Twenty must-have travel apps to download before your next holiday

Smartphones are steadily rendering other devices – and even physical media – obsolete. Your phone is now your camera, newspaper, library, map, entertainment hub, shopping portal, and more. This versatility becomes even more crucial when travelling.

Forget bulky guidebooks and single-purpose gadgets, your phone can streamline your packing. Sure, it can’t replace your wardrobe (yet), but it can replace many other items you’d have once lugged around the world. And it’s a boon for planning too.

At least, it is if you have the right apps. So here are our top picks to get you started.

Mobile apps can help you travel smarter.Credit: Getty Images

Planning your trip

Skyscanner
You might feel loyal to an airline, but many people feel more loyal to their bank accounts. Skyscanner makes it a cinch to explore options for air travel, refine plans by way of various filters, and potentially unearth routes and bargains you’d otherwise never have considered.
Free; see skyscanner.com.au/mobile.html

Todoist
When you’re thousands of miles from home, suddenly remembering you’ve forgotten an essential item or not completed a task at home is not ideal. Todoist lets you fashion reusable lists, with the added benefit of working cross-platform and even allowing you to delegate tasks to other people in your party.
Free; see todoist.com/downloads

Booking.com
This one uses the slogan “hotels and more” on the Google Play store, but it’s the “hotels” function we’re here for. This app lets you peruse all kinds of places to stay during a trip – from swish hotels to quirky apartments – digging into the finer details and then figuring out whether your budget can cope.
Free; see booking.com/apps.html

DB Navigator
Planning journeys by train, at home and abroad, can be a nightmare. Google Maps makes a reasonable attempt to provide details, but if you’re in Europe, DB Navigator is a better bet for planning journeys – although you’ll need to visit individual operator websites to buy your tickets. Heading to the United States? Try Wanderu instead.
Free; see int.bahn.de/en/booking-information/db-navigator

Atlas Obscura
Plenty of apps can tell you what’s popular in your destination. But Atlas Obscura instead directs you to curiosities off the beaten path. Over 20,000 unexpected places are included within the app. You can plan where to go and track where you’ve been, and even contribute somewhere new upon making a discovery of your own.
Free; see app.atlasobscura.com

For your flight

FlightAware
Plane-tracking apps can be overloaded with features for enthusiasts. But when travelling, you just want to know when your plane will take off – and where it is right now. FlightAware gets you to such details at speed, and pleasingly has a button labelled with what’s on the mind of many a traveller: where is my plane?
Free + IAP; see flightaware.com/mobile

Readly
Magazines are great, right up until you need to shove a dozen of them into your in-flight bag and then carry them around. For the price of a couple of publications, Readly provides instant access to over 7000 of the things – and countless back issues. You can even share your subscription with up to five friends.
$14.99 a month; see au.readly.com

White Noise+
If you find flying stressful and overwhelming, with this app you can drown out noise by way of customisable ambient soundscapes you arrange on a grid-based mini mixing desk.
$5.99 to $11.99; see iOS

Money and essentials

NordVPN
VPNs overplay their hand regarding security, but are worth using to encrypt data on public Wi-Fi. They can also spoof your location to access geo-blocked services or go shopping. NordVPN is my favourite – it’s reliable, fast and feature-packed. If you sign-up, do so via the website, which offers far better details than anything you get in-app. Free; see nordvpn.com/download

Currency
There are so many currency apps, but this one makes my list for its no-nonsense approach: add currencies; select one and tap out a value; instant conversions. Pay and you get historical charts and real-time rates too, but unless something bad happens to the economy where you’re staying, the one-hour rates ‘delay’ should be fine during a holiday.
Free; see currencyapp.com

Spending Tracker
There are more advanced budget apps out there, but who wants the hassle when on holiday? This app is designed to help you define a budget, quickly log expenses, make sure the sum total of the latter doesn’t look like it’ll get too much bigger than the former, and otherwise get on with your holiday.
Free or $2.99; see spending-tracker.en.softonic.com

