Back in the days, we all experienced the hassles and frustrations of getting lost in an unfamiliar place. Finding a hotel, the nearest restaurant, or even a parking spot with nothing but a map in our hands is oftentimes a pain in the neck. Today, traveling has never been easier with the aid of our smartphones. From checking the weather to planning our itineraries, there are hundreds of travel apps to assist us in making our vacation worthwhile. So, if you’re looking for your next travel companion, you’re in the right place.
20 Must-Have Travel Apps You Can’t Survive Without
This article features 20 travel apps that are essential for your travel needs. Some of them may already be installed on your device, while others may seem new to you. Nonetheless, these travel apps are definitely worth downloading so read on!
1. Airbnb – Hotel and Accommodation App
Price: Free
If you’re looking for decent accommodation less than the cost of a hotel room, Airbnb is the travel app for you. It features over six million vacation home rentals across 191+ countries.
You can choose from apartments, homestays, holiday cottages, villas, and hostel beds. It also includes castles and treehouses if you wish to venture into a unique experience while on the go.
When searching for a place, don’t forget to include basic information such as the number of guests and the date of your stay for accurate pricing. Perusing the description, house rules, amenities, and reviews of the place is also recommended to see if it matches your preferences.
Other features of Airbnb include booking of local experiences such as hikes, concerts, tours, and more.
2. Duolingo – Language App
Price: Free; $10/month for Duolingo Plus
Are you traveling to a foreign place with no knowledge of its language? Fear no more. Duolingo is here to help you. It’s one of the strongest travel apps that teaches you how to read, write, and speak a certain language.
You can learn 30 languages with unique exercises to enhance your proficiency. Using a skill tree of lessons ranging from listening exercises, flashcards, and multiple-choice type of tests, you can learn words, phrases, and sentences for each milestone.
While Duolingo is a free app, subscribing to the Duolingo Plus eliminates all the ads and lets you access the service offline.
3. Amazon Kindle – Reading and Entertainment App
Price: Free; $10/month for Kindle Unlimited
Long-haul flights don’t have to be boring if you have Amazon Kindle on your phone. Before flying, simply load all of your e-books into the app and you can read your heart away while waiting to arrive at your destination.
Amazon Kindle offers a wide range of Kindle books, magazines, and comics, including those with Audible narration. You can highlight your favorites passages, bookmark a page, and even look up words, people, or places that are unfamiliar to you using the built-in dictionary, X-Ray, Wikipedia, instant translations, and search tool within the app.
Upgrading to Kindle Unlimited entitles you to one million Kindle titles and audio narration.
4. Roadtrippers – Itinerary Planner/Trip Planning App
Price: Free; $7/month for Roadtrippers Plus
Are you a traveler seeking spontaneous adventures? Check out Roadtrippers. It’s an app designed to search for the best experiences and must-see locations within your proximity in just a few taps.
Discover topnotch places by filtering and going through the categories that suit your ideals. Whether you aim for breathtaking roadside attractions, top-rated local diners and hotels, or scenic spots, all you need is Roadtrippers. Who knows, you might even find a hidden gem along your journey.
Roadtrippers app is one of the powerful travel apps that’s free to download on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. However, upgrading to Roadtrippers Plus entitles you to exclusive discounts, savings, and extra features useful for your soul-searching.
5. Google Trips – Itinerary Planner/Trip Planning App
Price: Free
When planning your itinerary, one of the best travel apps to use is Google Trips. It collects your travel data from your Gmail account and combines it with other Google Travel features, creating a solid outline of your journey without you having to do much.
After inputting enough information, Google Trips presents you with a complete itinerary with corresponding flights, hotel reservations, day plans, as well as establishments that are “family-friendly,” and more.
6. WeatherBug – Weather App
Price: Free; $4 for Ad-Free Option
Weather is a crucial aspect to consider when traveling to different places. Thankfully, WeatherBug is one of the most efficient travel apps for monitoring the weather.
You can check real-time weather conditions. There’s also a rainfall radar to inform you if there’s an impending rain within your area. Moreover, the Storm Tracker feature alerts you whenever it detects incoming weather disturbances at your current and saved locations.
7. LoungeBuddy – Airport Navigation App
Price: Free to download
If you’re looking for an airport lounge booking service, LoungeBuddy should sit at the top of your list. It’s an essential travel app for people with hours of layover, searching for comfortable amenities at the airport.
Typically, lounges are reserved for people flying on a business or a first-class trip. However, downloading the app gives you instant access to over 170 lounges worldwide for a fee. This way, you don’t need to endure the uncomfortable seats for the entire duration of your layover. Simply find the lounge you’d like to use at your layover airport, book it, and you’ll have the privacy to rest quietly and even take a shower before heading back to your plane.
The app is only available for iOS devices. If you’re an Android user, you can search for and book lounges on LoungeBuddy’s official website.
8. Google Translate – Language App
Price: Free
A list of the must-have travel apps isn’t complete without Google Translate. In fact, everyone uses it wherever they go since it’s convenient and FREE.
As the name implies, Google Translate is a translation app that translates between 108 languages by typing, photo-capturing, handwriting, and conversing. It has over 500 million users worldwide with over 100 billion words translated daily, making it the number one reference app on the Apple App Store.
It also works well when you’re offline. So, if you plan to travel the world, don’t forget to install Google Translate on your phone. It comes in handy every time you go out, most especially in a foreign place.
9. TripIt – Itinerary Planner/Trip Planning App
Price: Free; $49/year for TripIt Pro
There are many itinerary creator apps in the market. However, TripIt stands out with the most seamless features among others.
TripIt is a travel planner that organizes all your travel plans in just a single file. Simply book your desired flight, hotel, and others, and send the confirmation emails to TripIt so it automatically pulls out all the details and arranges them for you. This way, you won’t have to scour through all of your emails, taking notes of the details individually. The app does this for you to help you stress out less.
What’s more, the app has navigation features to assist you whether you’re trying to get from the airport to your hotel.
TripIt is free. However, you need to subscribe to TripIt Pro to access premium features such as a Fare Tracker to alert you when there’s a price change after booking.
10. XE Currency Converter – Money Conversion App
Price: Free
When traveling, money conversion isn’t always our strongest suit. Don’t forget to download XE Currency Converter before setting forth on your journey. It allows you to convert your money into the current currency so you can interact and shop with great ease.
Plus, the app also helps foreign students, expats, freelancers, and people living international lives to send and receive money in just a few simple steps.
11. Uber – Ridesharing App
Price: Free
Roaming around an unfamiliar city can be intimidating. As a tourist, you may not be aware of some dangers lurking behind your back. Hence, do not leave without Uber installed on your phone.
Uber ranks among the most necessary travel apps around the world. It’s a ride-sharing app that lets you book a ride in just a few taps. It’s available at more than 600 airports and in over 700 cities around the world. All you have to do is to enter your destination, confirm your pick-up location, and wait for your driver to arrive.
As for the payment method, you can choose from cash, credit card, or Uber Cash. Plus, renting JUMP bikes and scooters is available in case you want to escape past the traffic.
Don’t worry, Uber is completely safe even for people riding solo as all rides on the Uber platform are tracked by GPS.
12. Klook – Travel Experience App
Price: Free
Are you traveling the world but not sure what activities could help you make the most out of your trip? Try Klook. It’s one of the most reliable travel apps in the market that lets you experience the best activities in your area for a discounted fee.
From sightseeing tours, family-friendly activities, and fun shows to transportation tickets, you’ll find it all here. Enjoy your time in Bali by participating in the best underwater activities, or take part in London’s guided tours to acquaint yourself with the place’s historical beauty.
There’s no shortage of exciting activities with Klook. What’s more, the app is completely free to use!
13. PackPoint – Travel Packing List App
Price: Free; $3 for Premium Package
For many, packing things before traveling is a taxing activity. Knowing that there is limited baggage weight you have to meet, choosing what to bring and not to bring can be stressful. Thankfully, there are plenty of packing list organization apps in the market to help you with the problem. Let’s take a look at PackPoint, for instance.
