IFFI 2024 | ‘Red Path’ movie review: Of stolen childhoods and the barbarity of extremism

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

Not every blue moon does a piece of art pervasively sustain the anxiety of living in a dehumanised world, without overt dramatisations, throughout its runtime. In Arabian filmmaker Lotfi Achour’s Red Path — which competed at the International Competition section of the 55th International Film Festival of India — the inciting incident that rattles our bones comes in mere minutes after we are introduced to the arid Tunisian plains, where only the hostile find any shelter of permanence.We see a teenage shepherd, Nizar Nouri (Yassine Samouni), take his 13-year-old cousin, Achraf (Ali Hleli, a performance that articulates the slightest of thoughts), and their goats, beyond the Mejri Path on the rocky slopes of Mount Mghila, Tunisia — a border of conflict between the government and the jihadis. Nizar wants to show Achraf the pocket of a paradise that prevails untouched on these mountains. They lay bare on the warm rocks, toss around on the pools of water in rocky depressions, and speak about the time the ocean would have covered the mountain.
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A still from ‘Red Path’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Doom strikes the boys like thunder. Achraf, beaten mercilessly and befuddled, wakes up next to the severed head of Nizar. “Show it to his mother and maybe then you’ll all learn not to come here,” he was told by the jihadis who vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Paralysed by shock, Achraf thoughtlessly picks up Nizar’s head and journeys back to their village. Only to immediately witness a landmine kill his goats, all except a baby goat named Tatouss.With Tatouss, resting inside his jacket, and a duffel bag that gets bloodier every passing minute, Achraf idles around, wishing he didn’t have to be the one to bear the news to Nizar’s mother Mbarka. In a rather interesting turn, Acraf chooses to first confide in a teenage schoolgirl named Rahma (Wided Dabebi; the film’s only gentle whisper), who was Nizar’s romantic interest, before breaking the news to Mbarka. Just as Achraf is battling guilt, grief, and psychological ramifications no other soul should live through, social and emotional constraints force him back on the same trodden path he wished he never took; he has to accompany his relatives as they journey back to retrieve Nizar’s body.Red Path from thereon becomes a story of Achraf’s search for meaning and resolution, if there is one, in his brutal new reality. Beneath all that, the film is also an aching lament on stolen childhoods in places affected by war and conflict; be it how the dire economy forces you to quit school and work; or how you are forced to choose between the jihadis and the pro-government entities; or how your loved one can be beheaded, and you are left to pick yourself up and move on.
‘Alex Rider’ Season 3 series review: Breathless thrills, action, laughter and tears mark the final season ‘Red Path’ or ‘Les Enfants Rougues’ (Arabian)Director: Lotfi AchourCast: Ali Hleli, Latifa El Gafsi, Wided Dabebi, and Yassine SamouniRuntime: 97 minutesStoryline: Two young shepherds, Nizar and Achraf, unknowingly graze their cattle in a militarized zone, where a violent encounter with jihadists leaves Achraf burdened with trauma as he descends the mountain, confronting the helplessness of his elders in a harsh, forsaken societyIn his feature directorial debut, a co-production between Tunisia, France, Belgium, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, Lotfi Achour refrains from using grand strokes to tell his grand statements. Take for instance how the phone calls between a Minister and Mounir, Nazir’s brother, are never blown out dramatically — something you might expect in such situations — but used only to convey the helplessness of the family in retrieving Nazir’s body, and the authorities’ apathy towards the citizens.Achour infuses his unambiguous scripting with some magical realism, by taking us through the PTSD-induced hallucinations of Achraf. Nazir’s spirit becomes a shadow that accompanies Achraf on his journey, and Polish cinematographer Wojciech Staroń pounces on these opportunities to create some surreal imagery; in one such instance, we see Achraf standing in front of an empty fridge, inside Nazir’s house, where the head was being kept.
‘The Colours Within’ movie review: Naoko Yamada’s technicolour spectacle is a tender treatThen there are the aesthetic choices Staroń goes for in the tangible realm of this story. The nights are painted with hues of blue, from the moon, or warm tints, from bonfires or light bulbs. The blue sky over the barren landscapes of Tunisia helps balance the mood Achour goes for. However, the most memorable visual choice is how the director and cinematographer opt to fill the frame with close-ups of Achraf as we try to understand everything that’s going on behind those helpless eyes. Some rare shots appear ostentatious initially, like the shot of blood dripping from the duffel bag and onto the camera; in an otherwise sincere film, they hardly register as an inconvenience.Red Path is based on the beheading of Mabrouk Soltani in November 2015. In our horrid reality, hope is scarce for boys like Achraf (Mabrouk’s elder brother Khelifa Soltani was later kidnapped and killed in 2017). Achour, though, through a convincing writing choice, shows that maybe there is hope for children like Achraf. May the love of a mother prevail upon all hatred.Red Path was screened at the ongoing 55th International Film Festival of India Published – November 26, 2024 03:55 pm IST
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That Librarian by Amanda Jones review – one woman’s brave fight against book banning

