9 must have free travel apps you should not leave without

Managing your travels can become quite demanding, especially if your itinerary includes multiple destinations, different hotel and restaurant booking along with several planned activities and events.

In addition, once you have arrived at your destination, you might want to check on latest local news, events or need to re-arrange some of you bookings. Or you might not have pre-arranged any restaurants and events and need to find them on the spot.

Travel apps are a great tool help you organize your travel itineraries and get you sorted with nearly everything you might need before and during your travels.

With more than four million apps available today and a large share of those being travel-related it can be quite hard to chose the right apps to keep on your phone.

Read on to learn which travel apps I use to get inspiration, find interesting local opportunities and organize my travel itineraries.

 

TripAdvisor

Chances are you are already using TripAdvisor. In fact, the it’s deemed the world’s most popular travel app. But I am often surprised that many people I speak to still think the app is mainly for reviews.

Reviews are indeed a major feature and the app lets you make specific searches for hotels, restaurants, etc. to see other travellers reviews and recommendations.

However, TripAdvisor really is so much more. It has become one of my favourite go-to resources for travel inspiration and travel planning. I truly love the apps recent addition of its feed where users can post photos, videos and travel stories and where you can even follow other users much like on a number of other social media accounts.

 

Skyscanner

Once you have decided on your next destination, Skyscanner is the ideal app to search for flights, hotels, trains and car rentals all in one.

I have started to use it in particular searching for flight options. The app digs into more than thousand different sources essentially searching millions of flights and will give you the most convenient options based on cost and the quickest or easiest routes. It also lets you see when is the cheapest time to fly to a desired destination.

 

SeatGuru

With SeatGuru you can check out the configuration and features of more than one thousand aircraft types from over 150 different airlines to find the best seat and in-flight amenities for your flight. This can be quite handy when searching a particular route to find the airline that offers the most comfortable seat configurations (think free leg room) and additional features like WiFi, power options and entertainment programmes.

 

Open Table

In a new location and don’t know where to eat? Open table non only lets you search for restaurants near your destination. You can also refine your research to find specific food choices such as ‘best Italian restaurants’ and so on. In addition, you can look for price ranges, rankings and seat options among others.

The app will also show you how often a restaurant was booked on the day of your search, and highlights customer feedback.

Once you have found the right place for you, you directly book and manage your booking through the app.

 

TripIt

If you want to stay on top of your travel itinerary, having everything you need like flight, hotel and restaurant bookings neatly stored in one single place, TripIt is the perfect app for you.

Simply send all your booking confirmation, from flights to car rentals, hotel, restaurant and event bookings to the app. TripIt will automatically organize everything into one oranized tip itinerary and store all your travel documents in one place. You can access your itinerary easily anytime and on any device, even off-line.

If you use the TripIt pro version (which you have to pay for), the app will also automatically send you flight alerts, find alternate flights, alerts you when a better seat is available on your plane and let you share your travel plans with others.

 

TripVerse

Another great tool to get travel inspiration, plan and organize your trip is TripVerse.

The app allows you to map all your locations and planned activities. Since it is integrated with Google Maps, Flickr and Foursquare you will get addresses, phone numbers and more once you have chosen your location.

Once you have created your trip, you can use the app offline as well, including a download of a map of your destination.

You can also share your itinerary with other users on TripVerse and see their trips.

 

Rome2rio

Rome2rio is one of the most awesome apps when it comes to plan your travel route. The app lets you search for a city, landmark, attraction or address globally and provides various travel options including driving, bus, train and flights. It will show you estimated travel times and costs to get you from A to B the most convenient and economic way.

 

Roadtrippers

Love road trips? Than this app is made right for you. Roadtrippers is the ideal tool to plan your next trip. Discover what you can see and do along your planned route including the opportunity to find hotels and restaurants.

The only downside? The app currently covers the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand only.

 

XE Currency

I am actually not too obsessed constantly checking conversation rates when travelling. I typically look up rates prior to departing and then use it to get a general feeling what I am spending on specific things. Though currencies are subject to constant fluctuations, using a fixed rate for one or two weeks of travelling normally works well.

However, if you want up-to-date information on conversation rates, XE Currency is definitely a great tool to have. It gives you life currency rates and you can see up to 10 different currencies at the same time. It also works offline, though in this case you will not get the latest rate update.

 

Are you using travel apps to get inspiration, book and organize your trips? Let me know which ones are your favourites.