Packpoint is a straightforward travel app that automatically builds a list for you after inputting essential information such as your gender, trip destination, travel purpose and dates, and your desired activities.
The free version, however, comes with limited features. Upgrading to the premium version unlocks additional components to make your experience seamless.
14. VOLO – Travel Journal App
Price: Free
Entering our league of the must-have travel apps is VOLO. It’s a travel blogging app that allows you to instantly record your special moments in the forms of notes, photos, videos, locations, and routes. What’s makes it more convenient is that it works well even when you’re offline.
Additionally, it has a “Write-Together” feature that lets up to ten people write a journal together for a more collaborative and unique experience while on the go.
You can also use the app with your Apple Watch for convenient documentation of your moments.
15. TrabeePocket – Travel Expense Tracker App
Price: Free; $2 for Pro Version
Let’s face it: it’s tough to keep an eye on your travel expenses when all you want is to experience the greatest of everything. However, it doesn’t have to be this way all the time. Download TrabeePocket to maximize your budget while on your journey.
TrabeePocket gives you the freedom to keep an eye on your travel expenses and make sure your money doesn’t go down the drain for excessive spending. It works by adding a trip and inputting your travel expenses afterward to monitor your budget.
The app is free to download from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. However, upgrading to the premium version unlocks additional features such as exporting your data to PDF and CSV files.
16. SAS Survival Guide – Survival App
Price: $6
If you’re planning on a hardcore adventure that covers places off the beaten path, SAS Survival Guide is definitely worth checking out.
As one of the award-winning travel apps in the market, the SAS Survival Guide features all the necessary skills you can use to fend off for yourself in case an unexpected disaster comes along your way.
Learn how to communicate using the Morse code, how to navigate using the sun compass, and how to perform first aid.
The app is written by a former SAS soldier and instructor so you’ll know that the techniques featured there are credible.
17. Prey Anti-Theft – Find My Phone and Mobile Security App
Price: Free; $5 for Personal Premium Plan; $10 for Home Plan.
Nobody wants to have their phone stolen in the middle of an excursion. So, if phone theft and loss is a major concern to you, the Prey app has got you covered.
Prey is an ultimate phone tracker and mobile security suite. It boasts solid protection features such as GPS geolocation to detect the area of your phone, control zones to alert you when your device enters or leaves a designated place, and photo capturing using the front and back camera to see who’s holding your mobile device.
The app is free to download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. However, upgrading to premium plans extends the protection for up to three devices on a single account.
18. Yelp – Food and Service Locator App
Price: Free
Are you looking for a local restaurant with unique cuisines? How about a top-rated salon to treat yourself after a long series of work? If you’re traveling and would want to explore your destination in detail, Yelp is a must-have travel app.
Locating professional services and local businesses is possible with Yelp. It makes sure you find the newest and hottest restaurants in your area in just a few clicks. From there, you can make reservations and even order food for delivery.
If you’re looking for a doctor, movers, or even handymen, just open the app and it will search the best ones available for you.
19. Winnie – Kids and Parenting App
Price: Free
Traveling with kids is a worthwhile experience until they start throwing tantrums. Yikes! If you’re currently on a journey or will be in a few days with your kids, Winnie is here to aid you.
Winnie is a travel app that allows parents to find local daycares and preschools, including exciting things to do with your kids to keep them happy all the way.
The app aims to make your journey with your little ones less stressful. All you have to do is to browse and search for the nearby playground, parks, and activities, and join a community of parents who can give you advice if you’re looking for the best recommendations in your place.
20. CityMaps2Go – Offline Maps App
Price: Free; $30 for Premium features
One of the essential travel apps you shouldn’t forget is the CityMaps2Go. As the name implies, the app features accurate maps you can access and follow even at places where an internet connection is impossible.
You won’t get lost with CityMaps2Go since it touts detailed maps of remote areas and national parks. Unlike most offline maps, this app showcases photos and tips for millions of places around the world.
Syncing the app across your devices is also possible for fluid access.
