Stress no more to pack for your summer vacation
with long days and warm sun tempting us to experience the outdoors and travel. Getting the right apps for your phone and tablet can help you have a great time.
Packing for a vacation can be a chore. Stress no more: Packpoint has you covered. The app is a smart packing adviser that can build a list of necessary toiletries, clothes and other items.
PackPoint starts by asking where you’re going and when. The app then finds the weather forecast for the destination and asks what kind of activities you are planning. Choose among the provided list of activities, including hiking, photography and fancy dinners, or supply your own activity (you’ll need to know what to pack for the custom event). With selections made, PackPoint generates a list of items you’ll need to suit the weather and activities. For example, you’ll need a camera bag for photography, and men will need a dress shirt for a fancy dinner.
Take the strain out
As you pack, you mark off items on the list. The idea is to take the strain out of packing. You can even share your list by instant message or social media with other members of your group to help them plan accordingly. Though the app seems simple, it’s really useful. PackPoint is free for Android and iOS, but access to some features, like custom activities, costs $2. Summer travellers will want to know what’s happening at their destinations. Peek Tours, free on iOS, pulls together lots of information about places, like museums to visit, and activities, from walking tours to more adventurous outdoor sports.
You can browse Peek’s recommendations by category (like “sights and landmarks” and the handy “what to do with kids”), by date, location or special points of interest.
All the app’s recommendations have a short description, and the app makes good use of images to sustain interest. You can even book some things to do from inside the app and browse Peek’s recommenda- tions offline, which may save expensive mobile data bills.
Interesting alternative
A simpler but equally interesting alternative to Peek is Google’s Field Trip app, which is free on iOS and Android. Field Trip pulls together a list of locationbased recommendations about a wide variety of things to see and do, including good places to eat, landmarks and local events. Tapping on a recommendation on the list reveals more information like a map and hours of operation.
You can customise the recommendations for your interests by limiting the sources the app draws from. For example, you can turn off Art Nerd City Guides as a source if you’re not interested in art. The app is more sober-looking than Peek, its menus sometimes lack clear explanations, and in some cases the information provided about a place or an event can seem dry. But Field Trip will definitely help you discover what’s going on around you.
Music festivals are popular in the summer, and Bandsintown Concerts, free on iOS and Android, is a fabulous way to find out what performances and festivals are happening near you. Bandsintown can give you events lists for cities, for nearby places or for particular bands, and includes a social media connection so you can invite, say, your Facebook friends to join you.
The app can even scan your musical libraries in services like iTunes and Spotify to more accurately recommend concerts you may prefer, and you can often book tickets from inside the app. If you own an Apple Watch or Android Wear smartwatch you can even get Bandsintown concert alerts on your wrist. The app is easy and fun to use, but you must register through email or via Facebook.
Lastly, summer is perfect for outdoor cooking, either at home or if you’re camping. And if you’re used to cooking in the kitchen, you may not be certain if you’re grilling meat properly. Enter Grilltime, which is my new summer best friend.