TECHS of the TRADE
Canada’s top travel experts and bloggers dish on the apps they just can’t leave home without.
FRIENDS ON THE INSIDE: AIRBNB
“AIRBNB ESSENTIALLY GIVES ME DIRECT ACCESS TO A LOCAL IN A FOREIGN LAND. BEYOND PROVIDING ACCOMMODATIONS, MANY HOSTS ARE INCREDIBLY PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR CITY AND COUNTRY AND WILL PROACTIVELY SHARE TIPS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND HIDDEN GEMS. ON A RECENT FAMILY TRIP TO PORTUGAL, ONE OF OUR HOSTS OFFERED HELP WHEN WE HAD CAR TROUBLE, ANOTHER DELIVERED TOYS AS SOON AS I MESSAGED HER ABOUT MY TODDLER AND ONE HELPED US NAVIGATE OUR WAY OUT OF A PROTEST THROUGH THE APP’S DIRECT MESSAGING SERVICE.” —Solmaz Khosrowshahian, blogger, thecuriouscreature.com
ITINERARIES MADE EASY: TRIPIT
“I couldn’t travel without Tripit. Whenever you book a flight, a hotel, an event or a car service, you simply forward the confirmation to plans@tripit.com and it’ll be filed into a personalized and easy-to-access itinerary. I love having schedules, addresses and confirmation numbers all in one handy place, rather than having to sift through emails to find details.” —Natalie Discala, editor, ohtravelissima.com
“On the longer trips my husband and I take, our first step in planning is to figure out the spots we want to visit and how long to stay in each. Rome2rio helps us find the best route between them. You enter two destinations and it gives you the possibilities, from public transit to walking to taxis to driving, saving us time, money and stress by recommending the best options.”
—Linda Holland, blogger, retiredandtravelling.com
NAVIGATING THE MAZE: WAZE “I use this GPS app at home to get around, but I especially rely on it when I travel internationally. It’s comforting to know how far away
the hotel is from the airport— or wherever I’m heading—and to be able to track the cab driver to make sure we’re taking the quickest route and I’m not getting ripped off. I frequently point out to drivers that they should take a turn based on Waze…and they think I know where I’m going!” —Kathy Buckworth, travel expert, CHCH’S Morning Live
SERENE SLEEPS: WHITE NOISE
“THIS APP IS MY BEST BET FOR GETTING A GOOD SLEEP ANYWHERE. SOMETIMES, YOU HEAR WEIRD SOUNDS IN HOTEL ROOMS OR OUTSIDE OR IT’S TOO NOISY ON THE PLANE. OTHER TIMES, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT CAN BE WAY TOO QUIET; SO I PICK A SETTING— THERE’S EVERYTHING FROM WHITE NOISE AND BROWN NOISE TO RAIN AND WAVES— AND SOOTHE MYSELF TO SLEEP. I JUST USED IT IN MEXICO CITY BECAUSE MY ROOM WAS FACING A BUSY STREET AND I COULD HEAR EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE HALLWAY. IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!” —Jennifer Weatherhead Harrington, blogger, travelandstyle.ca
SEEING SIGNS: Google Translate
“Via a smartphone camera, Google Translate scans foreign text—on, say, a sign— and displays the English translation in real time without needing to be connected to the internet. We use it often overseas— especially for menus and at train stations—and it saves us from things like ordering mishaps and wrong turns.” —Dalene and Pete Heck, bloggers, hecktictravels.com