Best travel apps: the top 22 for stress-free trips — Byway Travel (2024)

Looking for water refill points? There’s an app for that. Struggling to find plant-based options in a new city? There’s an app for that. Need to translate some tickets? You guessed it, there’s an app for that.

Maybe you're a seasoned train traveller, or new to multi-stop journeys—either way, travel apps can help you get even more out of your trip.

But with so many to choose from, where do you start? Here’s our list of the best travel apps to make your flight-free adventure even smoother.

XE Currency

With the best up-to-the-minute currency exchange rates, XE Currency helps to accurately track your spending while away.

We love: the handy alerts you can set for your preferred currency rates to make sure you’re getting the best price.

Best weather app

AccuWeather

Accurate, hyper-local forecasts. Plan ahead with detailed weather insights (including minute-by-minute rain forecasts, an air quality index and an allergy forecast), making it useful for planning ahead, or on the day.

We love: the ‘favourite places’ feature that notifies you with updates about your upcoming stays.

Best eSim app

Airalo

Affordable, simple to set up and available in over 200 countries. Simply buy your eSim, install on your device and connect. No need for physical SIM cards or roaming charges.

We love: the ability to choose local eSims for specific countries or regional sims for continents - perfect for multi-country adventures.

Best app for splitting the bill

Splitwise

Splitwise is our go-to for keeping track of shared costs. Create a group in the app, add members, then input your costs. Track as you go or at the end of your trip to see how much you’ve spent (and who owes who).

We love: the export feature to share expenses as a spreadsheet.

Best app for when you need to go

Flush Toilet Finder & Map

Don’t get caught short. Flush Toilet Finder is a fast, crowd-sourced app with 200,000 public toilets. It also highlights which have disabled access, a fee to use or require a key.

We love: the rate or report system for extra peace of mind.

Best app for refilling your water bottle

Tap Water Stations & Hydration

Avoid single-use plastic and over-priced bottled water, with over 250,000 refill points in 100+ countries. Tailor your search preferences, get step-by-step directions to the nearest refill spot, and even track your hydration along the way.

We love: the wallet-friendly feature marking refill points as paid or free.

Be My Eyes

This highly-rated app connects users to volunteers through a live video link, providing real-time visual assistance. You can get help however you prefer - whether that's calling a volunteer, chatting with Be My AI, or reaching out to a company representative. Available 24/7 worldwide, it’s always free and supports 185 languages across 150+ countries. It can assist with reading labels, menus, digital displays, or even operating vending machines to give you more confidence and independence while travelling.

We love: the easy setup process.

Best app for accessible venues in the UK

AccessAble

An App and website, AccessAble provides over 75,000 detailed access guides in the UK and Ireland. With essential info to determine if a place meets your accessibility needs, it covers all bases from restaurants to cafés, shops to theatres, and much more.

We love: the photos and measurements provided, so you know if a venue fits your needs.

Best app for worldwide accessibility information

AccessNow

AccessNow helps you discover accessible places worldwide, powered by user contributions and collaborations with tourism boards and businesses. You can add your own places to the map, search for specific places or browse the map to find accessible restaurants, shops and outdoor spaces.

We love: the traffic-light rating system to see if a place is accessible at a glance.

Google Maps

The best all-round app for navigation: easy-to-use, available offline (and printable), with a great ‘save’ function. Use it for getting from A to B (particularly on foot) or simply searching for places near you. It offers wheelchair-friendly routes and identifies step-free entrances, accessible restrooms and seating.

We love: the simple filter that lets you view nearby cafés, restaurants, groceries and more.

Best app for metro/subway maps

City Rail Map

City Rail Map offers accurate metro (tube or subway) maps across 62 cities, helping to navigate your journeys by train with offline maps, travel time and transfer information, so you don’t need to keep checking the maps at the stations.

We love: the search by station or line feature, helping to speed up transfers.

Best app for public transport routes

Citymapper

With extensive coverage in UK and European cities, Citymapper is a must for navigating complex city transport networks across multiple modes (bus, tram, train, foot, and more). Available offline, it gives you real-time info and price comparisons. You can track your bus or train as it approaches and it tells you the best carriage to board and exit at the station.

We love: the filter option that lets you pick your preferred transport type (e.g., bus-only), or prioritise routes with less walking, fewest transfers, cheapest or fastest.

Best taxi app

Bolt

Convenient, reliable and often cheaper than other taxi apps and services, Bolt is our go-to taxi app. You can see the price upfront, order in advance, track your driver and pay securely in the app. Available in 50 countries and 600+ cities, Bolt is expanding its fleet with accessible cars, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles, and you can rent scooters and electric bikes in the app, if you want quick, sustainable journeys.

We love: the safety features for extra security while you travel, from alerting a response team to audio-recording your trip.

Best location-finding app

What3words

For exact, hard-to-find locations, What3words uses a unique three-word address system. Save memorable places and access them offline or add them to personalised lists. It’s compatible with major map apps (pick your location in the app, then select navigate to open up your chosen maps app), available in 60 languages and can help guide you to accessible entrances.

We love: the ultra precise location-sharing.

GetYourGuide

GetYourGuide offers over 75,000 activities, from whisky-tours in Speyside and sunset boat cruises in Marseille, to foodie tours in San Sebastián. Book directly in the app with flexible cancellation or ‘reserve now, pay later’, and you’ll get instant confirmation, offline tickets and 24/7 customer service.

We love: the real-life reviews and customer photos.

Best app for customer reviews

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is the go-to for looking up where to eat and what to do in the places you visit. Check out the millions of user reviews to find out if that hyped-up restaurant is actually worth a try and save your new found favourites. You can view them on a map, book experiences in the app and collaborate with your group on the must-visits.

We love: the option to search restaurants by cuisine type or dietary requirements.

Best app for travel guides

Culture Trip

With curated articles and guides, Culture Guide gives you hand-picked suggestions from experts and locals on the best places to eat, drink or visit. You can create wishlists of your favourites and it’s easier than bringing a stack of travel books (although, we love those too - just not carrying them!).

We love: the editorial style that feels like flicking through a magazine.

Best app for vegan bites

Happy Cow

Don’t despair over dietary requirements. Happy Cow features 240,000 listings across 185 countries, allowing you to filter cafes, restaurants and bars by vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free. Community-curated maps highlight popular spots and lesser-known favourites.

We love: the ability to search for restaurants for mixed dietary requirements.

Best app for local trails

AllTrails

Hike, bike, run or walk across 450,000 local trails with AllTrails. Search by location, skill level or interest, and filter for wheelchair or child-friendly routes. It provides in-depth trail info, including user reviews, photos and conditions, alongside wrong-turn alerts to keep you on track, offline and topographic maps of your chosen route and live updates on air quality, pollen and light pollution.

We love: the local trails starting from city centres–you don’t need to go far to find nature.

Best app for outdoor adventures

Mapy.cz

Design point-to-point routes with Mapy.cz to get from A to B on foot, by bike (mountain or road) or even cross-country ski and boat. It lets you pick routes with way-marking and its ‘travel tips’ feature helps find interesting local sights on your way, while the route elevation profiles and 5-day forecast keep you informed. It also includes information on pedestrian closures and wheelchair-friendly routes.

We love: the ‘plan a route’ feature that suggests a route in your chosen place, based on how far you’d like to walk, cycle or ski.

Packr

Master the art of packing with Packr. Create custom checklists based on your destination, trip length, chosen activities and even the weather. It uses AI to learn from your past trips, adjusting the list to suit your needs each time and automatically tailoring items depending on the duration of your stay. You can also share the checklist or print it out.

We love: the multi-destination function that is perfect for train travel, letting you plan the right clothes for each of your stays.

Best luggage storage app

Stasher

Stasher is our favourite app for hassle-free luggage storage offering safe, affordable and flexible locations with 5000 ‘Stashpoints’ in 70 countries and 1000 cities. It has fixed pricing per bag with no size or weight restrictions and gives you discounts at station lockers. You get a 100% money-back guarantee with free cancellations on unused bookings and refunds if you’re not satisfied, as well as 24/7 customer service. On top of which, each bag is insured for $/£/€1000 against loss, theft or damage.

We love: the uncomplicated interface.

Memrise

Featuring over 30,000 conversations with real native speakers, Memrise is our go-to for learning practical language skills, helping you understand accents and local phrases. Their 10-minute lessons cover vocabulary, phrases, listening and speaking skills. Set your level, import your streak from other apps, and choose specific topics to focus on.

We love: the real-life scenarios you’ll actually use, from making small talk to asking for insider tips, to ordering an aperitivo.

Best app for on-the-go translation

DeepL

For DeepL, precision is key. With the highest level of translation accuracy, the app supports 30+ languages, with camera and photo-translation (perfect for menus and signs), as well as a text-to-speech function to let you hear phrases.

We love: the useful save function to store translations for later.

Polarsteps

Polarsteps tracks your journey while creating a digital map of where you’ve been. Plot your path on the map, add photos, videos and thoughts, and save memorable spots to revisit. It features guides compiled by travel editors and other travellers, and you can create your own personal travel book with your pictures and stories.

We love: the sharing option that allows you to keep family and friends updated while you travel.