7 Types of Travel Apps All Travellers Must Have
When you’re travelling, you’ll be sure to come up against heaps of challenges and hey, getting out of your comfort zone is the name of the game.
But these types of travel apps are there to help. The last thing you want is to spend your hard-earned cash on things you don’t need or overspending on those things you do – but that’s precisely what happens when you book hotels or flights without the best travel apps first. Or, maybe, you’ll meet the person of your dreams, but the small matter of no common language gets in the way.
With the best travel apps in your back pocket, you can keep your travel expenses to a minimum (perfect if you’ve just finished summer camp), your language skills topped up, and your itinerary firmly on time.
So if you’re after a stress-free journey, check out these types of travel apps that all serious travellers need to have. Get ready to see your trip (and wallet) in a new light.
Airfare travel apps
The best airfare travel apps:
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As you’re booking flights, you’ll find many different prices for the same trip.
This is because there are different travel seasons, countless airline companies, and various routes. With an airfare travel app, however, you can follow specific routes and airlines and be notified when the price of your flight drops.
If a lower cost for the same trip pops up, you can simply re-book your ticket and save yourself a few bucks.
When booking flights, also make sure to keep an eye out for airline miles. Airlines often run promotions that allow you to earn free flights by booking and taking trips. If you have enough miles, you can even get a free flight by booking the cheapest available flight.
Booking travel apps
The best booking travel apps:
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If you’re looking to book your hotel, flights, and car rental in one place, you can find the best travel apps that do just that.
Hotel apps like Booking.com and Hotels.com have deals where you can book a room at a discount; you just have to book that night’s stay. For example, if you book on a Tuesday night, you can get a room for as low as $20-$50.
Some of these booking apps also offer rewards for staying at the hotels you book and booking rental cars using their app or website.
When booking flights, whether from the UK or US, Skyscanner leads the way. It’s a flight booking app that compares all the major airlines and flight booking websites to get you the cheapest flight possible. This app also has a handy feature that allows you to find flights that match your schedule and price range.
If you’re booking flights and hotels through the same app, you can often get a package deal for both, meaning you’ll save even more.
Currency converter travel apps
The best currency converting travel apps:
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If you’re travelling abroad, possibly to the US with Camp Leaders, you’ll be dealing with currencies such as the dollar.
You may even notice that some hotels or transportation companies ask you to pay in USD instead of your own currency, even when you’re still in the UK.
A great travel app for this is XE.com, a currency app that allows you to find out exactly how much each currency is worth in USD.
When booking hotels or flights, you can use this app to find the exact amount you’ll need to pay in each currency. This way, you don’t have to worry about accidentally spending too much or having trouble finding an ATM to spit out the right amount of money.
Acommodation travel apps
The best accommodation booking travel apps:
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It’s rare these days to book accommodation directly.
More often than not, If you’re booking a hotel stay, you’ll likely use one of these best travel apps to save money. Hotel travel apps like Booking.com, Hotel Tonight, Priceline, and Hotels.com allow you to book a room at a discounted rate. You can search for hotels near your location or book a room in another city, giving you total flexibility no matter where you’re booking. They’ve got great coverage in most major cities worldwide, so they’re always safe bets.
Hotel apps like this work on a first-come, first-served basis and often book up fast, so be sure and open the app as soon as you know where you want to stay.
A great one for those travelling after summer camp tends to be Hostelworld.com, which includes a range of budget-friendly accommodation accommodations (and they’re not all huge 32 bunk dorms either, don’t worry).
If you’re a frequent traveller and like to book hotels often, you can sign up for Booking.com’s loyalty program to earn free nights and other rewards.
Transportation and navigation travel apps
The best transportation and navigation travel apps:
- Google Maps
- Apple Maps
- Waze
- Trainline
- National Express
- Flight radar 24
- Rome 2 Rio
- Maps.me
- Amtrak
- Greyhound
Aside from flight booking apps that we’ve spoken about above, there’s a whole host of transportation and navigation apps to help with your travels.
If you’re travelling by car, you can use traffic apps like Waze (or the AA in the UK) to find out about road closures in real-time, helping avoid lengthy delays.
With public transportation, you can use apps like Maps.me and Rome 2 Rio to find the nearest bus/train station to plan your trip, as well as routes and duration. These tend to be great, as they break down exactly which route you need to take, allowing you to decide between the quickest and most expensive or slower, cheaper routes. To actually book public transport, it’s often easier going through the relevant county/state transport department to find out how, as it can all change. For wider travels in the UK, for example, then the Trainline app or National Express app are two options, whereas Amtrak or Greyhound would be good picks in the US.
If you’re travelling by foot, it’s hard to go wrong with the universal Apple or Google Maps. These massive companies have covered most of the earth with their mapping software, so they’re always good choices when going somewhere new.
Language and translation travel apps
The best language learning and translation travel apps:
If you’re travelling to a country where you don’t know the language, a language app can help you learn the basics in advance or help get a conversation going quickly.
Language apps such as Rosetta Stone allow you to listen to native speakers and then talk through your next learning steps. Others allow you to type out words you want to learn and have the app speak the word in the language you’re learning.
An excellent example of this in a travel app is Duolingo. This language app allows you to learn new languages while on the go and fits in with your daily routine. Duolingo is free to use and has apps for both Android and Apple devices.
If you want to go even further with your language learning app, you can use it in conjunction with a translation app like Google Translate. This app allows you to type out any words you want to translate and then instantly see the translation (which helps when you need to get your message across quickly and correctly).
The best meal reservation travel apps
The best meal reservation travel apps:
Let’s be honest, eating food from around the world is one of the best parts of travelling.
If you’re looking to eat at a restaurant but don’t know where to go, a meal reservation app can help you find nearby restaurants with availability.
You can use a few meal reservation apps, including Yelp, TripAdvisor, and OpenTable. A lot of local apps also tend to work well too when it comes to looking for things to do.
Most larger towns and cities tend to have their own local app, which can cover anything from what’s on through to restaurants to book. Always do a little research to try and find these, as you’ll then discover the hidden gems the locals love.
Travelling can be expensive and sometimes challenging, but these types of travel apps can help all travellers, no matter the situation.
From booking cheap flights and hotels to conversing with the locals, these types of travel apps will help you save money and make the most of your trip.
By removing specific barriers and challenges from your travels, you get to focus on the best part; having the trip of a lifetime.
