As an avid traveller who has been to 27 countries (so far teehee), I have tried my share of travel apps. Some travel apps were not so great and some I dare say a complete waste of space on my iPhone.
However, then there are those travel apps that I absolutely fell in love with. From useful travel apps that helped me save money on accommodation, to a Google Maps alternative that works offline. With so many travel apps on the app store, it can be difficult to find one that’s useful for when you are travelling. That’s why I thought I’d share some of my favourite travel apps that I, almost, always use when travelling.
TripCase
When I was planning an RTW trip with my sister back in 2017, our travel agent over at Kilroy introduced us to TripCase. She recommended it as a great way to manage all of our flights, accommodation and car rentals conveniently in one place. Since we had 22 flights we figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it out.
Over the course of our trip, I discovered how easy and convenient it was to use. The app was helpful in not only enabling us to manage all of our flights but also instantly notified us whenever there were any changes to them. Sometimes, TripCase even notified us of a flight delay while we were waiting at the airport before it was even announced.
I have no experience using the accommodation booking or car rental aspect of the app. Therefore I do not feel comfortable commenting on that. However, I will say that the flight aspect of it was awesome and definitely worth the download.
TripList
Many who know me well know that I love making lists. Creating a packing list is something I love to do for a trip. Packing lists help me remember to pack everything I need and want to bring with me. Through quite a lot of googling, I eventually ended up stumbling upon an amazing app called TripList.
TripList is a full-featured packing list and to-do list manager designed for travellers in mind. It simplifies the process of creating a packing list and ticking off each item as you pack. The app even has several pre-made packing lists to choose from that are fully customizable to each individual’s needs.
I love using this app. It takes away some of the stress of physically writing out on paper a packing and to-do list for my trips as I always tend to, eventually, lose the paper. Therefore having a digital packing and to-do list is something I found very convenient, especially as I could easily reuse the custom packing lists I made for myself. Overall, I think this is a great app and highly recommend it for those looking for a good packing-list app.
Maps.me
Maps.me is an app that was recommended to me by a fellow traveller during one of my many travels. It is a navigation app that has detailed offline maps of the world available for download. It utilises OpenStreetMap data to enable users to search by name, address, categories, or coordinates.
My favourite feature of the app is the ability to search offline. Yes, you read that right. With Maps.me you can easily use it without being connected to the internet. The app’s navigation was also great whenever I wanted to walk about the area that I am exploring. It is ideal for those that liked to walk a lot during their travels (or even in general).
Maps.Me is a great alternative to Google Maps whenever you don’t want to spend a fortune on data and wifi is unavailable.
Hotel Tonight
My sister introduced me to the Hotel Tonight app during our trip around the world together.
The purpose of the app is quite simple. It offers great last-minute deals on accommodation at fancy hotels, but only on the condition that you are booking hotel accommodation with either a week’s advance or no advance whatsoever. Hence the name of the app is Hotel Tonight.
My sister and I used this app while we were in Cancun, Mexico. We were looking for last-minute deals on accommodation for our upcoming trip to New York City, which was our next stop. My sister ended up booking the Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriot, which was close to Time Square. We scored a pretty good deal for it. I have used it a couple of times myself since then and I love it. Although it may not offer the most affordable accommodations, it does offer great deals on really nice hotels.
Highly recommend it for those who like scoring a great deal on accommodation at top-rated hotels.
Duolingo
When I travel to another country I like to learn a few keywords of the native language. Simple words like hello and thank you. I’ll admit I’m not great at remembering to learn it before I get there but I try to. It is so much fun to leave a country knowing a little bit of the native language.
My high school Spanish teacher introduced me to this app many years ago. I’ve been using it ever since and I love it. I have used it to try to maintain what little Spanish and French I managed to learn in high school. The last time I used it was for my trip to Stockholm, Sweden in November of last year (2021). Learned some basic phrases in Swedish that I then forgot to use when I arrived in Stockholm.
If you love learning a new language wherever you go, I highly recommend this app. Simple, and easy to use to learn on the go; whether you are on the bus, train or walking to the next tourist attraction.
Priority Pass
If you are a priority pass member then you need to get the Priority Pass app for your phone. I have loved being able to look up in advance what lounges are available in the airport, and then figure out which one of them is the best.
When you have a couple of hours to spare until your next flight, what better way to spend it than not only at a lounge but the best one the airport has? There isn’t. The Priority Pass app has all the information regarding what lounges the airport has and everything each of them offers. Of course, the app also lists the opening hours for each lounge.
If you do not have a Priority Pass and are a frequent flyer, you should consider the benefits of getting one. Check out Forbe’s great article on the program.
Booking.com
You have probably heard of Booking.com. If not, it is one of the most popular travel websites to book accommodation. They have an app and it is fantastic. It has never been easier to book accommodation for your next getaway than it is now.
I love this app and have used it quite a few times during my travels. It is very similar to using Booking.com’s website except it is an app. It is worth downloading if only for the mobile-only deals they offer every now and again.
Airbnb
If you are looking for something a little homier than a hotel then Airbnb might be right up your alley. The app is easy to use with homey accommodation available worldwide with some wonderful hosts.
I have used it quite a few times during my travels and I really like it. While travelling around the world, the app has enabled me to book an entire apartment for my sister and me in areas we might not have thought to explore if we didn’t have accommodation there. Recommend it for a different way to travel.
Important to Keep in Mind
It is important to mention that in many areas around the world, there is controversy surrounding the use of Airbnb due to its negative effect on the housing market in certain areas. Furthermore, in many of the world’s most popular cities, Airbnb is either banned or restricted. Therefore, it is important to first research whether Airbnb is legal in the area you wish to travel to and to what extent.
Another important thing to mention is that there have been cases of hosts illegally recording guests while they were staying at properties rented through Airbnb. It is important to choose the rental properties very carefully and inspect the property when you arrive.
Highly recommend reading these great articles on the matter by The Independent and The Atlantic.
Hostelworld
When I was backpacking around the world on a relatively tight budget, Hostelworld’s app quickly became my favourite of all the travel apps I’ve used.
The name pretty much speaks for itself. You can book a stay at a great hostel anywhere in the world. The app has all the information of course about what the hostels offer as well as reviews from previous guests.
Been
This app is just for fun. It keeps track of all the countries and US states you’ve been to. A friend I met in Fiji told me about it and I am so happy they did. It is loads of fun to see how much of the world you have travelled to.
Right now I can see that I have travelled to 11% of the world. 17% of Europe, 16% of Asia, 7% of North America, 14% of South America, 10% of Oceania and 1% of Africa. The app visualizes the visited countries both as a list, along with a ratio for each continent, and as a world map.