Travel apps come and go – especially so on my phone it seems! In the past, I would just download an app and never delete it (which just reminded me that, I still have an app I downloaded when I got my first iPhone back in 2008) however following my phone upgrade to the iPhone 6 Plus (which is humongous even for my fat hands), I decided to, rather stupidly, cut down on the memory and opt for a 16GB phone. I quickly figured out why I just hoarded old apps – it was all that extra space – so, lately, I have been doing some on-going housekeeping to delete apps I never use, have gotten bored of or is no longer relevant (like phone torch apps which are now built into the phone).
Some apps however are so good and quite frankly so important that they never get deleted. These travel apps below are the apps the best travel apps that I’ve had the pleasure of using and hence, have become intrinsically involved in whatever travel plans I have. 3 of the apps are London/UK-specific (you’ll see which ones they are) but the rest apply everywhere and anywhere in the world! My top travel apps are:
1.) Citymapper
It pretty much routes your entire destination within a city from Point A to Point B. It tells you the travel time, cost, calories you’ll burn, weather and pretty much every detail you need to know about your journey! It’s available in lots of cities across the world and is absolutely amazing!
2.) TripIt
TripIt has truly snuck into my travel planning and is not going anywhere. I kinda wasn’t sure when I downloaded it initially in Singapore but since then, I can’t imagine not having it. For instance, having lots of trips dotted across the entire year (which is a good thing) can sometimes be daunting as everything starts to blur into one however TripIt acts like your PA and has every details about your flight, hotel arrangements and pretty much all the planning you’ve made for your holiday in one place! Plus it updates automatically if your flights get pushed back or you make any amendments to your booking! It’s the handiest Personal Assistant out there!
3.) Trip Advisor
This helps me decide whether or not I book a hotel when I travel and I’d used the website for ages before I got the app so I was quite pleased to have the app (hence why it ain’t going nowhere!)
4.) TheTrainLine
Train travel in the UK is pretty fantastic (most of the times) as you can get pretty much everywhere via train and so this app is my go to app when it comes to planning train travel. In London, sometimes you have to take surface trains (not the Underground) to get to different places within London so its also quite handy for London travel.
5.) Uber
Arguably one of the cheapest and most efficient taxi services in London. No app means no Uber and so, as long as they stay competitive and efficient, this app is staying on my phone.
6.) Tube Map
Fantastic app version of the London Underground map. I used to always have a London Underground map on me all the time but having this app just saves me from carrying one around! Plus you can do the whole route planning thing on it too and it will show you your travel options along with travel times.
7.) Bus Times
The BEST bus app available! London buses are a travel staple – pretty much everyone takes them at some point or the other (plus it’s cheaper than the tube) but the problem is that you don’t always know when to expect your bus to arrive. Some bus stops have displays that tell you when to expect your bus but most of them don’t and it’s a tad frustrating to just wait in vain. This app will tell you when to expect the next bus and is always correct! It tells you the time right down to the minute and helps decide if you should just give up on the bus and go catch the tube instead! I have to admit, I prefer the tube to the bus as it’s so much quicker but the buses can be pretty good too!
8.) Hotels.com
This was so handy when we were looking to book places as we went along our road trip and again, when we were living in Sinagpore and looking to travel to different countries in Asia and so this app is firmly staying put. Plus we do a lot of bookings.
9.) Skyscanner
The BEST way to find cheap flights! If you’re not sure whether or not to get this app, I’ll tell you one thing that’ll convince you – I have found return tickets to Gothenburg in Sweden on Skyscanner for £8! Return! £8! It was more expensive to get from home to the airport than it was for the flight!
10.) Rebtel
My go to app for international calls at home and abroad. It helps that they keep lowering the prices as well so it’s rather impressively managed to fight it’s way to the top of my international phone calls app (which is quite a competitive list as I try so many international call apps).
11.) Viber
In the past, you could only use Viber to call another person using Viber (for free) but these days they have outbound calls (which you have to pay for). I use viber for the free calls still but the list of contacts that I have on viber has grown so much that it’s definitely a travel communication staple.
12.) Instagram
It’s so easy to forget that instagram was originally set up as a travel app.It was set up for people to post ‘picture telegrams’ and I was the first of my friends to download instagram back in the days when no one was really on it. I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to do with it so I just posted a couple of photos on it till I got bored and stopped using it. About 12 months later, I started popping in to se what was going on but it wouldn’t be years yet till it became the beast that it is now. I still predominantly use it to share travel photos (you can check our my profile here) and when I’m out and about ttravelling, it’s the surefire way to see the stuff I’m doing, seeing and eating before anyone else! 🙂
Well those are my top travel apps! What are yours?
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