Essential Android Apps for Travelers

Smart apps make your journeys easier and more enjoyable. Here are some of the essential apps for travelers with an Android phone.

Google Maps: Whether you are halfway across the world or just venturing into a new part of your city, Google Maps for Android will help you find places, get directions and explore locations. It is one of the most downloaded apps for Android. You can see your location on your map using GPS or your mobile signals. Some other cool features are Street Level View, 3D View and GPS navigation.

WeatherBug: WeatherBug gives you comprehensive local weather information including current conditions and extended weather forecast to plan your journeys better. To get real-time information, Weatherbug taps into a network of professional weather stations across America and from thousands of locations around the world. It also has maps integration, radar animation and live images from 2000 weather cameras across America.

TripAdvisor: This is the official Android app for TripAdvisor, the popular online travel portal. You can find hotels, restaurants and attractions near you and read from over 50 million reviews to get the best advice on where to go and what to do on your trip.

Yelp: Yelp is another online portal which provides local listings, reviews and deals on restaurants, shopping, nightlife, entertainment and other services. With the official Yelp for Android, you can do all this from your android device. You can use the quick links on the app to find places near you, make reservations using OpenTable, check-in and share on Facebook and Twitter and write and upload reviews.

TripJournal: Been there, Done that, Shared it? Half the fun of going on a trip is recording the experience through diary entries, photos and videos and then telling your friends and family all about it. TripJournal does just that, helping you put together a media-rich travelogue from a simple interface. GPS tracking and Google Earth integration make the trip come alive visually. You can share your travelogue or parts of it directly from TripJournal through email, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa or Youtube.

FlightTrack: FlightTrack is an essential app for the frequent flier. It gives real-time flight information on airline flights worldwide. It covers 16,000 ariports and 1400 airlines, providing departure information, delays, gate numbers, even cancellation information and help in finding an alternative flight.  You can add flight notes with information like seat numbers for your reference. You can even track your plane on a large zoomable map with satellite and weather imagery.