Best Apps for Business Travelers

For a smarter approach to booking a flight, turn to Routehappy. The app’s searches one-up Hipmunk’s agony index (which prioritizes flights by a combination of length and price), scoring each route based on age and type of plane, in-flight entertainment options, legroom, traveler feedback, Wi-Fi availability, cabin layout, and more—all in a slick interface. routehappy.com

Runs On: iOS

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Need access to maps for new cities but don’t want to pay roaming fees? There’s no shortage of good, free navigation apps, but most of them still require a data connection. Maps2Go offers more than 6,700 maps from around the world. And it’s not limited to city centers, either: even small towns like Telluride, CO, are covered. Your first two maps are free; unlimited access costs $2.99. ulmon.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

This veteran mileage tracker lets you keep tabs on your points from most major domestic and international airlines (except American and Delta), as well as car-rental agencies and hotel programs such as Starwood Preferred Guest or Hilton HHonors. A nice touch: the service will alert you if your points are set to expire within the next six months. mileblaster.com

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iOS

Honorable Mention: AwardWallet

Don’t be the last to know about a flight delay. This ultimate flight-tracking app puts all the info you need—routes, departure and arrival times, seat maps, and more—in an easy-to-navigate tabbed layout. It covers more than 16,000 airports and every major carrier around the globe—plus, you can sync your itinerary with your calendar. flight-plus.com

Runs On: iOS

Honorable Mention: FlightTrack

Stay in touch with your family while you’re away on business. Unlike most of its rivals, video- and phone-calling service Skype is available in HD quality on every platform and even on many new TV’s. This means it’s easy to reach your loved ones via Wi-Fi from anywhere in the world—no matter what kind of smartphone or computer they have—for free. skype.com

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone

Honorable Mention: Google Hangouts

Worry about your data limit while away on business? It won’t cost you a penny to make calls or send texts while you’re away—if you and those you’re contacting use Viber. What’s more, the app works just as well on desktops as it does on mobile devices, making it a cinch to connect with anyone, anywhere. viber.com

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone

Honorable Mention: WhatsApp

No longer a simple flight-finder, Kayak now facilitates everything from rental-car bookings to currency conversion. The recently added Price Forecast uses historical and current fare data to predict airfare fluctuations in the next seven days. kayak.com

Runs On: Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows Phone

T+L Tip: Use Kayak-powered Yapta.com to book your flight, and you’ll be automatically alerted if there’s a price drop on your itinerary.

Honorable Mentions: Google Flight Search, Bing Travel

“Taxi e-hail app Uber (Android, BlackBerry, iOS) is brilliant—by far the quickest and easiest way to get on-demand ground transportation when I’m traveling—and it’s rapidly expanding around the world.” —Ivanka Trump, Executive VP of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization

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With its pioneering “Agony Index,” Hipmunk scores flight itineraries based on a wide array of factors including layovers and flight duration. You can also book hotels directly on the site or app using the “Ecstasy Index,” which has rankings that are based on price, amenities, and reviews. hipmunk.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

T+L Tip: Integration with Google Calendar makes it easy to manage your itinerary.

Have trouble managing your travel reservations? Keeping track of your flights, hotel reservations, car rentals, and more is free with TripIt. But at $49 per year, the Pro version is worth it: the service helps you rebook a flight in the event of a cancellation, tells you if you’re eligible for a fare refund, and includes a great loyalty-program point tracker (a caveat: American, Delta, and United were not participating at press time). tripit.com

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone

Never get stuck in the middle seat of a plane again. Just enter your flight number and consult one of SeatGuru’s nearly 800 cabin layout charts, which offer details on legroom, seat-back amenities, recline ability, and proximity to bathrooms. A bonus: when you shop for flights on the site, a built-in key provides a comprehensive snapshot of each plane’s comfort factors. seatguru.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

T+L Tip: SeatGuru now has user-submitted photos of airplane cabins and, occasionally, in-flight meals.

