10 great travel apps

Want to book a luxury suite in Luxembourg, or find a restroom in Rome? There’s an app for that, and then some. Here’s a look at some of the most useful, straightforward, do-what-they-promise travel apps.

TripIt

No more will we fumble through file folders containing trip details, or lose the slip of paper containing that crucial confirmation number or contact name. Now, we organize all the details of our trip, including schedules, flights, hotels, rentals cars, and reservations, with this app. We simply forward e-mail confirmations (air, train, car, hotel), and the easy-to-use app organizes everything into one master itinerary.

Free for iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone; www.tripit.com.

WhatsApp Messenger

We will never pay for a text message again, no matter where we are in the world. Instead, while traveling, we use this money-saving app to send unlimited free texts. All you need is a Wi-Fi or 3G connection to send texts and group messages, and share photos, videos, and audio clips. You — and your contacts — must have the app (similar to using Skype), but texts can be sent between any kind of smartphone.

$.99 for iPhone; free for the first year (then $.99 a year) for Android, BlackBerry, Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian, Window Phone; www.whatsapp.com.

Hotel Tonight

Stuff happens: Flights are canceled, connections missed, itineraries change, and we need a last-minute room for the night, without busting the budget. It’s fun, simple to navigate, and lets you make last-minute bookings in 65-plus cities throughout North America and Europe. Even better: Hotels hate unsold rooms and are often willing to offer deep discounts at the last minute. Hotel Tonight posts last-minute room rates, sometimes up to 70 percent off normal rack rates, in a range of categories like Basic and Luxe. Searches pull out same-day availability; you can’t book before noon, but you can book more than one night at some properties.

Free for Android, iPhone, iPad; www.hoteltonight.com.

Google Translate

Need to ask “Where is the nearest Metro station?’’ and your high school French is failing you? This app can translate text between more than 60 languages and can speak the words back in the native dialect of 17 languages. Simply talk into your smartphone and it translates words and phrases into the language of your choice. With a push of a button, you can navigate between languages and from text to speech.

Free for Android, iPhone, iPad; www.google.com/mobile/translate.

Free Wi-Fi Finder

This simple app by JiWire reveals nearly 500,000 free and paid wireless connections in cities throughout the world. Enable the Wi-Fi scanner to locate hot spots or search within a directory. The program also provides directions and phone numbers for locations.

Free for iPhone, iPad, Android; www.jiwire.com

Around Me

This sweet freebie (not to be confused with the slightly creepy Girls Around Me app) has saved us hours of searching and aggravation. Need to find an ATM or a gas station in a hurry? Want to know the closest pub, supermarket, or movie house? You name it: hotels, theaters, parking, pharmacies, restaurants, banks, hospitals . . . pretty much whatever you’re searching for anywhere in the world, this will send you in the right direction.

Free for Android, iPhone, iPad; www.aroundmeapp.com.

Kayak

This comprehensive search engine mines mountains of datafor the best prices on airlines, hotels, and car rental sites. Flights can be sorted by price, duration, number of stops,airports, and layover time; we love the “buzz’’ feature, which shares the best fares foundby other users. (Fare history is envy-inspiring, but ultimately useful.) You can reschedule missed or canceled flightsdirectly through your phone, too. With hotels, you can search for deals for tonight or by rating, price, brand, or distance from wherever you want to be.

Free for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone; www.kayak.com/mobile.

Gas Buddy

No need to pay top dollar for freeway fill-ups on your next road trips. This app locates the nearest gas station and shows approximate price per gallon; stations and prices throughout the United States and Canada pop up on a map.

Free for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry;www.gasbuddy.com

iFly

Stuck with a long layover or a flight delay? Meet your new TFF (travel friend forever), a guide to more than 700 of the world’s airport terminals. (It found us rocking chairs near a live pianist at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, which helped make a six-hour delay bearable.) Find food, terminal, and gate locations, restrooms, shops, and other services.

Free for Android, iPhone, iPad; www.ifly.com

Yelp

The king of crowdsourcing, Yelp’s opinionated bunch of 50 million contributors offer their insights on restaurants, hotels, and services. Mostly, we use it to get advice for eating on the fly in an unfamiliar neighborhood and are rarely disappointed.

Free for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Phone; www.yelp.com/yelpmobile