Don’t Leave Town Without These 12 Travel Apps!

9 Min Read Published: Sep 15th, 2018

Summer's coming to an end and last-minute travel plans and upcoming holidays are just around the corner. Finding your way around a new town, remembering to pack your phone charger, and booking flights and hotels can be overwhelming and tedious. But it doesn’t have to be. After all, you have a travel assistant right in your pocket. Grab these 12 great apps to prepare for (and even save money) on your trip. Continue reading to learn about 12 apps you shouldn't leave town without!

12 Service

Sometimes you book a hotel or flight and the price drops later. But it doesn’t have to. On your next vacation you might want to download Service. The app monitors your hotel booking and if the price drops, they rebook you and refund the extra money. The same goes for flights. If you book a flight and it gets delayed or cancelled, the app files a claim for you and gets you a flight voucher or flight miles.

Service also works on previous flights (up to 12 months) that were delayed or cancelled. Sign up is simple and just requires you to connect your email address with the app so it can scan for your latest bookings. Service is free with no in-app-purchases.

Highlights and Features

Save money on hotels and flights after booking
File claims up to 12 months after cancelled or delayed flight
Simple and easy to use and get money back
Also available on iPad and supports iMessage

11 App in the Air

With over 1,000 airlines worldwide and over 5,000 of the worlds busiest airports, this is the ultimate app when it comes to flights. App in the Air offers real-time flight status, airport maps and navigation, and an animated video of your flight. Users can upload their boarding pass so it can be accessed within the app’s in-flight profile. The explore feature can show users important landmarks they are flying over.

The app can even send users updates via text message to avoid data roaming outside of your data network. Users can also subscribe to relatives to stay up-to-date on their current flights. App in the Air is free and offers in-app purchases ranging from $4.99 for a monthly subscription to $29.99 for an annual subscription.

Highlights and Features

Track airline, car, and hotel loyalty points
Check-in reminders help users get the best seat
Advice tab provides reviews and suggestions from other travelers
Track flights live
AR mode keeps things fun
Available Apple Watch support

10 Citymapper

When navigating major cities in the US or Canada by foot, bus, or train don’t go anywhere without this app. Citymapper has won multiple awards for being the best transit app for large cities. The app offers features like transit maps and real-time departures for almost every form of transit such as subway, bus, ferry, and bikes. Users can even check Uber.

Easily check the traffic on your route and see exactly what times the bus or subway will arrive at your stop. The app gives you an exact map of when and where to exit and will also send an alert right before your stop so you don’t miss it. Citymapper is free on the App Store and offers iMessage and Apple Watch apps.

Highlights and Features

View a detailed map of all city transit
Subscribe to alerts/notifications so you don’t miss a thing
View real-time departure maps

9 HotelTonight

Everyone wants a great deal on a hotel, but many of us don’t have the time to look for one. But, HotelTonight can do it for you. Users can search for the very best hotel deals right when they open the app; and, book at last minute or up to 100 days in advance. The app even has a “why we like this hotel” feature which gives a short explanation about why a hotel is so great.

HotelTonight makes suggestions based on location, prices, and the type of hotel so you can pick the one you know you will like best. A concierge service connects you to a real person so you can ask questions about anything local, such as a great restaurant suggestion. Keep booking with the app and earn points which can get you even better deals. The more you book, the more points you receive, and the more you can save on your next hotel. The app is free to download and also has an iPad app.

Highlights and Features

Book hotels quickly either last minute or up to 100 days prior to your stay
An in-app concierge service helps you get local suggestions from real people
A loyalty point system helps save users more with every booking

8 Kayak

Probably the perfect “let’s plan a trip” app. Book your flight, find yourself a hotel, and rent a car all in the same app. Kayak curates information from hundreds of travel sites help find you the best deal. Users can also see info about their booked flights; including updates, a detailed step-by-step airport map, and how long they’ll wait in the security line. Airline forecasts give you an idea of when you should book and when the flight price will raise to help you can get the best price. Hotels can sorted by price and location, and users can set alerts to be notified if there’s a change in price. Best of all Kayak is free to download.

Highlights and Features

Track flights and view maps relating to your trip
Compare car rentals, hotel prices, and air fare all in one place
Complete your booking or rental right from the app
Available Apple Watch support

7 Ground Transportation (Lime, Lyft, and Uber)

If your travels take you to a busy city where you’d rather not worry about renting a car and fumbling with your GPS, Uber and Lyft can get you where you need to go. Even if you’ve never used a ride sharing service before, it’s easy to request a ride from either app and within minutes be on your way to your next destination. Ride sharing is also a great alternative to an airport or hotel shuttle.

If you’d rather enjoy the nice weather, Lime lets you rent a bike or electric scooter on the fly. Download the app and find a bike nearby. You can quickly scan and rent a Lime bike or scooter for a day and return it by locking it up at your final destination.

