NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Even travelers going solo do not need to feel lonely, out of touch, or misinformed thanks to mobile devices which are proving to be good travel companions.

A new survey shows that the ubiquitous devices have helped tourists make travel arrangements, book flights, find the best restaurants in foreign cities and the hottest attractions,

Smartphone adoption around the world is skyrocketing, and is fundamentally changing the way people get travel advice, said Mike Putnam, of the travel website TripAdvisor, which surveyed travelers' use of mobile devices.

Sixty percent of the 1,000 U.S. adults questioned in the poll said they had downloaded travel apps and a similar number had used mobile devices to research restaurants.

More than 40 percent found or booked hotels with mobile devices and 28 percent used them to check in to a hotel, restaurant or a local attraction.

As useful as smartphones are for planning a trip, the main reason travelers said they took along their devices was to call home and stay in touch via email and social networks.

Along with talking, texting and emailing, 65 percent of travelers used the devices to share photos, 54 percent surfed online, more than half found it useful for finding their way around and 48 percent kept up with the news on mobile devices.

Sporadic connectivity in far-flung places and small screens were the biggest gripes about the mobile devices.

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