Travel can be a source of immense joy, discovery, and adventure — or it can be hell on Earth. Whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter or planning your first big getaway, there’s always room to make your travels smoother, safer, and more enjoyable. The key lies in embracing the digital age and harnessing the power of travel applications here are my top apps and websites I use. I also cover additional apps/websites in my article Essential Safety Apps/Websites for Travelers Over 40.
In today’s world, smartphones have become our trusty companions on the road, holding the keys to a more organized and delightful travel experience. As someone who has explored the globe extensively, I’ve accumulated a treasure trove of travel apps, neatly (well mostly neatly) organized into folders on my phone. These apps have been my faithful companions for years, simplifying my journeys and helping me overcome unexpected obstacles.
Allow me to introduce you to some of my favorite travel applications that have stood the test of time and even prompted me to support their creators by going Pro. They’ve replaced cumbersome spreadsheets and the chaos of travel documents with streamlined, user-friendly tools. Best of all, most of them are free, making them accessible to travelers of all kinds, whether you’re a smartphone aficionado or a seasoned explorer.
Tripit
The first is one I have used for over 15 years, and I rely on it so much I decided to get the Pro version, not for better tools, but to support the makers of this application who I owe so much. That is TripIt and it replaced my using an Excel spreadsheet for everything (still a good option if you don’t have a smart phone, but who doesn’t have a smart phone these days?).
It is a free app, and I used it successfully for years as a free app and so can you. It is a travel organizer application that is brilliantly easy to use. Once you download and set up the application (again it’s been years since I did this, so I hope it’s the same, if not, please someone let me know) with your personal information and register you can start using it.
This is where the simplicity is brilliant. All you do is forward your plans to an email, actually [email protected]. Because your email is registered, a program scans the email you sent with or without an attachment and starts a new trip for you. It usually recognizes air travel, lodging, activities, trains, buses, auto rental, and other items into their own category and if they are all in a similar location or date range, organizes them. It then sends you an email that it has it and asks you to go to their website or use your app to ensure everything is correct.
This is where you need to actively take part in making the app work better for you. As you can have multiple trips in your account, you need to ensure what your forwarded went into the right trip. It usually defaults to the location you’ve named your trip, so if you have a trip named France and you add tickets to Versailles, it will know to put them into that trip, not the one to Morocco later in the year.
You can also forward your total plans to anyone in the app, and they will get all the information of where and when you are in your trip. This is great for spouses, roommates, family, and workmates (is that even a word?) to know your plans. I’ve been single for most of my adult life (womp, womp, womp) and with TripIt someone always knows where I am and how to reach me should my phone not work, got stollen, without service, or whatever. I can’t tell you how reassuring that is for solo travelers.
Now when TripIt doesn’t recognize what you’ve sent them or it isn’t sure about what you sent them an email comes to you to help it. Oftentimes, I will send a plane update and it will take it but then have bot the old and the new in the record. It will have a warning that says, there is conflicting information on this flight leg, and you go into that detail and its asks you which one is now correct. You select the newer one and the older one goes away and your trip is now up to date. I love that it doesn’t do it automatically.
For the holidays, I usually buy my airfare much earlier than I do most of the time. So in my TripIt account, it has the trip I am on currently, the one that is coming up next and then the one in future (holiday travel). Well, if you’ve ever bought travel two or three months in advance you know how often flight times change. Some airlines redirect their flights to different days depending upon the routes and some cancel them altogether. ARGHH! My flights from London to the USA moved a day earlier, thank you Norse Air! So luckily my flight from Spain to London had three days built in, so that was still good, but my place in London I needed one day less, in the US I needed an extra day added in front (usually more expensive than the other days) and my auto rental needed to change.
Of course, the London lodging booking wouldn’t refund anything as it was prepaid, ARGH! (note to self, always use the delayed payment option), so even though I sent them the change notices from the airline, they could not care less. I will get my revenge. However, making all these corrections couldn’t have been easier than just by emailing them to TripIt, who automatically made the changes into the itinerary in minutes. I was impressed.
It also tracks your travel as you go. Right now, it says I’ve been to 21 countries, 93 cities, and traveled 386, 230 miles (Updated March 2025: 42 countries, 155 cities traveled 611,068). Of course, I know that’s incorrect as for 5 years I never used my TripIt account for a lot of my travel including a month in Southeast Asia, and I did not put in small trips that I used to take every other week for six years in California between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Still, it is somewhat neat to have a program do this for you. That is TripIt and I get nothing for making this recommendation, other than hoping it helps some of you in your travels.
