Gone are the days of sprinting to your gate at the airport, reaching your destination to realise you’ve forgotten your wash bag or being stranded in a city with no money. With these apps for your smartphone, travelling is more stress-free and enjoyable than ever….

Scott Dunn’s Instagram and Jetlag Genie

Instagram (free, iOS, Android)

Instagram turns everyday pictures and videos into works of art. The app works by adding gorgeous filters and effects to your photography creating imagery that you’ll be dying to share with friends and family. Being connected to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare, the app makes sharing your magical moments from around the world that much easier.

FlightTrack (free, iOS, Android)

FlightTrack tracks more than 1,400 airlines at more than 3,000 airports worldwide. The app gives you flight and gate information, lets you know when your plane is delayed and forecasts postponements based on historical data. The app even colour codes flight information so you know if you have time to grab a bite to eat or if you need to get moving to the gate! You can add friends and family to the app to track their flights and set up notifications to let you know when to head to the airport. Finally the app shows the amenities on a plane so you can chose the perfect seat well in-advance.

Jetlag Genie (fee, iOS)

Spend half your holiday beating jetlag? Enter your travel dates and flight information into this clever app and it will give you a plan to reduce the dreaded jetlag. This is done by subtly changing your sleeping patterns and exposure to sunlight and even takes into account your sleeping preferences.

A great Packing Pro list and a Photosynth screenshot

Packing Pro (fee, iOS)

This is a simple list maker for those of you who always forget the basic things like socks! The app has default lists for all sorts of holidays that can be personalised and starred for future reference. There is the option to import lists that you may have already started or export lists to a member of the family to let them do the packing! You can also create reminders of things to be done before you leave home, for example, watering the plants.

Photosynth (free, iOS, Windows)

Photosynth lets you capture places, moments and events in a 360° panoramic form and share with your friends. The app creates panoramas not only horizontally but also vertically, creating a gigantic, full-sphere, 3D like picture that you can forever return to.

Spotify suggesting new music and Find an ATM

Find an ATM (free, iOS) If you’ve ever been in a foreign country and suddenly realised you have no cash when you really need it, this app is for you. It locates where you are (worldwide), shows all the ATM’s in the local area and even gives you directions to it. A life saver in many situations.

Spotify (free, iOS, Android)

Make the most of this music app by paying the subscription of £9.99 a month so you can instantly stream any song or album, create playlists, discover new music from friends or anyone in the Spotify community and play them on all your mobile devices even when you’re offline! A no brainer for those of you with a passion for music!

Sharing media within a group chat on WhatsApp and Google Translate

WhatsApp (free, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows and Nokia)

This is a messaging app which allows you to directly message someone without any SMS charges, available for any smartphone, between any smartphone! As long as you’re connected to Wi-Fi (don’t use data browsing whilst abroad, it costs a fortune) you can create groups and send each other unlimited images, video and audio messages. The perfect way to stay connected whilst on holiday.

Google Translate (free, iOS, Android)

Google Translate is a handy little app for all your language difficulties, translating text or speech between more than 70 languages. The app will translate out loud to help pronunciations, allows you to star favourite translations for easy access when offline and has built in dictionaries with single words and phrases if you’d rather work it out for yourself.

Trip Journal (fee, iOS, Android)

Trip Journal is the ultimate digital diary, allowing you to track your itinerary using an integrated Google map and attach photos, videos, comments and blog entries along the way. It also creates trip statistics on distance, time and geography travelled. You can then share your journey with friends and family back home and at the end of the journey, you have created an interactive and rich journal, full of memories, pictures, videos and notes that you can keep for life and share for many years to come.