Courtyard Connections

5 iPad Apps for Travelers

iPad’s are extremely popular among travelers because of their size, weight and capabilities.  Once you buy an iPad, you need to make sure you purchase the best and most appropriate apps for your needs.  More and more iPad apps continue to be released, making it difficult to know which ones to get and which ones to pass on.  Frequent travelers have a variety of apps to choose from that will help them out during trips, whether in a car, plane or train.  We have chosen five great apps that will help make any frequent traveler’s trip go off without a hitch.

FlightTrack Pro
There are several that may run through a traveler’s head before leaving for the airport to catch a flight –  Is my flight delayed?  How is the weather?  Will the airport be crowded?  For frequent fliers, FlightTrack Pro is a must have.  Below is a list of features this app offers:

• Provides the status of any flight
• Gives estimated departure and arrival times based on both the weather and airline info
• Provides information about flights en-route including the speed, altitude and location.
• Provides gate information
• Contains details of all airports including average delays and weather forecasts

Beat The Traffic
A couple common complaints about road trips revolve around the difficulty of predicting traffic and the uncertainty of the weather.  For those who often take road trips, Beat The Traffic is an excellent iPad app to download.  Beat The Traffic has live traffic maps, constantly updated weather conditions and provides warnings about traffic delays related to accidents in over 100 different cities.  Best of all, this app is completely free.

UpNext3D Cities
Sure, Google maps are helpful, but have you checked out UpNext 3D cities?  This app is a step up from Google maps.  The only downside to UpNext 3D cities is that it only has information about the following five cities: Boston, Austin, D.C., San Francisco and New York.  However, more cities will be added shortly.  The features this mapping application offers and Google maps doesn’t are:

• You have access to maps with 3D buildings
• Provides you with subway lines and directions
• Reviews and tips for a variety of different venues

Above all, this app is a more detailed version of Google maps that will definitely help you out if you are traveling in one of the 5 cities listed above.

Urbanspoon
It’s been said that iPhone users aren’t huge fans of Urbanspoon because of the size of the iPhone’s screen.  However, the Urbanspoon app for the iPad is very popular.  For those of you who aren’t exactly sure what Urbanspoon does, this app gives you information and helps you choose a restaurant by providing information and performing searches based on:

• Location
• Price range
• Type of food

You may wonder what the difference is between Urbanspoon’s iPhone and iPad apps.  The iPad app has a map with touchable pinpoints that will bring up a new window of information instead of taking you to a separate screen like the iPhone app.  This information pane contains content including the exact location of a restaurant and a restaurant’s popularity.

Submaps HD
Subway systems can be extremely confusing.  Most subway systems have a variety of different lines, going in different directions.  The last thing you want to do is get on the wrong train and head 30 minutes in the wrong direction.  Submaps HD is a great app to download in order to avoid getting lost, and it has subway maps for several different cities that will help you navigate around with ease.

Has anyone tried out any of these apps?  Let us know in the comments if they have helped you out in your travels!