Five Mobile apps, services and sites for transport and travel

Despite the gales and hail we saw over the weekend, it is technically just a couple of weeks from officially being springtime. It's March, damn it! That means we should all be thinking about holidays and days out.

In honour of that, here's a list of five useful mobile services, applications and sites for when you're on the go.

1. Map24Mobile

An alternative to Google or BlackBerry Maps, this site provides totally a totally free, downloadable mobile application covering not just the UK but Europe and the US as well. There are seven map regions in total and 15 languages to choose from, so providing you're not going too far off the beaten track in those areas, you're covered.

2. LateRooms Mobile

There's nothing more worrying than being unexpectedly marooned in a strange city with nowhere to stay, and LateRooms has designed its UK mobile site for precisely that reason. Just surf and search, taking advantage of the extremely browser-friendly design that dispenses with images and lists commonly searched cities on the front page so that a booking need take no more than three or four clicks.

3. CabWise

So you've had a great night out in London, blissfully aware that there's no work tomorrow. But... you've missed the last tube and can't find a cab for love nor money. Do you a) stumble into an unlicensed cab, taking your life and safety in your hands or b) turn to your mobile. No prizes for guessing the right answer. Just text "Home" to 60835 / 60TFL, and you'll receive a prompt reply from Transport for London with the number for two local, licensed minicab services.

4. Mobile Travel Aide

This brilliantly browser-friendly mobile site covers all the bases, from flights to ground transport to tourist attractions, restaurants and weather. It's still not a massive database of information but seems to be growing and is already a handy resource. Crucially it's pretty international, with UK, European, US and many more destinations featuring.

5. Travel Buddy

More of a Texperts-style service, you will be charged for contacting Travel Buddy for information. But it does provide a whole range of services for location information to translation, so it might become a useful addition when you need a fast, accurate response. Downloading the translator is £3, as is registration (although you can get this free if you book a holiday through Thomson). Text requests are £1 each.

If all those fail, you can always wait until Cool Gorilla launches more free guides...