You may be surprised to know that most apps that travelers use are not ‘Travel Apps’ at all.  However, if you arrive armed with these on your smartphone or tablet, you can be sure that your trip will run as smoothly as possible.

1. Google Maps - It sounds obvious. But when you’re in a foreign country walking around in circles for hours looking for the hole-in-the-wall restaurant hailed by locals as ‘the place to go’, you’ll need to pull up your location in good old Google Maps to re-orient yourself (even if you’ve been standing 50 feet away from it this whole time).  But beware the roaming charges…
2. Yelp - How would you know which places are hailed by locals as ‘the place to go’? Read the Yelp reviews. Many countries have eager English speaking ex-pats and tourists who’ve done the dirty work for you- use their good and bad experiences as a guide!
3. TripAdvisor -  With TripAdvisor, you can also browse reviews of hotels, attractions and restaurants, designed specifically for other travelers. Their iPad version also includes Go Before You Go, which shows you a street-level view of your destination, nearby hotels, restaurants, and more.
4. TripIt – Especially handy for the disorganized. TripIt combines all your travel documents into one simple itinerary. If you’ve been known to lose/destroy/confuse/switch your hard copy travel docs, having an organized mobile backup is a lifesaver!
5. Hotel Tonight – Allows you to snag last-minute hotel room deals for up to 70% off. If you’re stranded, your hostel isn’t quite up to par, or your friends finally booted you off the couch, Hotel Tonight will put a nice, affordable, roof over your head.
6. BuddyCount – When aforementioned friends become jealous of the sweet last minute hotel room you snagged on Hotel Tonight, they will definitely invite themselves. Enter BuddyCount. It helps to manage expenses between friends by tracking the users’ expenses and debts. Once they have finished looting the minibar, pinching hotel toiletries and ordering room service, you can discreetly send your friends an invoice for their portion via email or text.
7. Jibbigo - A speech-to-speech translator on your phone, available in 9 different language pairs and available entirely offline (no roaming charges!). Just speak your sentence into the phone and it will repeat it in the native language. Not the smoothest way to casually chat up strangers, but ideal for asking for directions or ordering in restaurants.
8. WordLens - When your attempts to locate the bathroom via Jibbigo translations have failed, WordLens can help. It’s an instant offline translator that uses your camera phone. Just take a picture of the illegible sign you’ve been trying to decipher and voila! It is the bathroom, but the wrong one. Thank goodness you checked.
9. WhatsApp – You can now avoid paying for SMS wherever you go. WhatsApp has cross-platform support, with group chat, image, video, and audio capabilities. Great to communicate with your people back home while you’re abroad, and for staying in touch with all the international friends you make on your travels as well!
10. Currency Converter – A necessary evil. As much as you would rather not find out how much your Diet Coke costs in pounds or euros (8 dollars!), the currency converter will help you stay on top of your budget and help you plan your trips.
11. Plango! – And of course, use Plango! Mastering any foreign language is the best way to avoid most travel-related communication snafus. And the rest will make for great stories.