10 Proven Travel Apps That Will Save You Time and Money

With a seeming infinite number of apps available for travelers, it’s hard to know which apps truly work as advertised until you actually need them. These are 10 tried-and-true money- and time-saving apps we recommend for travelers, offered via Google Play or iTunes.

By: Steve Larese

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Photo By: Waze

Photo By: CityMaps2Go

Photo By: Cheetah Mobile

Photo By: Sky Code Limited

Photo By: Hotel Tonight

Photo By: TripCase

Photo By: Global Tip Calculator

Photo By: GPSMyCity

Photo By: Zomato

Photo By: WhatsApp

Waze

Waze provides real-time crowd-sourced driving and road conditions for your location, and voice-guided directions and detour info help you find the fastest and safest route to your destination. By driving with the app open, you contribute speed and time info to help others. This free app also helps you to find the best gas prices in your area.

CitiMaps2Go

With Ulmon’s CitiMaps2Go, download a city map and it’s saved on your phone for use when there’s no service or when you’d rather not use data. Your phone’s GPS will still work, so you can see exactly where you are on your detailed map just as if you were online. Find restaurants, attractions and museums when you’re offline, too.

CM Flashlight (Compass and SOS)

Google Maps and other navigation apps are great, but there’s still a place for paper maps when navigating a new city, especially when there’s no service or you’d like to avoid expensive data charges. CM Flashlight stands out for its compass and flashlight feature, which uses your camera flash as a continuous light source. This combination is perfect for finding north and reading your map in the dark, and even orienting yourself with an offline map saved to your phone.

SkyCode Offline Translators

Translation apps such as Google Translate and iTranslate are amazing, but require Wi-Fi or a network to work. SkyCode’s translation and dictionary series works offline. Download translator apps for English, Bulgarian, Turkish, German, Spanish, French and Italian, and you’re communicating off the grid. The free version even has audio playback, so you don’t have to stress about butchering the pronunciation

Hotel Tonight

Hotel Tonight finds the best pricing for rooms at a moment’s notice, perfect for sudden trip changes, delays or spontaneous adventures. Type in your location or use GPS, and the app produces vetted properties that offer the deepest last-minute discounts in your area. Users can track rates for even better discounts before booking, if there’s time.

TripCase

TripCase organizes all of your emailed flight confirmations, hotel reservations, rental car numbers, diner reservations and other pertinent travel information into one simple file that also notifies you of gate changes, maps locations and even combines back-to-back trips. Simply forward confirmation emails to trips@tripcase.com after setting up your account, and the app does the rest.

Global Tip Calculator

This app alleviates the anxiety of tipping abroad. Loaded with customary tipping percentages for 140 countries, Global Tip Calculator allows you to input the dining bill total and recommends a tip. Examples of recommended local tipping percentage are 17 percent in the U.S., 10 percent in the U.K., 7 percent in Nepal and nothing in Norway. Users are able to adjust the tipping percentage as well. A subtractive expense budget allows users to keep track of their total expenditures for meals.

GPSMyCity

This series of walking tours covers hundreds of cities worldwide, all usable without network service or Wi-Fi. Download the app for the city you’d like to explore on foot, and detailed maps with attractions, museums, shopping, restaurants and more are saved to your phone and available offline. Turn on your GPS for an audio tour as you stroll.

Zomato

This new incantation of Urbanspoon helps users find and rate more than a million restaurants in 10,000 cities in 22 countries. Changes include doing away with the like/dislike voting system and going to a five-point scale, and allowing only one editable review per restaurant per account to keep information current and ratings accurate. Zomato keeps track of your visits and reviews with its personalized Food Journey.

This texting app allows users to send texts free to any other cell phone in the world with no hidden charges. Simply send a message, and the conversation is also backed up online an accessible via computer. This cross-platform app doesn’t have any ads, and users are allowed to send unlimited messages to other users who have downloaded the app. Those who haven’t downloaded Whatsapp can receive 100 messages a month.

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10 Proven Travel Apps That Will Save You Time and Money

Related To:

Shop This Look

Waze

CitiMaps2Go

CM Flashlight (Compass and SOS)

SkyCode Offline Translators

Hotel Tonight

TripCase

Global Tip Calculator

GPSMyCity

Zomato

Whatsapp

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