Arts & Culture, Books

Amanda Jones’s story is awful – and important. A school librarian for 23 years in her home town of Watson, southern Louisiana, she has watched with concern in recent years as a movement of book-banning swept across the US. According to the American Library Association, “book challenges” in public libraries almost doubled from 729 in 2021 to 1,269 in 2022.In July 2022, when Jones heard about a public meeting that would discuss “book content” in local libraries, she went along. A board member said she was “concerned” about some “inappropriate” material in the local library’s children and young adult sections. In response, Jones gave a measured speech, explaining her belief that “while book challenges are often done with the best intentions, and in the name of age appropriateness, they often target marginalised communities” and “books on sexual health and reproduction”. She went on to detail the “First Amendment right to borrow, read, view, and listen to library resources”.“I said nothing earth-shattering,” Jones writes in her memoir. But within days her life had been upended because of two posts on social media. The first was by the Facebook page of Citizens for a New Louisiana, a far-right group whom Jones knew had worked to defund a library in nearby Lafayette and whose executive director was a man named Michael Lunsford. It accused Jones of “fighting so hard to keep sexually erotic and pornographic materials in the kids’ section”. The second Facebook post was made by local man Ryan Thames, who wrote that Jones advocated “teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds”.The posts were shared widely by local people, including many Jones knew. “One parent in particular whose child I had helped with getting services for a learning disability was especially vicious,” she writes, devastatingly. Later, she received a death threat. Over the course of the next year, Jones, who is in her mid-40s, lost a lot of weight, experienced hair loss and took medical leave from work. In the spring of 2023 she sued Lunsford and Thames for defamation.That Librarian is Jones’s account of the 2022 public meeting that started her ordeal, the ultimately unsuccessful court case and all that followed. She has a lively, convivial style: “I worried that my friends and family would be targeted next. Spoiler alert: they were.” Sometimes this breeziness veers into pettiness, as when she describes an opponent who has “the spelling and grammar of a child of 10”, or refers to Valarie Hodges, a member of the Louisiana state senate who posted online against Jones, as “my gal pal Val”.View image in fullscreenThe more wistful sections are warming. Jones describes how she was in high school when Watson had its first traffic light installed – that’s how small a town it is. She credits her teenage reading of Judy Blume, one of the most banned authors ever, with “making me more empathetic”. Jones believes uncompromisingly in the power of books to open minds. And through working as a school librarian, has seen the impact of exclusion politics: “I have lost more former students to suicide than I care to think about, many of whom, I suspect, died as a direct result of being made to feel excluded in our society.” Together, these experiences have informed her anti-censorship mentality.But she knows party politics comes into it too. Her local area has become “extremely alt-right and conspiratorial” in recent years, and she has noticed that “all book banners seem to be Republican”. She is refreshingly honest about her relative complicity. “It wasn’t until I was into my 40s that I realised some aspects of our country weren’t that great,” she writes, before admitting that she voted for Donald Trump in 2016. She regrets it now, but these admittances are important. Listening to voices from across the political divide, and understanding the ways in which we are both similar and different to those who vote similarly and differently to us is crucial in understanding why the world is the way it is – even more so after Trump’s re-election.Several times, Jones refers to how she has tracked her defamers to see they have also donated to election campaigns of particular pro-ban politicians. But she never fully examines the intricacies of this likely organised overlap, or takes a step back to consider how this current wave of book banning compares with historical cases. As such, “my fight against book banning in America” would be a more suitable subtitle, not “the fight”. This is a brave, fascinating book, but it’s the personal story of Jones’s ordeal – about which she is evidently still very bitter – rather than an account of the movement as a whole.

