Travelfish has long been one of the most respected resources for travel in Asia. Their site covers Backpacker information for Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Of course, information provided on a web site is great for preparing a trip, but once you are actually on the road, you’ll need to find Internet access to get to it.
This is where the new Travelfish iPhone app can help. Their first app covers Angkor in Cambodia, and my oh my what an impressive app it is. In fact, as the title describes, I’m so impressed, that I’m calling it “a new benchmark in iPhone travel content”.
The application only runs in landscape mode, but it takes perfect advantage of this by presenting plenty of wide screen content. The app covers everything (and I really do mean everything) you need to know about the region For beginners, there is a huge background section, with history of the country and the region itself. It also offers 8 entire sections on how to plan your trip, with everything from visa information to the local weather and what to pack.
The sleep section shows all local hotels on a map, describing the different areas in the city. The application lists the 40 best hotels, hostels and guesthouses, along with a full review, online booking link, phone number and of course, its location on the map. Similar comprehensive guides are offered for restaurants, sightseeing attractions, local transportation.
The walking tours portion takes you on an iPhone guided tour, complete with when to start and exactly how to reach each highlight of the self-guided tour.
The maps support your location, and can be customized to show more (or less) locations.
Final thoughts
Of all the iPhone tour guides I’ve seen, this one really is the most comprehensive. I love the design and ease of use. Best of all, the application stores all its data on your phone, so there is no need for an (expensive) data plan when roaming abroad.
The program is perfect for pre-planning, as well as acting as a live guide when you are actually in Angkor. Each portion of the application offers handy features like bookmarks and “show on map”, and the designers make fantastic use of the touch friendliness of the iPhone and iPod Touch letting you swipe to browse articles.
You’ll find the Travelfish Angkor app in the iTunes store, where it sells for just $7.99.
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