tourist guide city app

5 Travel Planning Apps for Free City Guides and Recommended Itineraries

The next time you travel to a new city, check out these sightseeing recommendation tools that other guidebooks might overlook.

The internet is your best travel buddy today. The next time you travel to a new city, check out these apps and websites. You will find offbeat attractions, walking tours, and sightseeing recommendations that guidebooks might overlook.

These apps assume you have already picked your travel destination, so you are now researching what to do once you get there.

From renowned brands offering city guides to local experts giving their insights, there's a healthy mix for every type of traveler. Plus, you don't have to research in advance every time. Some of these tools will dynamically recommend items based on your current location.

1. Visit A City (Web, Android, iOS): Readymade Itineraries Up to One Week

A travel agent will whip up an itinerary of where you should go, what you should see, and so on. Visit A City already has that prepared, ranging from a day's plan to seven days worth of sights and attractions in most tourist destinations.

Each city has multiple guides that cover major sights, tours, and activities. For example, if you pick Barcelona, you'll get a 3-day guide for top attractions, or a 5-day guide for visiting Barcelona with kids, and so on. There's a surprising amount of variety on the website, letting you choose exactly the type of trip you want.

Any itinerary you choose will open with a map and a day-by-day schedule. You can remove or add items, and buy tickets in advance. Other tabs recommend alternative things to do and attractions. The full itinerary can be printed for free, or you can download it for offline use on the Visit A City app.

The website and the app are easy to use and shockingly thorough. Even if you're someone who loves planning your own trips, use one of Visit A City's itineraries as a starting point to make your job easier.

Download: Visit A City for Android | iOS (Free)

2. WhatsHere (Android, iOS): Map of Nearby Tourist Attractions

WhatsHere is a map-based travel guide. Search for a place or let it zoom into your current location, and the app will recommend myriad tourist attractions. As simple as that seems, there are a few features that make it even better.

For starters, WhatsHere has a list of categories to narrow down the places of interest to you: historic, museum, tourist attraction, landmark, trail, UNESCO heritage spots, and so on. Choose one or all, and see them in list form. Each place has multiple tags and you can see how far it is from your current location.

Alternately, open the Map view, which is where WhatsHere really shines. Each pin has a different color and icon, depending on its category. Tap it to get a popup with a brief description about why it's important, and to see how far it is from you. You can bookmark the place, view pictures from others, and even get a quick link to its Wikipedia entry.

Download: WhatsHere for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Spotted By Locals (Web, Android, iOS): Non-Touristy Guides From Locals

Spotted By Locals currently has guides for only 79 cities, spread across Europe, parts of Asia, and North America. But if a city you're visiting is featured on the website, then you won't get a better guide for offbeat tourism.

If you've hosted a tourist in your hometown, you know that there are must-see places that every travel agent will recommend, and a few local secrets that you'd like them to see. That's what makes this special. Each city's guides are written by locals who have lived there for some time.

You will find articles across a range of categories, or view them chronologically. The latter might be better since you get a local's recent recommendation, rather than a place they visited a long time ago.

Spotted By Locals also has mobile apps. While the app is free, each city's guide costs $3.99 to download. In return, you get offline maps and information, but you can see all of the same data on the website for free.

Download: Spotted By Locals for Android | iOS (Free)

4. Awayn (Android, iOS): Visually Rich Guides and Free Magazine

Awayn is a design-focused app with a good mix of features to find travel inspiration. Among the highlights is the free Awayn digital magazine, packaged as part of the app, which tackles one type of travel or region, and includes an interview too.

On the main page of the app, you can search for a city, browse by country, or look at "featured adventures" as recommended by Awayn's community. These featured adventures are actually quite cool and a good place to discover something new. I also liked the idea of browsing by country instead of a city because you might come across an activity that alters your itinerary.

If you like to browse by location, head to Map to find your current GPS coordinates. Awayn will highlight points of interest and travel attractions in your vicinity. The app deserves credit here for recommending places that you wouldn't find in most other travel guides.

Download: Awayn for Android | iOS (Free)

5. CityBook (Android, iOS): Booking.com's Travel Guide

CityBook is the new kid on the block, a product of one of the best hotel booking websites Booking.com . Currently, it hosts city guides for only London, Amsterdam, and Paris, but the number of cities will increase with time.

Depending on the time of the day, CityBook will suggest activities. For example, if you check the app in the morning, you'll find breakfast recommendations. Later in the day, it'll give you evening activities, shows, or bars. It's a nice mixture of historical and cultural places, food and drinks, and events.

The app is a combination of recommendations for places to visit as well as a ticketing office for places like museums. You can add places of interest to your "bucket list" and tick them off as you go about your travels.

Get a Truly Local Experience

One of the joys of traveling is to discover how people from a different culture or lifestyle go about their daily lives or celebrate major events. Most hotels and tour packages will offer some activities, but these are often tourist traps and don't feel genuine.

Instead, as the internet breaks down barriers, use an app. Whether it's enjoying a home-cooked meal with a local or partying with a native, check out these cool travel apps to get a truly local experience .