Local democracy reporter takes top business role at daily

Business News

A local democracy reporter has left his role to take up a new business brief with a rival publisher.
Mike Sheridan has been appointed business editor at Wolverhampton’s Express & Star, part of National World.
Mike, pictured, previously served as an LDR in Shropshire, where he worked for Newsquest under the BBC-funded scheme.
At the Express & Star, he takes over from former business editor John Corser.
John has worked on the business desk at the E&S for the last 13 years. He had spent 30 years in all with the newspaper, holding a variety of roles including chief reporter.
Mike posted on X: “Very pleased to announce that I’ll be taking over from John Corser as the business editor for the Express & Star.
“I look forward to hearing your Black Country industry news soon.”

Egypt tourist boat: Everything we know about the incident in the Red Sea

Travel

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreTwo Britons are among the missing after a dive boat was hit by a “huge wave” and capsized off the Red Sea coast of Egypt on Monday 25 November.In a rescue operation, 28 people were saved from the Sea Story before she sank, according to the governor of the Red Sea region, Amr Hanafi.These are the key questions and answers.What was this vessel doing?Sea Story was a liveaboard diving boat, based near the Red Sea port of Marsa Alam. She is one of dozens of similar vessels that take divers out to some of the most exciting underwater locations on the planet – with reefs, wrecks and colourful fish.For a week’s voyage with the dive operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard, you would pay €1,220 (just over £1,000) and enjoy three or four dives per day.What do we know about the boat?Sea Story was kitted out with 16 double cabins, so room for 32 divers, and a usual crew of 12 – eight seafarers and four kitchen staff. She was very modern, built in 2022. The operator, Dive Pro Liveaboard, says it is “locally owned and operating from the heart of Hurghada” – a Red Sea resort popular with British travellers.The Red Sea governorate said the boat had passed a safety inspection in March 2024.What was the timescale?On Saturday, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority forecast high seas on the Red Sea, with 40mph winds and 12-foot waves, and advised against maritime activity for Sunday and Monday.On Sunday Sea Story left Port Ghalib, just north of the resort of Marsa Alam, on a routine five-day voyage. On board: 13 crew and 31 divers.Early on Monday morning the vessel capsized after being struck by a large wave, according to the accounts of survivors. The crew managed to send out a distress call, and 28 of the people on board were rescued.Is the Red Sea a dangerous part of the world for shipping?Not especially – except for Houthi activity – but there can be some intense thunderstorms.The worst maritime disaster in the Red Sea occurred in 2006, when a ferry from Duba in Saudi Arabia to Safaga in Egypt sank after a fire on board and subsequent efforts to extinguish it. Around 1,000 passengers lost their lives, with bad weather thought to have contributed to the appallingly high death toll.The Foreign Office warns: “Overcrowding and poor safety standards have caused accidents on Red Sea ferries and Nile cruises.”In June 2023 three British tourists died in a fire aboard another dive boat, Hurricane, close to the spot Sea Story sank.What is the best advice for someone considering a dive holiday in Egypt?Egypt has a much higher risk level than the UK, so the whole journey should be considered. The Foreign Office says: “[Road accidents are common because of poor road conditions, dangerous driving and poor traffic law enforcement.“Serious bus crashes in recent years have caused many deaths, including tourists.“There have also been fatal train collisions and derailments.”The best protection is afforded by booking a proper package (flights, accommodation and activities) through a UK operator, who do all they can to ensure it is a safe experience. But ultimately safety standards are not up to British standards.

