Top Travel Apps For Every Traveller

Anyone with a smartphone will know a bit about apps, you probably use email, text messaging, web browsing and the camera regularly. As for the other apps available, there are so many that it’s hard to keep track!

Travel related apps are in abundance, indeed, there are apps to help you find public toilets, see what tips are expected in different countries and to suggest sleep patterns to avoid jetlag. You wouldn’t want to clog up your device with every app, so where do you start?

We’ve had a look at the different aspects of travel and come up with some suggestions for apps that will make your trip easier.

Starting from the start – you’ve probably got a bit of an idea of where you want to go and when. You can pop over to webjet.com.au and compare prices on flights to your destination, or you can use an app like Hopper (free, iOS & Android) to predict flight prices to your destination. The app will tell you the current cost of flights and what price trends are for that route.

An app like Skyscanner (free, iOS, Android) lets you enter your budget and timeframe and will suggest ways to get to your destination in the most budget-friendly way. It will also suggest if there’s a cheaper time of year to fly.

If you don’t have a destination in mind, there are apps like Hitlist (free, iOS) that will let you know any cheap deals flying out of your nominated airport. This can be a great way to consider somewhere you never dreamed of, but by all reports, it’s a dangerous app as it keeps adding new locations to your bucket list!

As soon as you start booking your trip, you’ll start receiving confirmations and booking numbers. Rather than waiting until the last minute, and searching your inbox to find everything, there are several apps designed to keep all of your booking information stored and sorted for you.

Tripit (free with added functionality for paid yearly membership, iOS and Android), and App in the Air (free with added functionality for paid version, iOS and Android) will collate all of your bookings and travel documents so that they’re all in the one place, saving your time and energy searching for them all.

Now it’s time to work out the details of where you’ll go. Which cities will you travel to within the country/countries you’re headed to? What are you going to do once you get there? An app like Roadtrippers (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) lets you put in your start point and end point then suggests places of interest including restaurants, museums, monuments and national parks for you to do along the way.

Review apps like Trip.com (free, iOS and Android), Trips by Lonely Planet (Free, iOS) and TripAdvisor (free, iOS and Android) are also great ways of finding out what to do and places to go around your chosen destination.  

Image Credit: Tripadvisor.com.au

When you’re in this planning stage it’s also worth looking at Rome2rio (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android), which not only has guides and maps but also compares different modes of getting around. It is a great resource for deciding whether to fly or take a train between destinations, for example. It’s a handy one to keep when you’re on your trip too.

Now that you know where you’re going, you’ll need to find somewhere to stay. Choose your type of accommodation (hotel, hostel, private rental, stranger’s couch) and check out the relevant apps. Kiwi (free, iOS and Android), Kayak (free, iOS and Android) and Momondo (free, iOS and Android) are great for choosing hotels.

Hostelworld (free, iOS and Android) will help you find hostels in your chosen location. Couchsurfing (free, iOS and Android) will show you people willing to lend you a couch to sleep on. AirBNB (free iOS and Android) will show you private rentals, everything from a bed in a boarding house, a room within a private house or a luxury mansion all to yourself.

If you find yourself suddenly without accommodation or on an unplanned stop, HotelTonight (free, iOS and Android) can show you deals for last minute hotel room bookings. It may be one worth downloading before your trip and having on your device in case you get stuck.

Once the planning is over and you’re about the hit the airport, here are some more apps that could help you along with way. We suggest looking into them and downloading any you think relevant before you leave home. Many will work offline if you have the data downloaded beforehand.

Apps are a great way to find out if your flight is delayed. Apps like Flightaware (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) and The Flight Tracker (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) can be set to notify you of delays, cancellations and gate changes.

Should your flight be delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation. Only a small percentage of customers claim this compensation. While you’re waiting for your delayed flight, why not pop the flight details into Airhelp (free, iOS and Android) and the app will look into compensation for you. Should they get you compensation, Airhelp will keep 25% and you get the rest. If you refer any other passengers to the app they’ll also reward you.

Whether you’re delayed, or just waiting around an airport for your scheduled flight, you can end up spending a lot of time sitting in uncomfortable chairs or browsing the airport shops and eateries.There are apps to help you out here too.

The most popular one is Lounge Buddy (free, iOS) which will tell you about airport lounges at the airport you’re at and offer deals on day passes. Priority Pass (free app, membership required, iOS and Android) is another airport lounge finder, that may offer you membership depending on your credit card provider, and also offers you deals at airport eateries, while Flio (free, iOS and Android) gives you information about the airport and includes duty free discounts.

