Time is Money

Time management is one of the most important skills to obtain if you wish to backpack. Since the schedule of a backpacker is usually very tight, it’s essential to learn how use your time wisely.

After my first backpacking trip, I realized that a significant amount of my time had been wasted on transportation. When you arrive in another country and have no idea how to speak their language, getting around can be very difficult.

Getting lost while abroad is one of the toughest parts about traveling. It can be extremely frustrating when you're searching for an attraction but only succeeds in getting lost.   It’s times like these when the thoughts tour buses and taxi become irresistible.

When planning my second trip, I was determined to find a way to save not only more money, but more time as well.

I had my iTouch with me while I was abroad so I decided to start looking for apps that would assist me in my travels.   When looking through the travel category in the app store, I stumbled upon one of my traveling saviors.

 Tip #3

Download Kinevia's 

FREE MetrO app

The European metro system is very well-organized, easy to use, and affordable. If you are relying on just a metro map, however, you're guaranteed to run into problems. Although trains and trams are able to get you where you need to go quickly, they can also quickly take you far away from where you want to go if you take the wrong one. I once got on the wrong high-speed train and ended up in southern Germany when I was supposed to be in Belgium.

The MetrO app allows you to download the transportation systems of over 400 cities around the world. The best feature of MetrO is that once you have installed the cities you need, no internet or network connection is needed.

If you type in the stop that you're at, and then select the stop you need to go to, MetrO will provide you with a detailed description of how to get to your end location. Once you have selected both your locations, MetrO provides you with all the alternative routes and tells you which are the shortest and which have the most or least transfers.


I used this app in every city that I traveled to.When I was setting up my planner, (the one I wrote about in my previous post) I wrote down the nearest metro station to each location I planned on visiting. Having this app, and looking up the metro stops I needed ahead of time allowed me to save tons of time. It also helped save money since I was no longer tempted to pay for the ease that a tour bus or taxi provides. MetrO app allowed me to always get where I needed to go!

It's also a huge plus not to have to carry around a huge map. By using MetrO, you won't look as touristy.