Helpful apps to suggest?

Here's some of the apps I like best:

Rick's Audio Europe. Its great for so many things. I listen to the radio podcasts while riding trains from one place to another, use the walking tours to explore areas without paying for a guide etc.

Then:
Flashlight App (because light is awesome)
TripIt (stores all your tickets, hotel confirmations in one convenient location)
Skype (much cheaper way to make phonecalls)
Skyscanner (flight search)
Google Translate (you can take a photo of a menu or other item in another language and it will translate it for you)

If you happen to be traveling in the northern part of Italy there's a Verona Arena app that is very nicely put together

There's a nice app called "hidden florence" created by a university in the UK with two interesting audio walks you can follow through the city. They really are not as good as Rick's walks but still interesting.

If you are exploring the Dolomites the "Culturonda" app has some very nice podcasts and walking tours of the castles and other locations.

P.S. Make sure your iphone is connected to a carrier who won't charge you roaming fees for using data. You probably already have this part figured out but just wanted to mention it!

City Maps to go

If you are into food, the Eat Italy App has great restaurant recommendations for Rome, Florence and Venice.

Mary,

"Flashlight App (because light is awesome)"

You don't need to use a separate flashlight app, as that's built into the iPhone OS. Look for a small bar on the bottom centre of the phone, even if it's locked. If you pull that bar upwards it will open a page with a bunch of features, including flashlight (look for the icon on the lower right side).

Some apps that you may find useful.....

• Camera+ (a great enhancement for use with the camera)
• f/xChange (currency conversion)
• Kindle Reader (if you want to take any guidebooks along)
• Viber (allows free texts via Wi-Fi and free calls to other Viber users; there's a small charge for calls to non-Viber users AFAIK)
• Google Translate (works well but requires data access if no Wi-Fi available; Apple version doesn't allow downloading off-line dictionaries)
• Airport websites (various airports have good websites with all kinds of information; I often transit FRA so have their app on my phone)
• Google Maps (not sure if this is currently included by default with iPhones, but it's easy to download; a more mature platform compared to Apple maps and seems to work well)
• City transportation apps (there are numerous apps available for transit systems in various cities, including London, Paris, Rome and many others)

Be sure to check with your cellular carrier for information on data roaming, as the costs can be substantial if you don't have some kind of roaming plan. Also be sure that you're familiar with operation of the phone in terms of switching on Airline mode, switching cellular data "off", checking your data usage, etc.

Happy travels!

Rome2Rio outlines transportation options.

The city guides app from trip advisor (which is different from the regular trip adviser app) allows you to download cities you'll visit, and map out points of interest so you can plan your touring days. It also provides background information on the sites.

There also are various off-line Wikipedia-based city guides. It would be worth exploring some of those. I've used one called Wordly, but have not tried it since upgrading my software. I found this type of guide to be particularly helpful for unplanned stops; it was a nice source of background information (and spared me the expense of having to go online for information).

If museums are of interest, it's always worth checking to see if they have an app. Some have really nice apps that allow me to plan ahead.

I would also suggest exploring your carrier's plans that would give you some access to data in Europe. I use that very little, but when I need it it is really helpful to have. Verizon's international plan worked well for me. I've also heard good things about T-Mobile, and plan to switch to them shortly.

From a fellow recent smartphone newbie (but Android, not Apple):

For currency converting, I love the XE app. You just tap the currency you want and it comes to the top, then you just shake the phone to reset it to 1 (so, if you were looking at euros to dollars, and now need to reverse it, you tap dollars and shake, and you get what $1 equals).

I just used Moovit for Israel (recommended by a local), which was handy for looking up bus lines by number, as well as routes. I see it has lots of cities and countries in its database, but haven't tried it yet for other places.

If your phone has a pedometer (my Samsung has this built in), it's fun to see just how much more you're walking in Europe than you normally do at home.

Facetime is great when communicating with other Apple users (already built in), but if you want to communicate similarly with non-Apple users, you may want Skype or one of its competitors.

See if the airports you are using have apps; they can be very handy with reminders, finding places in the airport, etc. You should also download the app for the airlines you are flying. For some flights, having the United app gets you free movies using the United inflight WiFi, but it must be installed before getting on the plane (tip from a flight attendant).

I agree that Rick Steves Audio Europe is great; once you've downloaded his tours, you don't need a data connection to use them. This app was just updated for iPhones (still waiting for the Android update).

Great tips! Just adding on to those:-

For transportation, I use the Blablacar app where you can basically hitch a ride from people who frequently travel across cities for a fee - usually about 30 euro, much cheaper than the train!

I also use BonAppetour to check out some home dining options with locals, especially when I'm bored of restaurant food, and would like the company of locals!

Also, google maps are great if you store the locations that you will be visiting, then you can use the GPS functionality to navigate around.

You can also try Duolingo to learn some basic Italian - the way they have structured the app makes the learning process really fun! hahah! Have fun!

Hi Mary,

We just got back from Rome and two apps we used a lot were WordLens (take a picture of a sign, menu, etc in Italian and it will translate the words into English for you) and Rome Travel Guide and Offline City Map. We used the Offline City Map MUCH more than the paper city map we carried with us. I found the offline GPS function great to help me orient myself on some of the narrow streets when we got turned around without realizing it. It also had offline links to Wikipedia for some smaller sights that weren't listed in our guide books.

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions!