Suggested iPhone/iPad apps for travel?

1) what is your favorite train booking app.

Trenitalia ap but you have to be online to book trains

Chris,

3) what is your favorite map app?
4) other ?

Google Maps app - you can download maps of places you plan to visit (before your trip); and then you can use ”offline”

Google Translate app - invaluable app!

I also like the Trenitalia App for booking train tickets but you need Wi-Fi or data to use.

Have a great trip!

Map app - City Maps 2 Go - download the maps before leaving, pin places that you want to see, can be used offline (for me, I have to get on wifi once we initially arrive in a city, then it's good to go after that - others have said they don't need to). I have the fully paid up version with all the bells and whistles (that I got for free - every once in awhile, it comes up for free for a weekend).

I don't do much for city guides - I usually buy either a paper guide or a digital guidebook and use that. I do have the trip advisor city guides, as well as tripwolf, but haven't really used either very much.

Others - Rome2Rio for planning transportation - invaluable. Just downloaded one called Fudget to keep track of expenses - no real world use yet, but it looks like a good, easy one. If you want to journal/blog, you could try one called journi.

4 - Other - Google Translate. You can download the Italian section before you leave the States so you don't have to worry about a wifi connection. It's incredible!!

1. Google Maps. Create your own maps for trip planning, then download the map to your iPhone/iPad app to use offline as other members have advised. Very helpful. I also use paper maps when traveling.
2. Around Station. App for all of Italy's major train stations (Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, Naples, etc.). Great for tracking your train to see if it's on time, etc. Also provides train station maps if needed. (requires wifi or data to use)
3. Italo app. I travel on Italo for the majority of train travel in Italy, and their app is helpful. (requires wifi or data to use)
4. mytaxi app. My Rome tour guide recommended this app. It works all over Europe. Similar concept to Uber except using taxis. Helpful since Uber is a contentious and sometimes more expensive choice in Europe. (requires wifi or data to use)
5. Find Me GF app. I'm a celiac, and this app was incredibly helpful on my recent trip to Italy. (requires wifi or data to use).
6. Dropbox. Cloud-based storage for your important travel docs that you can then download digital copies to your iPhone or iPad. A must-have, in my book.
7. Whatsapp. A lot of people in Europe use Whatsapp instead of direct texting. Requires wifi or data to use, but helpful if you need to get in touch with a tour guide, lodging, restaurant, etc. while in-country.
8. Airline apps (Delta, United, British Airways, etc.). Self-explanatory. (requires wifi or data).
9. Kindle app. Normally, I dislike reading books on my iPhone or iPad, but this trip I was determined to travel lighter and thus left the Kindle at home. Worked out just fine.
10. Twitter app. Start following local news outlets, museums, and bloggers before and during your trip. The real-time info can be enormously helpful. I was just in Rome when pre-election demonstrations were going on, and it helped knowing about those events before heading out each day.

Hope this helps!

Google Hangouts - for Americans, anyway, to make free voice calls home to the US, even to landlines, while on WiFi or mobile data. (Get a Google Voice number too to receive calls from phones for free on Hangouts.) Or call non-US numbers for a few cents a minute, like you can with Skype.

The Trenit app (Trenitalia) mentioned above is great not just for buying tickets but for checking train delays and platform info in real time e.g. while you are on the train, but of course you must have mobile service for that. (Some trains may have WiFi I guess, not sure how non-Italian travelers can use it, but maybe they can.) If you have a tight train connection, it's nice to know which platform you need to find before you even get off the last train or know whether the next train is on or delayed (and maybe you can relax a little).

SIM cards are cheap these days if your home mobile service doesn't have a cheap international roaming plan - a shame not to have mobile service in Italy for mapping, etc. especially if you have a smart phone.

The Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre now offers an app called "Cinque Terre Hiking Guide" and also called 'Pn5t Plus'. It's available free for both Apple and Android devices. RS recommended the previous incarnation of this app. I've tried it from my armchair and it seems quite useful. It allows you to see an overall trail map as well as individual trail maps and - importantly - to see your position on that trail. The trails also have word descriptions (in English) illustrated with photos at key points, and other info including distances, elevations, where to get water, and dialing for assistance. It says you can enter your Cinque Terre Card number to facilitate additional features., but my armchair review has to wait to add that part.

Thank you all for your excellent suggestions!

4) EatItaly and Katie Parla's Rome Apps for food

White Noise app for iPhone. This offers 26 sounds, from light rain to heavy rain to ocean waves to crickets to white, brown, and pink (!) noise. We plug a phone in at night and play the brown noise or ocean waves. This way, we never have that travel experience of trying to sleep in a noisy place (either through traffic or neighbors or whatnot)...

Good call outs on the Rome food app recommendations, Jessica!

A couple of clarifications on those apps... Some of the cities in the Eat Italy app require purchasing the city info (Rome, Florence, Venice). All $3.99 or less, but you need to know that up front. Elizabeth Minchilli has impeccable taste, and I had success with her Rome Eat Italy recommendations on my first trip to Rome.

Also, Katie Parla’s Rome app unfortunately has not been updated to support the current version of iOS, so it’s not available to download from the App Store. I tried to download it before my recent trip to Rome 3 week’s ago, but alas was unable to do so. Just double-checked and it’s still not available. If/when it gets updated down the road, it’s definitely worth adding for a Rome jaunt.

I recommend the Discover Rome app instead. Natalie Kennedy does a great job keeping the app content current, and there are tons of great recommendations for food, sights, activities on and off the beaten path. I used that app for portions of my Rome planning and was pleased to have found it.

Oh, a white noise app has come in so handy a few times...especially at our Rome Airbnb that came with some street noise as there were bars at street level (we were 3 floors up). It’s amazing how that helps.

I have one called Sleep Pillow, but there are so many to choose from. Sleep pillow doesn’t give you many sound options unless you pay for different ‘sound packages’. But the ‘free’ thunder storm or waves works for me.

chriszaw, Thanks for asking this question. It caused me to look for an app at our most reliable source for good traditional Italian restaurants: Slow Food Italy. Over the years we've had wonderful experiences almost without exception at the Slow Food endorsed restaurants. We never bought the book as it was so big and heavy, but relied on opportunistic web searches. I can't wait to try the app described here: http://www.slowfood.it/chi-siamo/slow-food-editore/app/

I use and like several of the already recommended city guide and maps apps but one I haven't seen recommended (for#4 other) is Tripit. I love the way it "magically" can search out and transfer my airline, hotel and other reservations from my emails and put them into a wonderfully organized itinerary. It also sends me reminders for check ins and other important things I am sure I need to know! I also frequently use the Rick Steves audio app for city and museum walking tours (there is even one vaporetto tour for the Grand Canal of Venice!), interviews and other information.

Thanks so much for the additional tips!. I’m giving them all a try! I had heard of TripIt, but never used it; I hadn’t heard of the Food apps recommended so those are good to know.
And I hadn’t even thought of the White noise app - that’s a good idea and already enjoying the soothing sounds as they calm me in the last days before my trip - especially with a 3rd Nor’easter coming our way - just as we are planning to leave ! It’s great to have you all for questions and support. Thanks for your time !

Is there an English version of the Slowfood Italy app/website?
I couldn't find one.

Is there an English version of the Slowfood Italy app/website?
I couldn't find one.

I can't seem to find the trenitalia app from the Apple app store? is it still supported?

As someone else suggested, I found TripIt to be an invaluable app/tool. I’ve used it for 3 out of our 4 trips to Italy and couldn’t do without it. It is very versatile and offers so many neat features. I use it to plan and organize our itinerary and keep all pertinent details in one place. One thing I like is that you can print out your itinerary. I always leave a stripped down version at home with a family member in case of an emergency so they’ll have our flight numbers and know which city and hotel we’re in each night in case something happens. I then print two complete versions to take along with us. My husband and I each take a copy in our luggage for easy reference and as a backup to the app itself.