Our best travel guide today is the internet. The next time you go on a new journey, be sure to use the apps and sites in this review. They contain unusual sights, walking routes, and recommendations for points of interest that might be overlooked by conventional guidebooks..
These apps assume that you have already chosen your destination, so now you plan what you will do once you get there. For each type of traveler, there is a reasonable mix of standard ideas from popular travel guides and suggestions from local guides. Plus, you don't have to make a decision every time. Some of these apps will track your location and automatically recommend nearby places of interest.
Ready routes up to 7 days
Visit A City offers ready-made travel itineraries in different cities. Your travel agent will quickly create a route, where you should go, what you should see, and so on. From a plan for a one-day stay in the city, to a plan for sightseeing for most tourist destinations in seven days, everything is already planned in the Visit A City app..
For example, if you choose Barcelona, you will get a 3-day itinerary for the main attractions or a 5-day plan to visit Barcelona with children, and so on. The site allows you to choose the type of trip you want. Any route you choose will open with a map and daily schedule. You can add or remove route elements and buy tickets in advance.
Other tabs recommend alternative routes and points of interest. The complete itinerary can be printed or downloaded for free for use in the Visit a City app The website and the app are easy to use and thought out to the smallest detail. Even if you love planning your own trips, use one of Visit A City's itineraries as a starting point to make your job easier..
The app is available for Android and iPhone .
Map of nearby attractions
WhatsHere is a map-based travel guide. Pick a location or let the app determine your current location and WhatsHere will recommend many tourist attractions nearby.
WhatsHere has a list of categories to help you narrow down the places of interest: Historical, Museum, Architectural, Tourist Attractions, Trail, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and so on. Choose one category or all at once and see them in the form of a list.
Each location has multiple tags and you can see how far away it is from your current location. Alternatively, open the Map view, where WhatsHere is truly superior. Each attraction has its own color and icon, depending on the category. Click on it for a short description of why it is important to visit and how far away it is from you. You can bookmark this place, view photos, and even get a quick link to its Wikipedia page.
The app is available for Android and iPhone .
A travel guide from the creators of Booking.com
CityBook is a product of Booking.com, one of the best hotel booking sites. It currently only includes travel guides for London, Amsterdam and Paris, but the number of cities will increase over time. Depending on the time of day, CityBook will offer you different activities. For example, if you check the app in the morning, you will find breakfast recommendations. Later, during the day, the app will offer you evening activities, shows or bars.
CityBook is a great mixture of descriptions of historical and cultural sites, cafes and restaurants, as well as a calendar of events. The application is a combination of recommendations for places to visit, and also provides the opportunity to purchase museum tickets. You can add interesting places to your list and tick them off when you travel.
Atypical routes from locals
Spotted by Locals shows routes suggested by locals. The Spotted by Locals app currently includes guides for only 79 cities spread across Europe, parts of Asia and North America. But if the city you are visiting is featured on the site, then you will not have a better guide for unusual tourism.
If you've ever hosted in your hometown, you know that there are must-see spots every travel agent will recommend, and there are a few local secrets that you would like to show them. That's what makes this app special.
The guides for each city are written by locals who have lived there for some time. You will find articles in a range of categories, or you can browse them in chronological order. The latest option may be the best, as you are getting a recent recommendation from a local, not a place someone suggested visiting a long time ago.
The Spotted by Locals website is also in a mobile app format. While the app is free, each city guide costs $ 4. That being said, you can see all the same data on the website for free.
The app is available for Android and iPhone .
Nicely designed travel guide
Awayn is an app focused on quality design, with a good mix of features for finding travel inspiration. Highlights include the free digital magazine Awayn, packaged as part of the app, that describes a specific type of travel or part of a region, as well as interviews with travelers.
From the home page of the app, you can find the city you want, download a description of the entire country, or explore the “Favorite Routes” recommended by the Awayn community. The suggested routes are actually pretty cool, they help you discover something new.
I also liked the idea of browsing around the country rather than the city, because that way you can find something so interesting that you want to go there. Especially if it is located somewhere in a nearby town. If you want to find tourist attractions by location, go to the map to find your current GPS coordinates. Awayn will tell you about the sights and attractions in the area. The app is valuable in that it recommends places that you won't find in most other travel guides.
The app is available for Android and iPhone .