Travel apps are a great companion
Travel apps are becoming increasingly more important for travelling. You can navigate, document your trip, keep in touch with your loved ones from home, book accommodation and keep track of your money, all in the palm of your hand. It’s hard to imagine how people travelled before…
Below are the 10 essential travel apps you should download right now.
1. Maps.me
Firstly, Maps.me is the travel app for you if you’re travelling with no data or connection. It’s a lifesaver when exploring a new place, whether this is a popular city or going off the grid. Before arriving at your destination, use Wi-Fi and ensure you download the country’s maps.
It’s really that simple. If there is no Uber in the place you are visiting, you can safely check where you’re going in a taxi. What’s great about Maps.me is that other travellers have ‘pinned’ their favourite places on the maps. These aren’t just restaurants or cafes but secret waterfalls, temples; you name it-it’s there. I especially loved this feature when exploring Bagan, Myanmar and Vang Vieng in Laos, discovering some really awesome spots.
2. Tricount: king of the cost-splitting travel apps
Secondly, this travel app is useful if you’re in a group or couple. For example, we used it travelling in New Zealand and it was very helpful.
Instead of trying to split the bill at every meal, with Tricount you can record how much you have spent and what on. It then calculates for you who owes who and how much at the end of the trip. Money can always be a difficult conversation when travelling, so this travel app makes everything easier and you don’t even have to do any maths yourself.
3. Skyscanner
You never know when you need to book a last minute flight. Trust me. I had an issue at an airport where I needed to show proof of onward travel. So I quickly used Skyscanner and booked a cheap flight to Kuala Lumpur. It checks all the airlines and finds you the cheapest deal in seconds.
It’s a good idea to check two things.
1) Whether luggage is included or how much it is.
2) How long the journey is, taking into account any layovers.
Therefore, it’s not always about booking the cheapest flight you can find. But the best one you can find. Having this travel app on your phone makes the process easier and faster and you can always set alerts for when flight prices drop!
4. XE Currency
XE Currency is the perfect travel app for checking how much you’re spending on the road. It’s so easy to use when looking at prices in shops, markets or for accommodation, to check you’re not getting ripped off.
It can be confusing to swap between currencies, if you’re travelling to new places and different countries- especially in the same trip. This travel app lets you view 10 currencies at once, so you can compare prices between your home currency and the countries you are going to visit. Also, it refreshes the current exchange rates, so you know exactly what you are spending.
5. Google Photos
If you want all your precious photos and memories to be secure when travelling, then Google Photos is the travel app for you. ‘The home for your memories’
It backs up the photos from your phone and stores them in the cloud, which means that you can free up space to take more pictures. More importantly, you don’t have to worry about losing them if you lose your phone or you get mugged.
They can steal your phone, but they won’t steal your memories!
6. Surf Shark:
You may or may not know what a VPN is, but you will certainly be familiar with long waits in airports boring flights or long travel journeys. Sometimes you want to relax and watch some videos on YouTube or a movie on your on demand provider (Netflix or Amazon Prime). However, the country you are in has different rules, or just doesn’t stream that content, so what should you do?
Don’t give up. Download the VPN with Surf Shark.
Easily select the country you want to watch from and your long travel days won’t feel so long anymore. This is a life saver and a trustworthy companion.
7. Transferwise
There’s a possibility that you will have to transfer money into other currencies whilst travelling. Therefore, Transferwise is used more by travellers that are going to work in another country. However, this travel app is brilliant and so easy to use. Did you know it gives you much better rates than your normal bank?
Check it out and see how much money you could save. After the first time you use it, it saves your bank details, so not only is it simple, but fast too. Impressive.
8. Spotify
Spotify lets you download all your favourite songs and podcasts offline. This is great because you won’t be eating into your data, and you will have the all-important entertainment on flights, trains and long bus journeys. Staring out the window, taking in the new scenery, whilst listening to your favourite tunes is bliss.
Also if you’re planning a road trip, then you can download different road trip playlists. That way you and your friends will be able to sing along, even if there’s no signal. You’re welcome.
9. HostelWorld
If you need to book budget friendly accommodation on the road. Hostelworld is great, you type in the place you want to stay and compare hostels to find your perfect match. It’s easy to filter the results to get the review score and price you want.
Reading other people’s experiences is so important. Research is key to having an amazing experience or a disaster. For example, if there’s a recent review explaining it was too loud to sleep or that there are bed bugs. Do yourself a favour and trust the reviews. Research and be rewarded.
10. Mobile Banking
Finally, it doesn’t matter which bank you are with, it is crucial that you have the app on your phone.
This helps to track spending, but it is also extremely safe. There are a number of travellers that have their bank cards copied whilst abroad and become a victim of fraud. For example, once in San Francisco, I went on my mobile banking to find I had been hacked and someone had spent over £1000 of my savings on video games. Luckily, I had the app and managed to get all my money back in the same day.
Therefore, this one is vital, else you will be back home much sooner and poorer than expected.
These are out top 10 travel apps. They make life so much easier and safer. Now you will have more time to live in the moment. That’s what it’s really about. What travel apps do you use? Let us know in the comment box or via email! Sharing is caring!