My Favorite Travel Apps

Hear ye hear ye. It’s ya girl. Back with them travel tips. Todays blog post? Travel Apps!

There are TONS of travel apps out there to help you on your journey. But Marissa, what if I don’t have wifi or data while abroad?!?!!? Well, young grasshopper, some of these travel apps don’t need data to work! Oh joyful day!

Some do though… I’ll make sure to let you know which!

Get ready to download some travel apps! (Go find you Apple ID and password. I’ll wait.)

Or Android…

Google Maps

I am aware I’m not the first genius to suggest this as a top travel app. If you’ve done even a weeeee bit of research Google Maps is probably numero uno on most lists. Why? Cause you can load up the map, on wifi/data, like in your hotel or airport, and then use with your data OFF. I save and favorite a bunch of restaurants, things I want to visit, and my hotel location, all while on wifi and then I can map to and fro locations while I’m walking around. It even knows where your current location is while your data is off. Now you won’t get lost! Well, less lost.

Google Translate

This app has SAVED me many times. Saved me mostly in restaurants lol. When you are visiting a country that speaks a different language, download the particular language you need in the app on wifi, so you can use it off wifi. My favorite part about this app is that you can hold the CAMERA over something in another language and this MOFO TRANSLATES IT LIVE!!! I will hold the camera over a menu, map, any piece of paper and it translates it right then and there. You can even upload photos and “highlight” text and it will translate it. It’s amazing. Now you will know if you are ordering chicken or tongue.

What’sApp

lot of other countries use What’sApp as their text messaging/calling app.You do need wifi or data to use it. Here in the US, we don’t. (iMessage blue texts for the win.) It has come in handy with communicating with Airbnb hosts or friends from other countries while abroad. It’s just like your average messaging app and is very user friendly. I use this app to talk to my family and friends back home too, so I don’t get charged from my home provider. You do need wifi or data to use it.

Currency

You don’t have the exchange rate memorized? You don’t constantly watch which currency is strong against the dollar? No? If you are a normal person and you want a super simple app that converts your dollars to other currencies or vice-versa, download Currency. It helps to know if you are about to drop $47 on a keychain.

Trip Advisor

It’s just like Yelp! I’ve noticed Yelp isn’t as popular or as widely used as TripAdvisor is in other countries. But be aware, the “top” places with thousands of five star reviews can be tourist traps. Read through the reviews, or just read my blogs (obviously), to make sure you aren’t eating at a place the equivalent of Olive Garden in Italy. It doesn’t work off wifi/data.

Airline Apps

Make sure to pre-download all the airline’s apps you are flying with before your trip. Log in, add all your flight information in and turn on push notifications. Doesn’t work offline but if you have everything preloaded in, you will be fine. It’s a nice backup in case you lose anything and get notifications about your flight immediately.

Airbnb/Expedia/Hotels.com

If any part of your trip is booked through a booking website, download that app as well and log in. I always print out hard copies just incase as well. Also, these apps are good to have if for any reason something happens and you need to find a place ASAP, they are already downloaded. You can just pop in to the local Starbucks or McDonalds and find a new place lickity split. You just never know!

All Trails

I’m not 100% sure if you guys are my true target audience for this app, but if you find yourself in a foreign place and for some ungodly reason want to hike(?!?!?!!?) I suggest All Trails. It shows you the best trails around and gives you all the details you need to know: length, skill level, reviews, etc. I will find a trail on the app, (yes I use this app, I’m surprisingly not as lazy as I look) and then search the trail location on Instagram. Seeing recent posts from people help me decide if its #instapretty enough for me to venture out there. We all know we hike nowadays for the gram.

Citymapper

I am usually pretty good with reading metro maps or using Google Maps but, sometimes I need something more reliable. This app mainly focuses on public transport but it also maps out walking/driving too. A lot of popular cities have their very own public transportation app but if you can’t find one, I would use Citymapper.

Games

Everyone should have games on their phone! If you don’t (wtf), make sure to download some before you leave. It’s great entertainment while you are waiting for a flight, delayed in an airport, or bored between travels. My favorites include Flood-it, Dots, Othello, Ticket to Ride, Sudoku, Word Scramble and if you have a 2+ people, Heads Up is a great time waster. Most of these don’t need data to play.

Duolingo

If you like to be as extra as possible when traveling and want to try and learn to local language, I recommend Duolingo. I used this weeks before studying in Amsterdam to try and learn Dutch. It helped a ton. No I can’t speak Dutch fluently, but completing a few lessons on Duolingo saved me when I was standing in front of the bathroom doors trying to figure out the “man” or “woman” signs on the doors. When I’m not traveling, I have tried (unsuccessfully) to brush up on my high school Spanish but, meh. If I don’t have the time or energy to learn a WHOLE language (who does?), I use the app to complete a few lessons, so i know the basics: hello, goodbye, please, thank you, where is the bathroom, etc. and memorize those to the best of my ability before a trip.

SplitWise

If you are traveling with one person, just have one person pay and then divide by 2. Easy peasy, no app needed. Maybe the calculator app. The minute your group is 3+, shit can hit the fan. Splitwise is the way to go. ESPECIALLY if you are traveling with people from other countries and you start to have to convert currencies. Everyone just enters in what they bought and it does all the math for you. I majored in Art, so math isn’t my friend but, this app is.

Instagram

Um, duh. How else are you going to show off what an aMaZiNg time you are having? Aren’t you traveling for the insta anyway? Don’t play. I see you. We all see you. #mykonos #blessed #neverleaving. You should also be following @gingerandivory, cause my content is #premium.

Well, there ya have it. A list of all my faaaaavorite travel apps!

If you enjoyed my favorite travel apps post, check out my blog on My Favorite Travel Items, My Travel Coffee Hack or First Time Traveler Questions Answered.