Posted on Friday, July 26th, 2013 at 9:51 am

Smart phones are all over the place now, and as the cost of international roaming starts to gradually fall (as is happening within the EU), and with the rise in cheap local sim cards – we are finding that more and more students are taking their smartphones with them when they travel.

Not only is this great from the perspective of keeping in touch with friends and family – but you can still be connected to all your favorite apps like Facebook, Twitter to chart your experiences and keep them in your history.

But what are the Top 5 Study Abroad Health and Safety Apps?

Here we chart the best apps to keep you on the straight and narrow:

Dropbox – iOS, Android, Blackberry, Kindle (Free)

You may wonder why we have chosen dropbox as one of our first apps for this section – and the reason is simple, with dropbox you can access pretty much all your documentation in one place, whenever you need it! Before you depart abroad, make sure you have copies of your passport, important insurance documents, vaccinations cards – pretty much everything you can reasonably think of scanned in and stored in a dropbox folder. Its there if you need it in case something happens, and you have quick and easy access to it in case you lose something, like your passport or insurance documentation.

Jet Lag App – iOS ($2.99)

We have all been there with jet lag – wide awake at 2am in the morning, only to them suffer through the day struggling to keep your eyes open through that class or meeting. The Jet Lag app is here to help you! Simple enter in your travel details and the time zones you will cross – and the app will give you a customized schedule you can follow to minimize the impact of jet lag.

Jibbigo Translator – iOS, Android (Free + $4.99 for language packs)

For the international traveler, having access to some translation help could be vital (especially in an emergency). There are many apps available that can help you, but this is the best app out there as it offers offline translation – so unlike Google Translate, you do not need to be connected to the internet. Once you have paid for your language pack, you download it and off you go!

City Maps 2Go – iOS, Android ($1.99)

Similar to the translator app, City Maps 2Go is an excellent app for those that do not have a good internet connection or who have limited data when abroad. You can download the maps you need to use when on wifi, and they will be stored on your device so that you can use them when you do not have a data connection. Most usual maps apps will not work without a data connection. It will save you getting lost and potentially taking a wrong turn into the wrong parts of a city!

Hopefully with these apps, it will make your travel abroad experience that much better! Do not also forget to download the International Student Insurance Student Zone app, allowing you to manage your insurance plan online with your phone too – so that all your insurance information is in the palm of your hand!

Safe travels!

Posted by Ross Mason

Ross is the Vice President of International Student Insurance, with over 15 years experience in the international education arena. A graduate from the Nottingham Trent University in the UK with a First in BSc (Hons) Business and Technology, Ross has lived all around the world including LA, New York, Boston, London, Hong Kong, Florida and Germany.