Travel has been made so much easier with technology. There are so many essential travel apps out there that make your life so much easier. Whether it’s booking transportation, making hotel reservations, translating words or reading reviews, they definitely make my life as a traveler so much easier.
I complied a list of 8 essential travel apps that have often saved my life or saved me a few bucks.
My Essential Travel Apps
1. Go Euro
This app was more or less the sole reason I went to Liverpool. Well that and the Beatles. I remember I was trying to figure out if there was a more cost-effective way to come back to Spain from Dublin. The flights were really expensive. So thought “I wonder how easy it is to get to Liverpool? It is right across the water from Dublin!” So I put in “Dublin to Liverpool,” and found a Ryanair flight for 16 euros. So I decided to tack a few days in Liverpool onto my trip to Dublin.
I love this app because it compares the prices of buses, trains, blablacars and flights. When I’m traveling in a new country, I often don’t know the names of the bus or train companies. So an app like GoEuro is one of my essential travel apps.
Download it the app here.
2. Hostelworld
It’s no secret that I stay in a lot of hostels when I travel. I work as a teacher, so the budget to travel isn’t huge. The difference between 60 euros a night in a hotel and 15 euros a night in a hostel is huge for me.
Hostels have really gained a lot of popularly in Europe in the past 5-10 years. I find the hostels I stay in to be nicer and nicer. It’s almost as though they are competing with each other. However not all hostels are the same. The best way I’ve found to compare them is on the Hostelworld app. You can compare things like price, location, how many beds are in a room, price of a private room, if it includes breakfast and so much more.
Download the mobile app here.
3. Word Reference
When traveling, you might find yourself in a country where they don’t speak your language. Even if English is widely spoken, it still might be helpful to be able to look up words here and there. I have a super serious peanut allergy, so going to the grocery store in a foreign country can be intimidating. Word Reference has been a life saver in these instances. It is one of my most essential travel apps.
The thing I love about Word Reference is that it gives you the context that the word is used it and the country that it’s used in as well. The words used for some things can vary between countries. Google Translate can be good for translating whole sentences. However it often gets translations wrong because it doesn’t know the context you wish the use the words in.
Word Reference has been one of my essential travel apps for my peanut allergy alone. I can learn the word for peanut in whatever country I’m in and be a little bit more at ease when browsing for groceries.
Download it for iPhone and Android.
4. Hotels.com
Have you ever been on the fence between staying in a hotel or a hostel? Have you ever wanted to score those amazing deals like 55 euros per night on a 5-star hotel? Well hotels.com is the perfect app for you!
When I first started using the app, I was surprised that it lists hostels as well. So when I start my search for accommodation, I start by looking at hotels.com properties from cheapest to most expensive. Sometimes a room in a two-star hotel is only 5 euros more than a hostel. If that’s the case, I go for the affordable hotel.
The second thing I love about this app is that you can pay when you make the reservation or pay when you arrive. You can cancel your reservation up until the night before. That is super wonderful as plans can change suddenly. I also often prefer to pay in cash when I arrive. This option is also great when traveling with a group. Each person can put in their share a lot easier.
The third thing I love about this app (yes, there really are three things) are the rewards you can earn. I earned myself a free trip to Lanjarón with my rewards. Basically if you book 10 nights, you get the 11th for free. I’m now on my way towards my second night!
If you download the app here, you can earn up to 50% off in their secret prices. It’s a pretty week deal! That works for iPhone and Android!
5. BlaBlaCar
Blablacar has probably saved me between 50-100 euros (or more!) in my two years in Spain. What is Blablacar? It’s a ride-sharing app for trips from one city to another. I often get asked if it’s like Uber. It’s really not. It’s used for roadtrips rather than short trips within a city. The drivers are just normal people who happen to be making the trip.
Let’s say you’re going from Sevilla to Granada for your grandma’s birthday. You have three open seats, so you decide you want to make some extra money by putting them on Blablacar. You go on the app and list the day, the time, where you will pick up and where you will drop off. Then let’s say Marta decides to visit her sister in Granada that same weekend. She decides your Blablacar looks good, so she reserves a spot. She pays through the app and you receive the money through the app.
Blablacar is typically cheaper than the bus or train by a few euros. It’s often faster and a bit more comfortable. After every ride, you review the driver and the driver reviews you. While it still is getting in a car with a stranger, this is one way that it’s a bit safer. I’ve take over 30 Blablacars in my two years here and have never had a problem with it. You can download the app here.
6. Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing has been around for a long time. I remember using it almost 10 years ago when I went to the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago. It has matured and now it has an app!
Last summer, I returned to my couchsurfing roots when I traveled to Budapest and Berlin. I downloaded the app and started looking for hosts. What is couchsurfing? It’s when people host you in their home for free! It’s really a neat idea. Everyone has a couch, so why not open it up to a traveler or two? The idea is that it’s about the community of travel.
Some people might be afraid to stay with people they’ve never met. I totally get that. However others who might not mind that could really have some cool opportunities couchsurfing. You can download it here.
7. Skyscanner
Skyscanner is officially my favorite website to book flights. It is without a doubt one of the most essential travel apps. I always end up finding the best deals on this website. The first thing that I love about Skyscanner is that you can search from one airport to wherever. This is perfect for the traveler in me. There are some weekends where I want to travel, but I’m open to the destination since there are literally so many places on my list. So this option lets me see airfare prices from the cheapest to the most expensive.
The second thing I love is that it shows you airfare for an entire month. This is perfect when booking flights with flexibility. You can see which dates have the least expensive airfare and book from there. Overall, I always seem to find the best airfare using Skycanner.
Download the app for both phones here.
8. Airbnb
Ah Airbnb. Most of you have by now heard of Airbnb. If you haven’t, it’s a website where you can find houses, apartment or rooms to rent. You can also do the same with your own spare rooms, houses or apartments. This can often be a good choice when traveling in a group. It can be cheaper to split an Airbnb if there are say five or six people in your group.
You can download the app here.
What apps do you use when you travel?
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