Honorable Mention: Jets

Avoid traffic jams with the most reliable real-time navigation app. Waze has 50 million members contributing up-to-the-minute information, from accident alerts to the cheapest gas stations. Other notifications—traffic slowdowns, speed traps, and construction zones—are just as helpful. Plus, hands-free voice controls make it safe for solo drivers. waze.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

Custom-tailor your flight search results by answering a few basic questions about your preferences (layover length; chosen airlines; departure times), and the Geneo app—by tech giant Fareportal—will filter results based on your preferences. Like a Pandora for travel, it becomes more intuitive about your needs the more you use it. And its clean, minimalist aesthetic makes searching feel fun. itunes.com

Runs On: iOS

With 64 languages available for written and spoken translation, Google Translate is comprehensive, easy to use, and, best of all, free. The app now offers downloadable language packs for Android users that can be accessed offline. google.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

Honorable Mentions: Jibbigo, Verbalizeit

Need to brush up on your Spanish before your next business trip? The best new way to learn a language is also completely free: so far, 5 million-plus users have signed up for Duolingo’s quick, effective lesson plans in six languages. duolingo.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

Its unbeatable level of detail includes hour-by-hour forecasts, video news updates, pollen maps, and more. Input your trip dates on the dedicated travel tool (currently only on iOS) and you’ll see weather patterns for your destination; as your departure approaches, the site will also provide the most current forecasts. weather.com

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Kindle Fire, Windows Phone

Honorable Mentions: AccuWeather, WeatherBug

If you get sick, injured, or need a prescription filled on the road, mPassport’s searchable database lists more than 6,700 reputable doctors and 1,500 vetted clinics around the world. The recommended doctors speak English, but the app also suggests translations for common symptoms, ailments, and prescriptions. mpassport.com

Runs On: Android, iOS

T+L Tip: The service is free for anyone who has HTH Travel Insurance; otherwise, annual access can be purchased for $34.95.

Honorable Mention: ZocDoc

Need to locate a strong cup of coffee before your morning meeting? Find the nearest anything with Yelp. Although its data can get outdated quickly, Yelp still has the greatest volume of local information, with 39 million crowdsourced reviews and 50 million listings from 21 countries. The search function yields dozens of results, even for such narrow categories as “pizzerias,” while built-in images, menus, maps, and directions add to its practicality. yelp.com

Runs On: Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone

T+L Tip: Yelp has begun adding health ratings to restaurant listings in certain cities. At press time, data was available for San Francisco and Louisville, with New York and Philadelphia coming soon.

Honorable Mentions: AroundMe, Google Local

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This user-friendly app for finding last-minute hotel rooms at steep discounts—sometimes more than 80 percent off—has been a big hit since it launched in 2011. Its quick rundown of available hotels (with perhaps just one or two rooms left for the night) gives you the exact distance from your current GPS location and quick, real-world impressions such as Basic, Charming or Luxe. The latest upgrades have added more locations—from Costa Rica to Madison, Wis.—and you can now book the night as early as 9 a.m. on any given day, up from noon. hoteltonight.com

Runs On: iPhone, Android and iPad

You’re not nosing around—you’re doing “research.” Use this new app to put together a quick dossier on a potential client or anyone you’re meeting, with basic details such as their career background, where they went to school or even where they took their most recent vacation.

While people rave about it as a good icebreaker, it may also provide some crucial hints on what not to talk about (say, last weekend’s big bowl–game loss by their alma mater). It works best when you belong to a number of networks, such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. refresh.io

Runs On: iPhone (an Android version is in the works)

Not sure which way to walk or jog from your hotel to bank your morning three-miler? This app can pinpoint good routes in more than 2.4 million towns around the globe. The entries are created largely by other users, and you can sort by length of run and see details such as elevation gains, cool sights and the best spot to pick up your coffee afterward. Accurate GPS promises that you won’t get lost. WalkJogRun.net

Runs On: iPhone

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Around Me has legions of fans for offering reliable info on finding the closest bistro, bakery or Starbucks. But relative newcomer Find.Eat.Drink adds a layer of foodie snob appeal: It gives you recommendations for nearby restaurants, bars or gift shops from local chefs, bartenders and sommeliers—helping you make an informed choice and sound like an expert to clients and colleagues.

