Fun Apps for Traveling
February 18, 2020/in /by admin
There are lots of free apps out there, so we thought we'd share a few of the ones we've been enjoying lately. We've got apps for translating, checking the weather, animating your hikes and bike rides, having fun with the pics stored in your phone, listening to radio stations from around the world, and adding sonic ambiance to your hotel room. Try them out and let us know what you think!
1) Google Translate does an immeidate translation of any text you point it at. Just set the target languages and either hold your phone up to the text or download something you've taken a picture of. Of course it's not perfect but it'll get you going!
2) The Windy App is an in-depth weather app that shows you weather conditions around the world, so you can check the status of an approaching storm as well as precipitation, satellite radar, waves, air quality, and lots of other meteorological data. We use it on our boat/gulet tours but we've also used it to monitor the progress of big weather systems that affect us.
Here you can see a shot of storm "Dennis" as it slammed into the U.K., and then a satellite image showing snowfall in North America. Very useful for planning your trip around a weather event!
3) The Relive App makes little animations of your hikes and bike rides by laying your GPS track over the terrain you covered. If you want to add music or jazz it up more you have to pay for it, but the free vesion is still pretty cool! You can use it to track an activity that you're about to do (it records it just like Strava or "Map my Walk") or you can upload a track that you recorded previously. Here's a still image to give you an idea:
4) Radio.net lets you listen to internet radio from around the globe. Want to see what hits are playing in Paris, listen to the latest BBC newscast, or stream music from an upcoming destination to get you in the mood? It's all here:
5) Roll World allows you to bend, twist, and distort any photo in your camera roll. Sometimes you come up with some real gems!
6) White Noise creates a variety of ambient sounds, whether you're trying to block out noise from outside or just add some ambience to your room. There is of course the calming whooshhh of "white noise" but you can also transport yourself to the Amazon jungle, listen to a cat purr or little frogs chirrp, or the summertime splash of a lawn sprinkler. More inexplicably (but also fun!) are the sounds of a blowdryer, a vacuum cleaner, a dishwasher on rinse, or the sound of a grandfather clock ticking (which some of us would find maddening!!). Or try the sound of a heartbeat if you want to freak out someone napping beside you! 
