30 Ways To Use Your Smartphone While Traveling

Contributed post.

Your smartphone is an amazing multi-purpose tool. It can do everything from taking pictures to telling you the time. When traveling, it’s important to embrace the many features that your phone has to offer. Simply by using the right app, you may be able to get yourself out of many common tricky travel situations and even potentially prevent disasters. Below are 30 examples of ways to put your smartphone to use when traveling.

Planning and navigating

1.    Navigate with GPS
GPS can help guide you to your hotel or attractions without the need for a map. It’s very useful on road trips, but also useful when navigating a new town by foot or even identifying public transport links. 

2.    Check the weather forecast
Should you wear shorts and a t-shirt? Will you need to wear sunscreen? Being able to check the weather each day while traveling can be very useful for preparing what to wear and also planning your activities. Weather apps can help to do this for you - including alerting you of extreme weather.
 
3.    Look up attractions
Using your smartphone, you can also research local attractions while traveling - including everything from restaurants to museums. You can use Google to check opening times, busy periods and reviews to help influence your decision.

4.    Find local gas stations
When on a road trip, your phone’s GPS function can help you to find local gas stations when your tank is running low. There are also apps like GasBuddy that can help you shop around for the cheapest gas prices in the area to save money.

5.    Check train and bus times
Being able to look up train times and bus times online can be very useful when planning to use public transport. It can save you having to trudge down to the station and prepare for any delays or route closures. 

Tickets and documentation

6.    Access travel documents
Many types of travel documents like travel insurance policies, hotel booking information and visa receipts can be accessed in digital form online. It’s worth downloading PDFs of these documents onto your phone so that you can access them even if you can’t connect to the internet. 

7.    Store digital tickets
Tickets to attractions can also be stored on your smartphone. When going on a city break, apps like My CityPASS are great for booking and storing tickets to multiple attractions in one place.

8.    Record useful information
Your notes app can be a useful place to store all kinds of information such as room numbers, parking spaces, luggage locker codes or hotel addresses. You may even be able to take photos of signs or train maps to help you remember them.

9.    Check into your flight early
Some airlines allow you to check in early via an app. If you’re only traveling with hand luggage, this can save you having to queue up at the check in desk when you arrive. With some budget airlines, checking in early via the app may even prevent additional hidden charges. 

Managing your finances

10.  Convert currency
Need to work out how many yen are in a dollar? Being able to accurately convert foreign currency pricing into US dollars can help you to get a better idea of how much you’re spending and whether you’re getting a good deal. There are sites and apps that you can use to quickly convert currencies. 

11.  Check your bank balance
If you’re paying by card while abroad, it could be important to be able to access your bank balance in real time to check how much you’ve got left to spend. It could also be important to check currency transfer fees and also make sure no fraudulent payments are coming out of your bank. 

12.  Pay by phone
It’s even possible to make contactless payments using your phone’s wallet app. Not all vendors will be able to accept mobile payments, but in many major cities a lot of stores and restaurants will have the technology. This could save you having to carry your cash and card everywhere. 

Staying entertained

13.  Stream movies and TV shows
Keep you and the kids occupied on long coach and car journeys by streaming your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone. A tablet is likely to be better for this, but a phone can be a useful backup solution. Downloading TV shows and movies could be useful for times without the internet (such as flights). Be wary that some countries may have restrictions on certain content, preventing you from streaming certain movies or TV shows abroad. 

14.  Listen to music
You can also use your smartphone to listen to music while traveling. You can queue up a playlist of your family’s favorite songs to play on a road trip through the car speakers, or listen to your own private playlist on your headphones while on public transport. 

15.  Read an ebook/listen to an audiobook
While some of us love the feel of a physical book, they can be heavy and can be easily damaged in certain environments. By switching to e-books, you can reduce luggage weight and not have to worry about pages falling out. Audiobooks could also be an option for listening to in the car or on headphones. 

16.  Play online games
Online games can be a great way to occupy you and the kids. On top of many of the modern games available, you can also play traditional games like Scrabble or Solitaire on your phone, or try an online pool game. Puzzles like sudoku and crosswords are also fantastic for occupying oneself when traveling. 
​
Breaking language barriers

17.  Translate signs and menus
Did you know that you can use Google Translate and apps like iTranslate to decipher foreign text? These tools both allow you to use your camera to scan the text and are able to then translate the result into English. This is useful for navigating yourself around using signs or for ordering food on a foreign language menu. 

18.  Translate voices
There are also apps that you can use to translate voices. Some of these are designed for traveling - a person can speak into the app and it will translate what they are saying into English so that you can understand them. 

19.  Use language learning apps
There are many apps like DuoLingo that can allow you to learn a foreign language. You may even be able to search up words and phrases using these apps, helping you to communicate in foreign speaking countries. 

20.  Listen to language learning audiobooks
There are also audiobooks you can listen to that can teach you foreign words and phrases. While hiring a car abroad, you could stream one of the audiobooks and the whole family some of the foreign lingo. 

Interacting with your environment

21.  Take photos and videos
An obvious way to use your smartphone while traveling is to capture memories by taking photos and videos. Modern phones allow you to easily tag and edit photos and videos so that you can create the ultimate vacation photo gallery. 

22.  Set up a wi-fi hotspot
You can also use your phone’s data to connect other devices like laptops and tablets to the internet. This is useful when you haven’t got access to wi-fi. Just make sure that your mobile data plan isn’t too expensive - data roaming charges may apply to some contracts when traveling abroad. 

23.  Use as a flashlight
The flashlight features on your phone can be useful when exploring places after dark. It’s particularly useful when camping.

24.  Open QR codes
Some attractions and restaurants may have QR codes that you can scan to access online menus or other information. You can scan QR codes using your phone’s camera. 

25.  Identify landmarks, plants and animals
The Google Lens app can help you identify landmarks, plants and animals by scanning them with your phone camera. If you stumble across something you’re uncertain of and you want some extra information, try out Google Lens to see if it has the answer.

Communicating with others

26.  Talking with family and friends
Let’s not forget the most traditional function of a phone: being able to call people! Phone calls and texts may come with extra fees abroad, so consider using the likes of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp instead. 

27.  Book a taxi/Uber
Smartphones are a great tool for booking taxis and Ubers while traveling. You can compare prices beforehand and choose a trusted driver.

28.  Share your live location
Need someone to meet you at a certain location? Or want to let a relative back home know you’re safe? Certain apps also allow you to share your live location with friends and family members.

29.  Share photos and videos on social media
Using your smartphone, you can also directly upload photos and videos to social media. You don’t need to wait until you get back home to share your vacation snaps. 

30.  Make emergency calls
Finally, your smartphone can be a useful tool for making emergency calls in a crisis. If you have an internet connection, you should be able to look up the local emergency number. It may even be worth storing this in your notes in case you need it in an area where you haven’t got wi-fi. 
​
So, there you have it - 30 ways to use your smartphone while traveling! Make sure to look after your smartphone and to keep the battery charged up if you want to be able to access all of these amazing functions during your travels. At the same time, make sure that you’re not constantly glued to your phone screen - it’s important to take things in with your own eyes and immerse yourself in your new environment. ​