I got my first iPhone back at the end of 2012 (I know, I know, it took me a while!), and since then my love for travel apps has grown in a massive way. It’s amazing to me that I can have all this info right there in my pocket while I travel, ready and waiting to help me out when I get into a bit of a trouble; providing me with a quick and easy way to book a place to stay; or keeping my travel details and documents organised! So here are my 6 favourite travel apps – and they are all available from the app store for free!
I’m sure you all know about this one already, but in case you don’t, Skyscanner is a app (and website) that helps you search multiple different airlines for your chosen flight at the best price possible. What I love in particular about this app is the ability to see your chosen flights in a monthly view, so you can check out the prices across a range of dates and get the best possible price!
A simple but effective currency converter, XE does what it says on the tin. Add as many different currencies as you like, and see the differences right in front of you. I use this on an almost daily basis, and one of the best things about it is that it stores the latest updated currency rates, so you can even use it offline.
If you haven’t used Airbnb yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Somewhere around my 25th birthday, I got kind of sick of living out of a bag in a hostel dorm room with 9 other strangers, so hopped over to Airbnb for my accommodation needs and I haven’t looked back since! I’ve stayed in apartments and houses in Brooklyn, New London and, most recently, Amsterdam, and have had great experiences with all of them. Sometimes it’s just so much nicer to have a whole apartment to yourself, with your own space, bedroom, living room and cooking facilities. You can even just rent a private room in someone’s house if you’re keen to meet some locals. The app is simple and well laid out, making it super easy to book accommodation for your next trip!
TripIt is one of those underrated travel apps that I often forget all about and then suddenly remember I have it – it has saved my bacon on a few different occasions. Basically TripIt works by picking up any emails you get with bookings for flights, trains, taxis etc and putting into an nice, orderly format in the app. So for flights it will organise your info and keep it all together so you can easily access your flight numbers and times etc. Nice and easy…and it does it all automatically so you don’t even have to think about it!
Citymapper is an app I only discovered recently and it has totally changed the way I travel around cities. I used to use other apps like the ‘Tube Map’ and ‘Bus London’, but then I found Citymapper and fell in love (is that sad? To love an app?). Citymapper basically puts together all these useful city apps and makes them easily accessible in one handy app – you can check out the closest buses, tube stations and even rental bikes in your area, save addresses and favourite places, and even access maps offline.
On the occasion that you’re feeling a little poor, or just simply want to meet a few other travellers where you’re staying, the Hostelbookers app is there to help. Easy to search, even easier to book…and the best thing? They don’t charge you any booking fees!
And so, there it is…my 6 favourite travel apps. Give them a try and I hope they’ll make it into your favourites too!
Roo Around The World 
Get an app to look for taxis in London. It helps a lot!