Six Ways to Use Your Smartphone on Tours

Believe it or not, your smartphone may be your best tool for planning, organizing and executing a fantastic group tour. From planning your itinerary to planning for the weather, here are six ways you could use your smartphone in group travel.

1. As a master itinerary. Keep any flight bookings, theater tickets and restaurant reservations organized in one place with apps such as TripCase and TripIt. These apps could also alert you to flight delays and better seat openings on your flight.

2. As a scanner and filing cabinet. Traveling for business? Don't burden yourself with documents. Docs To Go allows you to view, edit and create Microsoft Office files on your phone, and the free CamScanner app allows you to use your smartphone camera as a scanner so you can e-mail the document in whatever format you want.

3. To help you find Wi-Fi. The JiWire Wi-Fi Finder app could help you find free Wi-Fi wherever you are—even if you're offline.

4. To help you find people. Apps such as Glympse and Find My Friends allow you and your group to temporarily share each other's locations, so you can track arrival times and coordinate meeting spots.

5. As a first-aid guide. Hopefully you won't need this one. But in case of an emergency, the Red Cross First Aid app allows you to quickly access information to handle first-aid emergences.

6. As a weather forecaster. You can pull up a basic weather forecast on any smartphone with a single swipe—but weather apps, such as Weather Bug, could provide you with more detailed information outside of what elements to expect. These apps could provide you with information on the pollen count, what time the sun sets, and even when you have a chance of spotting the northern lights.

 Written by Cassie Westrate, staff writer for Groups Today.