I want to add a few more things to not only help you travel through Puglia but also through Italy in general. As a heavy phone user and also being a sucker for trying out software and apps, I have tried quite a bit. Like anything else, I love some and think others are meh.
Here I will share those I love and those that I don’t necessarily love but believe that they’re very functional and have a high probability of helping somebody with her travels. Summer last year I did write a post on some of my favourite UK/London apps. Have a quick read there, especially under “General”, and you can add what’s listed there to what I will write here.
So here goes…
Transport
When I wrote the Puglia by public transport post, I used a lot of info from the train/bus/regional transport website to gather the bus and/or train schedule. While I recommend doing this for buses, train travels are easier to plan with
- Trenitalia: The official Italian train company’s app. You can look up schedules and also buy tickets online.
- Italo: Privately owned high speed train company that connects about 20 cities in the northern part of Italy. If you are travelling from Venice to Rome for example, check Trenitalia and Italo’s schedule and prices. Ditto like the Trenitalia app, you can look at schedules and book tickets.
- OrarioTreni: This will check all possible Italy train schedule for your trip. The app will tell you which company, i.e. Trenitalia or Italo and prices. Purchases will be a redirect to the official company’s website. The e-ticket will then synchronise into this app.
- Wanderio: It searches for bus, train and flight schedule in cities throughout Europe. What I did notice, at least for Puglia, is that some buses are not showing up in this app. An example is from Martina Franca to Ostuni. I know there is a bus going between these two cities because I was on one but the app couldn’t pull any of it up. When I input my remote town to Mannheim, nothing was showing. So, great to use for bigger cities and not so much for more obscure locations/timetables. For those, check the local bus website for the timetable. Also, the price showing on the initial results screen may not be the actual lowest price available once you click to see. When I input Lecce to Rome, it showed the lowest price as €8 but when I clicked it, the lowest price, the actual price, was €60.
- Scooterino: The scooter version of Uber, equivalent to Gojek in Southeast Asia. Rome’s traffic isn’t for the faint of heart and what’s a better way to navigate through the busy and sometimes manic street? The scooter.
- MyTaxi: If you need to hail a cab or get an estimate on how much a journey will cost. You can pay using the app or in person.
Maps/Trip Planning
I listed Google Maps and Waze in the London apps list. I use Waze strictly for driving because it tells me when there is some sort of road issue and it re-routes fairly well. Google Maps, besides using it as a SatNav, I use it to find all sorts of places and to also read reviews on these places. While I can use Google Maps to help me route my travels, I rather use Sygnic for this. Adding to the London list:
- Maps.me: A handy offline map. It can show you driving and walking directions and also, if possible, the public transport option to get you from A to B.
- Zonzo Fox: An app to help you travel through major cities/area of Italy. You can get help on what to see, where to eat, basic info about where you’re visiting and also, via the app, you can get in touch with local guides to help your visit be more personalised and memorable. The smaller cities, while there is a mini-guide available, at this time, it’s quite minimum on the info.
- MoovIt: I adore Citymapper, especially in London. But Citymapper is limited on the cities it covers. As an add-on, download MoovIt, who claims to have 1200 cities worldwide in their system. One thing I love in this app is the “Get Off” alert.
General
The below are lists of apps to make your travel a bit more comfortable, memorable and educational
- Nasoni (Android only): An app to help you find the nearest drinking fountain. In Rome there are about 2500 Nasoni (nasone — pronounced na-so-ney — is the singular word) and the oldest ones can be found around the Trastavere area.
- i Nasoni di Roma (iDevice)
- WeTap (iDevice): It covers the world. Never go thirsty again.
- Flush: After all that drinking, you are going to need to use the toilet I am sure!
- MedinAction: One can get sick when on holiday. If that issue arise, no worries! This app can help you get connected to English speaking doctors in Rome, Naples, Milan, Bologna, Venice and Florence. This is a home visit service and one visit cost €100/€140 depending on when the visit is. If you have insurance, the company can work with your insurance directly. App wise, it’s iDevice only at this time but you can request visits via the website.
- Time Travel Rome: All these ancient sites and nobody to explain. No worries, this app can help! This app doesn’t just explain ruins and sites in Rome. It does it for many major Roman artefacts found in Europe, Middle East and North Africa.
- WiFi Italia: Find free WiFi hotspot services across Italy
The above is what I have for you today. While apps are awesome and handy, before you jet off to Italy, do visit the tourism websites for each city. They can often be loaded with many info and also a calendar of events for the month. Some fabulous tourism board’s sites are
- Italy Tourisme Board
- Firenze/Florence
- Tuscany
- Bologna
- Rome
- Venezia
- Turin
- Milano
- Cinque Terre
- Puglia
- Basilicata
- Amalfi Coast
- Naples
- Sicily
- Sardegna/Sardinia
Take care and leave me a comment if you know of any cool app that I need to try before I head out to Italy again!
