Best apps to use while travelling

Sometimes I have found that after pre downloading a map on Google Maps, once I left wifi it did not work for one reason or another, so always have a backup plan. I love using maps when I am using public transport, such as a bus or train, so that I can make sure I am actually going the right direction and to make sure I haven’t missed my stop. Google Maps specifically is GREAT for navigating public transport such as buses, trains, metros, and even ferries. If you type in the location you are wanting to go to, it will tell you the exact route to take and how long it will take to get there. It shows you the bus number or metro line, how many stops to take before getting on, and will even show you the time tables for the public transport. Even better, if you miss the bus or metro or train you were originally planning to take, 

This is the only app I know of that is specifically only for hostels and not hotels too, but if someone knows of another website similar solely for hostels, feel free to comment below on this post so that I can add it in.

This app is used hugely as a cultural exchange and language exchange that helps you experience a country more like a local than a tourist. This app used to be completely free to use, but unfortunately due to Covid 19, you now have to pay to sign up, but I promise you, you will not regret it. When looking for accommodation, you simply enter in the city you are wanting to go to, browse the available hosts who are actively taking in travelers, send them a personable and detailed message about yourself and your travel plans, and wait to get accepted. Couch Surfing truly is the best way to experience a country like a “local” rather than a “tourist” and can provide you with SO many connections and friendships all over the world. Whether you are using this app for accommodation, events, or just to make friends, couch surfing is truly a unique platform that will make you never want to be a mainstream tourists ever again. Like the famous quote once said, “strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet.”

There are also “online experiences” on the Airbnb website that you can pay and participate in virtually at your home. These activities vary (as you can see in the picture below) and they have some really unique and interesting options to participate in. This is a great way to try something new and get to experience a new thing while being stuck as home due to Covid 19.

A nice option is that once you search for a specific flight, you can actually enter in your email for that flight, and the app will send you an email if the prices for this particular flight happen to go down, so you can book it at the current best rate.

Also like Bumble, Tinder is primarily used as a dating app. Some people are on Tinder though looking to make friends, since it is a good way to introduce you and connect you to people in your area. I remember when I was living in Kyiv, Ukraine, I had moved there completely solo and did not know anyone at all. I really had trouble making friends the first few weeks since it was hard for me to meet people there and the English level wasn’t so high.Having no friends for a few weeks made me feel pretty lonely, even though I was living with a host family at the time and usually enjoy spending time exploring alone. I ended dup downloading Tinder. 

It was the first app I could think of to connect me to others around the city (this was before I knew about the meet up, Couchsurfing, and facebook ways to make friends). I had also downloaded the Bumble BFF app (which I discuss below). As long as you put on your Tinder profile that you are new to the city and just looking to make friends, you make have some success. I have found from my experience at least, that living n a new country and city sometimes makes you trigging and interesting to people, especially if they have never met someone from that country before. A lot of people I would meet in Ukraine would like practicing their English with me or just hearing about how life is in my home country, the USA. So I think you may have more success trying to find friends on a dating app like Tinder, if you jump to the point straight away and make known on your profile that you are new to the city and just looking to make new friends. Of Course you may be wanting to use Tinder for its normal intentions anyway, which of course will lead you to meeting some foreign guys which ca also be fun if you are looking for a romantic international love story (;

Also like Bumble, Tinder is primarily used as a dating app. Some people are on Tinder though looking to make friends, since it is a good way to introduce you and connect you to people in your area. I remember when I was living in Kyiv, Ukraine, I had moved there completely solo and did not know anyone at all. I really had trouble making friends the first few weeks since it was hard for me to meet people there and the English level wasn’t so high.Having no friends for a few weeks made me feel pretty lonely, even though I was living with a host family at the time and usually enjoy spending time exploring alone. I ended dup downloading Tinder. 

Having a translating app is definitely a must when traveling to non English speaking countries or a country you do not know the language of. Having some kind of translator app (make sure you download this app offline to use without internet connection) is a lifesaver and can help you with day to day tasks. A good thing about the Google Translate app (not sure about other language translator apps) is that it also has a microphone, so if you are asking someone a question, instead of them typing the answer back to you, they can speak into your phone’s microphone directly and it will be translated. Remember, for places where they do not use the same language alphabet as you, they may not be able to type their answer to your question on your key board if all you have is an English keyboard. 