11 best tour guide apps to create amazing tourism experiences

In this article, you will get a short overview of 11 tour guide apps that give you the possibility to build your own tour routes or add audio guides to specific locations. There are many ways to explore a city or a route. No matter if it is a walking tour , sailing, boats, train trips, food tour , bicycle sightseeing, birdwatching , or rally with cars , in 2022 technology offers multiple ways to enrich the experience.

Tour guide apps suit well to introduce the best locations and facts about a destination to a foreigner as well to locals who can find hidden gems or experience an adventurous mystery story-game about their home location. As a tour company, the range of platforms you can choose to build the experience your customers will benefit from is wide.

As of 2022, most tour guide apps cover at least the basics – setting up a route, points of interest, adding media files like mp3, images, and video to each location, and offline tours. The apps included in this article, do all of the mentioned, but we also point out the specific differences of each app to emphasise the strengths of each one.

With Loquiz tour guide app you can build indoor and outdoor self-guided routes with the amount of gamification you need. Special features: a tour template for tourism businesses that allows building layers of different waypoints of interest within a destination. What cuts it apart is API which connects to booking and ticketing platforms. Secondly, there is a powerful content editor to keep the ever changing info about locations in sync with the possibility of translating the app to any real or imaginary language on Earth. Try out for an instance a sample tour of Paris. Download the Loquiz app from Google Play or App Store and scan the QR code on the image below. (alternatively username: GEMPARISTour and password: justvisitit will also start the game).

2. Pocketsights

Pocketsights is a self-guided tour app focused on community and historical organizations, as well as colleges and universities. Special features involve asking visitors to donate to any charity. Enterprise package involves priority reviews. PI team reviews new and updated tours to ensure they meet quality guidelines. Your tours will go to the top of the review queue and be reviewed before free package tours.

3. Voicemap

Voicemap is solely an audio tour app. It automatically estimates speaking recording times and word counts has support from VM editors with comments, tracked changes and email notifications. Includes text directions as a fallback to make sure listeners don’t get lost. Available in 12 languages.

MyTours includes the same basics as all the other tour guide apps on our list. Multimedia, GPS locations, visitor analytics. Apps work with accessibility options on most devices for the visually- and hearing-impaired. The focus is on building an experience as a self-guided tour app and then publishing it on Apple or Google Play stores. Features 18 different languages.

5. Geotourist

Geotourist lets you build your own journeys and inspire travelers to follow in your footsteps. Audio will trigger as they walk along your dawn path. Tours are available in 40 languages. Specialty is a simple interface aimed at creating a tour guide app in smartphones without detailed settings.

Create games, self-guided and audio tours, team building events and educational content that captures peoples' attention.

6. Locatify

Locatify puts heavy emphasis on indoor positioning. This feature is also present in other walking tour apps in this list, but this platform includes Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, which makes it stand out among others.

Anytour is a self-guided audio tour app for smartphones in 30 cities. The app offers up-to-date audio-guided walks around cities all over the world. The tours are researched, written, and read by locals and travel writers. To create and promote your tours you need to sign up.

Scavify is a scavenger hunt platform that also lets build an experience at destinations that are interactive and impactful for visitors. Incorporates rewards to send visitors to revenue-generating places such as dining, gift shops, and reward visits. Includes linkable banner ads.

Navicup is a new solution for building tours. It allows automatic translation of texts and there is a quality check process before you can publish your tours. Their team will review if the content is ready for public use.

10. Your Audio Tour

Your Audio Tour is the only tour guide app on the list which is focused on audio guides only. It is a simple and straightforward audio guide app solution which has a few advanced features – for example, the text to speech option with a choice of 9+ different voices.

11. GPSmyCity

GPSmyCity is a platform that connects tourists with knowledgeable local guides through self-guided city walks and GPS-powered travel articles. This tour guide app introduces local attractions, malls, restaurants, places of culture, and nightlife. It is all covered with insider knowledge only the locals are privileged to have. The city tour app also has a feature that allows users to create their own walks.

No matter if you are building tours aiming to serve international tourism travelers or delight domestic tourists, a tour guide app can speed up or even automate the sales of tour tickets, engage visitors with easy to edit content, and ease the worries of the workforce.

We hope this article will help you will find a suitable tour guide app to build your awesome products on and, through that, a successful travel season.

*This article is written by the information available on the selected apps websites and reflects only the experience of the author.

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What Are the Best City Guide Apps for my Phone?

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Once upon a time, there were things called travel guidebooks. They were heavy and made out of paper—a material that came from dead trees. The information inside them always became out-of-date very quickly.

Today we have city guide apps that offer instant, and constantly updated, information on what to see and do in foreign lands, along with where the hottest restaurants are, and how to find the best budget hotels. These five are the handiest.

TripAdvisor City Guides

City Guides app , you can take advantage of the volumes of user-generated rankings and content from the TripAdvisor web site to create your own itinerary. Download the offline content for a specific city, and you get a detailed walking map and highlights of highly-rated hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping, and nightlife. It also provides suggested tour ideas, and will point you to the nearest subway station. Its one drawback is scope: Only 80 cities around the world are available on the app.

