travel

Best Travel Apps

I do a lot of travelling and I have racked up some handy travel apps over time. I am sharing the best ones with you in order to make your journey easier and also get the best deals while making your trip as relaxing as it should be.

Here are my top fave handy apps for traveling with in order of their uses –

Booking flights for best value –

If I had to pick one of the best travel apps for finding flights it would be Skyscanner as it seems to generally find me the cheapest flights. There are plenty of other ways to find cheap flights but this is in my opinion the best app to check prices as it is a comparison website. I have wrote a blog post here on How to Travel Like a Pro and Save Money if you are interested in learning other ways to save money when booking flights and travelling in general.

Booking accommodation –

Hotels –

Self catering or Apartments –

Luxury –

Backpackers –

Two of the best travel apps I highly recommend are booking.com and Airbnb. They are my go-to sites that I check initially. I tend to check all of the relevant ones that I listed above just in case I miss something really great. It depends on what kind of accommodation you are looking for but both of those are going to give you a whole list of all budget options for anywhere in the world and both will have different accommodations on them. Last minute is a really brilliant last minute deal finder and I used to use it all the time so keep an eye on it if you don’t mind waiting til the last minute or are indeed looking for last minute hotels in a hurry! Around Me is handy if you’re in a rush to get there as it will find the closest. You can then revert back to any of the above to book or just hightail it there.

Work for accommodation –

Backpackers Board (NZ)

I highly recommend Work Away as the best travel app for finding work for accommodation. It is a paid site and cost 35 EUR a year to join, which of course is well worth it once you are going to use it. It is 42 EUR for 2 people to join up together so worth doing with a friend if you have a travel buddy or just know someone else interested. I found some absolutely fabulous work for accommodation spots. I wrote about one of those in this article on Coromandel, New Zealand. There were always available work stays and you can use the menu to create a profile and also read the property owners profiles. You can also read previous workawayer’s ratings on their experience so you can get an idea of what to expect. It is usually around 2-3 hours work 5 days out of 7 so it works out grand. You can always get a part time job in a bar/cafe if you plan on a longer stay or else just enjoy your free time exploring the area! Highly recommend it and it saves you plenty of dosh for other fun things.

Best Transport Apps –

Flight Tracking –

It is a good idea to track your flights so that you know they’re not delayed. At least if you know you will be delayed you can start making the arrangements if anything needs to be done. If you are joining connecting flights it is also handy instead of having to ask at customer service or queue.

Best Travel Apps for finding things to do on Holidays –

With Kids –

Don’t waste your precious holiday time searching online through search engines, just click on one of the above apps and hey presto! Here is another blog post worth checking out if you plan on travelling with a baby/babies – Travelling Long Haul With Babies Checklist.

Best Travel Apps for Planning and Organising your Holiday –

Trip It – Keep all booking references handy

Circa – Time zones

XE – currency exchange rates

Pack Point – arranges a packing list based on your travel plan

Google Trips – Map and create your itinerary

Wifimapper – find free wifi hotspots

Dark Sky – accurate weather app

Trip – all in one for flights, hotels, car hire, trains and great deals

Mapster – Keep track of all your fave places for future reference

Best Travel Apps for Eating Out –

Happy Cow – Vegan and vegetarian

Tip Calculator

Find all the best restaurants at the click of a button, read the reviews, find local eateries and if you are vegan or vegetarian your life just got a lot easier!

You can also leave your own rating or review and even calculate the tip to avoid embarrassment. Especially handy for tipping in America where it is expected as a general rule.

If you are interested in really delving into the local culture and meeting some natives or just want to socialise while dining, then read this recent blog post – A Different Dining Experience.

Language Apps –

World Nomads Language Guide

Google Translate

The best travel app for translation has to be Translate Photo. It is brilliant for translating menus, signs/instructions and reading the back of packaging etc. You just take a photo on your phone and program the language and it translates it! It is very reliable and even if the translation isn’t perfect you will likely get a good reading. I loved Babbel but it is a paid app. It is very easy to use and helps you really remember by making you spell, use pictures and also reading aloud. How to Pronounce app is handy for obvious reasons as pronunciation is one of the hardest to master. Duolingo is a great free app that sends you reminders to go on it and spend 10 mins a day or whatever you choose. All of those apps have their uses basically so if you want to learn, just translate or are desperate to communicate on the spot, you will be saved by having them on your phone or tablet!

I hope this list of best travel apps comes in handy for you on your travels! Pin it for reference and enjoy your free time on holidays by letting the apps do the leg work for ya!

If you have any more great app suggestions for travelling, let me know in the comments. Thanks 🙂

Bon Voyage!