9 of the best holiday apps

9. Kayak

Holidays are a lot more enjoyable when you get a great deal on them, and Kayak makes this as easy as possible. Compare flight and hotel prices easily and quickly, and make use of its alert feature if your date isn’t available yet to make sure you don’t forget to bag a bargain.
It can even provide flight updates to your phone or SmartWatch, meaning smooth sailing (or flying) on the day.

8. Countdown

Once you’ve got your holiday booked, then the real fun can start. The Countdown app allows you to create as many events as you like at once, so you can look forward to everything you have coming up. Its reasonably customisable interface allows you to change the colours and fonts, as well as mess around with the way your events display. The paid for version even allows you to add photos.

7. Duolingo

Now you know where you’re going, it’s time to start learning some of the local lingo. Duolingo gives you bitesize chunks of your chosen language, focusing on reading, writing and speaking. You set how long you want to spend on it each day, depending on how much you want to learn.
Hitachi Top Tip: Allow push notifications to receive a nudge when you don’t log on. ‘I forgot’ is a thing of the past.

6. Currency

Does what it says on the tin. Get quick and easy conversion calculations. By its own admission, it’s simple and basic, but sometimes that’s just what you need. Uses an up-to-date exchange rate for over 150 currencies.

5. Foursquare

From bars to brunch, this app is perfect for finding the best places to go once you get to your destination. Particularly useful if you’re not there for long and don’t have the time to roam around to find fine dining or after-dark drinks.

4. Wiffinity

Never get caught out by data roaming charges again. Wiffinity finds the closest free wifi hotspots. And don’t worry, you can download the maps in advance so you know where to head when you arrive.

3. Soulver

Budgeting on holiday is much easier with this simple app. A helpful hybrid of a calculator and a notepad, simply input what you’ve spent, plus any tax or additional charges and it will store the info and supply an accurate indication of your remaining budget.

2. Sunscreen

Heading somewhere hot? This handy app detects the UVI rating of your current location then automatically updates you when you next need to reapply your suncream. Perfect for lounging on the beach or chilling by the pool. Just key in your skin type and what sun protection factor you’re using – this nifty app will do the rest.

1. Instagram

Really needs no introduction. If you haven’t already got Instagram, make a visit to the app store now. Take beautiful snaps of the memories you’ll cherish forever. Oh and you’ll get the added bonus of making your friends and family VERY jealous of your travels.