Type a destination into Gogobot 's search bar, and the impressively easy user interface will display pictures of restaurants, hotels, and attractions in that location. This app features thousands of locations—type in the word “Cape,” for instance and you get 20 options, from Cape Cod to Cape Reinga, New Zealand. But the user-generated rankings and reviews aren't nearly as extensive as you'll find on TripAdvisor.

This app is included in the list as much for its cool factor as for its utility. Select “sights,” and it lists Wikipedia entries for the nearby tourist attractions and provides a map of where they're located. Turn on the camera option, and as you pan across your field of view, icons will pop up highlighting the attractions in that specific direction. You can do the same pop-up camera search for hotels, bars, and restaurants.

Tripomatic is a must-have for anyone who likes to keep to a structured schedule. With it, you select the city and dates for your trip, and then choose activities, sites, restaurants and hotels to slide into each specific day on your itinerary. It's easiest to create your trip plan on your computer online at tripomatic.com, and then download it on your phone through the app later.

The home screen on the Minube app asks “Where'd you like to go?” Type your answer into the search bar, and you're off. It's part social platform and part city guide, offering pictures, videos and reviews, posted by hundreds of thousands of users, of the best local places to eat, sleep, and have fun. Because Minube is Spanish-based, its coverage of European destinations is broader than of North American ones. 

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The 9 best apps for exploring cities

How to get around—and see—the city with fresh eyes

There might be an app for everything these days, but the sheer volume of choices means that it can be hard to decipher which apps are actually useful. To help you figure out the must-download apps for urbanites, we’ve researched a slew of options and curated this list of nine.

Some apps help cyclists get from point A to B efficiently, while others reveal hidden recommendations from in-the-know neighborhood experts. We’ve also included the best all-around transit apps, and even one that showcases urban running routes.

All of the apps listed here will get you out and exploring, whether as a long-time local or a visitor looking to go beyond the beaten path. And if you need even more tech intel, don’t miss our roundups of the best apartment rental apps and renovations apps you should know for your next project.

Have an app you love? Let us know in the comments.

Bike Citizens

Specifically designed for cyclists in urban areas, the Bike Citizens app lets you pick routes based on whether you want a leisurely, fast, or convenient route, and also takes into account what type of bicycle you’re riding. It’s also on a mission to make bicycling routes safer and has launched campaigns in some cities—like Brussels—that help identify dangerous spots and traffic bottlenecks. Although coverage is more comprehensive in Europe, Bike Citizens is available in most big cities in the U.S.

Insider tip: Download the map material so you don’t need an internet connection to navigate.

On-the-go: Bike Citizens is available on Android and iOS .

Probably the best-rated transit app on the web, Citymapper gives you A-to-B trip planning with accurate estimated arrival times. It searches all transit modes—like subway, bus, rail, ferry, bike/car sharing, Uber—and lets you compare your options in real time. It also gives you step-by-step directions for finding your route, and many metro maps are available offline. Citymapper is currently in an array of international cities and the biggest cities in the U.S.: NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, and Seattle.

Insider tip: Set up alerts on the routes you frequent so you know when lines are disrupted.

On-the-go: Available on iOS and Android .

Another well-reviewed transit app, Moovit is a popular choice thanks to its sheer size: It covers 1,200 cities in more than 70 countries. It allows you to choose the best route based on arrival times, schedules, and transit mode, and then navigates you to where you need to be with live directions.

Insider tip: Don’t underestimate the power of your city’s bike share. Moovit lets you see how many bikes are left to rent at particular stations.

On-the-go: Available on Android and iOS and at http://moovitapp.com

Need something to do in your favorite city? The Nearify app searches 20 million events worldwide to find out what’s happening near you. You can browse events based on interests, add favorite artists or venues, see what’s trending, and set up alerts so you never miss an outing.

Insider Tip: Nearify shows you how close you are to an event and will even give you directions.

On-the-go: Get it on iOS and Android .

Billed as an app for runners who also like to travel, RunGo uses turn-by-turn voice navigation for thousands of running routes, races, and city tours. You can also create your own running route. Like other running apps, RunGo tracks and logs your running stats, but the real difference here is the ability to show up in an unfamiliar city, find a running route, and access easy voice navigation.

Insider tip: Download routes in advance so you can explore a new city without using data.

On-the-go: It’s available for Android and iOS .

Calling itself an app that promotes “urban discovery on the go,” Sidekix is a navigation app that chooses walking routes based on what you want to do and see along the way. You can tailor your route to your needs and build and save routes to share with your friends. This is an ideal app to help you explore things off the main tourist spots.

Insider tip: You can share your location with friends and send your route directly to them.

On-the-go: Sidekix is available on Android and iOS .

Spotted by Locals

If you’re looking to get off the beaten path and avoid the tourist traps, try Spotted by Locals. With guides for 67 cities, Spotted by Locals gives you handpicked insights and favorites from people that live in the cities they talk about. You can expect lots of hidden gems and in-the-know recommendations, but beware that each city guide costs $3.99—though that’s cheap compared to a paperback travel guide.

Insider tip: The app can also be used 100 percent offline with detailed full city maps, no internet required.

On-the-go: Spotted by Locals is available on Android and iOS .

Streetography

If you’re visually inspired and want to scope out potential neighborhoods and streets, Streetography could be the app for you. The app overlaps maps with curated, high-quality user-generated photos that aim to give you a taste of the local flavor of each block, neighborhood, or city. This is a refreshing way to explore neighborhoods.

Insider tip: You can also filter photos by recency or photographer.

On-the-go: Streetography is available on Android and iOS .

Despite still being in beta, the award-winning Walc looks promising. Google Maps and other navigation tools rely on north-south directions or warnings like “bear left in 1,000 feet” to get people around cities. Walc uses landmarks to guide the way—essentially providing directions based on what you can see—which is great if “turn right at the park” sounds more up your alley. You can also tap a category (coffee, food, shopping, buildings, etc.) and see what’s walkable around you.

Insider tip: Sign up on the Walc website to be the first to know when the full app rolls out.

On-the-go: The beta version is currently available on iOS and Android .

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• The Inventory

The 9 Best Travel Apps for Exploring Cities

You’ve landed somewhere brand new, and you’re ready to explore the new city, but you have absolutely no idea where to start. This is where your trusty smartphone comes in. There are loads of cool traveling apps you can use to help you find awesome spots around town. Here are 9 of our favorite apps for discovering new places in unfamiliar surroundings, beyond what the more well-known travel guides have to offer.

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1) spotted by locals.

No one knows a city like the locals do—at least that’s the idea behind the tidy Spotted By Locals app. It uses suggestions put forward by hand-picked spotters who know the best places in town and the areas you can ignore.

The app grew out of a city blog covering Amsterdam and now has guides for 66 cities across the world. You do have to fork out a few dollars ($3.99) for each guide, but that gives you all future tips added to the location as well, and it works offline.

Free, Android and iOS

One of the first things you might want to do in your new location is go for a run, but finding a good path can be tough. RunGo hits the rather neglected intersection of fitness apps and travel apps by giving you the best local routes to take in nearby sights.

There are featured routes in major cities and the option for users to upload their own preferred paths around town for others to benefit from. If you want to check out the interesting places in a city and top up your fitness at the same time, RunGo is for you.

3) Musement

Musement wants to be your perfect pocket guide no matter where in the world you happen to be. It covers neighborhoods, attractions, restaurants, bars and concerts, and covers 350 destinations worldwide, with “tailored local content” in 25 of the biggest cities.

There is a commercial element to the app in the form of event and reservation bookings, but it’s not pushy, and the app itself is clean and tidy one that’s simple to navigate around. Perfect for exploring, but as usual be wary of booking anything through a third party.

Maybe you don’t want to see any local sights in the place you’ve just landed in, and instead you just want to make a few new friends. If that’s the case, Meetup can help. After all, you can always ask your new buddies about the most interesting spots in town after you’ve been introduced.

The app is essentially a listing of local events and groups, so you can browse for something that looks like it’s up your street (literally and figuratively) and then get connected to like-minded souls in the area. Alternatively, get your own meetup started.

Simply put, Nearify plugs you into local events and gigs that you’re likely to be interested in. You can have a browse through what’s happening, pick something of note, and wander along to learn more about the city you find yourself in (and perhaps make a friend or two).

There are stacks and stacks of categories in here, covering all types of music, comedy, eating out and drinking experiences, so you certainly shouldn’t be short of something to do unless you’re in the middle of nowhere. You can get alerts about events in advance too.

6) Like A Local

Like A Local is another app that wants to bring you the best tips from the people that live there—as you may have guessed from its title—and it’s one of the most polished options out there, as well as one of the most comprehensive in terms of the cities it covers.

The focus is on fun stuff to see and do in your city of choice, and while there are some touristy selections here (which you might not mind), there are plenty of relatively off-the-beaten-track options to explore too. Individual city guides will cost you $1.99 each.

7) Instagram

You’ve probably heard of Instagram before, but have you ever used it as a travel aid? Tap on the search icon from the front screen, open up the Places tab, and you can browse through all of the popular and recent photos people are posting to a certain location.

Sure, you’re going to get a lot of selfies in there, but you might be surprised at how many interesting views, locations, bars and restaurants you uncover as well (everyone loves posting food pictures). It’s an alternative way to stumble across some places of note.

8) Apple Maps

While we’ve avoiding mentioning the usual travel apps pretty much everyone already knows about in this list, it’s worth ending with a nod to Apple Maps and Google Maps. New ‘exploration’ features are being added to these stock apps on a fairly regular basis.

Apple Maps for iOS 10 has a cleaner look and new filters for finding nearby places of note more easily: search for pretty much anything (like “bars”) then swipe across the bottom of the results list to narrow down your search (“wine bars” and “sports bars” for example).

