Hi Pals,

Now there are so many websites on which travel application is going to make your trip better, faster, stronger… and the starting lyric of that should have been easier.  I have a 64GB iPhone 6s plus and as I’ve only had this phone for a year or so, I’m not being asked to delete things… yet.

Although I still love using pen & paper to write things down and plan – I also like having applications to book, save & share with others. 

Click ‘Read More‘ to see the best applications to use while travelling! 

The only affiliate link within this post is for AirBnb. I will receive $25 off my next booking if you sign up and make a booking with it and let’s be real – everyone got that AirBnb.
KEY:   🔗 Links  💰 Cost  📝 Notes  🔖 Genre  💖My Favourite

In this article you’ll find:
Planning, Booking, Transport, Communication, Distraction,
Language, Health + Websites: Not applications – but super useful.

PLANNING

💖 Rome2Rio

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free
🔖 Transport.
This has been my go-to application from getting from A>B. They do everything from Fly, Ferry, Bus, Boat, Taxi and Drive. They cover over 5,000 companies in more than 160 countries – and they try to have the cheapest option available. It gives you the best average on what you should be looking at. Rome2Rio has recently teamed up with Lonely Planet to help use their booking systems. It currently doesn’t work offline so it’s very much a pre-planning thing.

RoadTrippers

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗AppStore
💰 Free – with an option of In-App Purchases.
🔖 Things to do, see etc.
RoadTrippers is all about off the beaten path and the application allows you to create, save and edit road trips you may be taking. Great for if you’re on the road via car or even if you have a lengthy stopover via bus. Started in the USA it’s much more involved there, but still has great spots around the world to check out.
Recently saved places from this app have been “Museum of Death” in the United States, Lake Ballard in Western Australia that has 51 copper statues 500m apart and “Gladstone’s Library” where you can stay overnight in the Welsh Library.

💖 Sygic Travel

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗AppStore
💰 Free – with an option of purchase.
🔖 Itinerary
So this app is such a little beauty.
You create a trip on nights you’re going to be somewhere and plan accordingly. It estimates the distance of places + the estimated time you’ll be at the location. This has been super handy when my day ends up being 10 hours, as I can move things to the next day. Especially after my fellow pals tell me I cannot, in fact, do a 10 hour day of sightseeing…
 It does take a little getting used to but once you have a usual hang, you’re good to go. You can download sections offline, use offline GPS and also share it with other people. They have photos, reviews (sparing) and a biography of a majority of ‘to see places.’

💖 Google Maps

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗AppStore
💰 Free
🔖 Direction + Maps
A large scale map system, Maps offers everything from starring, favouriting, creating lists and uses the GPS system while offline. You can download segments for a lot of countries, but you can also pre-load it with wifi (just make sure to not cancel out of the app / have background refresh on.)  
Because I use maps so much for pre-planning, I opt to just only use this. There are many different apps – so just use what works best for you! 

XE Currency Converter

🔗 GooglePlay  🔗AppStore
💰 Free – with an option of In-App Purchases.
🔖 Currency.
This downloads the current rate while on wifi. You’re then able to access it on the go to check how much (roughly) an item is going to cost. Mostly, it’s not going to change that much – and it’s much better than rounding up constantly (what I do.) 

BOOKING

I feel like everyone has their own way of booking places and my suggestion is to just continue doing what works for you. 

I personally look on AirBnb (for Homes + affiliate link for $55 off your next booking), Booking.com (for Hotels) and HostelWorld (for Hostels.) For Booking + HostelWorld – I’ll look into reviews on TripAdvisor and then book on the main websites, which usually saves me a few $$$.

For flights, I’ll check this Wiki Page here on low-cost airlines within the country, these usually don’t appear on flight searches. I also mostly stick to Skyscanner, Google Flights and I recently discovered Momondo.

** If you’re only taking carry on luggage – I’d suggest SkipLagged which will find the cheapest way to get there (generally via a stopover.) **

TRANSPORT

Uber + Grab

Uber: 🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
Grab for S.E Asia: 🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Calculations depending on the distance between A > B.
📝Make sure you download these applications before you go overseas as you’re required to use your mobile number for a once off code.
📝 Although Uber works in most countries, you should always check.
🔖 Use instead of Taxis.
The reason I love Uber & Grab isn’t just for the price, but the fact that all trips are shown on maps and you have a record. You can see where you’re going and the route that was taken. You have a digital receipt at all times. 

💖 TripIt

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free – with the option of making a payment of US$49 a year for full features.
🔖 Ticketed Flights + Bookings.
TripIt for me has been a godsend. I can access it from any device and it summarises all my trips. At the moment, I’m happy with just the free version but if you do want the Pro it’ll give you alerts, gate changes etc.

COMMUNICATION

Skype

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free + $7.99 USD for credits
🔖 Communication.
Skype has helped me out so many times. When I’ve needed to contact my family via phone, or when I’ve needed to call my bank or insurance provider – skype and wifi have been there. I rarely have to top up as the call minutes vs cost ratio is so low. 