Rome2Rio
Second application is one I usually use more as a website, though the app does come in handy traveling, it is Rome2Rio. This brilliant site helps you get from point A to point B and usually gives you multiple options. If you are flying into a new airport and want to know the easiest way to get to your hotel, simply type in the airport and then the name or address of your hotel.
It will give you train, taxi, bus, shuttle, and others if they exist and an estimate on how much they cost. I have no idea how they keep this site up to date down there in Australia, but it usually is exact or very close to reality. Now there are times when the site is not correct and the taxi or the bus fare or train ticket might be more expensive, but usually they are not that far off.
I also use it extensively to map out a larger vacation, such as the one I took to Ireland recently over my birthday. I had no idea, other than starting from Dublin, as most of the flights available to me for a reasonable price went to Dublin, where I should go from there. Using Rome2Rio I could tell that most of the areas I wanted to go to were only hours away by train or bus. Thus, I crossed off having to rent a car quickly. Then I needed to decide would I daisy chain the trip: start at point A, then B, then C, then D and go back to A like a huge circle. Or could I do spokes of a wheel with one or two bases or hubs and make daytrips from there. I ended up doing a mixture of both with three hubs: Dublin at the start and finish, Galway, and then Cork. I could do almost everything on my list for my first trip to Ireland, including going to Northern Ireland, and Rome2Rio had links to the bus and train companies I needed. In a short time, I planned out my whole trip using this great site.
I use it just as much within a city as well. I am staying at X, and I want to go to a restaurant at Y, what are my options? Oftentimes a taxi or Uber is the most direct, however, I am sometimes surprised by how often a metro or bus can get you there (or close) for so much less and usually not that much more time. If a city has bad traffic, the metro can often beat the taxi or Uber timewise. It will also tell you the schedule of the trains or buses and the time and distance so you can make an informed decision. The last couple of years, they’ve gotten much more connected with other pay sites like Expedia and such, often opening a second window with their hotel offers and such hidden behind the window you’re working on. And I get that everyone needs to make a living, I just don’t like this newer development as much.
Google Maps
Google Maps is my third application/website that I use extensively in planning and during my trips. I use it to research what I want to see and do in a new place and then saving it on their maps program. I used Maps.me for a few years until Google added the download feature to their saved maps, then it was just easier to keep everything on Google Maps.
I research anything I want to see or possibly might see and save them to a Google map with a subfolder name for that country or city. To do this, you need a Google account, and since I have Gmail, I have an account, if you don’t it’s easier to sign up. Once you have an account, go to Google Maps and type in the place you are going, let’s for fun just say London, since I am working on that trip right now.
OK the map for London shows up and of course London is huge! But I know where my hotel is, so I go to TripIt and get the name (usually all you need but also get the address) and type the name into the maps search field. My hotel is part of a local chain, so I type in the full name to ensure I get the right one and hit enter. The map becomes much more local, and the hotel is now in a side search bar with more details on my hotel.
Next to the “Directions” button is a “Save” button, hit that now. It takes you to a new sub screen and asks you if you want to create a New List, check that one, then name it London and hit enter. You will see on the map that the hotel Map Pin (red dot like a balloon marking the location) now has a blueish circle on its base with a white square. Good, now click on anything else in the map near there, another hotel or restaurant for example, and the red Map Pin changes to what you’ve clicked on, but the blue circle will remain. Those circles will also show up every time you look at the map of London or Europe if you are signed onto Google on your computer or phone.
Now you have your homebase on your maps, just like your hotel will be your homebase in real life on your trip. In case you’ve been in a bunker all your life and don’t know the main attractions in London, fear not! Along the top of the map are categories the map can zero in on, hit the one that says “Things to Do”. The map will show you what Things to Do are within about 15 minute walk from your hotel. Say Berkeley Square shows up and you’ve always wanted to see if a nightingale does sing there, then click on the name and again the red Map Pin changes and Berkeley Square shows up in the sidebar on the left. Click “Save” button and then add it to London map and now you have two destinations done.
