Since the Japan post, I've installed more travel apps on my iPhone. Some are useful for the planning stage, but totally not during the actual trip! See below for the updated list.
Flight Booking
SkyScanner - useful for checking out ticket prices for places beyond Asia that I want to visit. Not very useful for local (and sale!) flights, though.
For most trips in Asia, I installed Cebu Pacific, TigerAir, and AirAsia. While I haven't officially booked anything yet, I am thoroughly enjoying test-booking several destinations.
Hotel Booking
Booking.com - currently my favorite app for finding and booking hotels; the app let me save my reservation on Passbook.
Agoda - I've only used this once for my sister but I'm considering using it again in the future.
AirBnB - lots of "local" BnBs with some offering more perks (such as portable WiFi) than a regular hotel; I've actually favorited a couple of homes in Japan for reference!
Agoda - I've only used this once for my sister but I'm considering using it again in the future.
AirBnB - lots of "local" BnBs with some offering more perks (such as portable WiFi) than a regular hotel; I've actually favorited a couple of homes in Japan for reference!
Itinerary
Tripomatic - I created our day-to-day itinerary with this app. I was able to map out our routes and connect one attraction to another.
Tripadvisor - widely known for its travel tools, I was able to download Tokyo (229mb) on the app. The file listed top destinations as well as a whole bunch of hotels, restaurants, attractions, places for shopping, and possible activities.
Tripadvisor - widely known for its travel tools, I was able to download Tokyo (229mb) on the app. The file listed top destinations as well as a whole bunch of hotels, restaurants, attractions, places for shopping, and possible activities.
Maps
Rome2Rio - essentially a "walking" version of Waze with several transportation options and approximate fares for each.
Rail Map Lite (Tokyo)
Rail Map Lite (Tokyo)
Packing List
Travel Butler - bases my packing list on current weather data for travel dates I select. Travel Butler is easy to customize and very straightforward. I also love the sleek design.
Others
Google Translate - this is an all-around translator. What I love about this app is that I can take a photo of a foreign language and translates (albeit) roughly to English.
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For all that I've listed, what only really worked for us during the Japan trip were our guts to ask questions AND Google Translate. We had no trouble getting from one point to another because we constantly inquired about how much it cost to go from our current point to our destination and did the math while purchasing train tickets. Station masters were very helpful and try their best to speak in English :)
For all that I've listed, what only really worked for us during the Japan trip were our guts to ask questions AND Google Translate. We had no trouble getting from one point to another because we constantly inquired about how much it cost to go from our current point to our destination and did the math while purchasing train tickets. Station masters were very helpful and try their best to speak in English :)