9) Google Maps

Some Google Maps users are seeing a revamped ‘explore’ section that may well have gone live by the time you read this, but whatever version you’re on, it works really well: tap the GPS icon, then the Explore link at the bottom, to see what’s in your current vicinity.

The beauty of this Google Maps feature is the way you can drill down into “where the locals go” or “seats outside” or “great beers” depending on the feedback and reviews left by other Maps users. It can help you uncover spots you wouldn’t otherwise come across.

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The Gogobot mobile app: Our choice for the No. 1 people-powered city guide.

Top 10 travel guide apps

Or, figuring out cool stuff to do when you arrive at your destination.

San Francisco Bay Area

CruiseClout score: 95.0

In the past few months, when I've visited Athens, Istanbul, Venice, Puerto Vallarta and other foreign ports, there always seemed to come a time when I came face to face with an “OK, what now?” moment.

Do you have that experience from time to time? Whether I'm with a traveling companion or traveling solo, I don't like to pack my day with wall-to-wall shore excursions, and I find that I can only do so much advance planning.

So when I'm in the mood for serendipity, I whip out my smartphone and try to find some cool stuff to do and see right around me. (I've been a fan of travel guides ever since I used to run Microsoft Sidewalk's San Francisco city guide team back in the day.) 

Now, admittedly, using a travel guide app (or a “local discovery and travel research application,” as Gogobot calls itself) can be hit or miss. Sometimes you strike out. But other times you strike gold and find yourself, within minutes, exploring an underground cistern, or enjoying happy hour at a hole in the wall that only savvy locals know about.

Cruiseable has a travel guide component to  our app and website: We feature a free, comprehensive  travel guides section  to help travelers discover the best things to do and see in more than 200 cities and ports around the world — in fact, the advice from our travel writers often ranks with the best I've seen anywhere.

But we haven't been everywhere, and other online and mobile guides offer valuable tips as well, often from locals who know their cities best. With that in mind, and with the caveat that not every app covers every destination, here is our pick of the Top 10 travel guide and city guide apps for cruise travelers. Tip: Download these before you leave home!

Gogobot 

Gogobot for iPhone, iPad & Apple Watch | Gogobot for Android | Free

I love the fancifully named  Gogobot  app and online community, and feel a bit guilty that I haven't contributed much to the collective knowledge pool. Gogobot, with HQ in Silicon Valley, is chiefly a mobile app bursting with personality and smart insights from locals and travelers alike. Gogobot offers suggestions on where to go and what to do based on what kind of activities you're interested in. Before I go on a trip I make a short list of hot spots to hit, and Gogobot gives me the goods: photos, pungent reviews, event listings, along with maps and a roll-your-own itinerary. When I don't have time to do that kind of planning, I fire up Gogobot on my smartphone and see what cool stuff is nearby. Whether I'm abroad or in U.S. city, Gogobot almost always comes to the rescue.

Stay for iPhone & iPad | Stay for Android | Free

Stay has got to be the best under-the-radar travel guide that you've never heard of. Consider: It offers 150 destination guides, from Lake Tahoe and Seattle to Cape Town and Sardinia. Many of its guides are created by artists, chefs, baristas and other in-the-know locals. As the Stay folks put it: "Enjoy adventurous food, pulsating nightlife, independent boutiques, and cozy cafés, all curated by locals and influencers whose guides bring a city’s true character to life.” It features a boatload of offline maps, which means you don't get hit with roaming charges. And its iOS and Android apps are stylish and easy to use. You don't just look at pretty pictures — you use the app to plan your trip. It's engaging enough that you coming away thinking that you just had fun, not that you just did some work. Brilliant. Similar apps: Tripomatic, Wanderfly.

AFAR Travel Guide

AFAR for iPhone & iPad  | AFAR for Android | Free

Like Gogobot, AFAR 's recommendations come largely from the community: curators who know the local landscape and visitors who share their experiences. San Francisco-based AFAR's mobile app — which was updated just 2 weeks ago — is actually better than its clunky and cramped website. AFAR boasts "45,000+ unique travel experiences around the world," and I don't doubt it, based on its rich catalog of destinations, including a great series of "perfect day" itineraries. What's more, the app serves as a tool to create a customizable, shareable digital travel guide: Make some choices before you leave, then add others on-the-go. The trip planning guide you craft is available to you even when you're offline. The best part of the AFAR app is the wealth of authentic experiences shared by fellow travelers.  

Triposo for iPhone & iPad | Triposo for Android | Free

I'm a longtime open source advocate, so I'm rooting for Triposo , which pulls content from Wikipedia, Wikitravel and Wikivoyage (although it doesn't always properly attribute the photographers) and combines it with user contributions. Its self-styled mission is a grand one: "One travel guide for the whole world." The app isn't the only one you'll want to use, but it does offer a wide selection of content, covering every country and thousands of cities, with photos, maps (which work offline), real-time weather and suggestions of city walks, attractions and experiences. Find top-rated bars, restaurants, shops and nightclubs. 

