Pack an app to make holidays with kids easier

'Are we there yet?' 'I'm bored.' 'What can we do?' Sound familiar? Holidaying with children can involve a lot of luggage and even more whinging.

But thanks to a raft of apps for smartphones and tablet devices, holidays can be made a lot easier.

Travel expert Wendy Shand, founder of totstotravel.co.uk and mum to three children aged one to eight, has spent years perfecting the art of travelling with children. Here she shares her list of the top apps to have on your phone for holidays with kids.

1. Entertainment
Instead of trying to squeeze bulky toys into your suitcase, try some of these child-friendly games, many of which are online versions of family favourite board games. They come into their own during flights and long car journeys:

Primary school age

Fantastic 4 in a row - like Connect 4 - free (EnsenaSoft)
Snailmail Lite - steer a snail along a track - free (by Sandlot Games)
Angry Birds - shoot birds at pigs, who'll grin at you if you miss. It's addictive for all ages - free for various versions (by Rovio Mobile)
Scrabble and Boggle - family favourites available for iphones and ipads - prices from 59p to £2.39 (by Electronic Arts Nederland BV)

Pre-schoolers and toddlers

Animal Preschool Shape Puzzles - 7 cute animal puzzles to make with a funny monkey giving lots of praise, helps with fine motor skills - free (by CFC s.r.o)
Tapping Zoo for kids 3-in-1 - Great for younger kids, animal flashcards and sounds lets toddlers name the animal, plus it has a memory game - 59p (Tipitap)
Wheels on the bus - an award-winning app that kids can sing along to in English, French, Spanish, Italian and German - perfect for those holidays abroad! Interactive musical book - £1.19 (by Duck Duck Moose)

Toddler Teasers - a series of apps all aimed at teaching toddlers basics like shapes, colours, numbers, letter, words, food and a bunch more, with instructions said out loud, so toddlers understand what they need to do without being able to read. Some are free, some of 59p (By Toddler Teasers)

Nursery Rhymes with StoryTime - highly rated interactive book with beautiful designs featuring nursery rhyme characters, that lets the parent 'read' the story, even if they're not there as they can record their voice - £2.39 (by ustwo)

Babies

Animal Sounds for Baby - for babies 6 months up, babies can touch the screen to hear an animal sound, tilt the screen to see the animals slide and shake it to 'tickle' the animal - free (Fisher-Price)

Baby-Silencer - babies between the ages of 3 and 6 months need visual stimulation. These moving shapes and images will keep them transfixed, perfect while trying to keep them quiet while waiting for take off - Free (by Jolly1312)

Also download their (and your!) favourite books onto iBooks or the Kindle app to save on luggage weight.

2. Travel basics

TripAdvisor - for reviews on a huge number of accommodation options, restaurants and things to do around the world - free

Foursquare - go where the locals go with this social networking site that will help you find great places, like where to eat and things to do, with tips from people who've been there before - free

Google Maps - so that you can find your way anywhere - free

TomTom - satnav for UK/Ireland (£39.99) or Western Europe (£42.99)

Google Translate - to help communicate with the locals - free

XE - the currency converter app so you can figure out how much you're spending - free

Weather+ - gives you weather conditions and a 5-day forecast of all worldwide weather stations plus a world clock so you can tell the time in your current location and alternate location - free (by International Travel Weather Calculator)

3. Making life easier

Baby Sleep comforter - playing sounds like natural womb sounds, babbling brook, gentle rain, vacuum cleaner or classical music, the soothing sounds will block out other sounds your baby isn't used to in a foreign place, enabling better sleep - £1.79 (by Baby Sleep Shop). There are also plenty of others like this that are free.

Find Baby Changing Facilities - find a suitable place to change your baby or toddler anywhere in the world with this handy app - £1.19 (By OndemandWorld) or for UK holidays, try the UK equivalent app NappyApp which allows parents to rate the facilities on offer - £1.19 (by ToyGuard UK Ltd)

Geocaching - kids bored of looking at quaint villages or ancient ruins? Get them hunting for treasure by looking up the nearest geocache and go searching for it - $9.99 and worth every penny! Or try this free Android version from C:Geo

Ocado - order your groceries while you're away so that you have food ready to be delivered once you get home - free (by Ocado ltd)

"We don't think kids or their parents should be glued to a screen on holiday, but having these handy apps on standby can help you through long journeys and makes it easier to plan how to spend your time while you're away," says Wendy. "And they can significantly cut down on the weight of your luggage!"

All Tots to Travel properties have been personally visited and vetted by a team of mums to ensure they are suitable for families with young children, giving parents peace of mind and the chance to relax, instead of working even harder than usual. They also come fully equipped with a wealth of baby and child-related kit to make travelling easier. To find out more, go to: totstotravel.co.uk