The Best iPhone Apps for Travel

By 9:51 AM


My boyfriend Jake and I went backpacking around Europe in 2014 for 102 days (3 months and 10 days). While we were gone we learnt an incredible amount; about the world, about ourselves, about each other, about how we like to travel, and about what we need to travel. Throughout our adventures we formed a solid base of necessities in several different categories, one of which was smart phone apps.

We both took our iPhones with us, which I don't regret for a second, as I think at many times we may have ended up dead without them (probably exaggerating). Below are our holy grail survival apps, which we would highly recommend to anyone planning on going overseas for an extended period of time.

My 5 Favourite iPhone Apps for Travel 

                 Passbook
This app is already installed on the iPhone when you get it, and was overlooked by us for the first part of our trip. When we finally got around to trying it we were kicking ourselves for not using it all along. Passbook stores your boarding passes in such an easy way and will save you time when you get up to the counter to check into your flight. We didn't really use it for anything else, and to be honest I'm not even sure what else it can be used for. I'll be sure to investigate further next trip we go on. 
✓ Available offline 
✓ Stores boarding passes

              Google Maps
An obvious app, but so incredibly necessary and helpful. Whenever we were somewhere with wifi we would download the map for the next city we were visiting, that way when we got there and were trying to find our accommodation we would have an offline copy of the city's map to use. On several occasions we forgot to download the offline map for the next city we were going to, and found ourselves completely stuffed when we arrived; so don't forget to pre-download when you have wifi!
✓ Available offline
✓ Detailed maps of anywhere in the world
✗ Must pre download the map with wifi before accessing offline

             Rail Planner
If you're like us and have bought a rail pass for your trip, this app will be your very best friend. Even if you don't have a rail pass you'll become great pals with this one, as you'll surely catch a train at some point. The Rail Planner app works offline, which is the best thing in the world when you're travelling and have chosen not to pay a million dollars a day for roaming. You put in a from and to location, and date, and the app will show you every possibly way to get there and every time you can take each route. It also shows you what the closest station to you is called and how far away from it you are. We used this app every single day and found it to be just the best thing ever. Honestly, if you had to pay for this app I think I would have paid upwards of $100 for it; thats how brilliantly useful it is. 
✓ Available offline
✓ Detailed train routes and timetables for all of Europe

               Citymapper
Citymapper is similar to Google Maps, as in its an offline map app. I think its pretty new, as it didn't have every city we visited, but we were very excited when it did have a map for the city we were in. Some of the maps available are Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, SF Bay Area, New York, DC, Mexico City, plus others.
✓ Available offline
✓ Detailed maps
✗ Limited cities available


               XE Currency
An obvious choice, but always handy to have. XE Currency is, quite obviously, a currency converter app. You put in an amount and it tells you what that converts to in other currencies of your choice. We didn't use this one all too much, because the conversion from British Pounds to Australian dollars was pretty much double, and Euros to Australian Dollars was pretty close to one and a half, so we just did both of those in our heads. It is, however, the best currency converter that I've used. Whenever you have wifi it checks the conversion rates, so when you're offline it still works with the most recent rates.
✓ Available offline
✓ Converts currencies

Other Travel Apps 

I've heard of a few other apps that sound like they could be great for travel; but we didn't use them during our Europe trip so I can't vouch for them personally. Here are a few I've found:
              Wi-fi Finder
As far as I know this app shows you a map of the area you're in, and pins any wifi hot spots near by. That sounds like something that could come in extremely handy if you forget to download your offline map, or if you're just out and about and need a break and want to browse the web and social media while you're at it. 


           City Maps 2 Go
I think this one is pretty similar to Google Maps and Citymapper, in as far as it shows you a map of the area you're in, and is accessible offline. This app came up a lot in my searches and seemed to be really popular, so it must be good and may be worth giving a go. 


While we were in Europe we made a Youtube channel, called Alice & Errol, where we posted videos of each place we visited, so feel free to check that out if you're interested. We have videos from London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Geithoorn, Maastricht, Paris, Geneva, Lauterbrunnen, Lake Como, Verona, Venice, Amalfi, Split, a MedSailors yacht week through Croatia, Santorini, Paros, Mykonos, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Hamburg, Valencia, Barcelona, and Lisbon.

I'd love to hear about your experiences with any of the apps mentioned above, and any other apps you've found useful during your travels. 

xx Bec

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