Your Smartphone Is the Best Travel Tool Ever Made
The apps now available to travellers are genuinely extraordinary. Real-time translation. Offline maps of anywhere in the world. Flight price prediction. Currency conversion. Restaurant discovery. Twenty years ago, this required a combination of guidebooks, phrasebooks, paper maps, and good luck. Today it’s in your pocket.
The challenge is knowing which apps are actually worth your storage space. Here are the ones we use and recommend consistently.
Flight Search
Google Flights
Our primary tool for flight research. The price calendar, flexible date grid, fare alerts, and ‘Explore’ destination discovery map make it the most powerful flight search tool available. We open this first on every search.
Skyscanner
Best for open-ended searching — ‘Where can I fly cheapest from Sydney this month?’ The ‘Everywhere’ destination feature is unique and genuinely useful for flexible travellers.
Hopper
Analyses historical pricing data to predict whether to ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Wait’ on specific flights. Useful for travellers uncertain about timing their purchase.
Accommodation
Booking.com
The most comprehensive accommodation platform globally. Excellent filtering, the largest inventory, and free cancellation options on most properties make it our go-to for hotel and apartment search.
Hostelworld
The essential app for backpackers and budget travellers. The most comprehensive hostel database with genuine community reviews. Nothing else comes close for hostel-specific search.
Navigation
Google Maps — Download Offline Before You Arrive
Download your destination’s area map for offline use before boarding your flight. The offline functionality is comprehensive — turn-by-turn navigation, public transport directions, business search — all without data. We do this for every destination without exception.
Maps.me
Uses OpenStreetMap data and is particularly strong for rural areas and destinations where Google Maps coverage is thinner. A useful backup, especially for hiking or off-beaten-path exploration.
Translation
Google Translate — Especially the Camera Feature
The camera translation feature is remarkable: point your phone at any text — a menu, a sign, a document — and see the translation overlaid in real time. Download language packs for your destinations before departing so it works offline. We use this multiple times a day in non-English speaking countries.
Duolingo
Even basic phrases in the local language transform the experience. Locals notice and appreciate the effort. Duolingo makes language learning genuinely enjoyable — 10 minutes a day in the weeks before your trip makes a real difference.
Money
XE Currency
Real-time currency conversion with offline capability using last-cached rates. Set multiple currencies simultaneously. Simple, reliable, and genuinely useful when negotiating prices at markets or calculating whether something represents value.
Wise
Hold and spend foreign currencies using the real interbank exchange rate with minimal fees. The multi-currency debit card is dramatically better than airport currency exchange or standard bank cards with foreign transaction fees. We use this for all international spending.
Organisation
TripIt
Forward all your booking confirmation emails to TripIt and it automatically creates a unified, chronological itinerary. Syncs with your calendar, provides real-time flight status updates, and works offline. Excellent for complex multi-destination trips.
PackPoint
An intelligent packing list generator that accounts for your destination, trip length, planned activities, and weather forecast. Genuinely reduces both over-packing and forgotten essentials.
Safety and Communication
The universal international communication standard. Works over WiFi — essential when you don’t have a local SIM yet. The primary way to stay in touch with family, coordinate with accommodation hosts, and communicate with local contacts worldwide.
Discovery
TripAdvisor
The most comprehensive restaurant, attraction, and experience review database globally. Most useful for filtering by location and reading recent reviews. We use it primarily for restaurant discovery and to identify whether major attractions are worth the time and money.
Download Before You Fly
Set aside 30 minutes before your next trip to download and set up these apps. Download offline maps for your destination, language packs for Google Translate, and save your itinerary in TripIt. It’s a small investment of time that pays back immediately from the moment you land.
