Vacay! V-A-C-A-Y! There’s a smartphone app for everything these days, and when it comes to travel, our phones have become like our own personalized travel agents.
From finding flights, to accessing real time translations, they’ve become a one stop shop for everything we need to search for, book, and enjoy our holidays.
But if you browse through the travel section of the app store, you’ll find thousands of useful apps, and obviously, these aren’t all going to fit on your phone! So, to help you out we’ve narrowed it down to the 7 we find the most useful.
Here are 7 useful travel apps you should download … every traveler should have these on their phone!
7 Useful Apps Every Traveler Should Have on Their Phone
TripIt
TripIt organizes all your travel itineraries and documents. With a complete freemium version, you can keep all your trip details in one place and access the info without even being online.
To set it up, you choose a designated inbox, and any reservations you’re sent are automatically sent to TripIt. The app will let you view travel confirmations, flight itineraries, tickets, hotel and Airbnb booking info, rental car reservations, ferry tickets and driving directions, everything in one easy place.
TripIt also allows you to share your trip plans with whoever is picking you up, as well as anyone else who may need to coordinate with you or know what your travel plans are. And it’s clever enough to offer you the maps from airport to hotel.
Uber: The King of Ridesharing Apps
Active in about 173 Countries and 785 metropolitan areas, Uber is the global king of ridesharing apps. The app pioneered on-demand services, and it can be particularly handy when you’re abroad.
You can ask a car directly from a wide range of vehicle rates and fare quotes. Afterward, you can connect with your personal driver, track the approaching car’s location, and securely pay your fare using a credit card, so you won’t need to worry about cash.
Google Maps
Google Maps is probably still the most widely used and comprehensive mapping app in the world. And it’s most useful feature is the offline function, where you can download the information when you have WiFi, and reference the map when you’re out.
Plugged into a multitude of online services and detailed information on nearly every type of business imaginable, this is an absolute must-have. It’s also great if you’re driving in another country, with real-time traffic information and details on public transport for everyone else.
The GPS function offers directions whether you’re driving, biking, or walking, so if you’re connected to WiFi, or if you’ve downloaded your maps in advance, you’ll never have to get lost in a foreign city again.
The little blue dot that tracks where you are, and updates your position as you’re walking often works offline we’ve found.
Google Translate
Learning a new language can be extremely difficult and travelling around Europe presents you with a wide array of languages. Thankfully with the Google Translate app, you don’t have to learn all the languages as it allows you to translate over 100 different languages.
Don’t have data or Wi-Fi, no problem, as it can translate 59 languages with no internet connection. One of my favourite features is the instant camera translation which allows you to instantly translate text from nearly 40 languages simply by pointing your phone’s camera at the text.
Star and save translated words and phrases for future reference, take photos for higher quality translations, and translate bilingual conversations on the fly.
Skyscanner
An all-in-one travel app which lets you search, compare and book the cheapest hotels, car rentals, and flights, every traveler should have the Skyscanner app. And, because it’s on your phone, you can book everything at once while you’re on the go.
Features of the travel app include receiving price alerts of daily cheap deals, and for the truly spontaneous, if you enter “everywhere” instead of a specific destination, it will pull up cheap flight prices to different destinations around the world from your closest airport.
The app offers the same services as their website—just more handy, convenient and fast. It’s simple and easy to use, and has been downloaded over 40 million times.
CalConvert
If you’re like me and despise having to deal with math in your head, CalConvert will help you with currency conversions as well as dealing with converting units of measurements.
It is both a simple and advanced scientific calculator that supports all major mathematical functions. You gain access to 150+ currencies without the internet so you can easily see just how much those Italian pair of high heels will cost you.
Convert feet to metres, pounds to kilograms, and miles to kilometres. You can easily save frequently used units of measurement and currencies as well as being able to see a history of your conversions or calculations.
MobileRecharge
When traveling abroad, prepaid phone cards or local SIMs are often the best choice. But, if you’re using your mobile phone and you’re running out of credit, then you can easily use MobileRecharge app.
This app allows you to top up your mobile instantly, and with a list of destinations that amounts to over 100 countries, and more than 300 operators worldwide, you can use it even when you have local SIMS. This saves having to figure out how to top up in another language.
It’s free to download for Android and iOS devices and the recharge value is the best on the international market since it was conceived as an economical app from the get go.
TECHNOLOGY WE RECOMMEND FOR TRAVELING WITH YOUR PHONE↓
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Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; an online magazine dedicated to opening your eyes to the wonders of the wild & natural world.
Having visited 50+ countries across all seven continents, Megan’s travels focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She has a strong passion for ecotourism, and aims to promote responsible travel experiences.
