Smart Phone Apps for the Health Conscious Traveler

It's vacation season – time to venture out to an unknown city and seek new experiences.  At home, you may be comforted by your routine, but a new city can offer endless opportunities to explore a side of yourself you didn't know existed. Health and wellness are hot topics across the country, and no matter which destination city you choose, you are sure to find local fitness studios, chefs, and community projects dedicated to healthy, sustainable living. This summer, promise yourself to stay out of the chain restaurants and lousy hotel gyms. Keep your smartphone charged and take advantage of these clever apps to help you get connected in a new city.

Explore Local Fitness Studios and Outdoor Trails

Several retailers are introducing fitness apps dedicated to creating local experiences for their customers, helping you to get active, indoors or on the trails. Lululemon has recently launched the OmFinder app, which uses your location to find nearby yoga studios and class schedules, as well as offering helpful tips from local yogis. Download the North Face Trailhead app to find trails, hikes, and biking routes in your area. The app allows you to search by activity and length, and tracks your route, distance and elevation as you explore new territory. If you are visiting a new city, relish the change of scenery and take advantage of opportunities to sweat with the locals. If you've ever been curious about taking a new class (acro-yoga, anyone?), this is the time to do it!

Discover Healthy, Sustainable Dining Options

Organic and locally grown food is all the rage. No matter where you are traveling, there are sure to be local chefs offering their take on healthy eating. Step away from familiar chain restaurants and take advantage of the great food your destination city has to offer.  Apps like Yelp, Food Tripping, and Food Community will help you find vegan, vegetarian, kosher, gluten free, or locally grown and organic food. These apps are dedicated to helping users find alternatives to fast food by locating the closest eateries, juice bars, farmers' markets, microbreweries, organic coffee spots and more. Each allow you to track and share where you've been, and make it easy to discover and share restaurants across the US that offer healthy dining options.  Indulge yourself in new flavors and try something you never thought you would.

Get Involved in a New Community

If you have ever been on vacation and run out of things to do, you might enjoy volunteering for a good cause that supports the local community.  Finding ways to give back can offer a great bonding experience for a family, or help you to de-stress and feel more connected to the world around you.  Volunteermatch is a popular website with a smartphone app that allows you to search through hundreds of volunteer opportunities within a community.  No matter where you are, you can find a volunteer opportunity for a cause that interests you that fits your skills.  Catalista is another popular app that will help you find a place to volunteer, rate your overall experience, and share your activity on Facebook.  With both apps, you can read descriptions of each volunteer opportunity, register to attend upcoming events, and track and share your activity.  Sometimes, you have to wander off the beaten path to explore a new city and a new side of yourself.  Fortunately, there are plenty of smartphone apps to help guide you along the way.

Sarah Dalton is the founder of Able Mind Able Body, a Las Vegas based company offering motivational lifestyle coaching and personal training services.  She takes a holistic approach to healthy living, and educates others on the benefits of nutrition, exercise and emotional health.  Visit ablemindablebody.com for more info.