Must-Have Travel Apps Reviewed, List Of Travel Apps You Need to Download Now

Top Travel Apps

Apps have become travel essentials in this digital age, as essential as passports and plane tickets. Apps help travelers communicate, find their way through strange cities, locate hotels and restaurants, book tickets, convert currency, find Wi-Fi and even report foul treatment by TSA officials. But with so many choices, which apps do you pick? We’ve listed some of the best and most useful travel apps of 2012. They’re all free, too:

Zuji Packman

The Zuji Packman manages to make packing fun with this cool app. Not only does it help travelers with packing duties, it also helps you organize and share travel schedules with your friends. You can create packing lists for each trip, see what your friends are packing and set up reminders so you don’t forget anything. The app is currently available only on iOS devices, but it’s coming to Android soon. Cost: Free

Features:

• Create multiple packing lists
• See your friends’ packing lists
• Share packing lists
• Store your itinerary
• Delegate packing items to friends
• Set reminders

Download: http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/zuji-packman/id508011597?mt=8

Boeing Milestones in Innovation

Boeing has launched Milestones in Innovation, an iPad app for aviation history buffs. Learn about Boeing’s history and aviation innovations through archival images, videos and an interactive timeline.  The “digital coffee table book” covers almost a hundred years’ worth of Boeing information, the perfect company on those long flights. Cost: Free

Features:

• Archival images and video
• Interactive timeline
• Covers Boeing history and innovations from 1916 to present day

Download: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/boeing-milestones/id510294916?mt=8

Condition One

At first glance, Condition One looks just like any other video app on the market. But once you use it, you know that you have something mind blowing in your hands. Condition One mixes still images and 180-degree video that turns travel stories into an immersive viewer experience. When watching a narrative, you feel like you were there with the filmmakers experiencing the action. The secret is the “pan” button that lets you view a scene from all angles—diagonally, up, down, left, right—by swiping your finger across the screen or tilting the tablet. Currently, the app does not let you take your own videos and you can only watch other people’s videos. Condition One is available on the iPad 2 and iPad 1. Cost: Free

Features:

• Watch immersive videos
• Change field of view by tilting or moving the iPad 2
• Change field of view by touching the screen of the iPad 1
• Save videos
• Download videos

Download: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/condition-one/id440571303?ls=1&mt=8

Image It

The Image It app solves the language barrier problem by using pictograms instead of words, useful if you get sick in a foreign country and you don’t know the word for “hospital.” Image It lets you use up to three pictograms to communicate your message. The app has a pictogram bank for categories like emergency, food and transport. It also lets you create your own pictograms. Cost: Free

Features:

• Pictograms sorted by category
• Create your own pictograms
• Write on default pictograms
• Supports 8 different languages

Download: http://itunes.apple.com/app/image-it/id515842287

Kuoni UK Brochures

Fans of travel company Kuoni can now access Kuoni website content on their iPads. View travel articles, watch videos and download travel brochures that you can read anytime without an internet connection. The app updates automatically, so you always get the freshest content. Cost: Free

• Download brochures to read offline
• Access the latest news, travel articles and travel content
• Bookmark any page
• Print any page

Download: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/kuoni-uk-brochures/id520085589?mt=8

Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Resorts Mobile App

Luxury travelers and fans of luxury travel are in for a treat with the new Ritz-Carlton application for iOS and Android devices. Access great deals, VIP info and top secret content, including an exclusive “Presidential Tips” section by Ritz-Carlton COO Herve Humler. Humler shares his own memorable experiences about each Ritz-Carlton hotel around the world. Cost: Free

Features:

• Book hotels and resorts around the world
• Edit reservations
• Interactive maps and directions
• Hotel information, amenities, events and galleries
• Special offers for guests
• Tips and recommendations
• Unlock stories with QR codes

Download

iOS Devices: http://itunes.apple.com/app/ritz-carlton-hotels-resorts/id519020361

Android Devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.usablenet.android.ritzcarlton

FlyRights

You’ve probably heard of horror stories about TSA officials in the U.S. running travelers through the gauntlet, or maybe you’re a victim of profiling. Now you can do something about it with the FlyRights application developed by the Sikh Coalition. Use the app to file complaints instantly and send them to the TSA website. Cost: Free

Features:

• Document your uncomfortable airport experience
• File a complaint in minutes
• Send reports directly to the TSA and to the Sikh Coalition
• Know Your Rights guide

Download:

iOS Devices: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flyrights/id499883054?ls=1&mt=8

Android Devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sikhcoalition.FlyRights