By Caroline Leff
It's that time of the year where traveling is at its peak. School is out of style and summer is back in. From personal experience, traveling abroad as a young adult can be intimidating and overwhelming, especially if you’ve never traveled alone before. So I've compiled five travel apps that will make it simpler to travel and communicate with family and friends across the ocean — and let you conquer your summer adventure with confidence.
Google Translate
Traveling to a foreign country can be tricky if you're not a polyglot. Don't want to look uneducated in a foreign country? Google Translate is the way to go.
Google Translate makes the transition from one country to another much smoother by translating your native language to theirs and vice versa. Simply type, speak or take a picture of text on your mobile device and the app will translate your words into the desired language or — better yet — speak it back to you.
FreeConferenceCall.com
Don’t let mom and dad (or mom and mom, or dad and dad, or mom, or dad) worry while you’re away. Keeping in touch with family and friends is extremely important when you travel, especially when you’re headed out of the country. While Whatsapp is an efficient messaging app, it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles or the flexibility of FreeConferenceCall.com. This app lets you hold a video chat, audio conference call and even screen share with loved ones.
When you’re ready to connect, the app lets you choose between your telephone provider, Wifi or data connection. So you can have a conference call anywhere, anytime, any way you want. And always for free. This app beats all the competition by a mile because of its various money-saving, convenient features. Use this app to go international. Download the app today for free in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Mint
Staying within a certain budget and still doing all activities you want can be problematic. You might want to go jet-skiing or to that 5-star restaurant but extravagant splurges can quickly put you way outside your planned budget.
Meet Mint, the app that allows you to create and track your budget, manage your money and then decide what to do with it. It's a secure and easy way to keep finances organized so you don't end up broke in a foreign country. That’s definitely not how you want to spend your holiday.
Hostelworld
$200 a night for a hotel? No thanks. Spending extra money on a hotel room (that you will most likely only spend time in when sleeping or showering) is unnecessary. Hostelworld connects you with every hostel in your current city. It’s not only a great way to stay within a budget, you’ll be meeting fellow travelers from all around the world and possibly creating extraordinary, lifelong bonds.
AroundMe
Did you just arrive in a new city and you’re desperate for a quick bite to eat? Need to pull cash out of the ATM (or cashpoint, as they say in Europe)? In a panic to use the nearest restroom? AroundMe is here to save the day. AroundMe takes your current location and compiles a map of the nearest restaurants, ATMS, movie theaters plus much more. Once you select an option, the app provides you with navigation and other essential information.
So no matter where you plan to go this summer, these apps should turn you into a well-rounded, seasoned traveler in no time — more relaxed and more organized. Stay connected with information at your fingertips.
FreeConferenceCall.com’s guest blogger, Caroline Leff, is about to enter her sophomore year at University of San Francisco with a major in Marketing. She has traveled to various countries including: Croatia, Italy, Portugal plus many more. Her next adventure of choice is backpacking through South America.