Wise
When cash, credit or debit cards aren’t accepted, the Wise app can help in a pinch, allowing you to wire transfer tour operators and more in just a few clicks. The app claims the “lowest possible” conversion rates, and can hold up to 50 currencies at once, converting between them instantly – and at the real exchange rate – for a low fee.
Free; see wise.com/au/money-transfer-app

Activities and excursions

Tomorrow.io
Most weather apps provide data without context. This one’s different. For each saved location, you can select activities you might like to partake in. It’ll then outline when will next be a good moment for a spot of golf, eating outdoors, or a swift run.
Free; see tomorrow.io/consumer-app

Google Translate
When you don’t speak the local language, Google Translate has you covered. You can download languages for offline use, to keep translations – and even conversations between two people – flowing without internet access. And you can even point your camera at menus and signs, whereupon the app will attempt to decipher them on the spot.
Free; Android, iOS

Google Maps
Chances are this one’s already on your phone. But you might not realise how handy Google Maps is when travelling. You can store massive chunks of maps offline, whereupon turn-by-turn directions will continue to function. And when you’re back online, you can quickly explore what’s local – and even how busy places of interest are at any given time.
Free; Android, iOS

AllTrails
Google Maps is fine for navigating a city – not so much for the great outdoors. When you fancy hiking, AllTrails gives you over 400,000 routes to explore, each of which displays its distance, time and elevation. Subscribe and you can download maps for offline use and, handily, get a nudge if you make a wrong turn.
Free + IAP; see alltrails.com

Ski Tracks
If your idyllic getaway involves skiing or snowboarding, this app ensures your time won’t be wasted and you can track your progress on the pistes. Switch it on as you start your day and it’ll suck in data you can peruse later to see how you fared and compare with friends – including geolocated snaps for those all-important snowy selfies.
$2.99; see corecoders.com/ski-tracks-app

Tides Near Me
Whether you’re planning a trip to an island temporarily linked to the mainland during low tide or keen to show off your surfing skills, you’ll need to know about upcoming tides. This app is a simple yet effective way to explore nearby tides and those all-important times for the current day or week ahead.
Free; see tidesnear.me

Coming home

Snapseed
Your phone takes great photos. But to do more with them, reach for Snapseed. Google’s image editor is packed with user-friendly filters and tools, including perspective correction and text overlays. Best of all, edits are non-destructive, so you can rethink when you turn every holiday snap into grainy black and white and realise that doesn’t quite hit the spot.
Free; Android, iOS

Timeshifter Jet Lag
Travelling halfway around the world for the holiday of a lifetime? Exciting! Except when you return home and jet lag turns you into a zombie for a week. This app cleverly helps you adjust your sleep/wake cycle during the days before your journey, so you’ll have a good chance of staying awake at the office.
Free + IAP; see timeshifter.com/the-jet-lag-app

Dos and don’ts of using mobile apps on holiday

Do
Check data. You can chew through data alarmingly quickly when overseas, so research what your plan allows before you leave and whether you need a roaming bolt-on or to invest in a Breeze SIM.

Do
Take things offline. Even if you can roam for free, don’t assume you’ll always have connectivity. Store maps and media offline, and as a backup print important documents, such as tickets.

Do
Back things up. Speaking of backups, make sure you have one for your phone before you leave. If your device is stolen or lost, at least your photos and data will be recoverable.

Don’t
Rely on your phone’s battery. When on holiday, you may use your phone more than at home – but be away from chargers. So invest in a pocket-friendly power bank.

Don’t
Flaunt your tech. Tourist destinations add risk when it comes to tech being stolen. So ensure your phone’s always secure. Also, enable device tracking and configure your screen lock to activate after one minute of inactivity.

The Telegraph, London

Something we missed? Got a great app recommendation? Leave a comment below.