From Teenage Business Ventures To The World Of Venture Capital

Business News

You’re never too young to pursue your entrepreneurial ambitions, as so many talented youngsters, or ‘kidpreneurs’ have proved by turning their ideas into thriving businesses while still at school. While many of them continue their business journeys as adults, a few transition from operations to venture capital and the opportunity to help other startups achieve their full potential.

Aaron Golbin is one of them. He founded his first business, Kings Corporation, a service providing indoor and outdoor entertainment, at the age of eight, and spent his teenage years launching multiple startups including DebateIsland.com BestDealWins.com and The American Post.

Last December he graduated from George Washington University with a BSc in information systems a year and a half early to focus entirely on his latest role as managing partner of LvlUp Ventures, a multi-stage venture ecosystem with a bottom-up approach to investing.

Transitioning to venture capital
Like many entrepreneurs, Golbin, 21, admits that academia never fascinated him as much as working in the real world. He says: “After more than a decade of waiting, since founding my first business when I was eight, I was excited to graduate as soon as possible to finally be able to work full time without being in school. In college, I worked significant hours alongside college studies, largely on LvlUp Ventures, as I transitioned out of my startups to help create this VC firm and make it what it is today. Our goal is to reshape venture capital.”

Working alongside LvlUp’s founder and general partner Brandon Maier, Golbin has seen the firm’s portfolio expand to 30 fast-growing companies in under a year, with a combined value of half a billion dollars. He also launched and spearheads LvlUp’s corporate partnerships business unit, building and overseeing startup programs and corporate innovation accelerators for enterprises such as Fidelity, Mercury, Pipedrive, and SPIN Magazine.

Venture value for startups
A key element of the LvlUp ecosystem is its bespoke accelerator and incubator arm, NextUp. Launched 18 months ago, it has worked with over 50 portfolio companies, with the average achieving 8x revenue growth within 12 months. The portfolio market cap is $1 billion, and the startup failure rate is less than 5%.

“As a startup founder, I was never fond of accelerators, but always felt that the high-level model had the potential to be very powerful,” says Golbin, who is also founding partner and head of NextUp. “Being able to work with startups in a close way, almost as an extended team, can unlock extraordinary potential for founders.”

NextUp works with businesses ranging from pre-launch startups to nine-figure publicly traded enterprises. “We’re the first accelerator to work with a public company; a milestone in the value and perception of VC and accelerators,” says Golbin.
Companies include ARAX Holdings, a $150 million public company specializing in blockchain solutions and enterprise data management, Balnce.ai, which develops AI agent systems for enterprises focused on synergizing user privacy and data monetization, and Interactive Images, which uses AR technology to reimagine fan engagement and whose clients include LiveNation, Hulu, and Lady Gaga.
Golbin says: “Through our NextUp programs for pre-launch and post-launch startups we work with companies in a bespoke, strategic, and hands-on way for however long it takes them to get to launch or scale, which is usually between six and 12 months. In exchange for that, we take a 1-5% non-cash equity stake in the companies with the option to invest in them post-accelerator.
“This allows us to add value for founders through our expertise as serial founders and investors, whether it’s developing their go-to-market strategy, operations plan, hiring key team members, etc.”
Beyond funding
LvlUp served as lead advisor for ARAX Holdings through the NextUp Scale accelerator, entirely restructuring the company’s commercialization strategy and organization, and boosting growth, efficiency, and scalability.
COO Ockert Loubser says: “This program goes far beyond traditional funding, delivering hands-on support, strategic alignment, and an exceptional network that allows us to connect directly with industry leaders and secure vital use case development funding. The NextUp accelerator is helping ARAX expand our presence within the Web3 and blockchain space, accelerating our innovation journey and amplifying our impact across global ecosystems.”
Beauty brand Medalist joined the NextUp portfolio in November 2023, going from nine months pre-launch to launch in July this year. The company was nominated for the Beauty Independent Beauty Brand Launch of 2024 award.
Founder Ann Ragan Kearns says: “The NextUp team provided exceptional go-to-market strategy support which was instrumental in preparing us for our July launch. Their expertise helped shape our launch approach, and their support extended beyond strategy, facilitating valuable introductions to key retailers, service providers, and investors.”
Following on from NextUp is the LvlUp Ventures Seed Fund for backing ‘mature seed’ founders, those with significant traction and growth, top tier founding teams, that are operating at the intersection of AI and almost every tech field. Invested companies include VersusGame, now a $375 million company, and CosmicWire, a $130 million startup providing blockchain compression technology used by the likes of Google and NVIDIA.
A true venture firm
LvlUp currently has over 1,500 core and extended team members in every major startup hub and is forecasting 150 portfolio companies by the end of 2025. The LvlUp Fund IRR (Internal Rate of Return) over the past year is around 116%, while the MOIC (multiple on invested capital) is 2.16, figures that Golbin says the LvlUp team is incredibly proud of.
He says: “As a teenage entrepreneur I always envisaged being a founder or an operator, either in the startup or corporate innovation context. But the transition into helping create LvlUp was very natural because, unlike a pure VC fund, we’re truly a firm. Around half of my work involves operating in a similar way to a startup, which I enjoy. That, combined with backing and investing in startups, supporting them in their growth as a lead advisor, and scaling LvlUp is exciting.
“I believe that LvlUp can help startups have an even larger positive impact on the markets, the users they target, and the world at large. Venture capital is an antiquated industry and we’re innovating within it, almost like a startup. That’s very exciting and I believe it has the potential to have a profound impact on the innovation economy.”