For example, if I am talking to someone in China that speaks Chinese and I ask them a question, if they try to answer me by typing, they obviously do not know English so they would not be able to answer my question by typing unless I had a Chinese keyboard added to my phone. This is actually quite simple and easy to add and is under your settings on your iPhone, but just make sure to have it downloaded already so you are prepared. This is why have the microphone option is a great plus. With Google translate, you can also download most languages to use offline when you do not have access to internet. A very useful feature is the camera option, where you can hold up the camera on the app to any text that is in the language you are trying to translate, and the words will appear on the screen in the target language. This will save your life when it comes to street signs, menus at a restaurant, and signs for public transportation that are not written in English.

If you want to start learning a new language while abroad or to go abroad, I recommend Duolingo, specifically because it is completely free and has fun and short lessons. It also is one of the most reputable language learning apps and offers a lot of choices in terms of languages. They even recently added an Arabic course finally! I highly recommend at least taking the time to learn a few words of the local language when traveling to a new country, especially if the local population does not speak much English. You would be surprised how far just knowing a few simple words such as “yes”, “no”, “thank you”, “please”, “bathroom”, “metro/bus” and of course “hello and goodbye” can make all the difference. I have found that when you know a few words of the local language and use it with the locals, they really appreciate your effort with trying to speak their language and find it funny and cute when you try to pronounce their words. It usually leads to some bonding moments and can help you make friends faster. 

It is super easy to use and you can even download the offline version for your bus/train/plane rides when you might not have wifi. You can make flashcards on this app for your target language and have tests set up along with some fun games that help you to learn vocabulary and phrases. The only complaint I would have about the Duolingo app, is that you only start off the day with 5 hearts (it renews everyday) and each time you get a question wrong, it takes away one heart. So by the time you get 5 questions wrong during your lesson, you can not finish your lesson or do any other lesson for the rest of the day unless you buy more hearts or pay to upgrade to the premium version of Duolingo. The problem is, if you are learning a new language for the first time, of course you will get multiple questions wrong. The good thing about Duolingo premium is that you can try it for two weeks for free, there is unlimited hearts (so you can make unlimited mistakes and still finish/complete as many lessons as you like), and it is only $12.99 a month per month or $80.00 for a year subscription. So although this app is free, I think it will benefit you a lot to upgrade to the premium version if you are committed enough to learning the language and plan to stay active with your lessons.

Make sure to always use this when trying to buy things from a shop, restaurant, withdrawing from an ATM, or bargaining on the street so you can tell exactly how much you are spending before it is too late.

Also like Bumble, Tinder is primarily used as a dating app. Some people are on Tinder though looking to make friends, since it is a good way to introduce you and connect you to people in your area. I remember when I was living in Kyiv, Ukraine, I had moved there completely solo and did not know anyone at all. I really had trouble making friends the first few weeks since it was hard for me to meet people there and the English level wasn’t so high.Having no friends for a few weeks made me feel pretty lonely, even though I was living with a host family at the time and usually enjoy spending time exploring alone. I ended dup downloading Tinder. 

It definitely gave my mom some peace of mind while I was traveling to know that if anything were to happen, at least the embassy would know I was in that country. Whenever I was traveling in Jordan in January of 2020, I received an alert from the embassy in Amman, Jordan that had advised all Americans on a particular day to stay inside and not go to any kind of gatherings and events because it could be a safety risk. This was after the tension was rising between Iran and the United States after recent events, and word was out that Iran may threaten or attack Americans in other Middle Eastern countries. I got a notification from the Embassy through my email and text message, since I had notified the embassy through this app that I was in Jordan currently, to remain indoors for safety reasons. I guess it can never hurt to be informed of your surroundings and potential threats, and it is always better to be safe than sorry. Another great thing about this app, is that it gives you all the cautions/travel advisories for a particular country and tells you other information such as areas in that country you should avoid, if any visas or documents are needed to enter, etc. The US department of State rates countries on a scale of 1-4 based on how safe or not safe a country is to travel to. Level 1 is the safest level and least intense, and level 4 is the highest level and indicates “do not travel to this country”. Of course you can still make your own choices and it is not like Americans are banned from level 4 countries just because the Department of State suggests not to travel there. It is always good to know what level the country is rated and WHY they are rated on this level. Especially pay attention to certain areas of the country to avoid, if any are indicated. The information from the US Department of State is the most reliable, official, and trustworthy information (at least for Americans but I would recommend looking at your own countries website for other nationals)so I would rely on this more than other websites on Google or what travel bloggers say in terms of visas and entry requirements etc. It is also updated frequently whenever there is a change of information.

