National Geographic Traveller UK 03.2020

Get more out of Google Maps with

these useful tricks.

TIP ONE

That little blue dot on the map to

mark your location has some cool

functionality if you give it a tap

— this opens options to see nearby

places and share your location

through popular apps like SMS,

WhatsApp and Messenger. You can

also ‘save your parking’ — tapping on

‘More Info’ here lets you add parking

details and set an alarm for when

your ticket or meter is due to expire.

TIP TWO

You can fi nd the nearest ‘anything’

by typing the kind of place you’re

looking for (i.e. cafe or petrol station)

in the search fi eld rather than a

physical address.

TIP THREE

If you pass somewhere that you’d

like to come back to, you can tap

and hold the map to open an options

menu that includes ‘save’. Your saved

locations are available in one tap

from the main screen.

When you’re at the early planning

stages of a trip, Cluey is a good

app to start with. It presents

you with a range of preferences,

including weather, air quality,

safety and LGBTQ+- and vegan-

friendly locations. You can even

list the kinds of activities you

enjoy and how long you’d like to

fl y. Suggested trips are sourced

from more than 4,500 travel

destinations around the world.

IMAGE: GETTY

DESTINATION INSPIRE

@katerussell

katerussell.co.uk

If you want to indulge in the in-

fl ight entertainment and still use

your fancy wireless headphones,

the AirFly Pro is a great little

gadget that lets you connect

any brand of wireless Bluetooth

headphones or earbuds, even

if there’s only a wired jack

connection available. And

because up to two people can link

to the device at the same time it’s

GET THE GADGET

TOP TIPS FOR...

Google Maps hacks

AirFly Pro

Tech trave  er

TECHNOLOGY REPORTER FOR ‘BBCCLICK AND

AUTHOR OF WORKING THE CLOUD,

KATE RUSSELL PICKS THE LATEST INNOVATIONS

MOST OF US CAN BOOK TRIPS WITHOUT A TRAVEL AGENT, BUT HOW DO YOU

DECIDE WHERE TO GO? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT TOO

If you’re more interested

in keeping the cost down,

GreatEscape will tell you the

cheapest cities to fl y to on your

selected dates. You can sort the

results by price or popularity,

adding fi lters such as direct fl ight

only, visa requirements, weather

and activities. Once you’ve

settled on a destination, you can

sign up for ‘deal alerts’ and the

website’s bot will keep an eye out

also useful for watching a movie

on the hotel room TV without

disturbing a sleeping companion.

The battery lasts for more than

16 hours between charges and

with a fl ip of a switch you can

even use it as an aux-in adaptor

to send audio from your phone

to a car stereo or non-Bluetooth-

enabled speaker. RRP: £49.99.

twelvesouth.com

for any special o¢ ers from ‘all

the travel agents and airlines in

the world’ on your behalf.

If you’re using your travels to

connect with friends on distant

shores, use Find Friend Flights

to fi gure out a good place to

meet halfway. Just input the

two starting airport locations

and your respective email

addresses and the free version

of this app will email you both

when it spots a good deal. If

you upgrade to the premium

account, you can add time

windows and budgets, as well

as see even more deals.

Another handy tool

that o¢ ers lots of travel

inspiration is Postagraph. It’s

a wonderfully visual app with

loads of content and reviews

provided by its users. You and

a friend can browse the posts

in the app and book similar or

even identical trips. Itinerary

planned, the app goes on to let

you create a scrapbook of your

own experience, which can be

shared publicly or just kept

between you.

TRAVEL GEEKS

March 2020 155