Travel Apps I Can't Live Without
Welcome to the 21st century where information can be discovered within minutes from a quick google search. Technology has evolved the travel industry, allowing us to ditch the map-quest and hand held maps and use our phones exclusively. Anytime I travel I look up some different apps and test them out during the trip. In this post, I compiled a list of all my favorite go to apps that I couldn’t live without. Also wanted to note all apps are free! I chose to exclude apps anything to do with housing such as Airbnb, booking.com and Expedia since those are a pretty much a given.
CITYMAPPER
Citymapper is my favorite travel app I have ever used. It is one of the first thing I recommend for people to download before their trip. With Citymapper will help you navigate your way around the city in the quickest and easiest way while using real life transit times. It tells you how to get to point A to point B by taking the train, bus, Uber or even to walk- which ever way you prefer. It is very simple to use for even someone who gets very confused while taking the local subway. You do need data/wifi to use the app but once your route is loaded you can view it again offline so you could save a few routes to the app at the start of the day. It is only available for major cities but the app has been adding more and more cities.
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
Google translate is pretty much a given to have downloaded before a trip if you are heading to a location where you don’t know the language. However- I wanted to mention a game changing feature. You can use your camera for an instant text translation. You hold up a menu, a sign - anything and it will display the text to your desired language. It was truly the only way I was able to get my Italian class homework done as quickly as possible.
SPLITWISE
My roommates and I use this app for our bills at home, but it also comes in handy when on a trip. Instead of being those people splitting the bill with a bunch of credit cards, one person will put it on the their card and add the amount into the app. The app from there will split it evenly between everyone in the group. At the end of the trip, you can settle up and the app will calculate how much everyone owes each other for you. It keeps everything in one spot and you won’t have to worry about who owes who what.
MOBILEPASS
Mobile Passport enables U.S. passport holders to save time during the entry process at most major U.S. airports. All you do is submit your passport and customs declaration form and access designated lanes in the inspection area. It says you time and helps you avoid long lines once you get home. After I flew home from Amsterdam we waited a good hour back in Logan and having this app would have been a game changer.
HOPPER
Hopper will help you find the cheapest and most expensive days to fly to your selected location. First you input your location and date you would like to travel, then the app will show you if the price is expected to rise or fall. You also have the ability to track the fare and Hopper will give you notifications on any updates on the flight you were looking at previously.
WIFI MAP
Looking to post an instagram story but have no data? Look no further. There are tons of wifi finder apps out there, but this is the one I've found most useful for finding free hotspots. The app shows a map of wifi hotspots near you, as well as passwords for some of the public password-protected networks.
FLUSH
Nothing is worse when you are traveling and you just need to go, but cannot find a public bathroom for the life of you. One would assume you can just walk into a restaurant and use their bathrooms. However is this not the case for all areas. One time I was in Venice, Italy every restaurant said “no public restrooms” and refuses to allow me in without buying something. I finally found a public restroom after searching for a little bit but then had to pay to enter.
This app solves your problems of aimlessly roaming around! It allows you to show you options for restrooms worldwide and you can rate them!
HOLA GOOGLE CHROME EXTENSION
Technically not an app - but Hola is a game changer! The google chrome extension Hola is a free VPN Proxy unblocker and will allow you to view websites that are blocked or censored in the country you are in. Hola was my saving grace when I was studying abroad and wanted to watch American nexflix shows not Italian Netflix shows. It is also free when you add it your google chrome!
HOLA GOOGLE CHROME EXTENSION LINK
Hope these apps help you with your next trip!
Thanks for reading-
Arrivederci
xo Jenna