Travel Apps

In today’s world of travelling most people will go abroad with a smartphone. We found these particular apps useful in planning, organising, and budgeting our trip. Some of these are helpful for entertainment purposes but also for creating fantastic travel memories.

Banking Apps

before leaving make sure you download your main banking app in order to easily manage any payments, transfers, or withdrawals. Our three main travel cards which have the best conversion rates, and no withdrawal fees are Starling Bank, Monzo and Revolut. We highly recommend bringing multiple cards and keeping them separate in case they go missing or get stolen. If you want to sign up to any of these banks click on the name above to use our referral link.

Currency

This is an offline currency exchange converter allowing you to convert local currency to your own currency, to better understand the prices you are about to pay. We use this app daily to budget in our own currency. Every time you connect to the internet the exchange rates get updated.

Trail Wallet

This app is helpful for budgeting your trips. You can set daily allowances for different categories such as travel, accommodation, and food. It even visualises your budget in a pie chart view to easily understand your spending.

Google Translate

If you are visiting a country that doesn’t speak a language you are familiar with, this app will allow you to translate basic conversation to get directions, book tours or understand the local menu.

Maps.me

Our favourite offline map, all you need to do is download a specific country or region whilst connected to the internet. The offline app allows you to set directions to destinations, mark you favourite spots like parks or restaurants with colour coded pins, if you’re as organised as us.

Booking.com / Hostel World / Air BnB

Apps allowing you to book accommodation, from hostels to guest houses to hotels for any budget. Our preferred app is booking.com, due to the high number of properties available, discounts and upgrades we receive through their loyalty programme. From our experience it’s worth comparing mobile vs web prices as they offer different discounts.

Skyscanner

This is the most commonly used by us flight search engine. It allows you to search specific destinations from your chosen airport, as well as cheapest flights to anywhere in the world. You can search by specific dates or view monthly prices, to select the cheapest day of the month. Book your next flight here.

Uber / Bolt / GoJek

These are the transportation apps that will allow you to book taxis to your destination via the app. They usually offer fair prices, and your rides are logged in your account and provide another level of safety. Not all are available in every country, so make sure you have the right app before going to your destination.

Been

This app is a fun way to track all countries or American States you have visited so far (we are currently in competition to who has visited the most places, so far Sandra is winning).

All Trails

If you are a hiking lover this app can help you plan your hiking route. It includes the difficulty rating, the length and approximate duration of the trek.

Apple Music / Spotify

These are the music streaming apps. To download and listen offline you’ll need a paid membership. It’s a great way to survive long bus/train journeys or just relax on the beach.

Netflix / Apple TV+ / Amazon Prime

These are the movie and TV streaming platforms. They offer the option to download and watch whilst offline to keep you entertained when you don’t have access to the internet.

1SE - One Second Every Day

Upload a daily clip that can create a video journal of your travels. You can only select up to 1.5 seconds of a clip so choose wisely.

Sky View

This is a free astrology app, but paid apps are available that serve the same purpose. This app allows you to use your phone camera pointed at the sky to identify and learn about the planets and star constellation.