Being a tourist often means needing transport and maps. A lot. MAPS.ME (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) is a great way to pre-download maps of the places you’re going so that you don’t have to chew through data while you’re away. Google Maps (free, iOS and Android) has maps, along with reviews and even restaurant reservations.

An app like CityMapper (free, iOS and Android) will even compare different modes of transport like metro, train, bus, ferry and uber), providing walking distance, cost and ETA. Check the list of locations covered to be sure it’ll help you where you’re going.

Don’t forget you have rideshare in your pocket with apps like Uber, Lyft and Grab. All are free apps, available on both iOS and Android, where you pay for the rides you take.

In the planning stages, you probably looked online for reviews of places to go or things to do. Now is where these things come together. There are apps for finding everything these days.

Flush (free, iOS and Android) and SitOrSquat (free, iOS and Android) will find public toilets for you, or the more general AroundMe (free, iOS and Android) will help you find a variety of places like banks, food, petrol and hospitals. More general guides like CityMaps2Go (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) and Triposo (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) can help you find interesting things to do.

For more detailed information, apps like VoiceMap Audio Tours (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) offer audio-based walking tours around selected cities. An app like Google Lens (free, part of the Photos app on Android, or download on iOS as Google Photos) will search for information on anything you take a picture of.

There are a lot of apps out there to help you find things that are of interest to you. National Trust Days Out (free, iOS and Android) and English Heritage Days Out (free, iOS and Android) for example, are great places to find natural wonders and heritage locations in the UK. Eventbrite (free, iOS and Android) is a great way to find classes, concerts, activities and festivals around the world, while Meetup (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) will connect you with activities and groups in different locations to meet people with similar interests.

There are so many apps for finding something to do, it’s a case of working out the things that interest you and narrowing it down. It’s good to start with a broad interest app like Tripadvisor (free, iOS and Android) or Triposo (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android), however, if you have particular interests, you may find more use in something more specific.  

Yuggler (free with in-app purchases available, iOS) will show you child-friendly activities in your search area. Komoot (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) is a resource for finding outdoor activities for running, hiking and cycling.

Once you’ve worked out what you’re doing apps can help you book your activities and equipment rental. An app like Spinlister (free, iOS and Android) connects you with locals who rent out their equipment, and are often incredibly helpful with local knowledge and advice. Or check out Musement (free, iOS and Android) or Kiwi (free, iOS and Android) to build your own itinerary, book activities and skip the ticketing queues.

While there are many amazing things about travelling, the language barrier can often be one of the biggest challenges. In many tourist areas you’ll often find people who can speak English, but what about off the beaten track? Or on a menu or street sign? Or in a doctor’s office?

Apps can help with language in two ways – teach you a language, or translate things for you. Duolingo (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) does the first. It makes learning a language feel like a game, and has a variety of languages to choose from.

If you don’t have the time, or the inclination, to learn a language, apps like Google Translate (free, iOS and Android) will do the work for you. You can point the camera at a sign and it will translate it. You can even ask someone to speak into the device and it will give you a translation of what they said. The same works the other way – you tell the app a phrase and it can translate it for you. Perfect to show a taxi driver “take me to the hospital, please” or to explain a chest pain to a doctor. Hopefully, you’ll only need it for “What is the best dessert on the menu?”

Knowing the weather forecast on your travels can be really handy. Changing your itinerary due to a weather forecast is better than being washed out. A weather app is a convenient way to stay on top of the weather forecast, and can help you pack for the day or be prepared for a weather event.

WeatherPro (free version WeatherPro Lite, or paid version, iOS and Android), Accuweather (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) and Weather Channel (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) are great apps for keeping an eye on the forecast wherever you’re going. If you have a favourite weather app from home, you can always check it to see if it covers international destinations too.

Something else you’ll need to keep on top of is money matters. Knowing how much something costs in your home currency is important for keeping on top of your spending. XE Currency (free, iOS and Android) is a great app for doing currency conversion, and it can use the latest downloaded rates if you’re going offline.

XE Travel let's you track your expenses when travelling abroad and making purchases in different currencies. This is a great app for budgeting and recording your trip expenses.

While you’re thinking about conversions it may be worth having Unit Converter (free, Android) or Converter+ (free with in-app purchases available, iOS) for converting things like distances (inches to centimetres, miles to kilometres), weights and more.

There are also apps which can help you with expense tracking and budgeting, like Trabee Pocket (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) and Trail Wallet (free with in-app purchases available, iOS) to help you keep track of your spending.