Facet for iPhone & iPad  | Free

Here's an app you may not have heard of: Facet is all about video of the top destinations in the world. It won the iTunes Editors' Choice as one of the Best New Apps of the Year. It offers a simple way to capture, find and discuss great travel experiences through videos of everything from hidden gems to popular attractions submitted by a "community of explorers." The app includes some nice social sharing features, such as the ability to connect with "top world travelers." And you can watch original daily travel and food programs. Many of the videos are decidedly short — 15 seconds — but that can be just long enough to convey the vibe of a place. There's a nice serendipity factor to Facet that you don't always get with other travel guides.  Standout feature: You can collaborate with friends or family in planning where you want to go and what you want to do. Oh. Note to Facet: Ditch that horrid logo. (No Android version.)

minube for iPhone, iPad & Apple Watch  | minube for Android | Free

Here's another travel app you haven't heard of. Minube (which also is in need of a logo designer) combines travel planning and organizing in one convenient app, letting you scout out destination ideas, save favorites in lists and create a personalized travel itinerary. What powers it are the recommendations from a community of 1.5 million travelers who have visited more than 2 million attractions, hotels and restaurants the world over. Scope out expert lists by topic (cheapest eats, best scuba diving spots). Control which photos you want to share publicly vs. privately. The app can even help you organize the photos from your trip after you've returned home.  Standout feature : The Inspiration tool lets you explore possible destinations through filters such as colors and distance from your home. 

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor for iPhone & iPad | TripAdvisor for Android | Free

Behold the 800-pound gorilla of trip recommendations (225 million reviews — count 'em!). A few years back TripAdvisor was a noisy affair, but the signal-to-noise ratio has gotten better recently, and you can barely walk down a foreign street these days without seeing the ubiquitous TripAdvisor logos looming in shop windows. TripAdvisor shut down its CityGuides app last year, and while it briefly offered an Off the Beaten Path guide that users could filter by personal interests, it's either gone or deeply buried in the current app. Today you can use the TripAdvisor app to scout out hotels, flights, vacation rentals, restaurants and attractions, complete with maps, user comments and aggregate ratings. 

If you're interested in researching a place rather than booking a tour, you'll need to drill down to a specific attraction, like the Eiffel Tower, then scroll down past the recommended tours and choose one of the travel guides from a narrow horizontal band. Many of these are smart and informative: Paris has 33 guides contributed by users. Though I'm not sure how useful it is to see 73,392 review of Paris. Similar apps: Yelp , which you already know about. 

Viator Tours & Activities

Viator for iPhone & iPad | Viator for Android | Free

Those of us in the travel business know Viator as the giant tour operator, offering shore excursions and tours when traveling abroad. But Viator's mobile app, downloaded more than 1 million times, is impressive as well. Because its parent company is TripAdvisor, Viator has access to 600,000+ user reviews and photos. If for no other reason, the app is worth the download for the ability to skip the lines at crowded attractions like the Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building. Choose from 1,500 destinations. Browse or book activities and tours, get your bearings with online maps, see videos that give you a taste of local highlights and more.

City Guides by goop

City Guides by goop for iPhone & iPad | Free

A little offshoot from Gwyneth Paltrow’s popular lifestyle site, the goop City Guide app brings you in-depth and authentic guides to a handful of major cities, including New York, London and Los Angeles, with Paris on the way. As goop promises: "You’ll find well-known haunts, little-known gems, and plenty of insider resources, sourced from our own editors, Gwyneth, and friends of goop. Restaurants, specialty shops, boutiques, hotels, museums, culture, and all the services both locals and travelers lean on." Though the pickings are slim at the moment, the app is fun, distinctive and has loads of personality. Swipe through different neighborhoods. Look for restaurants and galleries not listed in other guides. Share your favorite finds. And check the weather for the next five days. Thank you, Gwyneth. (No Android version.) 

Peek for iPhone & iPad | Free 

I've long admired the San Francisco startup  Peek . The app offers suggestions about things you might like to do when in town, like taking a photography class while exploring Oahu at sunrise ($90) or taking a 2-hour tour of Savannah's scandalous past  ($48). Peek gets a 15% to 30% cut of every activity booked through the app. You can browse things to do by date, by category (like kid-friendly or walking tours), by neighborhood or by attraction. It covers 18 cities and regions (only Paris, London, Cabo and Cancun overseas).  Nifty feature : You can browse and favorite what you come across when you're offline. Tip : If you can't find the "perfect days" section of the app, use the mobile Web to go to peek.com/perfectdays , where you can see a great visual collection of how to spend a  perfect day in New York  and lots of other places — mini-guides created by knowledgable locals, without the need to book a tour.  Shortcoming : Peek's Facebook authentication for logging in almost never works. Peek has recently launched Peek Pro , but that's for tour operators. There is no Android version of the app. 

Honorable Mention

There's an argument to be made that mobile powerhouses  Google Now , Siri and Cortana will ultimately be the arbiters of what we should do and where we should go. I don't buy it, but they'll certainly continue to grow in influence. 