Money for Burke County’s megasite may be used to build at Kathy Road business park

Business News

Money initially given to Burke County to buy approximately 1,300 acres for a business park may be borrowed to develop the existing business park on Kathy Road.A bill that was approved by the North Carolina House and Senate would allow $20 million that was earmarked for the 1,300-acre Burke County megasite to instead be used to build a shell building at the existing Burke County Business Park. The money made from selling the shell building would be put toward the megasite project as a form of repayment.

Unix Packaging poured concrete in August at Burke Business Park off Kathy Road in Morganton. It is the first business to build at the business park, and now Burke Development can spend money it has for the Great Meadows Park, a megasite, on building a shell business at the Kathy Road site. 

Alan Wood, BDI

In 2023, the state gave $35.8 million to Burke Development for the purchase and development of a Great Meadows Megasite on 1,343.44 acres. The site is off Interstate 40 near exit 94. The agreed price to purchase the land is about $33 million, said Burke County Manager Brian Epley.Burke Development has the option to buy the land from Great Meadows LLC for nine more years.

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Senate Bill 382, if signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper, would allow $20 million of the $35.8 million to be used at the county’s Kathy Road business park before it is used to buy the 1,300-acre site. If Cooper vetoes the bill, the senate may vote to overturn the veto.

A poster shows the design for the Unix Packaging Distribution Center that is being built in the Burke Business Park off Kathy Road. The business park drawing was displayed during the groundbreaking of Unix in January 2023. 

