This is especially convenient during walks, when you can figure out whether it's worth going to see the sights now or whether it's better to sit quietly in a cafe, pretending that this is exactly what was planned from the very beginning.

The note-taking app

The usual notes on the phone also proved to be very useful. There I saved the address of the hotel, booking numbers, important phone numbers, a list of places I wanted to visit, and all sorts of little things that are completely impossible to remember in my head.

I also recorded expenses there, because after a few days of traveling, money starts disappearing at such a rate, as if they also have a ticket home. When you see all the expenses in front of your eyes, it becomes much easier to understand where the budget went and why you definitely didn't buy anything expensive yesterday, although for some reason the receipt from the store says the opposite.

Currency conversion application

The currency converter has been useful to me more often than I expected. Especially in the early days, when local prices had not yet had time to turn into understandable figures in my head.

At first, I counted literally everything: coffee, ticket, lunch, water, and even some completely unnecessary trifle that I bought simply because it lay beautifully on the shelf. After a couple of days, I started to navigate faster, but the app was still at hand, especially when the price looked suspiciously attractive or, conversely, so high that I wanted to pretend that I couldn't count at all.

What did I leave in my phone in the end

In the end, I realized one simple thing: I don't need dozens of travel apps that promise to make my trip perfect. A few really useful tools are enough – maps, translator, transport, housing, taxi, bank, weather, notes and currency converter.

At the same time, I try to download everything I need in advance and check what works without the Internet. Because the real test of any application does not begin when you are sitting at home with Wi-Fi and calmly pressing all the buttons, but when you are standing in the middle of an unfamiliar city with 8% charge, you do not understand where your hotel is, and for some reason it is at this moment that the application decides to update.

So now, before my trip, I don't just pack my suitcase, but do a little digital preparation. I check maps, download the necessary areas, save the address of the hotel, install a translator and a transport application, and also try to have several payment options. After that, you can safely drive and pretend that I am an experienced traveler who has foreseen everything, although we both understand that I will take a wrong turn somewhere anyway.