Travel apps you need for travelling

As someone who travels for a living, I rely HEAVILY on apps that will benefit me in anyway possible when I’m away. Whether that be for transport, things to do, places to stay or even how to get there, I’m always looking at way to make life simpler in any way that I can. Here’s a list of some of the apps I use on an almost day-to-day basis.

Airalo

It’s not the cheapest option if you’re wanting a long-term sim but for a few days or even a week it’s definitely something I’d highly recommend doing. The esim is super simple to install without having to take your sim out and swap them over and the app walks you through every step so it’s really user friendly. The best situations to use this would be if you’re only in a country for a few days but needing to stay connected and there’s limited wifi or when first arriving in a country as it can sometimes be difficult to get a sim straight away but you need to be connected and reachable straightaway. It’s also often cheaper to not buy the SIM cards in the airport. Generally a 7 day sim with 1GB of data costs around $7 and although it’s not much it’s at least enough to order Ubers (and equivalent) and call your accommodation etc if you find yourself in a situation that you’d rather not be in.

Lounge buddy

Cheap access to lounges on long layovers. Need I say more. It’s definitely worth splurging on lounges sometimes, especially if you have a 24+ hour layover somewhere. It’s cheaper than booking accommodation, there’s free food, free wifi and sometimes even sleeping areas. This is soooooo much better than sleeping on benches in the terminals and having to spend lots of money on food in the stupidly overpriced shops in the airport, I’ve seen lounge access for as little as £15-20 which is so worth it if you think you might spend £10 at least on each meal in 24 hours. It all adds up. 

Been (IOS only)

A really simple and easy way to see where you’ve been in the world and set bucket lists and explore tourist attractions you may not have thought of before. I like how visual the app is when showing you all the places you’ve been to and being able to rotate the globe however you’d like.

GuruWalk

I SWEAR by this app and it’s always the absolute first thing I look to for things to do in a new place. It’s full of free walking tours, and those are the perfect way to meet people whilst travelling. I recently had a short stay in Copenhagen and although I’d seen a lot of the city before, I signed up to the ‘Politically incorrect Fred’ tour and I cannot recommend it enough. I made friends and we went out for dinner and I found myself exploring parts of the city I’d not seen before. It’s also a great way to get recommendations for things to do (and what not to do).

Get Your Guide

This is always my next go to app when going somewhere to find local events like the opera in Vienna, or cheaper tickets to attractions like the 360° tower in Chicago. It’s a hassle free way to book things to do, or find inspiration to do your own excursions. I often find myself looking at tours to local national parks and then costing out how I can make it more budget friendly. In Skopje we were looking at Matka Canyon tours around £60+ and ended up doing it ourself for the price of bus tickets, supermarket snacks and even food in the restaurant for less than £10 each. 

Worldpackers

Volunteer projects in return for free accommodation. This is an excellent way to save money if you’re on a tight budget or reign in from the spending if you’re finding yourself splashing too much cash. It’s also a super rewarding experience and there are always so many options to choose from, you’ll for sure manage to find one that suits you and your style. I’ll definitely be doing this on my upcoming backpacking trip to South East Asia when I go over my weekly budget!

What3Words

This isn’t specific for travelling, it’s just an app that everyone should have at all times for safety, and it’ll come in handy when travelling too. It’s essentially a world map that’s been split up into 3x3m grids, and each grid has been assigned a unique 3 word code. If your car breaks down or google maps is saying your hostel is somewhere it isn’t, you can use What3Words to communicate to help or the staff at the hostel where to find you/them. Sometimes you’ll even see the 3 words on a hostel confirmation email to help you find it’s exact location. 

Google maps

Having google maps is a great resource, especially if you’re going somewhere with no signal as you can download sections of the map offline! It can also help tell you which public transport (bus/ train numbers etc) to catch to go somewhere and the times that they run. I use it however as a way of seeing what’s nearby that I’ve either been recommended, seen online or just simply found by scrolling around. I do this by starting absolutely EVERYTHING even if it’s literally just ‘this strange rock is pretty cool’. I know this is something a lot of people do and I’ve definitely stolen the idea from someone, however I take it one step further by putting these places into folders by country or state etc. This may be seen as slightly obsessive, but as the tiktok sound goes ‘I think this is an obsession that doesn’t hurt anyone!’ I just find it so helpful when trying to work out what to do nearby or when planning where to stay in the next destination and I leave myself little notes attached to the places that I can share with people I meet or on social media as well as a way to reflect back on a place if I ever go back. 

Hostelworld

Generally hostel world is my go to place when looking for accommodation. I find it so simple to use, always has lots of information and they have a chat feature which allows you to see who’s going to be at the hostel at the same time as you. Personally, I don’t use this feature (mostly because I find myself far too socially awkward to) but it could be a great way to make plans with people, especially if you’re new to travelling or just staying for a short time and wanting to have a social time. 

Uber/ grab and equivalents

I use Uber a fair amount when I travel for short journeys and I like how quick and safe it is. The fact that you can see photos and the license plate of your driver as well as experience and can track their movements to you and to your destination is super handy. It’s also very convenient to know the price before you start your journey and it takes out the pressure of haggling with taxi drivers giving higher prices because you’re a tourist. When travelling alone or somewhere for the first time, I like to have the safety and security to start with as I find my feet. 

Skyscanner

I use Skyscanner to book the majority of flights. It’s always so much cheaper and I like being able to select the cheapest month as an option. It also works really well with a VPN which is a great way to save money on flights.

SurfShark VPN

I SWEAR by using a VPN and SurfShark are renowned for having great deals through influencer codes. A VPN (or virtual private network) allows you to turn any public connection private as well as changing your virtual location. This prevents hackers attacking your devices on unsecured networks which is vital if you rely on your computer etc for work. It also means you can watch streaming services of any country from any country. I use this feature a lot as I always find that the shows I’m currently watching are never on the local Netflix. SurfShark also allow you to have it installed on unlimited devices for no extra cost. 

Google docs

This may only apply to a smaller demographic however I live out of the google docs app on my phone when offline. Here I write and edit blog posts, write packing and to-do list and even take small notes of things I want to remember like bus numbers or street names that I won’t be needing to know straight away but will 100% forget by the time I need to know them. By being able to access docs offline I can make use of long journeys and not feel like I’ve wasted a days worth of travelling, AKA it’s one way I minimise the travel guilt by not feeling like I’ve a) wasted a day that I could’ve been exploring by booking a cross country bus journey and b) not feeling like I’ve had to stop myself doing something I want to do because I have to do some online working (although this can’t be completely avoided)