Top 5 iPhone Apps for Travel

iPhone Travel Apps

A recent series of commercials states, "If you don't have an iPhone... you don't have an iPhone." This slogan perfectly captures the quality of the smartphone and its app store, which boasts hundreds of travel apps.

For the traveler seeking to find the best apps to make his or her trip a little less stressful and more memorable, this can be quite the harrowing task.

This article seeks to make this task a little easier by selecting, hands down, the five must-have apps for travelers. And the best part? They are all free! Without further do, here they are, in no particular order:

GasBuddy

With the average gas price now at $4 per gallon or more, this app is a necessity. With the touch of a button, users are given information on gas prices near them, both in list and map format. The app relies upon user input, which is why GasBuddy.com provides opportunities to earn points and win prizes for users that report gas prices. In today's economy, this could very well be the most important app on the list.

TripIt Organizer

TripIt serves as a "one-stop shop" for vacation planners, allowing them to plan and organize all facets of their trip from one location. This app syncs with the TripIt.com website to provide access to a traveler's itineraries, as well as maps and directions directly from the app. Also, TripIt seamlessly integrates with one's iPhone to provide links to airlines, restaurants, and hotels, all directly from the itinerary.

Urbanspoon

One of the most enjoyable experiences of traveling is discovering new and exciting places to eat. This is a must-have app for finding the best cuisine a locale has to offer. In addition to using the iPhone's built-in GPS to find nearby restaurants, users can use the app's unique "shake" feature to decide their dining experience for them, either completely randomly or by selecting food of a particular type or price range. Users can write reviews, upload photos of their experience, and add restaurants to a "favorites" list (for the return trip!). Quite simply, this app is a must-have for the hungry traveler.

Kayak

Kayak describes itself as "the best travel search engine in the world." Need a hotel? Looking to book a flight? How about renting a car? Kayak seeks to offer all of these services and more to the overwhelmed traveler looking to make trip-planning a little less stressful. The app also includes a trip agenda, flight tracker, and currency converter.

Trip Advisor

Trip Advisor, like Kayak, seeks to make trip-planning a little easier, as it places convenient access to hotels, restaurants, flights, and things to do all in one convenient package. The "things to do" feature is what sets this app apart from the pack, giving travelers access to a list of attractions for any given area. Be sure to check out the "Live View" feature, an awesome new augmented reality feature that superimposes reviews of hotels, restaurants, and attractions over what the user sees through the built-in camera!

Travelers, grab these freebies while you can! As the old saying goes, "Don't leave home without 'em!"

[box type="bio"]This is a guest post by Richard Towler - co-founder of WalletShop.com.au which scours the world for unique men's fashion accessories including men's wallets, laptop cases and of course, iPhone cases for the latest iPhone models. Richard is a big technology and gadget fan and proud Apple user.[/box]