Smartphones make traveling so easy these days – from checking in for your flight to finding your way to a hotel to converting currency, there is an app for anything these days. While there are hundreds of travel apps out there, we figured it would be best to share with you the apps that we frequently rely upon when traveling – both domestically and internationally. All apps listed below are free (some do have paid, premium features), but they’re definitely worth checking out if you are frequently on the road.
Travel Apps
Airline Apps
- whatever airline I fly with, I download their app – it is useful to have as you can manage your booking, check-in and get a mobile boarding pass, track your bags, change your booking, and much more
- some airline apps are really advanced and let you do anything, while others are quite limited – nevertheless, always have the app of the airline you are flying to track the status of your flight
Airport Apps
- I have apps of airports that I fly through frequently as these can provide you updates on getting to the airport, any changes, security wait times, any maintenance or construction updates that may change your route, etc.
- some airport apps also have a live flight arrivals and departures board, which is really useful for checking your gate and other info
Hotel Apps
- apps from the major hotel chains are useful for booking hotels and managing your reservation – you can often also request upgrades to your room or chat with the front desk to request anything you might need
- some hotel apps allow you to access your room and other hotel areas with your phone using Keyless Entry – amazing and useful tool (when it works, which is about half of the time)
CheckMyTrip and TripCase
- both apps link up with different airline reservation systems (major airlines usually use one of two big airline management systems)
- you can import all of your trips with your confirmation number and have all of your flight details in these two apps across different airlines
Expedia
- useful for booking cars, non-chain hotels, and also the occasional airline that has a bad website
- free refunds on flights within 24 hours of booking in most cases (very useful if the airline doesn’t offer this via their own website)
Flightradar24
- track airplanes and view airport departure boards
- the ultimate app for geeks who love airplanes as you can view a ton of information about a plane, flight, airport, and more
Lounge Finder Apps
American Express
- depending on what AMEX card you have, you may have lounge access which can include AMEX Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Priority Pass lounges, and many others
- app helps you locate a lounge you have access to through your AMEX card and Priority Pass (that comes with some AMEX cards)
LoungeBuddy
- useful for viewing ALL airport lounges – if you know the access rules of the lounges, this app is a must have since it quickly shows you all lounges and significant info about those lounges
- you’re able to customize the app and add your entry methods and then the app tells you whether you can access the lounge or not
Priority Pass
- useful for locating Priority Pass lounges and viewing information about them (like hours, what each lounge has, pictures, and how early you can get in)
- mobile Priority Pass card available for some memberships so you don’t need to carry your physical card when flying
Transportation Apps
Google Maps
- works amazing in most large cities to find public transportation options, which is what I use the app the most for
- viewing traffic data when driving is important to know your ETA and planning your route
Uber/Lyft
- for all of your rideshare needs
- Lyft works great for renting bikes in supported cities and is such a fun way to get around
Communication Apps
Airalo
- allows you to install a virtual SIM card on your supported phone and then add data packages when traveling
- low-cost data available in a lot of countries around the world – can save you hundreds compared to your standard phone plan
Skype
- free or low-cost calling to numbers around the world using your phone’s data service
- able to buy different subscriptions based on what numbers you call the most
- awesome for calling airlines and other free-800 numbers when traveling
Other
Currency
- perfect for quickly converting currency
LiveATC
- mainly for geeks who love airplanes and airports – you are able to listen to the airport’s ATC towers and hear live flight communications!
All in All
In addition to the apps listed above, there is virtually a travel app for everything – ranging from apps for cities to apps for tour guides and much, much more. Depending on what region you are traveling to, it may be useful to download other apps. Remember that in some places, an internet connection can be spotty and therefore it might be best to seek out apps that also have offline access – which can save your life and lots of time in some cases. Being able to manage all of your travel from your phone is such a cool thing and truly makes traveling so much easier.