FB Messenger

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free
🔖 Communication.
Facebook Messenger is the platform I use the most. It’s the easiest way to make plans, group together everyone and let people know what’s going on. You don’t have to have Facebook to have Messenger. I also prefer this as you can access it from any device – Laptop, Phone, Tablet.
I do have Whatsapp as well, for the selected group of friends that use it, but I prefer FB Messenger as I can use it on any device. 

Tinder / Bumble

Tinder: 🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
Bumble: 🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free + options to get premium
🔖 Dating + Meeting People.
Tinder and Bumble are great features if you’re solo travelling, or even if there are one-two of you and you’re not vibing with people at the hostel, you want to meet up with some locals or even get suggestions! Bumble recently released a new feature called ‘BFF’ – which means you can use it specifically for making friends! 

DISTRACTION

Spotify

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free + $11.99 a month (AUD) to listen offline.
🔖 Music + Podcasts.
Although I’ve used Apple Music for all of 2018 – I actually prefer Spotify. This is purely the reason it’s easier to navigate, more playlists and has both music + podcasts under one application. I also miss the weekly curated just for you + the yearly rundown. 

Netflix

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free + $13.99 a month (AUD) to listen offline.
🔖 Shows + Movies
The fact that Netflix now allows you to download streaming shows on devices is brilliant. I download a series on my iPad (you can also do it on your phone – but a little smaller for viewing) and I’m good to go for long trips. This is especially useful when you’re on a low-budget flight with no in-flight entertainment.  

Flow Free  

 🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free | $5.99 Unlock All Packs and Remove Ads
🔖 Game
I’m obsessed with this game. You can ask for hints + tips and it will tell you how many errors you made. I needed to have a perfect score for them to get a “star.”  You essentially just have to connect coloured dots to each other without running over other lines. It’s super addictive and makes time go faster.

Slither.io 

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free 
🔖 Game
Remember snake on your old Nokia? Well, think of this crossed with Pacman. You can eat glowed dots to get bigger, kill other snakes to eat them and grow bigger. Online, you play others – Offline? You play against the computer. 

LANGUAGE

💖 Memrise

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free + PRO: (offline versions) $9.00 monthly.
🔖 Language.
Memrise is my go-to language app. Everything I’ve learnt from Memrise I still remember. It’s pretty much a gamified flashcard app. It tracks what you’ve learnt, mistakes you make and re-does them. You learn via visual and audio questions. They have numerous courses in different languages so if you want to focus on verbs, numbers or places – you can! I understand a lot of people will recommend Duolingo – however, I’ve never needed to use “Penguins eat apples” and I have needed to use “What’s the easiest way to the city centre?” Everything I’ve learnt from Memrise, I remember. 

Google Translate.

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free
🔖 Language.
Google Translate allows you to translate pictures and text offline. It is iffy, but it’s also one of the best out there right now. Basic words, phrases automatically as well. It’s a nifty little app to have on your phone. 

HEALTH

Komoot

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free to look + offers you one free hiking region.
🔖 Fitness: Walking, Hiking, Biking etc.
“Komoot generates sport-specific, topographic routing—tailor-made for your next outdoor experience.” You can “download individual routes or entire maps for use offline, and stay on course when coverage falls short—no matter how off-grid you go.” I’ve only used this app in Melbourne – but it’s generated great nearby walks that I didn’t even know about!

Clue

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free +
🔖 Period + Health Tracker
I use Clue to track my cycles. It also has a feature and calculator to track mood, sleep, digestion and a range of things. I’ve been using for a while and I would say that although it’s sometimes a day or two out – it gets smarter the more you use it which means I’m always prepared. 

Toilet Finder

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free +
🔖To find toilets for free/public.
Sometimes you’re surprised in a foreign country and need to find a toilet as quick as possible. This will help you do that with over 150,000 toilets logged… It’s not perfect – but hey, you could be in a worse situation! 

Happy Cow App

🔗 GooglePlay 🔗 AppStore
💰 Free +
🔖 Food + Cuisine
📝 Shows Vegan + Vegetarian restaurants nearby.
“Happy cow is an online service that lists sources of vegan, vegetarian and healthy food.” It is very useful for when you’re travelling with friends who are Vegan and Vegetarian – especially in countries where it may not be as common. 

WEBSITES

💖 Smart Traveller

🔖 Travel 
📝 Entry/Exit mostly for Australian users.
This website is what I use before I go to any country. I look up the main information to see if they recommend going (green: go, yellow: cautious, red: reconsider.)  They give you health, entry + exit, current news, currency and the overall safety of the country.   

💖 Sleeping in Airports

🔖 Travel 
📝 when you’re stuck in an Airport – where should you go.
Sometimes, you’re stuck in an Airport. Choice or not. This will tell you where the comfiest chairs are, the quietest areas and the places that don’t broadcast announcements 24/7.

Rough Guides

🔖 Travel 
Allows help with planning your trip, exploring, essentials, booking and features of a  range of popular destinations.  

WWW1.COM

🔖 MISC.
This website is what you need to go to when a login for wifi doesn’t work. This will bring in the login screen!

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Do you have any favourite applications to use while travelling? Would this post be better with Photos? Do you disagree with any mentioned?

Let me know below! 
As always, stay cool.
– Sarah