Location-based decision apps have been a volatile yet slow-moving sector for years. It's head scratching and disappointing that Airbnb announced its Neighborhoods program more than 3 years ago — but there's still no Airbnb Neighborhoods mobile app.

Here are some other travel guide apps (or “what to do and see” apps) of note:

• Party With a Local had 20,000 users as of last spring in 160 countries. Users post suggestions of what to do at night in their cities. Then, through the app, visitors can arrange to meet up with them at a local hot spot. Nice idea — let's see if it scales. Free for iPhone & Apple Watch .
• There's something to be said for the old guide book stalwarts. Lonely Planet has its Make My Day app (Clint Eastwood presumably not included), which turns your smartphone into an on-the-go travel planner (free download; 99 cents to $2.99 to unlock various cities, from New York to Hong Kong).
• Fodor's City Guides is a free app that lets you open up a specific city's guide for $2.99 a pop, though the activities are powered by Viator with little in the way of user content that I could see before it quit on me.
• City Guides by National Geographic  is limited to New York, London, Paris and Rome. Free for iPhone and iPad. 
• Luxe City Guides offers guides to 25 major cities at $5.99 a pop. Available for iOS and Android.
• Location-based apps  Tagwhat (your "mobile tour guide for the world"), TouristEye , Trover and Foursquare haven't lived up to lofty expectations but they all offer diverting, informed local experiences and are worth a look. And Everplaces , which has been dormant for years, is back with a new release that I'll be checking out as well. 

How about you? Which “what to do” mobile apps do you use? 

In our series Travel Tech & Apps

• 10 great travel gadgets for your summer vacation

Top 10 photo apps for travelers

• 7 apps for finding wi-fi hotspots in port
• Nikon Coolpix S9900: 'The perfect travel camera'
• Olloclip: A handy add-on for smartphone shutterbugs

JD Lasica I'm Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Cruiseable. Follow your cruise bliss to any land where it may lead. Let's connect! I'm @jdlasica on Twitter.

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The 13 Best New York City Apps for Travelers

Jason C. Flynn

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The city so nice they named it twice! New York is different things to different people, but two facts are certain. One, there’s always something to do in New York; and two, if you don’t get clued in on the when, where, and how of the city, you’ll find something you didn’t want to do sucking up all your free time (like waiting for a cab). And that’s where the following New York City apps can help.

Here’s a collection of New York apps that can help you stay ahead of the game on your next trip to the Big Apple. This is by no means a comprehensive list because, like New York itself, there is too much to investigate in one pass. But the New York City apps here should cover most of your general needs (and a few specific ones) to help you navigate your Gotham adventure.

The Best New York City Apps for Travelers: Transportation

Citymapper new york.

Unless you’re Spider-Man (and if you are, call me), you’re going be using New York’s impressive and sprawling bus and subway system to get around. Even if you’re from a metro area that has a mass transit network, New York’s can be daunting. The New York City app from Citymapper should be your first tool in using and understanding the public transit system. Not only does it have full maps that can be used offline, but it also shows real-time bus and train departures and lets you combine public transit with other modes such as bike shares and cabs.

Cost: Free Platforms: iOS, Android

Exit Strategy NYC

Sure, Exit Strategy NYC has both a complete subway and bus map for all five boroughs of the city, but as the name implies, its focus is about accessing these options. Exit Strategy also provides the locations to all station entrances and exits, making it easier for you to transition between street and subway. Add to that tips on where to stand on the platforms (a skill some longtime residents of the city still haven’t mastered) and you’ll be in great shape for all your subway hopping needs.

Cost: $3.99 Platforms: iOS, Android

You might be one of the few extremely … let’s say “brave” people who are willing to drive to New York and deal with the cough cough joy of parking there. That means you’re going to pay for parking, be it for a space, for a meter, or to get your car out of impound. ParkMe is one of the best New York City apps for this endeavor. It scans data for lots near your location to show you availability and rates, and lets you prepay and reserve a spot ahead of time. It may sound like I’m overselling how bad the parking is, but trust me: You’ll want to be prepared.

Want to zip around New York City on two wheels? Citi Bike is the city’s official bike-share program. The app will help you find the nearest docking station, save your favorite stations, purchase a day pass, and track your ride stats.

Cost: Free Platforms: iOS , Android

Use the ferry app for route maps, ticketing info, and schedules so you can explore NYC by boat and get around sans traffic. The ferries also offer a free Wi-Fi network.

The Best New York City Apps for Travelers: Attractions

Itourmobile.

This app uses GPS technology to locate your whereabouts and provide information on points of interest nearby, like a Sex and the City filming location or famous pizza shop. Download and use it when you’re walking around NYC, because you never know what’s right around the corner in this fascinating city.

Cost: Free or $1.99 per month to access subscriber-only tours Platforms: iOS, Android

Whether you’re at the museum or in your living room, you can get guided audio descriptions of the museum’s latest collections. There are also detailed visual descriptions for the visually impaired.

