These are the apps I can’t live without when traveling

I wouldn’t call myself a world traveler, but I do love to explore new places. Living in Europe, I often explore the continent, either by plane or car. Whether I’m off to Italy, Spain, Austria, or Portugal, the apps I use for planning and during my stay generally remain the same.

Interestingly, some of them weren’t technically designed as travel apps, but I still find them incredibly useful. I’ll walk you through my five favorite apps that I can’t live without on and before my travels, and I’ll also share a few other recommendations from my colleagues at the end.

I think most people are familiar with Notion by now. Some call it a note-taking app, but it’s much more than that. It combines notes, project management, and database functionality into one workspace.

It’s the tool I use to plan my trips in detail. I use the “Travel Planner” template, which is free to download and offers everything I need. I start by creating a new trip and then adding all the related details. I can create my itinerary, set a budget, and track/predict my expenses. I can even create a packing list to ensure I don’t forget anything important.

The template is customizable, so you can add more features. But I use it as is. It offers everything I need and more to plan my trips. And it’s always nice to look at it and see all the trips on one page, as that alone brings back great memories.

There are loads of apps for booking hotels and other types of accommodation, but this one wins by a landslide for me. It’s one of the biggest on the market, and it just works. The first time I used it was for my Paris trip way back in 2010. Since I had no issues and it offered me the best deals, I just stuck with it.

There are plenty of hotels and apartments available to book in just about any location you can imagine, and pricing is usually on par with apps like Hotels.com or even cheaper. I’ve also gotten a bunch of great deals over the years since I’m a repeat customer. From free room upgrades to a free breakfast, Booking.com has treated me well enough that I have no desire to switch to a competing app.

You can use the website to book through Booking.com, but the company is trying to get as many people on the app as possible, which is becoming the norm in just about every industry. That’s why it frequently offers discounts in the app. It’s a great way to save money, as I often get up to 5% off, a discount that isn’t available on the web. Just something to keep in mind if you ever start using it.

I don’t really know what I’d do without this one, and I don’t know how people traveled before it existed. I use it for obvious purposes, like getting from my house to my destination when traveling by car.

I also use it for walking directions. It’s easy to get lost in a big city, which can be fun in its own way. But when you just want to get to that museum, restaurant, or park, Google Maps is a lifesaver. It never let me down in the city. Just don’t use it for hiking trips. Trust me on this one.

Beyond directions, I also use it to find restaurants in my vicinity. Thanks to the integration with Google reviews, I can see restaurant scores, menus, and even pictures of food that instantly let me know how good or bad a specific place is. I can also use it to find grocery stores around my hotel, as well as other service providers that I may be interested in.

And we’re back with another Google app. I haven’t used Gemini since the beginning of my travel adventures, as it hasn’t existed for that long. But it’s so useful that I open it up multiple times during my trips.

It’s great for translation, as I only speak two languages. So if I’m not in my own country or an English-speaking one, I usually need Gemini’s help sooner or later. There are no English menus in some restaurants, for example, so I just take a picture of the menu and Gemini translates it. There are also various signs I come across when wandering through an unknown city that I don’t understand, and Gemini always helps me out.

And then there’s sightseeing. Most people just take pictures of fancy buildings and beautiful sculptures without knowing what they’re all about. I also like to take pictures, but I upload a few to Gemini for a history lesson. The app can tell me more about a specific building, and I can ask it whatever I want to know. Works like a charm and is basically like having a tour guide next to me on my trips, which I can only use when needed.

Security and privacy are important to me when traveling and connecting to a public network. To protect my data, especially when using things like banking apps, I use a VPN. It makes me feel a little bit safer.

There are plenty of VPNs out there, and if you have one from a reputable company, it will keep your data protected on public networks. The one I use is NordVPN, which is relatively affordable and has all the features I need.

There are loads of servers to connect to in just about every country, and the speeds are great. I haven’t experienced any issues whatsoever, regardless of the server and the location I connect to. It’s a paid app, but one that I do recommend. It doesn’t just come in handy for traveling, but also when you’re home, connected to your own network, as it can hide your activity from your ISP. And even in a local pub, NordVPN is useful.

My colleague Rita travels more than me, and she has a great app suggestion. She uses Wanderlog, an app that not only allows you explore cities and see various recommendations for sights and restaurants, but also lets you create an itinerary and much more. You can read more about Rita’s experience with Wanderlog at the link.

My colleague Hadlee swears by Pocket. He doesn’t like to be connected to Wi-Fi on planes, mainly due to the associated costs, so he downloads articles and saves them to Pocket so he can read them while on the plane.

Bogdan, one of the managing editors here at Android Authority, swears by the Google Arts & Culture app. He uses it to read about the history and culture of the place he’s visiting. The app also lets him check out the most popular landmarks and museums in a unknown city, making it a great way to learn more about a specific attraction before buying tickets.

Now it’s your turn. Let me know in the comments which apps you use and why you’d recommend them. I’m always looking for new ones to try out.