Useful tools to make planning easier and travel smarter
The days of planning trips with only guidebooks, carrying paper maps, and relying solely on guided tours or strangers for directions are long gone. I still remember my very first trip to Italy—I was ready to print out maps until a colleague showed me the Maps.me app. Back then, I didn’t even have a power bank, and my phone died on the train to the airport just when we needed to change trains and check where to get off.
Now, with so many apps and technologies, traveling independently is so much easier compared to 15 or even 20 years ago.
At the same time, googling travel apps can be overwhelming—you’ll find dozens that seem to do the same thing. Which one to choose? Which actually works better? Testing them all only wastes time and creates stress instead of helping.
Over time, I’ve narrowed down the apps that truly make planning and traveling easier. Here I’m sharing the ones I personally use—both for preparing my trips and while on the road. Hopefully, you’ll discover something useful for your own travels too!
Flights
There are plenty of apps and websites for finding flights, but Kiwi.com is my favorite. It offers a wide range of filters that make it easy to search even if you’re not sure where you want to go. It can suggest destinations, trip lengths, and ideas you might not have considered.
If you’re flexible and looking for inspiration, Kiwi.com is perfect. Type “Anywhere” instead of a specific city or country, choose your preferred trip length (it doesn’t need to be exact), and start exploring. You can even set filters for departure and return times to avoid very early or late flights, limit travel or layover times, and much more.
That said, I only use Kiwi.com for searching, not for booking. Since they add an extra service fee on top of the ticket price and act only as an intermediary, in case something goes wrong it’s much safer to deal directly with the airline. Buying straight from the carrier means fewer complications and better support if plans change or issues come up.
Money & Expenses
When you’re traveling with friends, it’s not always easy to split every bill right away. Often one or two people cover the whole group, and everyone settles up later. But with bigger groups, figuring out who owes whom (and how much) can get messy.
That’s why I use the Tricount app—even when I’m just traveling with my mom. It keeps track of everything and minimizes the number of transactions, so settling up after a trip is simple, no matter the group size. I also love that it shows where most of the money went—whether it was food, transportation, or attractions.
Currency Converter² is a simple app that does exactly what its name says—it converts one currency to another. It comes with a handy widget that makes the process even faster, plus a price scanner. When you’re traveling in a country with a different currency, you can quickly check prices before making a purchase.
I use Cashew as my everyday finance tracker, but it’s also perfect for keeping a budget while traveling. If you’re on a tight budget, it helps you track your spending and always know how much you have left until the end of your trip. Just set up a “Travel” category for expenses outside your usual spending and create as many subcategories as you like. Cashew also lets you filter by category, so you can easily see where most of your money went.
Revolut is a banking card that lets you withdraw money from ATMs abroad with lower fees compared to most regular cards. I also use it for some digital purchases—when I don’t want to use my main card, I just transfer a small amount to Revolut. It offers more features like insurance, investments, and even cryptocurrency, but for me it’s simply an extra card I keep for travel and online payments.
Maps & Navigation
Maps.me is my go-to app for getting around any city or town. Its walking navigation is excellent, and it’s super easy to mark all the spots you want to visit—landmarks (like towers, arches, churches, and other tourist sights), cafés, museums, or anything else that catches your eye. You can even mark specific places to easily come back later—like a meeting spot during a tour, or where you parked your car. The best part? It works offline, so you just need to download the maps of the area before your trip.
Google Maps is a great source of inspiration for what to do and where to grab lunch or coffee. You’ll find reviews with comments and photos, and for some places you can even check the menu before you go. Most listings also include practical details like opening hours and entry prices.
It also shows public transport routes, so you can easily figure out how to get somewhere and check bus or train departure times. I don’t often use it for navigation or saving places for later—usually only when I stumble upon something spontaneously and it’s easier to keep using the same app instead of switching. But if you like the interface or the option to share lists across devices, Google Maps can be a solid choice.
Waze is a navigation app that’s perfect for driving. It helps you find the best route—whether you want the shortest, fastest, or one that avoids traffic jams and accidents. Just keep in mind it needs an internet connection, and in some countries it’s not allowed because it can show police locations based on user reports. Otherwise, it’s a great tool to have on the road.
Hiking & Outdoors
AllTrails is one of the best and most popular apps for finding all kinds of outdoor activities—from hiking and walking trails to road biking, camping, fishing, or bird-watching spots. You can search for activities near you or anywhere else, and filter them by category, length, difficulty, and more. You can also create a profile to track all the trails you’ve completed, write reviews, and share photos.
Trails Tatra is a handy app specifically for hiking in the Tatra Mountains. It makes planning your hikes much easier by letting you choose your starting point and destination, while giving all the important details you need. You can see the fastest or shortest route on the map, check estimated time and distance, and even see the technical difficulty of the trail—so you can pick what suits you best.