File photo, The News Herald

The $20 million could be used for site development, pre-construction and construction activities at the already-existing Burke Business Park.Burke Development would have until December 2027 to use the $20 million to create a shell building, or multiple, at the Kathy Road Burke Business Park, Epley said. A shell building is a commercial building that is left unfinished inside so a business can finish the building to its needs.Once the shell building is sold to a business, the profit would be used to replenish the $20 million borrowed from the megasite money.If the $20 million is not used by the end of 2027, it would go back into the megasite fund and Burke Development would then have until 2030 to buy and develop the 1,300 acres, according to the bill. If the megasite isn’t developed by that time, the money goes back to the state, the bill says.Alan Wood, Burke Development president and CEO, said there is no time set for a start date on a shell building at the business park.Epley said the Burke County Board of Commissioners would have to approve the timing and decide what size building to construct and where in the 83-acre business park. Unix Packaging started pouring concrete in August at the park and will take up around 31.8 acres of the 83 acres.The remaining property in the business park consists of four buildable areas that will hold a total of about 400,000 to 500,000 square feet of building space, Wood said previously.Burke Business Park was a joint purchase in 2005 between Burke County, the city of Morganton and the towns of Valdese, Drexel and Rutherford College, with the goal of supporting economic development in the county. For years, it lacked infrastructure to support businesses at the park but now has roads, sewer and a water tank. Unix is the first tenant.More money for BurkeThe bill also includes $120,000 for the School for the Deaf in Morganton for administrative and legal fees and nonrecurring funds for Joiner Hall and other buildings on the campus of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Morganton.In addition, the $3.25 million grant Burke County received in the state’s 2021-22 budget for a regional substance abuse treatment facility at the former Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility in Morganton will be granted to Partners Health Management, a local management entity. The money to Partners Health is for the construction, planning and operation of a substance abuse facility in Burke County, the bill says.

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Keira Knightley complains of being publicly “taken down” after hit movie

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

(Credits: Far Out / Tony Shek) Tue 26 November 2024 9:43, UK Keira Knightley has recently spoken about her time working on the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise. She discussed being part of the movies and how she was “taken down publicly” after appearing in them. Knightley appeared in the franchise between 2003 and 2007, playing Elizabeth Swann. She reflected on her experience, acknowledging the success it brought her as she became a household name off the back of the movies; however, she was also treated poorly after being in them. She described this period as being a “Very confused place in her head.” According to The Times, she said, “It’s a funny thing when you have something that is making and breaking you at the same time.” Knightley continued, “I was seen as shit because of them, and yet because they did so well I was given the opportunity to do the films that I ended up getting Oscar nominations for.” She discussed the strange contradiction between the franchise’s success and her subsequent perception, “They were the most successful films I’ll ever be a part of, and they were the reason I was taken down publicly. So they’re a very confused place in my head.” She confirmed that she has no intention of returning to another franchise because of how much they dominate every facet of your life. “The hours are insane,” she said, “It’s years of your life, you have no control over where you’re filming, how long you’re filming, what you’re filming.” One of the biggest factors that influences Knightley when choosing roles now is her daughters. She said that since she has become a mother, she has taken her time deciding whether or not she wants to perform in different roles as she doesn’t want to spend elongated time away from her family. “I couldn’t go job to job [abroad] now,” she said, “I wouldn’t be in any way fair to them, and I wouldn’t want to. I’ve chosen to have children; I want to bring them up, so I’ve had to make a major step back.” When discussing another one of Knightley’s more successful roles, Richard Curtis said if he were to make Love Actually today, he would have cast someone older than her. This wasn’t a critique of the actress, merely an observation that there were large age gaps between Knightley and supposed love interests in that film. She was only 18 when being cast, while her husband in the film, Chiwetel Ejiofor, was 26, and her other love interest, played by Andrew Lincoln, was 30 years old. Her next role will be in Netflix’s spy drama Black Doves, which will premiere on the streaming giant on December 5th. [embedded content]Related TopicsSubscribe To The Far Out Newsletter

The Best Apps for Seamless Travel in 2024

Travel

Traveling in 2024 is easier than ever, thanks to a collection of apps designed to make your journey smoother and stress-free. Whether you travel frequently, plan a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, or just want to survive a long road trip, these apps will become your new best friends. Imagine booking flights, finding your way in a foreign city, and ensuring you are packed and ready without any hassle. All at the touch of a button. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Let’s dive into how these top travel apps can make your travel experience easier.

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1. Skyscanner Makes Travel Booking Easy

Let’s be honest, travel booking can be overwhelming. You are juggling flights, hotels, car rentals, and trying to find the best deals. Skyscanner makes it all simple. This app compares flights, hotels, and rental cars across hundreds of providers, helping you find the best options quickly.

