Between trips to my favorite place across the pond, weekends away with girlfriends, exploring beautiful countries, and trips to see my family in Maine [where I’m currently typing this up from!], I travel … a lot. I absolutely love seeing new sights, meeting new people, and being immersed in new cultures. At the same time, I’m definitely a routine girl and someone who thrives on efficiency – two things that don’t always come with travel. Because of this, I’ve done my fair share of experimenting with ways to make travel easier, being prepared, and finding the best food in the area [obviously]. After downloading and deleting endless travel apps, there are TEN that are worth the app space on my phone. These are my travel life-savers and I think you guys will find them equally as helpful!
Rome2rio: This is my go-to app to figure out the most time efficient and cost-effective way to get from point A to point B between multiple cities / countries. As an American, I think we always think to fly everywhere but, in Europe and other parts of the world, a train or bus might make more sense.
Mobile Passport: This is an app I recommend you download to breeze through customs at major airports. This app was actual gold in my mind when I first found it because it was free [or maybe it was a small charge, I can’t remember, but way cheaper than Global Entry]. At that time, no one knew about it and I skipped loooong lines that easily would have taken 45 minutes to an hour to get through! Now, it’s not as great because a lot of airports are changing their customs lines and are not honoring this app as much anymore. Well, you can use it … but you still have to wait with everyone else. But, that might just be Atlanta [where I flew into last time] because they changed everything about their international arrivals area [much needed!]. You also have to pay a yearly fee for the app to store your passport information and not have to fill it out every time you come back into the country. So, while I love this app, it hasn’t afforded me as much value as it once did and it’s hard to know if that’s just because of Atlanta’s airport or if airports are no longer allowing people to use it as a substitute for Global Entry. Stay tuned! I’ll let you know how it goes coming back from my upcoming trip!
CityMapper: This is – hands down – the best navigation app I have found! I’ve used it in tons of major cities around the world like Paris, London, and Lisbon … and I can’t recommend it enough! It has never gotten me lost or been confusing to follow, which is obviously a huge plus, especially when you’re alone or not familiar with the area.
Trail Wallet: Travel can get expensive fast … we all know this, right? I do my very best to stay within the budget I’ve set for each trip and for the most part, I succeed! I’ve even been known to stay under budget here and there and I owe it all to this amazing app. It’s a really good and easy-to-use expense travel wallet to ensure you stay within your budget. It shows you quick snippets of how much you’ve spent [daily, weekly, etc.] and is especially awesome for longer trips. Whether you’re good with a budget or bad, this cannot hurt to have on your phone.
TripIt: Type-A travelers … this app is going to be your dream! It helps you organize your travel itinerary like no other. You can forward your email confirmations for car rentals, flights, hotels, restaurants, etc. to plan@tripit.com and it sends you a master itinerary. It allows you to see all your trip info in one spot and even syncs with Siri so when you’re running trying to connect a flight, she’s got your info. You can opt for a paid version for additional services, but I find the free version is enough to stay super organized, on travel days especially.
GlobeConvert: Have you ever realized you spent wayyyy too much $$$ on something simply because you didn’t understand the conversion rate? Yep, been there. Then I found this app that figures out the conversion for something. Genius and very user-friendly. I usually check things out before I even set foot out of America to have a general sense of currency where I’m going.
HotelTonight: I use this app if myself and my travel companion haven’t planned the accommodations for the next night or two. Whitney and I have used it on our road trips in the past. If you’re a little more okay with flying by the seat of your pants, this app gives you amazing last-minute options and deals on empty hotel rooms! You can definitely end up saving money and I think it’s good to have on hand in case accommodations get messed up or are not what you were expecting.
AtYourGate: I think you guys will love this one. This app literally brings you food to your gate if you’re running short on time [think long security lines, connecting flights, etc.]. It’s also a great way to scour what’s available nearby without doing laps around the terminals. Genius, right??
Skyscanner: I know some people swear by Google Flights, but this my favorite flight search engine, personally. It gives you rates and schedules depending on where you’re looking to go – even if it’s several places in one trip. You can also look for car rentals, hotels, etc., but I mainly use it for flights.
Lightroom: Okay, so I’ve done the whole ‘let me buy an expensive camera because I’m going to Rome’ thing. And, honestly, those photos are priceless and I don’t regret it one bit. However, those things are HEAVY and your girl would rather pack an extra couple of outfits so, over the last year, I’ve found that I prefer using my iPhone since the camera quality is pretty great and the Lightroom app to edit my photos to give them that extra little something. If you need to lighten things up, reduce the amount of shadows in the photo, or you want the red in the background to pop a little more … this app will make those memories you snapped on your vacation look their best before you print them out!
Alright, friends, I hope that was helpful! I have a TON of travel content on the site so if you’re wanting more, definitely look around this section. You can also find my handy dandy packing lists, travel guides, and more specific travel tips [what to pack for a winter getaway, getting through holiday travel like a pro, etc.].
I’d love to hear any apps you’d add to this list. I’m always game for trying something new and helpful. Thanks so much! xo.
