Best Travel Apps
The use of travel apps these days has grown from a luxury to a necessity. While not all trips are alike, these apps should be downloaded to your phone before any and every trip.
Google Maps
Explore and navigate the world with confidence using Google Maps. Find the best routes with live traffic data and real-time GPS navigation for driving, walking, cycling, and public transport. Discover over 250 million businesses and places - from restaurants and shops to everyday essentials – with photos, reviews, and helpful information.
Google Translate
Translate between up to 249 languages. Feature support varies by language; text, offline, instant camera translation, photos, dictation, conversations, transcribing and more.
Airbnb
Airbnb helps you find a place to crash, whether it's a simple room in someone's home or a luxurious beachfront property. The site also offers other kinds of bookings for travelers, such as tours, classes, and workshops. Whether you use Airbnb to find a place to sleep or for inspiration about what to do on your next trip, you're guaranteed to see big, beautiful photographs of it all.
Kayak
Kayak is another all-in-one travel search site, though it doesn't let you book anything directly. Instead, Kayak sends you off to other places where you finalize your travel deals, whether that's another aggregator, an airline, or a rental car agency. Kayak covers hotel stays, rental cars, train and bus tickets, and travel experiences. It has some handy tools for exploring destinations based on flight prices for the dates you want to travel.
Trip Advisor
Sometimes people have to go to unexpected places that they didn't choose, like for a wedding or a business trip. When I don't know anything about my destination, I turn to Tripadvisor. It's one of the most comprehensive online sources for travelers, with background information about different cities and regions, plus highlights of what to see and do. You can read reviews of hotels, restaurants, and activities, written by members of the Tripadvisor community, as well as seeing photos they've uploaded so you know what to expect before you arrive. Tripadvisor has relationships with various booking sites, too, which means once you finish researching hotels or restaurants, you can usually reserve them.
Your Airline/Hotel/Car Rental Company
Remember to download the app for the particular airline, car rental or hotel you will be using. This will help in printing boarding passes, accessing a digital room key or checking into your accommodation, requesting roadside assistance and much more.
Get Your Guide/Viator
When you travel to a destination where having a guide or daily itineraries would be ideal, take a look at what these two apps has to offer. You'll find tours that include daily excursions as well as weeklong adventures with transfers included. Note that the quantity and quality of the deals varies dramatically by destination.
WhatsApp is a free messaging and video calling app. It’s used by over 2 billion people in more than 180 countries. It’s simple, reliable, and private, so you can easily keep in touch with your friends and family. WhatsApp works across mobile and desktop even on slow connections, with no subscription fees.
Currency Converter
A simple currency converter can provide up-to-date exchange rates for over 160 currencies and countries! Great for when you travel abroad.
Uber/Lyft
Uber and Lyft operate around the world, and while the in-app options vary from place to place, the general concept is the same everywhere. There are a few reasons that ride-on-demand apps work so well for travelers. First, it eliminates the need to carry local currency. Second, you don't have to speak the same language as your driver to get to where you need to go.
Search your devices app store to download your version today! Have suggestions that have worked well for you? Send us your suggestions and we may just add it to the list and help other travelers!