If you’re travelling with friends and sharing expenses there are apps like Splittr (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) and Splitwise (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) to help you keep track of shared expenses, who paid what and how much each person owes.

Finding somewhere to eat can be a little hit and miss when travelling. Unless you get recommendations from locals you could end up overpaying for less than quality food. There are apps out there to help with reviews and recommendations for eateries all over the world.

Try something like Time Out (free, iOS and Android) or TripAdvisor (free, iOS and Android). If you’re headed to Asia, OpenRice (free, iOS and Android) is a great app for restaurant ratings and online menus.

When you’re out and about on your holidays the last thing you want to be worrying about is security. There are apps to help in a variety of ways. The first is to protect your devices and by extension all your personal information. When you’re travelling you’ll often log onto strange wifi, be it free wifi at a hotel or café, or a paid service. To keep your information safe, especially passwords and credit card numbers, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) like NordVPN (free 7-day trial, iOS and Android) or Tunnelbear (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android).

To keep on top of your stress or anxiety when travelling there are some great apps to help you feel at ease. Whether you’re a nervous flyer or just overwhelmed by so many new sights and sounds on your travels, stress can build up, lessening your enjoyment.

Freeletics (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) will provide you with a travel workout that needs no equipment and Down Dog (free in in-app purchases, iOS and Android) will put you through a yoga session to help you relax.

For the less athletic, an app like Calm (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) will help with relaxation exercises to reduce stress and anxiety, and help with sleep.

Say goodbye to jetlag with Timeshifter (first plan free, iOS and Android)/ It asks for information about your normal sleep patterns and your itinerary, then will provide you with recommendations on when to sleep or seek out light to beat jet lag.

It’s also worth having a first aid app downloaded, such as First Aid (free, iOS and Android) to help you in case of an emergency. If you have any medical conditions it’s worth setting up an app such as Medical ID (free, Android) or Health (free, iOS) to show your health conditions on the lock screen of your device. This will help emergency personnel to treat you if an incident occurs.

ICE (Paid, Android) is another way of storing emergency information and can translate details of your medical conditions into 10 different languages.

While you’re in the jungle, waiting for rescue, or enjoying the view of somewhere you always dreamed of going, it’s worth having some photography apps to capture the moment. Most phones have a basic camera feature, but with additional apps you can edit your photos, create a photo journal or even personalised postcards. Snapseed (free, iOS and Android) and Adobe Lightroom (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) will help you to make the most out of your photographs.

Once you’ve taken some amazing photographs why not turn them into something great, like a photo journal through Evernote (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) or postcards to send to family and friends through Touchnote (free, iOS and Android)? That way your trip can live on through your photos.

So that you don’t lose your photos, videos, notes or work files through theft or loss of your device, it’s worth backing up your devices to an online service. iCloud (free with in-app purchases available, iOS), Google Photos (free, iOS & Android), Google Drive (free with in-app purchases available, iOS & Android) and Amazon drive(free for Amazon Prime members, iOS and Android) will back up your data for you, so that you can access it, even if your phone flies into the Grand Canyon!

Whether you’re calling home to share amazing stories or phoning a tour company to check a booking, it’s handy to be contactable while you’re away. WhatsApp (free, iOS and Android) and Skype (free, iOS and Android) provide messaging, phone and video calling, through an internet connection.

While wifi is often available with accommodation these days, there will be other times when you’re looking for wifi away from your accommodation. An app like Wifi Map (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) will show you where wifi is available or you can try one like Wi-Fi Space (free with in-app purchases available, iOS) that provides you with wifi availability and passwords. Make sure you’ve got your device protected when logging onto public networks though (see Security above).

Last, but not least, you will need something to keep you entertained on long flights, in transit lounges or on a quiet day while you’re away. Reading apps like Kindle (free, in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) and Pocket (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) are great for providing reading material. The New York Times Crossword app (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) is another great way to kill some time.

Audible (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) is full of audiobooks to while away the hours, or Netflix (free, iOs and Android) and Amazon Prime Video (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android) will provide video content you can download before your trip, or stream when you have internet connection. These services require subscriptions or pay per item, but they’re handy when you have a lot of time waiting around.

For something different, you might like to try Geocaching (free with in-app purchases available, iOS and Android). It’s an international scavenger hunt with the app providing you with clues. You can even leave your own treasures for other treasure hunters to find.

There are so many ways that apps can help enhance your travels. While the app store is packed with apps to choose from, hopefully this has helped steer you into thinking about the apps that may help you. Let us know what apps you use for travel in the comments below.