Published on December 9th, 2014 | by Guest

Best 5 Free iPhone Apps for Backpacking Travelers

It would be hard to overstate the benefits that an iPhone can provide to backpacking travelers. Native iPhone apps provide a respectable still and video camera, voice memos and audio recording, an Internet browser, text and multimedia messaging, navigation, and more. For many travelers, their iPhone may be the only computer they need while away from home.

Despite the enormous advantages of the native iPhone apps, there are a few free apps that can make a backpacking travelers adventures a little bit easier and more comfortable. These apps can save you time, money, and frustration during your next adventure.

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This is our list of the best five free iPhone apps for backpacking travelers.

Free Wi-Fi Finder

Staying connected while traveling has never been more important. As anyone who has traveled with their iPhone knows though, it can be difficult or expensive to connect to the Internet away from home. Cellular data may be unavailable or prohibitively expensive due to roaming charges. Wi-Fi hotspots are the obvious solution, but finding free or paid Wi-Fi in a strange city can be a frustrating experience.

The Free Wi-Fi Finder app from JiWire Inc. aims to solve the problem of finding Wi-Fi hotspots for the backpack traveler. The app boasts a database of more than 145,000 free Wi-Fi locations worldwide. You can search for locations near you, filter by the type of location you prefer, and even bookmark favorite locations. Perhaps most importantly, this app lets you download information for later offline use.

Text messaging is no longer a novelty. Messaging is now an essential part of staying in touch with friends, family, and co-workers on a daily basis. The problem for backpack travelers is that traditional text messaging depends on a cellular connection to send or receive messages. Travelers may frequently be without service or only have expensive, roaming service.

WhatsApp is a very popular messaging app that works with your existing phone number. WhatsApp relies on an Internet connection to send and receive messages, whether 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi. This app is particularly popular with international travelers as it allows them to stay in touch with people around the world without paying exorbitant, international rates. WhatsApp allows users to exchange text and multimedia messages. The app is free for one year, but then costs $0.99 USD per year.

Airport Transit Guide Lite

Air travelers have relied on Salk International’s Airport Transit Guide for more than 30 years to make informed choices about transportation. This popular traveler’s guide is now available as an app for your iPhone, a perfect for option for the backpack traveler.

Airport Transit Guide Lite is available for free, while a paid version of this app is also available for $4.99.

Skype

Messaging is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family while backpack traveling, but sometimes a voice or video conversation is needed. Skype offers a free way to stay in touch with anyone through voice or video calling from anywhere you have an Internet connection. The Skype app is a free iOS download, and the Skype service itself is free to use so long as both parties have a free Skype account. Inexpensive calling to landlines is also available if you just cannot convince someone to use Skype.

Google Maps

Finding your way around a strange city, deciding on the fastest route from the airport to a hostel, or even deciding which route to try walking or hitching along can all be intimidating challenges when away from home. Despite the improvements to Apple’s Maps app, many people still prefer Google Maps. With maps of more than 200 countries and territories, it is likely that Google Maps will have you covered wherever your destination.

Conclusion

There has never been an easier time to backpack travel. Whether you plan to travel around your own country or around the globe, traveling with an iPhone provides amazing tools that could only be dreamed of just a few years ago. An iPhone very nearly puts the world in your pocket, with information, communication, photo and video, and so much more never more than a quick swipe or tap away.

About this post:

This article was written by Andy G. He is 28, from Brno Czech Republic, and runs a flight help website called http://www.travelsiders.com/ as a hobby. At the moment, he works as a freelance web developer. When he has a free minute, he is hanging out with his friends or helping others at Stack Overflow.

Tags: backpacking, best, free, iPhone, travelers