Flight Booking & Tracking Apps
Google Flights
FREEThe best starting point for finding flights. Flexible date calendar shows cheapest days to fly. Price alerts and route explorer. Best for searching across airlines.
Skyscanner
FREEThe UK's most popular flight comparison app. Good for combining flights across different airlines and budget carriers. Price alerts feature is excellent.
FlightAware / Flightradar24
FREE (basic)Real-time flight tracking. Useful for checking if your incoming aircraft is running late before you leave for the airport. Flightradar24 is particularly addictive.
easyJet / Ryanair / BA apps
FREEAlways download your specific airline's app — it has your boarding pass, flight status alerts and sometimes unique deals not on comparison sites.
Maps & Navigation Apps
Google Maps (Offline)
FREE ⭐ EssentialDownload areas for offline use before you travel — saves your mobile data abroad and works without signal. The "Download offline map" option in the app covers your entire destination. Also works for public transport routing in most cities.
Maps.me
FREE Great for hiking/ruralDetailed offline maps with hiking trails, points of interest and walking routes not in Google Maps. Excellent for rural areas, hiking and less-touristy destinations. Download your destination before you leave.
Rome2rio
FREE Essential for planningMulti-modal journey planner — shows all options (flight, train, bus, ferry, drive) between any two points worldwide with approximate costs and times. Invaluable for planning complex itineraries.
Citymapper
FREE City tripsThe best urban transit app for cities it covers (London, Paris, NYC, Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo and 80+ others). More accurate and detailed than Google Maps for city public transport.
Accommodation & Experience Booking Apps
Booking.com
The most comprehensive hotel booking platform — millions of properties worldwide, free cancellation on most, and reliable guest reviews. Best for hotels and guesthouses.
Airbnb
Best for apartment rentals, villas and unique stays. Often better value for longer stays or larger groups. Read reviews carefully and book Superhosts where possible.
GetYourGuide / Viator
The two best platforms for booking tours, activities and experiences at your destination — walking tours, cooking classes, skip-the-line museum tickets, day trips. Book in advance for popular experiences.
Hostelworld
The go-to app for hostel bookings worldwide. Good for solo travellers and budget trips. Reliable ratings system and social features for meeting other travellers.
LoungeBuddy / Lounge Pass
Book airport lounge day passes at UK and international airports. See our Lounge Guide for more.
Currency & Money Apps
Wise (formerly TransferWise)
⭐ Essential — The best travel money card and app. See the mid-market exchange rate, hold 40+ currencies, and spend abroad with zero hidden fees. The app tracks your spending in real time and alerts you to transactions.
Revolut
Popular alternative to Wise — exchange money in the app at interbank rates, instant spending notifications, and easy card freezing if lost. Free plan has monthly exchange limits.
XE Currency
The best simple currency converter app. Works offline. Shows live and historical exchange rates for 130+ currencies. Useful for quick price comparisons at markets and restaurants.
Splitwise
For group trips — tracks who paid for what and calculates who owes whom at the end. Eliminates end-of-trip arguments about money.
For full guidance on travel money and avoiding fees, see our Currency & Money Guide.
Translation Apps
Google Translate
⭐ Essential — Download languages offline before you travel. Camera translation (point your phone at a menu or sign) is genuinely excellent and works offline. Works for 133+ languages. Real-time conversation mode for face-to-face translation.
DeepL Translate
Better than Google Translate for European languages — more natural phrasing and better context understanding. Free tier is sufficient for most travel needs. Best for Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish.
iTranslate Voice
Good for real-time voice conversation translation. Useful in situations where you need to communicate verbally with someone who doesn't share a language.
Safety & Emergency Apps
FCO Travel Aware (Gov.uk app)
Official UK Government travel safety app. Allows you to register your trip with the FCDO, receive real-time country alerts, and access emergency contact information for British Embassies and consulates worldwide.
TripWhistle Global SOS
Single button to call emergency services in any country — stores local emergency numbers (police, ambulance, fire) for 200+ countries. Could be critical in an emergency abroad where you don't know the local number.
1Password / Bitwarden (Password Manager)
Store your travel document copies, booking reference numbers, insurance policy details and emergency contacts securely. Accessible offline. Much safer than keeping photos in your camera roll.
Already on most phones — the universal communication app for staying in touch with family, hotels and tour operators internationally. Works on Wi-Fi without a local SIM.
Essential Offline Preparation Before You Fly
Mobile data abroad can be expensive, unreliable or unavailable in some areas. These are the things to set up before you board:
- Download Google Maps offline for your destination — open Google Maps, search the area, tap "Download" from the menu
- Download offline translation languages in Google Translate — particularly useful for countries where Wi-Fi is unreliable
- Download boarding passes to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — work without internet
- Screenshot or PDF your booking confirmations — hotel, tour, transfer bookings
- Download entertainment for the flight — Netflix, Spotify and Amazon Prime all allow offline downloads
- Save emergency contact numbers locally on your phone — including your travel insurer's 24hr emergency line, your hotel's number, and the UK Embassy in your destination country
- Turn on Roaming thoughtfully — check with your UK carrier. EE, Vodafone and O2 all offer add-ons for data abroad; some packages include Europe roaming at no extra cost