Highlights and Features (Lift & Uber)

Quickly find a ride to the airport or your hotel
View your fare before you ride
Pay for your ride within the app
Choose from multiple ride options including luxury vehicles or shared rides which reduce your cost

Highlights and Features (Lime)

See a map view of all bikes and scooters available in your area
It’s just a dollar to unlock a bike and 15¢ per minute of riding (average)
Pay for your ride within the app

6 Airbnb

Finding a good hotel can be difficult, especially if you’re on a budget or want something that doesn’t feel like your everyday hotel. If you’d rather enjoy your vacation away from hotels for a homelike feel, Airbnb can help.

Airbnb lets people rent their home or property to users. Choose from over four million vacation home rentals including beach houses, apartments, condos, and homes. You can sort by price, size, and location. A tiny beach cottage in the sand or a two bedroom condo in the big city. Rates can be nightly or weekly; and, last minute rentals are often available.

Highlights and Features

Book an entire home, condo, or even a single room right from your phone
Find last minute places to stay or long term rentals
Chat with the host directly from the app
Choose from rentals in over 191 countries

5 OpenTable

More and more restaurants are moving away from reservations, making finding a good restaurant for a family vacation or your next business meeting a time consuming experience. Enter OpenTable, the app that lets you make reservations at participating restaurants with just a few taps. Users can view what restaurants are nearby and filter by food type. You can book a reservation and if you’re inviting guests you can ask them to RSVP using the app. Canceling is just as easy if you change your mind.

Highlights and Features

Choose from 43,000 restaurants
Reserve a table and invite guests right from the app
View menus, photos, and reviews
Earn rewards when you make a reservation

4 Yelp

A new city means you have no idea what restaurants are good to eat at or what places are worth visiting. Thankfully Yelp is a thing. Users can browse local business near you from restaurants to coffee shops to museums. Yelp has over 135 million reviews worldwide so you’re bound to find a place people deem worthy of visiting. If you’d like a massage during your travels Yelp also allows you to book appointments from the app. You can also order yourself some takeout if you’d rather stay in for the night.

Highlights and Features

Read reviews of local businesses and leave your own
Order pickup or delivery from participating restaurants
Make reservations and book appointments for many businesses
Check-in to locations and leave a rating

3 Flight Board

When you need to check your flight info while traveling, but don’t need all the fancy features of the other flight apps, Flight Board is a great app to have. A simple design shows real-time flight tracking to help keep you on schedule. The app updates every minute so you won’t miss anything if your flight or gate changes. Almost every airport in the world is included, and it’s quick and easy to switch between viewing arrivals and departures. Flight Board has a free version of its app as well as a Pro version available for $3.99.

Highlights and Features

Users benefit from a simple, straightforward design
Flight status and gate numbers are updated regularly
Free and paid versions are available

2 Foursquare and Swarm

Foursquare and their spinoff app, Swarm, are fantastic when it comes to visiting locations both locally and on-the-road. The Foursquare city guide helps you find great restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in the area. You can view detailed reviews and tips of each place.

Keep track of where you’ve been with the history tab that allows you to favorite the places you loved and leave your own reviews for others. Quick tabs help you find your saves and likes and you can create new lists tailored to the city you are visiting or places you’d love to come back to.

In addition to the Foursquare City guide, the Foursquare Swarm app lets users check-in to all the places they’ve have been. It’s like a journaling app for all your visits local and around the world. But, there’s also a game-like element of swarm based on the original Foursquare app. Users can earn coins and even become “mayor” of the places they visit more. Add friends to compete for the most check-ins and gain a spot on the leaderboard.

Both Foursquare and Swarm are free to download. iPad and Apple Watch apps are also available.

Highlights and Features (Foursquare City Guide)

Easily find restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other points of interest
View the history tab to see all the places you’ve visited
Save favorites and create lists for later

Highlights and Features (Foursquare Swarm)

Check-in at all the places you visit
Become “mayor” of frequently visited sites
Share travel spots with friends and view recommendations
Compete with friends to earn a top spot on the leaderboard

1 Apple Maps

Ah, Apple Maps. It’s definitely made headlines a time or two. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or never look at the stock apps, you already know what Apple Maps is. But, have you used it to its full potential?

For those of you that are new to iOS, it originally featured Google Maps. Apple Maps made the leap to beautiful vector graphics that have since become available on other mapping apps including Google Maps. Apple Maps also hasn’t had a good track record in terms of reliable maps. But, it’s constantly improving and users can now suggest improvements right from within the app.

Despite its shortcomings, Apple Maps is an enjoyable experience when all goes well; and, it can be the perfect travel companion. It includes detailed indoor maps for select malls and airports, 3D views in major cities, and you can search for places to eat, sleep, or shop from within the app. Apple Maps links with many third-party apps letting users book rides through apps like Uber or Lyft, read reviews on Yelp, and even make reservations.

Apple Maps also includes transit information, live traffic conditions, turn-by-turn navigation with speed limits and lane information, and offline navigation when a destination has been set. Users can favorite locations, see the last place they parked, and find out if their next stop supports Apple Pay.

Apple Maps is included on iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch by default.

Highlights and Features

See 3D view of major cities in satellite or vector graphics
A unique flyover view is available in some major cities
See traffic conditions and speed limits, book a ride, or get transit information directly within the app
Indoor maps are available for major airports and shopping malls
Apple Watch provides haptic feedback prior to turns