I use Garmin Connect every day to keep track of my health—stress levels, water intake, sleep quality, and step count. During my travels, I love walking and comparing my usual steps to what I do on a trip. The app also has Challenges (pre-built monthly ones or custom ones to compete with friends) and Expeditions for legendary hikes or mountain climbs. That’s actually how I discovered The West Highlands Way—it instantly became my dream hike that I’m determined to complete.
Just a heads-up: Garmin Connect only works if you have a Garmin watch or Band.
Accomodation
I always use Booking.com to find accommodation, and my regular use has even earned me Genius Level 3. Now I get discounts and can find places to stay at better prices. It works on both desktop and mobile, but I personally find it easier to scroll through all the options on my phone. Sometimes the app even shows better deals than the desktop version, so it’s worth checking it on your phone before booking.
Being one of the most popular short-term accommodation platforms, it has plenty of reviews from other travelers, some with real photos. I also love the various filters and sorting options—they were especially handy when I was traveling with my dog.
Communication
Don’t let a language barrier stop you from traveling to your dream destinations. With today’s technology, it’s easier than ever to communicate with locals—even if you don’t know their language. Google Translate not only translates your written text, but it can also scan signs, menus, or any text in a photo and translate it in real time. You can even use the conversation mode to talk with someone directly, making it much simpler to ask for directions, order food, or just have a friendly chat while exploring a new place.
In today’s world, it’s always good to stay connected. But what if mobile internet in the country you’re visiting is too expensive and you still need online access? One option is to buy a local SIM card, or use an eSIM (if your phone supports it). There are many eSIM providers, and the most popular ones can be pricey for just a small amount of data. If you need more GB or want to avoid overpaying, MobiMatter is an excellent choice. The only downside is that registration, verification, and setup can be a bit tricky—but for anyone who’s at least a little tech-savvy, it’s just a small hurdle that’s easy to overcome.
Transport & Tickets
Citymapper is an excellent app for getting around many cities in Europe and the USA. It shows all the ways to reach your destination—not just buses, but also walking, biking, or taking a cab. The app organizes results into tabs like Walk Less, Mixed, Simple, and Turbo, so it’s easy to pick what works best for you. In some cities, you can even buy tickets directly through the app. And if you like stats, it also shows calories burned, CO₂ saved, and money saved.
Moovit works in many cities around the world, and its biggest advantage is that it also covers smaller or less popular destinations. It helps you find public transport routes and plan trips in places that other similar apps often don’t include.
I find it especially useful when traveling to smaller towns or less touristy areas, where Google Maps or Citymapper might not have enough data. Moovit also gives live updates in many cities, so you can see when the next bus or train is coming, and even get alerts about delays or service changes. It’s a great backup app to have if you want to be sure you won’t get stuck without transport info.
I use Trenitalia (website and app) all the time when traveling in Italy—train rides are my main way of getting around there. For most trips, I used ticket machines at the station but relied on the app to check train times and routes. When I lived in Italy over a winter, I got into buying tickets through the app—it became so convenient. Digital tickets usually validate automatically (especially for regional trains), and the app shows delays, estimated departure and arrival times, and even platform updates.
Omio is a popular app for booking long-distance buses and trains. You can search routes and buy tickets directly, but personally, I use it more as a backup option. Most of the time I rely on local websites and apps, since I find them more reliable and often more complete. Omio doesn’t always show every possible route (sometimes it skips smaller or less-known timetables), and there’s also a service fee for each purchase.
That said, it’s super handy when you’re in a hurry—if you don’t have time to figure out which local app to use, or if for some reason it’s not possible to buy tickets through the local system, Omio is a great substitute to quickly secure your trip.
When I need to check if it’s even possible to reach a certain place and how to do it, Rome2Rio is my go-to website. I mainly use it as a reference though, because I always double-check on local websites or at least on Google Maps. Sometimes it shows an option that looks simple, but in reality, it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. The good thing is that it lists the name of the carrier and often includes a link to their website, so you can confirm the details directly.
The Man in Seat 61 is the go-to source for anyone wanting to travel between European countries by train. It gives detailed information about international trains—not just schedules and the easiest routes, but also photos of the trains and the scenery you’ll see along the way. Most suggested routes include night trains with sleeper cars, though you can also find regular daytime ones. The website even has options for travelers with pets, making it a super handy resource for planning a stress-free train adventure across Europe.
Tours & Activities
Even though I usually travel on my own, some places are just easier to reach with a tour. GetYourGuide is one of the most popular platforms for booking tours, making it simple to find and reserve experiences in advance. You can read reviews from other travelers, compare prices, and filter by type of activity, duration, or difficulty. It’s also handy for last-minute bookings if you decide to join a tour spontaneously while exploring a new city.