We all know that in our evermore tech based world that there seems to be an App for everything! It can be hard to decide which ones will actually be useful so here are my favorite Apps for travel. For navigating cities I suggest using Google Maps, I like being able to have offline directions, see what traffic will be at a specific time, pin locations, and save places I might want to go later. When booking travel I like Trainline for trains in Europe/ UK it is easy to see lots of different options and it is easy to put in travel cards or student discounts(just make sure you carry those cards when you travel). For flights I like to look at Google flights to find the cheapest days and then plug in those cheap days to StudentUniverse and find the most inexpensive flights. It also shows you all your upcoming trips. One of the best things is that rather than other places you can purchase flights, StudentUniverse shows you the actual price with taxes and everything so there are no surprises. They also have excellent customer service and I’ve used them throughout the pandemic and they have made their polices clear and been very helpful in preparing for the unexpected. Hostelworld is my go to app for booking accommodations. I very rarely stay in hotels. I love how quick and easy the app is to use you can put in so many restrictions that really help streamline the process. You can restrict options by location, amenities, and price; there are also loads of reviews available which is super useful. Hostels can vary greatly in style and vibe and it can be really important to know what you are walking into. You don’t want to expect a quiet night’s sleep and have a bar below the hostel and street parties all night. Although if you do find a hostel you love, Hostelworld makes it easy to add nights last minute. The next app can be super helpful when trying to find activities in a new city. Anyone who has traveled alone knows that it can be hard to fill time or know where to start when exploring a new city. GetYourGuide allows you to purchase tickets and guided tours in cities. They offer lots of deals and combinations of tickets and tours, it’s also super useful for finding out everything that your ticket includes. I’ve found lots of times when you buy a ticket in person they don’t always tell you everything it includes and it can save you money and give you access to more sites/museums or even discounts on food or at shops. This can also save you time by being able to skip queues and see a city more efficiently. Another positive is avoiding the awkward language barrier while trying to decide on a ticket or get a student discount, by taking care of it online then you don’t feel like you are causing a hassle. Another money saver is Travel Spend. I found out about this app a few years back from a friend who had been traveling for two years continuously and it was one of the best finds ever! This is probably one of the only apps I am willing to pay for premium. You can log multiple trips; set daily, weekly, and monthly budgets. It allows you to distribute the cost of things like if you spend a hundred Euro on a hostel you can spread it out so it shows what you are spending per day. It also shows you how off you are on your overall budget so if you have a day with lots of expenses you can see when you start getting back in the green. It also allows you to put in when someone owes you money or if you get money you can add back to your budget. And of course like any good travel spending app it has tons of options for up to date conversions which make receiving and spending much clearer. It really helps me stick to a budget which allows me to afford to travel even more. My final app recommendation is way less travel specific and is something I use on the daily, WhatsApp. Anyone who has friends abroad knows this app; it basically works like all the normal functions of your normal phone but only requires internet service. So basically you can have video calls, phone calls, text with anyone in the world. I really like that you can add people by local phone numbers so if I need to use someone’s local number I have it. Overall it’s just a very easy to use; clean format that I have found incredibly useful. These 7 apps have enabled me to get the most out of my travel experiences by helping me make efficient use of my time and plan almost all my travel from my phone.
Val's Travels 