Airplane mode
When travelling, this mode is your best friend. This will disable all connections such as data, WiFi and Bluetooth, saving both your battery and data.
If you have a travel plan that gives you a certain amount of data you can also check our data-saving tips blog post here.
Find out about unlocking your phone
Unlocking your phone can be extremely useful when traveling, you will then be able to insert any SIM card into your phone. Sometimes it can be cheaper to just buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card from the country you are in, instead of paying the roaming fees put on by your provider back home.
Turn off roaming
Don’t get caught roaming abroad, the last thing you want is a HUGE phone bill, getting caught using the internet while away.
Sync your phone before you leave
Sync up all your contacts, pictures and whatever else you don’t want to lose. This is important; losing your phone or getting it stolen is a lot more likely when you’re traveling.
Apps
Pocket – Pocket is a great app for the traveller. The app will allow you save articles for offline reading later. So whenever you have Wifi and/or before your trip pre-load some stories for reading
Fongo – The beautiful part of Fongo is its power when travelling. All you need is a WiFi connection and you will have the full power of cell phone just like you are back in Canada.
Google Translate – When you’re in a country and you don’t speak the language, it’s safe to say a translate app is useful! Google Translate let’s you download entire languages onto your mobile device through the app, so you don’t require an internet connection to use it.
Google Maps – Getting around a new city can be a challenge but Google Maps will help you get to wherever you’d like to go. The app also lets you download maps for offline viewing, making it extremely useful for when you’re looking to avoid roaming charges or an international SIM card. The GPS feature is still usable even without a cellular plan. However, there are certain things like traffic and transit information that may be unavailable with offline maps.
Apps that help pass time
There will be downtime during the trip (ie. travelling or waiting around), so check out these apps to help you kill time:
