Planning a trip out of the country isn’t just about luggage, paperwork and reservations. Your cell phone can be the most important tool in your pocket if it’s properly prepared. Travel apps help you have a dream vacation without surprises.
The app on your phone that you shouldn’t miss while on vacation abroad. PHOTO: Pexels.com
From directions and translation to payments, safety or communication, certain apps can completely transform the travel experience, avoiding stressful situations.
Below we present a selection of essential apps, recommended by profile organizations, travel guides and the experience of frequent travelers.
20 apps for frequent travelers abroad
First of all, you should be concerned about keeping your documents and your safety when traveling abroad.
Applications like Google Drive allow you to have digital copies of documents: passport, bulletin, tickets, insurance policies, reservations. Security experts recommend storing them in the cloud, with password-protected and offline access available.
Recommendation: also save the downloaded PDF to your phone.
The MAE application “Safe Travel” developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provides alerts, information on travel conditions, contacts of consulates and embassy sections.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes available to Romanian citizens traveling abroad the application for smart mobile phones “Travel Safely”. The application is part of the MFA’s strategy to diversify consular services and means of communication with Romanian citizens.
“Travel safely” allows Romanian citizens to: find out information about the country of destination – conditions, recommendations and travel alerts, Romanian diplomatic missions in the country they are traveling to; to be able to be alerted if special situations arise in the country in which they are located; to be able to alert the nearest mission of Romania in case of emergency; to quickly find out what the procedures are in case of incidents (accident, illness, loss of documents, etc.) or other useful information.
Transport and orientation
Google Maps is indispensable for orientation, public transport and offline mapping.
Helpful tip: before you go, download the maps of the cities you’re going to (Option: “Offline Maps”).
Maps.me offers a free offline map, good for areas without internet or for hiking.
Uber / Bolt / Lyft / FreeNow – to make sure you don’t get ripped off by local taxi drivers. Check in advance which app works in that country. Tourist taxis can be much more expensive.
Translation and communication
Google Translate also helps with the text translation function through the camera, which is very useful for menus, indicators or forms.
Helpful Hint: Download the country language in offline mode.
DeepL – for more natural translations, recommended in long conversations or emails.
WhatsApp / Telegram / Signal – are the main means of international communication. Some hotels prefer to communicate via WhatsApp Business.
Payments and money management
Revolut / Wise allow currency exchange at advantageous rates and contactless payments. Most tourists prefer Revolut for its flexibility and good rate, according to an analysis by the Financial Times.
XE Currency is a live-updating currency converter useful in shops and restaurants.
Booking, the application for accommodation
For accommodation we recommend the Booking / Airbnb / Hostelworld applications. They allow bookings to be managed and modified easily.
Tip: Enable notifications for host changes or communications.
TripAdvisor helps with reviews for restaurants, sights, tours. It is useful for avoiding tourist traps.
Google Trips (in Google Maps) – provides automatic route suggestions based on distances and preferences.
