As long as you have your mobile device with you, your next vacation will be more convenient than the last.

Many people will say that they work all year round, just to be able to enjoy the best possible vacations once or twice throughout that time, and now the latest smartphone trends are being developed to make sure that when you head away from home, you’ll get the most out of every minute.

The reason is that it helps to take the trickier parts of travel and smooth them out through simple apps.

The travel industry is among those in which there have been the fastest moving smartphone trends. It isn’t just a matter of being able to contact the people back home without trying to find a payphone or running up massive long distance charges in your hotel room. In fact, it isn’t even just a matter of being able to send texts while you’re away from home. Instead, apps have changed the entire travel experience from the time that you dream up your vacation in the first place, to the point that you return home again and start sharing the photos from your amazing adventures.

Using these smartphone tips when traveling are likely to make the biggest difference to your overall experience.

They include (but aren’t limited to) the following:

• Flight, hotel, and rental car reservations – there are dozens, if not hundreds of mobile apps that allow you to compare prices and book your flights and accommodations. Many people now travel without ever having to call their airlines or even visit the website. Their app does it all.
• Choosing airplane seats – some flight reservation apps don’t just allow you to choose where you want to fly, but you can pick the seat you want, too. In fact, there are even some applications that are letting travelers know about the people seated nearby, such as where business travelers or babies may be located on the plane.
• Obtaining your boarding pass – skip the printed out boarding pass and carry it around in your smartphone, instead. It saves paper and helps you to stay organized, while saving yourself from having to wait in one more line at the airport.
• Hotel check-ins and room keys – a growing number of hotel chains are allowing guests to use their smartphones to check in, and are even implementing technology such as NFC and Bluetooth to be used as room keys. Additional services such as wake-up calls and room service are also being incorporated into hotel apps.
• Sightseeing – from maps and GPS based directions to the pictures you take, the odds are that your smartphone will be helping you out along the way. Be sure to check to see if your destination has self guided walking tours of various locations of interest.

Of course, to take advantage of all of these great travel tips, you’ll need to make sure that your device is charged at all times. Don’t forget to pack the lightest but most powerful power bank to make sure you don’t miss all of those great photo ops for posting on Facebook or texting your friends and family back home.