Ah, summer, the perfect time to pack your bags and get your travel on. But sometimes, trips don’t go as planned. Group vacations and traveling abroad can be stressful, plus there’s the added pressure of digitally documenting your adventures for friends back home. The good news is there’s an app for all of that – WeChat! Just follow these six easy travel hacks to turn your smartphone into the ultimate travel buddy.

Avoid Overseas Overages

Traveling far and wide shouldn’t require going over on minutes. Instead, use WeChat’s free calling feature to dial anyone on your contact list, free of charge. This also includes video calling. Free is better, simple as that.

Spend Less Time Coordinating and More Time Exploring

Whether you’re traveling with 2 or 100 people, create mobile group chats with WeChat to organize all your communication in one place – texts, photos, locations, videos, you name it.  And group chats are searchable, which means you can always find what you need, instantly. 

Navigate the City Like a Pro

Navigating new places is quite the puzzle, but you don’t have to do it alone.  The WeChat mobile app lets you send location directions to others through chats, while the person receiving the coordinates simply taps the message for step-by-step directions.  Then, hop on the walkie-talkie feature and guide your friends directly to the right spot. Time to ditch the map and go mobile! 

Never be Lost in Translation

Traveling to a foreign land without fully mastering the language? Fear not! Instead of lugging around a clunky dictionary, WeChat can translate messages from over 20 different languages right on your phone. Just tap and hold the message, then select translate. Voila! Your phone just turned into a pocket translator.

Share Your Memories with Folks Back Home

Your friends want to know what you’re up to, so share your favorite photos with them. The WeChat Moments timeline allows you to create full photo albums, tag your location, and even select exactly who can see certain photos.  It’s like a photo storybook you can share with a private network of your closest connections.

Lastly, Give Your Phone an Occasional Break

Using your phone to find your way is great, but make sure you turn off all your work notifications.  Leave those emails for your life back home so you have time to just relax.

Whew! That’s a lot of travel-hacking. Got more of your own? Post them below and remember, wherever your summer takes you, be safe, be smart and have fun!