Top Travel Apps You Need to Have This Summer

Lost in Paris and don’t know where to go? Not sure where to find the best street food in Bangkok? Want to record your trip across South America like a pro? Thanks to the wonderful world of apps, you can do all this straight from your phone. These days, travellers are plugged in, and using smartphones to navigate foreign cities, communicate with locals and document their incredible journeys is nothing unheard of.

Travelcuts, a Canadian online-exclusive travel brand focusing on helping 20- & 30-somethings see the world, has rounded up their top six travel apps you’ll want in your back pocket this summer.

Google Translate

An obvious must for travellers not versed in their destination’s native tongue, Google Translate has quickly become a necessity. Not only does the app translate your typed sentences, it also instantly converts printed text in seven languages. Simply point your camera on the text and watch as it virtually transforms to your preferred language. The best part is, you don’t need Internet connection to run this app.

CityMaps2Go

CityMaps2Go provides pre-downloaded city maps which can be navigated offline – meaning you don’t need Wi-Fi or roaming data after downloading. As well as providing offline GPS services, users can pin locations of bars, restaurants and shops, create individual lists of places based on destinations and collect travel inspirations from travel blogs. The app covers more than 150 countries, 15,000 destinations and 50 million places.

WiFi Finder

Maybe the most straightforward app on the list, WiFi Finder does exactly that – finds WiFi hotspots near you. The convenient map pinpoints each location and colour codes the hotspots, separating them by free and paid. Simply search your location and follow the map to the nearest WiFi hotspot and avoid those pesky roaming charges all together.

FoodSpotting

Standing out from every other restaurant app, FoodSpotting is a visual guide to good food and where to find it. Rather than reviewing restaurants, users can review specific dishes where they are dining. Foodspotters finds the best of whatever dish you’re looking for, the must-have dish at the restaurant you’re at and photos of what the dishes actually look like via other foodspotters.

Cameo

Turn that vacation footage into an amazing short film. From the creators of Vimeo, comes Cameo, a free editing app that helps you create and share cinematic videos on the go. Simply import clips from your camera roll, cut and splice in a few swipes, add a pre-made style, pick a sound track and voila, you have a stunning new video. Who knows: this app might be exactly what you need to win this year’s second annual travelcuts film fest.