8 Best Travel Apps to Download Before Your Next Trip
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Traveling to a new place for the first time can be stressful, but having the right travel apps on your phone can make your travel days way easier. There really is an app for everything now! I use travel apps to help plan my trips, help me navigate public transit, translate languages I don’t know, and help with transportation. There are tons of useful travel apps out there that can make your travel days less stressful. In this guide, I’ll cover the 8 travel apps I use the most often when travelling and why I love them.
1. Wanderlog – Best Trip Planning App
Using Wanderlog to help plan my trips has truly been life-changing for me – it really is the best itinerary app! This travel planning app will help you plan and organize your trip. Tell the trip planning app where you’re going and when you’re going, and then you can start adding all of the things you want to do to a list. The travel itinerary app lets you create custom lists, so I like to separate out the restaurants I want to go to and maybe some of the absolute must-dos for me at my destination.
Once you have stuff on your list (they have suggestions to help you with this if you need it!), you can add things to different days of your trip to form your itinerary. The app also lets you keep track of hotel reservations, restaurant reservations, flights, and anything else you might book. It also shows you the route your itinerary will follow on a map. I love looking at my restaurant list on the map while I’m traveling to find nearby places to eat. It really is one of the best apps for travel!
2. Google Maps – Best Navigation App for Travel
Google Maps is also one of the best apps for travel because it is great for giving directions, finding nearby restaurants, and downloading local maps. Apple Maps will also work for this one most of the time, so it mostly comes down to preference. I use Google Maps constantly when traveling to help me find my way around new places and especially to help me navigate public transportation. It is such a lifesaver and makes getting around cities super easy. It gives you details down to which train platform to get on and which way to enter and exit the train stations. This app is truly a necessity, no matter where you’re going.
3. Google Translate – Best Translation App
Most people know that you can type words into Google Translate in one language and have it translate them for you, but did you know it can also translate from images using your camera? I use the camera feature to translate menus, signs, and anything else I need. It can also translate someone speaking! It used to make me so nervous to travel somewhere where I didn’t speak the language, but Google Translate is super helpful at breaking down that language barrier if needed.
4. The App for Whichever Airline You’re Flying With
This one is going to depend on what airline you’re flying, but downloading the app for the airline you’re flying with is incredibly helpful on travel days. This will vary a little bit by airline, but typically you can check in on the app, see your boarding passes, and track your bags (usually you can see where to pick up your checked bags too) at the bare minimum. Some airlines have additional features to help make your travel day go more smoothly.
Some of the airline apps even have airport navigation features to help guide you to your next gate. I’ve used this feature before, and it definitely helps when you’re in a large, unfamiliar airport.
5. FlightAware – Best Flight Tracking App
This app is super useful for tracking flights. It can be a little bit redundant since your airline app will usually notify you of any changes or delays for your flight. I mostly use this to track other people’s flights if I need to pick someone up from the airport or if I’m meeting a friend flying in from somewhere else.
6. Timeshifter – Best Travel Apps for Jet Lag
This app helps you avoid jetlag by giving you a customized schedule to follow around your flights to help you shift yourself to the new time zone, based on sleep science and circadian rhythms. They do this by telling you when to get light versus avoiding light, when to have caffeine or avoid caffeine, and what time to go to sleep and wake up to help you adjust to the new time zone quickly when you land.
The first plan is free when you sign up, and after that, each plan is $9.99, or you can get an annual subscription for $24.99. It works pretty well if you can make the plan work with your schedule the couple of days before and after your flights.
7. Uber – Best Transportation App
Uber is used all over the world to get a ride from one place to another and is convenient when you need it. Some countries do use other apps like Grab in Southeast Asia, but Uber is widely used enough in most places that it gets to stay on my phone. You can also schedule rides in advance, which is super useful if you have a flight to catch super early in the morning.
8. Mango Languages – Best Language Learning App
Mango is my favorite language learning app. You can get free access to the app through most libraries, so definitely check with your library before paying for the subscription! I signed up through my library, and it was super easy.
Mango does an excellent job of mixing in learning new words, grammar, and giving you the context of how to use the phrases you’re learning. I think the context is what sets it apart the most from other language learning apps. It is great at giving you information about how the culture influences the language and when and how to use certain phrases or words.
I love using this further out from my trip to try to pick up a little bit of the language before I go somewhere where I don’t speak any of the language. I think it is an excellent tool to learn a bit before your trip.
Using travel apps like the ones I’ve covered can help cut back on a lot of the stress you might experience on your trip. There are travel apps for everything, including translation, language learning, flying, getting around your destination, planning your trip, and avoiding jet lag. Be sure to download the apps you’re most interested in before your trip to help avoid stress while you travel.
Want to plan better trips with less stress? Download my free Weekend Getaway Planner below and check out my guide to planning the perfect weekend trip!
Which of these apps are you most excited to try for your next trip? Let me know in the comments!
