Top Tourist apps - Be a local in a foreign land
If you are one of those who like to travel to newer places, you might have wondered how to get to the places just like a local would do. But, it isn't that easy as it would appear to be. Fortunately enough, there are mobile apps for helping you out. We will attempt to find out a few apps that would help you roam around the city as a local.
If you are visiting a new city, you may feel like roaming around on your own. Most of us would like to stay away from the beaten track. Those guides, sightseeing packages and such routine tracks do not let you get the real feel of the city. That is exactly when the mobile apps come to your rescue.
Like everything else has been taken care of mobile apps these days, the tourist information as well has now been taken over much ably by technology. The following paragraphs will list out and analyse some of the apps that would help you roam around a new city like a local.#1. Lonely Planet
Availability - Android and iOS
Lonely Planet is the largest tourist guide publisher in the World. The Android and iOS apps from the renowned publisher offer you travel tips from Travel Experts. 
The guides from Lonely Planet are helpful by answering questions that are typically Indian. The app provides authentically Indian information. The service caters to Indian travellers's needs. The articles are authored by Indian authors. 
The Lonely Planet app covers over 38 cities worldwide as of new. New cities are being added every year. The apps have offline maps, travel tips and options to save bookmarks. The best part with the app is the ability to filter the tips as per your needs. The tips come from the experts who have lived in the city for years together.#2. Trip4Real
Trip4Real is the service that attempts to connect the travellers with the locals. Unlike the tour packages that are so badly designed that they will make you just the spectator to the cultural extravaganza that the city you are visiting has on offer.
The service has over 4000 experiences that have been made by locals. Choose the experience that you are interested in and pay for it. That's it! You can have fun and discover the new world with the locals.
The Experiences are offered with a detailed description along with other conditions like the number of maximum participants and the meeting place. The experiences have a rating system as well. That would help you choose the best one that suits you.#3. Like A Local
Availability - Android and iOS
Like A Local is the Offline Cityguide for you. The app has insider tips from the locals. The information contained in the app is completely curated by the locals. The app has service in over 300 cities across the world. 
The app has a constant stream wherein you get the information about the places that are open at the time you are browsing. The app lets you save a place to your list for viewing it later. 
The service offers you suggestions for eating, drinking and sight seeing. You just need to download the city of your choice once and done. There is no need for internet connectivity while you travel.#4. Gogobot
Availabilty - Android and iOS
If you are one of those who loves adventures, this app is definitely for you. The app lets you discover the best events, restaurants, hotels and other attractions. 
The guides and tips can be filtered according to your taste. Gogobot has over 800000 reviews and over four million photos to help you choose the best among them. 
It would be pertinent to note here that the app has been adjudged the best travel app by Mashable, TIME Magazine and Travel & Leisure. The app also features postcard filters tool. You can use the tool to create postcards and share them with your friends.
The tool contains a forum like interface as well. Instead of asking for a destination and details thereof, you can post queries and get responses from other users who provide you better recommendations.#5. Spotted By Locals
Availability - Android and iOS. It is also available in a PDF format.
The app provides you city guides. What sets it apart from other regular city guides is it is curated by locals. The guides are updated regularly. The tips by locals contain insider information on the local traditions. The app provides you information on sights, restaurants and hotels. 
Spotted By Locals is an app that has listings for North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The app has current listings for 66 locations. The service works offline.
The service is available both online and offline. The offline features include high quality city maps. You can list the your favourite spots by searching for nearby locations.
The Spotted By Locals app has received some great press reviews. Guardian has named it as "Authentically local, on-the-ground advice..."
#6. Citymapper
Availability - Android and iOS
Well, Citymapper is an awesome app that lets you handle public transportation with ease. It is well known that the public transportation is not trustworthy in any part of the world. 
Not anymore! City mapper will help you to find ways to get around the city. You just need to type in the location you are currently at and where you would wish to go. That's it! The app will let you know of the live timings of the transport, the travel duration and the best route to take.
The app has been included in the Editor's Choice category on Google Play Store. It has won many accolades for the innovative features included into it.
The app provides you real time information on the schedule of bus or trains. In addition to offering you information on public transport, Citymapper also comes up with real time step by step directions for your itinerary.
Citymapper finds wider coverage across USA, apart from some cities in Canada and Britain.Final Say
That concludes our list of the best rated apps for being a local in a foreign land. Sadly enough, most of those apps do not have data for Indian cities. But with the list of cities being updated on a regular basis on almost all the apps (or services) featured above, we may soon the see names of our cities included among the supported cities.
If you find any such apps that you feel are worthy to be included in this list, share your choices here below. Share your opinions about the apps listed above.
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