What makes Skyscanner stand out is its flexibility. For example, if you are flexible about where you go, the “Explore Everywhere” feature shows you the cheapest flight options from your airport. It’s perfect when you just want to get away but aren’t sure where to head. And if you have a specific flight in mind, Skyscanner allows you to set price alerts. You will get notified when the price drops, so you can snag the best deal.

Skyscanner doesn’t just save you money, it saves you time and energy by storing everything in one place. You will no longer have to check multiple websites to find the right deal. It’s one of the most reliable travel apps for saving both time and money

2. Google Maps Is More Than Just Directions

While Google Maps might seem like an obvious choice, it’s essential for more than just directions. Yes, it helps you get where you need to go, but it also lets you discover local spots, restaurants, and cafes, with reviews, ratings, and photos to help you decide where to stop. It’s like having a local guide in your pocket. Making it one of the best travel apps for navigating unfamiliar places.

One of the app’s best features is offline maps. You will not always have internet access, especially when you travel abroad. But with Google Maps, you can download maps ahead of time, ensuring you can navigate even without data. It’s a lifesaver when you find yourself lost in a foreign city.

In addition, Google Maps gives live traffic updates, public transit schedules, and even suggests faster routes if something is blocked or congested. Whether you are walking, driving, or hopping on the bus, you will always find the quickest path to your destination. It’s like having a GPS assistant with you, 24/7.

3. LoungeBuddy Transforms Layovers

Let’s be real, layovers are never fun. But LoungeBuddy can change that. Imagine having access to premium airport lounges, even if you are not flying first-class or don’t have airline perks. LoungeBuddy is one of the best travel apps for making your layover experience more comfortable. It helps you find and learn about lounges in airports around the world, showing you details on things like Wi-Fi, food, and quiet zones, so you can pick the best spot to relax.

The best part? If you don’t have membership perks or status with an airline, you can buy one-time access to lounges directly through the app. No need to sneak in or hope for an upgrade. You can pay for access when you need it most.

LoungeBuddy allows you to make the most of your time in the airport. Instead of waiting around in a crowded terminal, you can find a quiet spot, grab a snack, and get some work done or simply relax. It’s a game-changer when you are facing long waits.

4. PackPoint Takes the Stress Out of Packing

How many times have you stood in front of your suitcase, unsure of what to pack? PackPoint eliminates that stress by creating a customized packing list based on your trip details. It looks at where you are going, how long you will be there, the weather, and the activities you plan to do. It even suggests clothing based on the weather forecast, so you will always know whether to pack a rain jacket or sunscreen.

But, PackPoint does more than just make packing easier. It helps you avoid overpacking. Moreover, if you wanted to let your travel buddy know what you are packing, you can even share your list with them! With PackPoint, packing becomes a breeze, and you will feel prepared for anything your trip throws at you.

5. XE Currency Simplifies Managing Money

Currency exchange can be tricky, especially if you are hopping between countries with different currencies. XE Currency, one of the best travel apps for managing your money abroad, takes the guesswork out of it by providing up-to-date exchange rates for over 180 currencies.. The app makes it easy for you to convert money on the go, so you can always stay on top of what you are spending.

The offline feature is especially helpful when you don’t have access to the internet. XE Currency stores the most recent exchange rates, so you can still make conversions without being connected. This is essential when you are traveling in areas with limited connectivity.

XE Currency helps you keep track of spending and makes sure you get the best exchange rates. You will never again be caught off guard by a bad exchange rate or struggle to calculate how much you are spending in your home currency.

Ready to Travel Smarter with the Best Travel Apps?

Travel in 2024 is all about working smarter, not harder. With apps like Skyscanner, Google Maps, LoungeBuddy, PackPoint, and XE Currency, you can book flights, navigate new cities, relax in lounges, pack efficiently, and manage your currency all from the palm of your hand. These apps take the stress out of travel and help you get the most out of your journey.

When you use these apps, you will streamline your trip, save time, and make the experience far more enjoyable. So, next time you are planning a trip, remember these are the best travel apps to make everything easier, smoother, and more fun. After all, the less you stress about the details, the more you can focus on the adventure.