The travel season is upon us and, unfortunately, it is a more tense and stressful than normal . Getting on a plane to visit your family and friends have been more nerve racking than ever with all of the attacks that have been happening all over the world. Part of the goal of the unfortunate events being reported by the media is to create panic. There is no way for us travelers anticipate what could happen next, the only thing we can do is to prepare ourselves for the worst and continue with our lives. It is hard to prepare for emergency while traveling, I know. That is why I have rounded up some of the most useful safety travel apps that can be downloaded over various platforms (smart phone, tablets, and computers) so you can carry them with you and always be informed in case of an emergency!
1. TravelSafe by BoaLogik: Provides important information in times of a crisis. Applied to most countries, TravelSafe has the basic emergency numbers (fire department, police, hospitals) and provides a panic button widget. This app also has some basic things you may need for travel too, like tip calculator and currency converters. This version is free to everyone. BoaLogik also has a Pro version ($1.49) which is not free and has the contact information for your country's embassy.
2. Sitata Travel Safe by Sitata: This app provide much of the same elements of TravelSafe, but also has travel alerts to inform people of real time emergencies and health risks. This application has emergency contact information for various countries, safety ratings per country/regions to determine safety, and vaccination and medication suggestions based on your itinerary. Learn about disease history and current situations of your destinations with this free application and stay aware on the go.
3. Travel Safe by Reverberant Services India Private Limited: This free application was made for the highest level of scared travelers in mind. With a login username, password, and data service/wifi availability this application tracks your movement with a start to end destination periods, mode of transportation, and travel companions. During set up you make a list of pre-determined SOS contacts. When you start your journey (from the airport to your hotel, for example) you tell the app what your destination is, what mode of transportation you are taking, expected time travel, and allow it to begin. Once you get to the destination you would end the journey on the application. If you do not end the journey or if something does happen to you, the app sends an panic message to your SOS contacts. If the panic button is initiated some point during your journey, the application is allowed to track your phone and location. Personally I think the idea of this application is great. However, I know there will be a point in time when I forget to hit that end button and a panic SMS message will be sent to my parents. That is not ideal, if you are forgetful about things like that!
4. Smart Traveler App by the U.S. Department of State: This is my favorite safe travel application. It is free and made for U.S. citizens as the focal point. This application is not as user friendly as the others above, but I really like that based on the destination you can apply for the STEP program which allows you to register to the local embassy or consulate on your phone. This app has real time alerts and warnings, gives you the history of relations between the U.S. and any other country, and helps provide emergency assistance to U.S. citizens travelling.
I hope that these applications can give you a better peace of mind. Always try to stay alert and informed. Happy travels!
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