I learned this the hard way, after constantly messaging my family in Dubai using iMessage and being apart of a big group message with my friends that were constantly texting all day. I ended up having to pay about $75 extra on my phone bill(even if I was texting on Wifi), because I hadn’t realized I was being charged for each text I sent, and even more money for each picture or video that was sent. Unlike in the US where text messaging is generally unlimited and free, you have to pay to send texts in Dubai(depending on your phone company), so this is why a free texting app such as WhatsApp is used so widely. You basically can not survive without a WhatsApp account in some countries if you want to have a social life and be connected to others. So learn from my mistakes and avoid being charged a hefty phone bill by doing research on your phone provider and the country you are in to see if it is more financially beneficial for you to use Whatsapp.

Zoom is a pretty recent app that has exploded in popularity and usage, especially during the times of Corona virus, virtual gatherings, and social distancing. For video calling, I personally always would choose to use the FaceTime app on the iPhone as my first, just because it comes on your phone already so there is no need to download another app. It is also very easy to use between other iPhone users. However, if you do not have FaceTime or you are in a country such as China or the United Arab Emirates that does not allow the usage of the FaceTime app, I would recommend Zoom. I use Zoom almost everyday for video calling my family and friends back home. 

If you have a grandparent or parent who are not very tech savvy but you want to ensure that you can video chat them while you are traveling or living abroad, I would recommend setting up the app for them on their phones, helping them create an account, and showing them how to use the app successfully. I remember having to wait a week or two just to finally be able to video chat my mom on Zoom because she couldn’t figure out how to work the app. So an important tip: Help your loved ones BEFORE leaving on your trip with operating these sort of apps so you can avoid headaches and have hassle free communication.

ONLY NEEDED ON A PER COUNTRY BASIS. What is a VPN? It is a Virtual Private Network that, in very simple terms, hides your internet activity, keeps it private, and does not allow your internet searches to be tracked. This is a necessity depending on where you are traveling to but is not needed generally in the majority of countries. It is best to research your specific country online and find out whether a VPN is needed. 

These include websites such as Youtube, Snapchat, Facebook, Facetime, Netflix, Instagram, and Google. To access these banned apps while in a country that does not allow them, such as in China, you need to download a “VPN” app on your phone. There are many options for this, but one of the most common and well known companies is “Express VPN”. Unfortunately, it is a paid VPN, but it works very well in China. 

Trust me, you will definitely need a VPN, whichever one you decide to get, if you want to survive in China and still have access to your social media accounts, and even for more important things like video chatting your family. Basically, what a VPN does, is it tricks your phone into thinking you are in a different location than where you actually are. So when you go on your VPN app, turn on your VPN, and select a country to connect to. Your app should also show you the city or country with the strongest connection at that moment (this changes all the time). 

There are a lot of options for free VPNs on the app store, but sometimes the connection isn’t as reliable and it may not work as well. However, below you can find “Proton VPN” which is a free VPN service that I have tried that does generally work. Make sure to download these VPN apps BEFORE going to a country such as China or the United Arab Emirates, as it is hard to download these while inside the country since this type of service is already blocked.

I promise that you will have the best satisfaction getting to look back and reminisce on all your cool travel experiences at the end of the year when they are all put together as one video. It seems like people generally like to start their travel videos on January 1st, so that it is following the calendar year. I first started making my video diary at the beginning of my first year of university, which wasn’t until August. You can start your video diary at any time of the year, whenever you start your trip or whenever you can remember to actually start it.

I’ve never really been into editing photos and putting filters on my pictures until recently. I think beforehand I was too lazy to put filters on my pictures and was always too indecisive to decide on which filter I liked best. However, now that I started a blog, I decided it is better to have the best quality photos to post on my websites and social media accounts . Adding a filter to your picture can really make the quality look better and make your photo stand out more on your website or social media newsfeed. I admit, although I was reluctant at first, I really can tell the difference between a picture with a filter and a picture with no filter. Using Adobe light room is completely free and so simple and easy to use. It is perfect for beginners as it doesn’t take much expertise and is pretty straightforward when editing your photo. Just choose from a heap of different filters ( try not to take hours and be indecisive like me) and then export that photo back to your camera roll.

Have you ever wondered how you could possibly have enough storage on your phone for all the millions of pictures and videos you take during traveling? If you are like me after a trip, you will literally have thousands of new pictures and videos on your phone. Before discovering about Google Photos(my lifeline), I used to backup my iPhone onto my laptop, which would not only take up tons of storage on my computer, but would also not even be an option for me while traveling since I do not travel with my computer. I am also one of those people who will take at least three or more pictures of the same exact thing, and then never go back to delete the repeat pictures. I went through three different iPhones in one year while I was traveling (not proud of it and I am still salty about this)