Best Travel Apps 2023
Looking for the best apps for travel in 2023? How about the best free travel apps?
I have traveled the world with the best international travel apps, and most of them are free! These top travel apps have made life so much easier and more fun while on vacation.
I highly recommend downloading all of these free travel apps (some have upgrades for a fee) before your next trip. It’s so nice to plan and get organized before you travel. This way, you can relax a little more on your vacation.
When traveling, it’s important to have quick access to reliable information without needing wifi. Venice is about the only city I can think of where it’s a little bit of fun to be lost. I always like to have an offline map app on my iPhone that shows me exactly where I am, at all times.
If I want to communicate in another language or make it easy on myself to figure out the cost of something in my own currency, it’s all right there on my iPhone.
Anyone hungry? No problem. I have my itinerary, notes, and another app that will help us find great food nearby.
The following are my favorite “best travel apps” to use for worldwide travel.
Ready to download the best travel apps 2023?
Best Travel Apps for iPhone
Best Offline Travel Apps- Best Apps for International Travel
*Make sure to download these travel apps before leaving home
Best Map Apps
Google does a lot of things well, including maps. For trips abroad, a map is one of the most important apps to have. You can download cities or areas worldwide and use them as you would when online. You can also get directions with downloaded Google Maps, as long as you are within the map that you downloaded.
You can also prepare a map with sites, shops restaurants… to use offline or online as you are walking around a destination. This is so nice to have, as it tracks where you are, you can always see what is nearby.
Click here for directions on how to download a google map to use on the app
Click here for how to create a map and add your places
*If you are able to be online while traveling, you can easily save your favorite places on your Google map app for any destination. Just enter a city, then enter a place (restaurant, site…), and touch the save icon. You then can select Favorites (a red heart will appear on your map), Want To Go (a green flag will appear), Starred Places (a star will appear), or Travel Plans (a suitcase will appear).
Best translation apps
I was recently introduced to this brilliant app in France by an international businessman-friend, and it’s a translation game changer. With 70+ languages, this free app will translate live voice conversations, text, photos, and screenshots! I recommend downloading the languages you will need for your travels so you can also use this app offline.
Download the languages of the countries you will be visiting before you leave home or when you have wifi, and you will be able to translate by keying or speaking into your phone. There is also a camera feature which is a convenient way to translate restaurant menus.
Best currency converter app:
Add the currencies of the countries you are visiting before you leave home, or when you have wifi. You will be able to put a price in and see it in your currency almost instantly.
Best trip organization app
This app collects all of your reservations from Gmail and Inbox and then organizes your trip. You can use it to find things to do, places to eat, and plan out your day. You can also use the suggestions feature and a day will be mapped out for you. Tripit is another option.
*I also keep our detailed Itineraries in the Google Docs App
Best app for Europe Travel (and one of the best Italy travel apps!)
It’s worth having to listen to a few corny jokes…Rick knows Europe better than most and his FREE walking tour app is great for parents as well as older kids. Included are tours of cities, historical sites, museums, etc. Just download all of the tours you are interested in (before leaving home) on each person’s phone. Then, put in ONE earbud and everyone can start the tour at the same time.
Best app to check your activity level
This is a fun way to track your steps daily. We like to make a game of it in big cities by trying to beat the previous days’ steps!
Best travel review app
Download your destinations before leaving home and you will have access to all of the information–such as hotels, restaurants, things to do, etc.
*This has been under construction, so until it is up and running, this will be an app that requires wifi.
Best Travel Apps for Entertainment
Best Book Apps
*Download audiobooks for the kids to listen to during flights, long drives, or waiting in line. I highly recommend this one! My teen and college-age kids still look forward to listening to audiobooks when we travel. It is so nice to have them entertained and doing something productive (and not playing video games!).
Best Movie Apps
Download movies and shows in advance to watch offline on flights.
Another favorite movie app! Download to watch offline.
Best music apps
Download playlists before leaving home for lots of listening. Check out a playlist for the typical music in the country you are visiting.
*If you have forgotten to download something before leaving home just head to a cafe, enjoy a coffee, and use the Wifi.
Best Apps for Travel that need Wifi
Best apps for booking travel (and travel deal apps)
Booking.com (Best app for booking hotels)
This app is easy to use, allows you to select from several options in the search criteria, and the reviews are reliable. Use it if you need to change your plan and book a hotel, bed, and breakfast or a farm stay.
Airbnb (Best app for booking a rental or experience)
This is a great app to have on hand while traveling, to book “Experiences.” There are thousands of excursions, activities, eating and other fun experiences offered by locals around the world.
Skyscanner (Best app for air travel)
This is a great app to have on hand for any travel plans, especially important if you change your plans and need to book last minute flight, hotel, or car for the best price.
For more of the best trip-planning apps and websites
It’s always good to check reviews and compare prices.
Best transportation apps
Just put in your starting point and destination cities, and this brilliant app will show you all the different ways you can get from point A to point B along with the estimated cost
Before leaving home, check to see if either of these transportation options is available in the country you are traveling to. Some countries have their own ride service apps, like GoJek in Indonesia.
*Use Grab or Gojek for some countries in Asia. They also deliver food from many restaurants.
Best app for foodies
*Looking at reviews is an absolute must before eating out when traveling. Unfortunately, there are fake reviews out there. Because of this, I use both of these apps and look at Google reviews when deciding where to eat. My sons are great at this too, so we almost always eat delicious food every time we eat out when traveling!
Trip Advisor is super helpful when looking for a great place to eat nearby or in a city. You can select which type of food you are looking for, or at whichever price range, or you can look at the entire list to see what the top places to eat are in any category. I like to select the Traveler Ranking to be 4 or above then use the map to see where there is a great place to eat near where I’m going to be at that time.
Pretty much the same as Trip Advisor, but you need to select Sort and choose Rating to see the restaurants in order of best to worst.
This is the same Airbnb app. Use it to book food and eating “experiences”- take a food tour, a cooking class, eat with locals in their home…the opportunities here are endless.
App for the airline you are flying
This can be used to check your flight status, check in, and sometimes for watching movies, etc. It varies between airlines.
Best Apps to stay in touch
Free texting and phone calls to and from anyone who has this app, but…you need to be online for it to work.
In case you need to find someone (they have to be connected to wifi).
Best app for an airport in the US
There’s no paperwork or long lines to wait in when you have this app! When returning to the United States on an international flight, just connect with wifi, answer a few questions about your trip, and head to the fast Mobile Passport Control area.
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