Granted, there are gaps: In Texas, for instance, there are no listings yet for conference (and up-and-coming foodie) hub San Antonio, but there is at least a nice roundup for nearby barbecue mecca Lockhart. FindEatDrink.com

Runs On: iPhone or Android

It dubs itself the Swiss Army Knife of travel apps—with 15 features such as an international tip calculator, currency converter and clothing-size converter. It also has a feature for foreign phrases (in Spanish, French, German and Italian) and a “pictionary” feature, so that you can point to items—like a chicken, or eyedrops—to tell someone what you need.

We also like the quirky add-ons, such as the altimeter, and the surprisingly in-depth rundown of rules for road-trip games, from the classic Alphabet to the lesser-known Padiddle and The Professor’s Cat. cerasus.de/games

Runs On: iPhone

This app offers a crystal ball for road-trippers: exit-by-exit highlights for gas, rest stops and all-important lunch breaks. (Why settle for another turkey sub when you can hold out for an In-N-Out two exits north?) You can lay out the options before your trip, sorting by state or road, or track the highlights as you’re traveling, up to 100 exits away. The app also lets you filter which amenities you’re most interested in, such as coffee, sit-down dining, supermarkets or alternative fuel stations. Iexitapp.com

Runs On: iPhone and Android

Find your way around, offline, in locations all over the world—cities, regions or entire countries. You can pin key locations to keep you grounded, such as your hotel, meeting location or a highly recommended pizzeria.

Just like competitor City Maps 2Go, PocketEarth lets you save maps offline to avoid exorbitant overseas data charges, and link to travel guides for local information; PocketEarth rises above other offline map apps, however, by also offering navigation (that part online) from, say, your hotel to that pizzeria. It also ups the ante by sniffing out good bicycling or hiking routes for you. geomagik.com

Runs On: iPhone and Android

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This app is for anyone who has frantically clicked their car-key-fob in a mall parking lot, vainly trying to remember where they parked. It tracks which spot on an unfamiliar city street or parking garage that you left your car—especially handy if your rental looks like 60 percent of the other cars in the lot.

You can either enter specifics on the location where you are parking your car (and do so for up to five cars at a time, if you’re in a caravan), or just tap your location on a GPS map. Either way, the app can give you walking directions to get back to your car when you return, and also keep track of how long you have until your parking meter runs out. icarpark.mobappolo.com

Runs On: iPhone

Need to catch your 11 a.m. flight home—but navigate through D.C. traffic first? This app, which works with existing calendars from your phone, will tell you exactly how long it should take for you to drive to the airport (and the best route to get there), based on real-time traffic. It can also track your frequent-flyer miles and expenses, sync with LinkedIn to give you info about a potential client (and text him or her with one tap if you’re running late to a meeting) and even calculate how much time you spend at the gym, versus meetings, to counsel you on your work-life balance.

The app gets raves for being intuitive to use and for syncing well with notes app Evernote, so that users can easily access their jottings as events come up. Myndcalendar.com

Runs On: iPhone and iPad

Plenty of apps help keep track of your frequent-flyer miles, but the recently launched LoungeBuddy cuts to one perk that every business traveler loves to exploit: access to lounges. The app covers at least 200 airports so far, telling you which lounges you can get into for free (or how much the day fee is), based on your airline memberships, credit card types or military status. It also uses GPS to gauge how long a walk it is to each lounge.

Beyond access, however, it also gives you a peek at what you’ll find when you get there, whether it’s free snacks, complimentary beer and wine, showers or Wi-Fi. Users post pics, too, to boost your lounge-shopping insights. LoungeBuddy.com

Runs On: iPhone (an Android version is in the works)

This new iPad app promises to be a time-saver for sales and marketing folks—or anyone who wants to give a polished presentation on the road without dragging a lot of gear (or just resorting to another garden-variety PowerPoint). The app lets you cut and paste text and images into magazine-worthy templates that include a lot of cool, client-interactive features as well as music and video.

Happily, you can do most of it offline (as in, sitting on a plane or even in the taxi on the way to your meeting) and play your presentations without a connection. StoryDesk.com

Runs On: iPad

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