18 APPs You Must Have For Your Next Trip

The Top 18 APPs You Must Have For Your Next Trip

Nowadays our smartphones take a very crucial part of our life and travel is no different!

There are a few apps that changed my travels forever and today I cannot travel without, I have no idea how people travelled 50 years ago but today we just can’t live or travel without them.

In this post I will share with you my top 18 mobile apps that you must have for your next trip!

Why To Use Mobile Apps For Traveling?

Although it may sound to some of you like a very question with a very obvious answer, i will still give some of the main reasons why we should use mobile apps in our travels in 2025 (and in the future..) for the beginners or for those who just does not know.

So in this day and age (2025 +) most of the information we are getting and the content we are consuming comes from those “smart devices” the smartphones. and the traveling world is no different, today we have so many apps that can make our life and our travels so much easier and convenient, from navigation apps and maps to hotel booking platforms, mobile eSIM apps and more.

In this post i will share with you my top 18 mobile apps that i can’t travel without but there are a lot more that you can find and use, depends on the location you are going to, the language and more.

My Top 18 Mobile Apps Are

1. Google Maps

Google Maps is the king of travel, it is good for navigations, public transport, restaurants, bars, reviews & more.

Pro tip: I save all of the places I’ve been to and planning to see in specific folders for every country, it makes all of your lists very organized. Read my Google Maps guide for more tips!

2. Maps.me

Maps.me is not as good as google maps in reviews and the amount of features it has, but it is way better in off-road navigations for trekking and hiking since you can use it completely offline without any internet or signal at all!

3. Uber

Uber is the most popular ride-hailing app in the world, today you can use it for rides, taxies, food and more. Available in many countries like the US, countries in Europe, Mexico and more.

5. Bolt

Bolt is very similar to Uber or Grab and it is available in more than 500 cities around the world in Europe, Africa and Asia.

6. Moovit

Moovit app is an amazing public transportation journey planner, working in many countries worldwide, in many cases it will work when google maps won’t.

7. Google Translate

Google Translate is the most popular language translation app, use it for menus in restaurants ( by cam) and communicating with service providers, people, in restaurants and more.

Pro tip: download the local language of the country you are going to travel at in advance so you could use the app even offline when needed.

8. Booking.com

Booking.com is the most popular website and app for booking hotels, but also for hostels and apartments.

Pro tip: in some cases using VPN or the mobile app will show a cheaper price compared to the laptop for example.

9. Agoda

Agoda is a popular hotel booking app and website from the same owners of Booking.com, in some cases will offer better deals than booking (just compare the prices for your stay).

Pro tip: in many cases Agoda will show the price per nigth without the taxes or fees, make sure you are aware of that.

10. Airbnb

Airbnb is the best website for short and mid-term stays and even long stays in apartments and houses around the world.

Pro tip: sometimes the same host will promote the apartment on Booking.com as well for a better price so make sure you are comparing prices if possible.

11. HostelWorld

HostelWorld is like the booking.com of hostels, some hostels will be available there only and some will be available on Booking/ Agoda too, compare the prices for your stay.

Pro tip: some hostels will cheaper or offer better services on Booking.com so it makes sense to check and compare in this case as well.

12. SkyScanner

Skyscanner is the most popular flights search engine in the world, is good for searching flights in most of the countries, there are a few other popular search engines but this is the easiest to use.

Pro tip: most of the time i will just use Skyscanner to check for flights and available routes, lets say: which airlines are flying from from Bangkok to Delhi and then i will just book directly from the official airline website, i will not use other agents on skyscanner unless the price is significantly cheaper and i used this agent in the past (like Trip.com).

Pro tip 2: try to use VPN while using SkyScanner, when using VPN of countries like India and Sri Lanka the price of the flights could be cheaper in some cases (try and see by yourself).

13. Windy Weather & Radar App

Windy app is a great advanced weather app, with a detailed forecast of the weather with storms, rains and more. This app is great especially for planning hikes and treks with the weather in the mountains.

14. Trip.com

Trip.com is a great app for booking flight, train tickets, hotels, attractions and more. available worldwide but most useful in China and other Asian countries.

15. NordVPN (or any other good VPN)

NordVPN is a great VPN that I’m using for a few years already, you can use VPN while using public WIFI networks (like in airports) for your safety and while checking for flights for cheaper prices!

Pro tip: Countries like India and Bulgaria and Sri Lanka will give you cheaper results than the UK or US for example (as I mentioned above).

16. Airalo

Airalo is one of the most popular eSIM provider app, the app is available in most of the world and offers some really good prices and plans while traveling, just make sure your phone is supporting the eSIM technology before purchasing any plan.

Pro tip: in most cases the eSIM option is great for short trips of 1-2 weeks, if you are planning to travel for longer (months) usually it will be cheaper to buy the SIM locally and you will get a better plan.

17. Xe Currency Converter

Xe Currency Converter is a great money conversion APP, it is completely free to use and available worldwide.

It is great for converting exchange rates while traveling. Supports most of the currencies in the world and giving a live rate.

18. TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor is a great website for attraction reviews, restaurants reviews, top things to do and more. great for getting some of the top things to do when coming to a new city.

Small disclaimer: in the reviews section (restaurant, attractions and more) I will take any top reviews with a grain of salt, it is very easy to manipulate reviews on TripAdvisor (and other websites), always compare the reviews with Google maps and others.