The Best Travel Apps For Your Smartphone – The Geek Girl Report

Summer is officially here, and that means it's time for summer vacation. But as we all know, planning that vacation is no "day at the beach," so to speak. Hotels, flights, driving directions, where to eat, what to do, there's a lot to figure out before you get to kick back and enjoy your vacation. That's where your smartphone can become your best friend, if you have the right apps to help you in your travels. Here's a look at just some of the handy travel apps you can get for your smartphone.

Planning the Trip

First things first, you've got to plan your trip. And Kayak's smartphone app can make planning much easier. This app, basically a mobile version of the popular travel search engine, will help you find the best deals on all the flights and hotels for your destination. Once you have all the details of your trip, you can store all those details in one handy app: TripIt. This incredibly useful app takes all the information for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc., and condenses it into one simple mobile itinerary.

Getting There

If you're traveling by air, you'll definitely want to check out FlightTrack Pro. This useful little app helps you keep track of your flights, and even predicts whether or not your flight will be delayed. It's also compatible with TripIt, which adds to its usefulness. If you prefer to take a road trip, there's a number of apps you can get to make the trip a little easier, such as Aha Radio to get traffic updates, news and points of interests on your route, or Primo Spot to help you find a place to park. Also if you're going by car, you might want to take a look at the app Sit or Squat which, as its name suggests, indicates the location of the nearest restroom.

Going Abroad

If your summer travels are taking you overseas, you'll need an app to help overcome the language barrier. (unless your fluent in that language, of course) In that case, the mobile version of Google Translate should serve your needs quite nicely. However, if you have the cash for it, Jibbigo is also a solid choice. This app will take a phrase you speak into the microphone and recites the translation in any number of languages. But, language isn't the only tricky bit about vacationing abroad; currency could also be a concern. XE Currency, which offers on-the-spot currency conversion, is perfect for figuring out just what kind of deal you're getting on that "authentic" souvenir.