You would not leave home without your iPhone, so make sure it is fully loaded with helpful apps to see you safely through any travel or holiday problems.

Health app – holiday tummy and serious stomach problems like salmonella are increasingly common on holidays – not mention sunburn, insect bites, hangovers and accidents. Download NHS Direct’s app for Symptom Checkers and instant advice on how to cope with illnesses on holiday and a quick diagnosis to see if you need to go to a doctor or speak to a pharmacist.

Translation apps – trying to speak to a pharmacist if you cannot get to a doctor abroad can be embarrassing – and even potentially dangerous if you cannot speak the language and the pharmacy staff cannot understand you. Download an app like Word Lens, which enables you to scan in the written word – or a printed sentence like the instructions on a medicine packet – and these will be translated. Result? No more trying to mime hangover or upset tummy in the local chemist in front of a crowd of amused locals. You can also download other iPhone apps for specific languages like English to Spanish or Italian.
Weather apps –

UK weather app – the Met Office now has its own app for holidaymakers staying or visiting the UK and GPS technology means the app detects where you are and provides a weather update – essential safety info for hikers, sailors or dangerous sports enthusiasts, as well as sunbathers. The forecast is for a five-day period, so you can plan your holiday activities in advance.

Overseas weather app – Weather+ app will offer a comprehensive view of the weather in your holiday resort and has a well designed interactive display which shows the time, and all the details you need weather wise, including cloud cover – important for sunbathers as well as mountaineers, hill walkers and pilots. There is an easy-read five day forecast and a three-hourly forecast, so you can be on stand by in your Speedos for the sun. If you are planning to travel around on holiday, you can flip between different locations to see the weather that awaits you at your next holiday destination.

Overseas calls app – keeping in touch while on holiday or travelling during a gap year can be expensive, so download an app like Voxofon’s International calls and SMS app in case of emergencies on holiday. Voxofon is a US company, but the app works from Canada, India, Mexico and Russia, as well as the UK and US, The app offers some of the lowest call rates, with free VoIP calls and IM such as Skype and GTalk. BT also offers a free app for iPhone and Android to BT Broadband uses, which logs them onto the nearest WiFi hotspot, saving money on calls. There are now more than 1.5m BT OpenZone and BT FON WiFi hotspots worldwide, so BT users can make calls fast and free to keep in touch or if they need help.

If you have suffered from Salmonella Bug Abroad, you can make a claim against the UK tour operator as soon as you arrive home to the UK. If you have evidence to prove the illness was a result of the negligence of the hotel staff, then you have every chance of making a successful Travel Illness Compensation Claim.