Now click “Things to Do” again but for now, keep pulling the map out (or hit the negative sign in the bottom right) to see more of London and soon the maps program will ask you in a pop up window near the top “Search this Area” and click it. Now more of the major attractions will come up on more of Greater London. Keep going through them and adding them to your map. Do the same with restaurants you might want to go to, then Museums and whatever. If there isn’t a button for the category you want to search for, type it in the search bar on the left side.
Once you’ve done enough of these, you can start planning your days. Click on one, let’s say Berkeley Square with that damn bird has piqued your interest. In the sidebar, on the left of the “Save” button, which should now say “Saved,” click on Directions. Another screen pops up and asks you what is your starting point? You can type in your hotel, but I find it easier to just find that blue circle and tap on it. Now you get directions by car, train, walking, bike, plane, et al, so click on walking. Now paths between the two should show on your map. You now know that this damn bird is 17-minute walk from your hotel, and you go through Leicester Square on your way, you can see both within a half an hour. Keep going and you have your days mapped out and everything you want to see and can plan the rest of your trip.
An important side benefit that I cover in my Being Safe While Traveling article, is that it can make the time you take looking at your phone much faster. This way you aren’t pulling the phone out as often and trying to figure out where you are and letting everyone see you on your phone and pegging you as a tourist. You can see exactly where you are in relation to one of the destinations you pre-chose, this helps speed up orientation tremendously. This means you are staring less at your phone and being less of a papaya (again it’s in the other article), suffice it to say, you’re being less of a target for phone theft.
Finally, once you are done, download that map on your phone so you can also use it offline if you might be having internet issues. And let’s face it, there always seem to be internet issues of some sort in a new city or country, with or without a local SIM card. Open Google Maps on your phone (I use an iPhone, but the directions should be similar to others) and type in London, be sure you are signed into Google Maps first. On the map should be all the blue circles you saved. Along the bottom of the screen is the “Directions” button. Don’t click it but slide that whole list to the left until you see “Download Offline Map” and hit that button. Now your map can be used if you have internet or not. I don’t do this until I am sure I am done adding items to my map, usually the week before I leave.
Finally
Incorporating travel applications and websites into your planning and journey can significantly improve your travel experience. TripIt simplifies itinerary management, Rome2Rio offers efficient navigation options, and Google Maps facilitates pre-trip research and offline navigation.
By utilizing these tools, not only can you streamline your trip planning, but you can also make your time abroad more enjoyable and safe. These applications help you stay organized, reduce your reliance on your phone, and keep your travels smooth. Consider using these alongside airline-specific apps for a comprehensive and convenient travel experience. Here’s to smoother, safer, and more enjoyable journeys on your future adventures. You deserve it!
Additional Apps/Websites:
Google Translate I have a great summary of how to use this app here, along with several other ideas on how to travel safely. Google Translate also has a camera to translate written items, like in a grocery store, that, when it works, is great.
ChatGPT: Actually a lot of people believe this AI app is great at language translating. For some it has replaced Google Translate.
Reddit: this great community of communities is incredibly valuable for looking up information on a country, city, or neighborhood that you will be going to.
Google Flights and Skyscanner (only with private window) for finding flights
Flighty App. (Great site to keep watch over your flights to let you know of delays before the airlines do)
Speaking of airlines, I usually download and join the airline that I am flying’s app. Has helped me numerous times and I just stuff them into an app folder when I’m done flying them.
STEP Smart Travel App: In the US you can register with the State Department wherever you are traveling in case there is an emergency (personal or natural disaster) and they have a record of you being in that country. Other country state departments have similar programs.
Bolt or local taxi app, as well as Uber and Lift: need to preregister and assign a credit card before you go overseas.
AirBNB and Booking.com, though I am leery of them sometimes due to the disastrous customer support I’ve read about online, but knock on wood, I have been good so far.
Local biking app for rental of public bikes, most big cities have one or two bike rental programs, makes seeing the city (unless hilly then I look for scooters) much easier.
Viator, Get Your Guide, and TripAdvisor: for local tours and outings, like GYG best.
Airalo: for buying e-sims for my phone. There are many others, some better in different countries, do research to see which ones work best, especially in China or middle east.
Local train, metro, bus, and other transportation apps: these are a lifesaver often, but you need to research your destination’s best transportation apps to use.
Thank you for reading my article. If you would like to read about other travel posts you can go to Articles to see all posts, or to Destinations to see them grouped by location. General travel tips can be found here.
