The top 8 travel apps recommended by travel experts
Everyone travels with a smartphone but it’s not just for taking selfies, checking email, and keeping in touch with family back home… they provide us with a never-ending stream of tools and apps to help us plan our travels and deal with any hiccups we encounter on the road.
Unfortunately, while there’s no shortage of travel apps, most of them are not super helpful.
We have compiled a list of our favorite HELPFUL travel apps. These apps will save you time, and money, and help you make the most of your travels. Below are the top 8 apps we think every traveler should have on their phone before they leave home.
📱 Travefy. This is the travel itinerary app that we use for our clients traveling to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Your entire itinerary will be in one place with flight information, train tickets, tour vouchers, hotel addresses, and contact info for everyone and anyone you may need during your trip. This is our #1 favorite app for ensuring your travels go as smoothly as possible. Be sure to download it before you leave home!
📱 Your airline’s app! People often forget (or don’t know) to download this very important app before traveling. Every airline has an app and you should absolutely have it on your phone. Once you access your reservation with your confirmation number (also known as PNR or record locator), you can check in for your flight, pre-pay for checked bags, download your boarding pass, find your gate and get push notifications for schedule changes, delays, or flight cancelations.
📱 Google Translate. This is a translation app that allows you to do it all — translate into more than 100 languages by typing, access 59 languages offline, translate via photo, translate bilingual conversations, and even use the handwriting tool to translate. The app is simple to use, too, with icons at the top you can click on to draw, take a photo, speak or type. Traveling to a country where English is not the spoken language has never been easier!
📱 WhatsApp. We love this app for communicating with our clients and partners during travel. WhatsApp is a handy messaging service for travelers abroad as it uses an internet connection to avoid SMS fees. It works like most other messaging apps: You start by creating an account, then add your friends and family members to contact, and BAM! You’re able to call, video chat, and send messages, images, voice memos, gifs, and files just as you would in, iMessage (but with Android users too). You can also download WhatsApp on your Windows or Mac computer.
📱 TheFork. This is one of the most useful resources for making restaurant reservations in Europe. Similar to OpenTable or Resy, you can browse different restaurants by category and make reservations. TheFork features more than 60,000 restaurants in cities like Rome, London, Madrid, and Geneva, as well as spots outside of Europe like Sydney, Australia.
📱 Uber. Most people already have Uber on their phone but make sure you have it updated and your credit card information stored. While Uber is not the preferred method of transportation in some cities like London (taxis are king here!), you never know when you might need it. Using this app when traveling means you'll never get stuck wandering around in an unfamiliar area late at night or have to deal with unscrupulous taxi drivers trying to scam you. Be sure you do your research before arriving in another city to see if Uber is right for you.
📱XE Currency Converter. This is a useful tool that you can use to convert more than 180 different currencies in a jiffy. The program connects to the internet at all times to keep up to date with currency fluctuations. However, if you don't happen to have internet access, it'll take into account the most recent estimates using its database. You can also customize the application to keep track of your top 10 most used currencies (in your case perhaps the normal thing would be to keep track of the Euro, Dollar, and Pound).
XE Currency is a useful tool for users who tend to buy things in foreign stores since a general rule of thumb is that things turn out to be cheaper if bought in that way. Needless to say, you should try out the program a couple of times.
📱Calm. Sounds crazy but this app can be a lifesaver when traveling with children or if you end up in a noisy hotel room. For little or no money on iTunes, you can download soothing music and nature sounds, or white noise to help you fall asleep anywhere fast… even on a long flight!
BONUS APP! Mobile Passport Control is a fantastic way to speed things up upon arrival in the US when returning from another country. It is not available in all airports, but there are many that welcome it. For Apple iPhone users, you can download the app here. This is such an overlooked option but it is easy to use and the Mobile Passport line at customs is often nonexistent. Most of the time, this is one of the quickest options to get through customs, sometimes even faster than global entry.
Let us know if you use any of these apps and if you have others that you have found to be helpful! Email us your favorites and we might just write a follow-up blog!