I don’t know about you, but I use an app every time I travel – I simply love the turn-by-turn instructions coming through my car speakers via Bluetooth and it has helped me to find my way around strange cities many times. The are many apps in the “Travel” category and we picked of two of our favorites for 2013. One app is more of a series of maps covering the entire world and the other app takes a much different approach to help you enjoy your trip.

Runner Up – City Maps 2go Offline

This offline map app is like carrying a “paper” city map and guidebook with you at all times.  The maps cover all of the top destinations in the USA, Europe, or Asia – like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Paris, London, Rome, Berlin, Tokyo, etc.  These maps work totally offline, so no data or wi-fi is needed to pursue your destination.  The map data and Points of Interest (POI) are provided by OpenStreetMap and updated on a regular basis.  If you are going on a trip and need a particular destination, not provided in the normal package, simply email them and they will create a map for you immediately upon request.  This app is featured in Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and BBC Travel.  With this app you get 5 free downloads of any map – if you purchased the Pro Version for only $1.99, you can have unlimited downloads. If you do a lot of traveling, we would definitely recommend this app.

Winner – Field Trip

The app was designed by Google and is optimized for smartphones, not tablets.  It runs in the background and alerts you when you are close to something “cool, hidden, and unique.”  It will pop up a card with details about whatever it is you are near and if you have ear buds or a Bluetooth connection, it will even read off the information to you.  It can help you learn about anything from local history to the best places to shop or eat.  Because it runs in the background, you do not have to turn it on or touch anything and it will speak to you – walk by a restaurant that looks interesting, and it will tell you all about it.  Drive by the Empire State Building and learn about its vital statistics and history.  The app has a history feature that will keep track of your recent trips and all of the places you visited – “bookmark” your favorite spots for the next time you are in that area and share those places via email, and social networks, such as Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.  If you travel a lot, or love to go on short “field trips,” then this is one app you will definitely want to have on your Android smartphone.