Save on data and prevent panic when you can’t connect to the internet by accessing these super-handy apps offline this summer.
Find your way
The latest update to the app has made the use of offline maps a breeze. Here’s how:
- Search for the place you’re looking for while you’re online.
- Go to the Options menu (the three horizontal lines on the top left of the screen)
- Select ‘Offline areas’
- Tap the ‘plus’ or ‘add’ symbol on the bottom right of the screen
- Drag the area of the map that you want to navigate inside the square box
- Hit ‘Download’ once you’ve selected the desired area
- Name the area
When you’re offline, you can access the map by going to the Options menu again and going to Offline areas, where your map should be sitting.
This will, of course, take up a bit of storage space, and you can’t download, say, the whole map of Botswana – you can only select a limited area. But it will save you a whack of data if you’re abroad, or if you’re in an area where there’s limited internet coverage.
Download Google Maps for iOS and Android.
Beat boredom
Read: Pocket
A simple premise and a revolution in reading, this app lets you save (or ‘pocket’) online articles to read offline. You’ll get recommendations based on your previous choices and will be able to help others discover the articles you’ve enjoyed the most.
Play a puzzle game: Dots
This minimalist, elegant, beautifully designed game has got to be one of the best ways to keep your brain occupied during a long flight or road-trip. It’s soothing yet a lot trickier than it first appears. All you have to do is connect dots of the same colour … and the next thing you know, you’re addicted to it.
Download it for iOS and Android.
Weather the weather
What sets Accuweather apart from other weather apps that you can use offline is that it gives you a 15-day forecast, so even if you’re away for two weeks without mobile data or Wi-Fi, you’ll know whether to book a snorkelling trip or a cooking course for the next day. Plus, Accuweather is about as detailed and precise as it gets with weather apps.
Download Accuweather for iOS and Android.
Choose the best lodgings
Don’t go anywhere without first consulting your trusty travel guide, TripAdvisor. With over 225 million reviews and opinions by travellers just like you, TripAdvisor is a travel guru of note, and you can be sure to know exactly what to expect from any hotel, hostel, restaurant or tourist attraction if you consult TripAdvisor first.
The app, called TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants on iOS and TripAdvisor Hotels Restaurants on Android, offers free-to-download maps, reviews and your saves for over 300 cities worldwide. So if you’re stuck in one of those cities without the internet, you’ll still be able to vet and rate the places you eat, visit and stay on the app, even though you’re offline.
Download TripAdvisor for iOS and Android.
Note that while some of these apps may be free to download, the data to do so is not. But you can top up with a data bundle quickly and affordably by logging into My Vodacom »