Cost: Free Platforms: iOS

Millions of people go to New York every year to see shows on and off Broadway. And while there are numerous ways to purchase tickets, few are as useful as the TKTS stands in Manhattan and Brooklyn. This app lets you avoid the lines, check ticket availability, and read reviews of shows. Known for both last-minute tickets and big discounts on day-of tickets, TKTS is a must-have for anyone who wants to take in a show on the Great White Way.

Statue of Liberty

View the famed NYC landmark through different augmented reality modes and brush up on your history before visiting. You also have access to an on-island audio tour with a map, as well as a podcast miniseries.

WhyzzExplorer

This app gets the entire family involved on a trip to New York City. Let this app guide you through quizzes, conversations, and food challenges as you and your loved ones get to know the Big Apple.

The Best New York City Apps for Travelers: Recommendations

Time out new york.

A staple for locals and tourists alike, Time Out New York can show you all the latest concerts, exhibits, events, and everyday happenings at any and all times. Using this New York app, you can check ticket availability, showtimes, and even reviews for those two shows you’re trying to decide between. (If I were you, I’d go for the one that isn’t likely to be touring next year.) If you’re on a budget or have simply spent too much money on Fifth Avenue, make sure to use the “cheap” and “free” filters on this most useful of New York City apps.

Tripadvisor

Create and share trips with points of interest with your whole group. The new Tripadvisor app is handy for mapping out all of the places that you want to go in one place. P.S. We have our own profile page to follow that has handy, pre-curated trips (and so does the tourism board, NYC Go ). Tripadvisor is SmarterTravel’s parent company.

Odds are if you do any traveling or dining, you’ve got Yelp on your smartphone. While Yelp isn’t always the best app for every location, for major cities like New York it certainly proves its value. Besides reviews, listings, maps, and menus for every type of food you can imagine, it’s a great backup for all the other apps on this list. You don’t always have to be a local to find good stuff in a new town.

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More From SmarterTravel:

• New York City Travel Guide
• New York on a Budget: 25 Ways to Save on Travel
• Tipping in New York: The New York Tipping Guide

Jason Flynn is a freelance writer, editor, and geek of all trades. Follow him on Twitter @flynntendo .

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2016. It has been updated to reflect the most current information. This article has been updated since the date of its publication with the input of NYC Go .

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As we continue to better focus our product offerings for the future we are making changes to the current Lonely Planet Guides App offering. As users, we want you to be among the first to know.

At the end of February 2022 Guides by Lonely Planet will no longer be supported or updated. You’ll still be able to use the app and related content on your device, but there won’t be further development of this app.

We’re excited to bring you a whole new series of products and services in the coming year and beyond and look forward to sharing more with you soon.

The Lonely Planet Team

7 Useful Apps Every Traveler Should Know About

By Harrison Pierce

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Technology continues to make travel easier for millions of people around the globe. New apps offer travelers fresh ways to research a destination, connect with fellow globetrotters, communicate with locals, and track their flights. As a full-time digital nomad , I’ve learned the importance of having the right tools at your disposal when on the road.

Over the past few years, I’ve visited dozens of countries, flown hundreds of thousands of miles, and tested countless apps to find the ones that prove to be the most helpful. And while tools like Meetup, Google Maps, Google Translate, currency converters, and vacation rental , airline, and hotel–specific apps are in fact indispensable on most trips, I find that many of the best travel apps are still undiscovered by my fellow travelers.

Below, seven travel apps that make life on the go markedly easier (and more fun), from real-time flight trackers to photo-sharing gems—all of these apps are free, but some have paid pro versions worth considering. Don’t think these apps are only for full-time travelers—they prove useful for every type of traveler, whether you're in a brand-new destination or back for a return visit.

Discover the best apps for travelers:

Apps for flying, apps for exploring, apps for photo sharing.

My favorite app on this list is Flighty, a must-have for any frequent flier . The free version is fantastic, but I recommend splurging for the premium version, which gives you even more useful information and comes at a reasonable cost of $48 per year. The functionality it provides more than justifies the price.

The free version allows you to input all future flights plus past journeys you've taken within the last year. It provides updated information if any schedule changes occur to upcoming flights and allows you to track all the miles you’ve flown in one place.

The other main benefit is that it allows you to share your flight information with friends and family members who are also on Flighty. They will receive real-time updates about your flight without you having to text them. My parents love to make sure I’m safe so they appreciate getting detailed information about my travels—even while I’m in the air.

Flightradar24 is a favorite app among fellow aviation geeks. It lets you track almost any aircraft you see in the air throughout the day or night. You can track your own flight, a friend's flight, or any plane you see in real-time. It shares plenty of cool data, like the altitude, speed, arrival and departure airports and times, and tail number.

There are tons of eSIM apps on the market, but Airalo is probably my favorite, with digital SIM cards available for dozens of countries. I find it to be the most reliable and offers the best data packages. It can be a little pricey, but it is the best option if you’re only taking short trips. Holafly is another eSIM app that offers unlimited data and works well, but I find the app to be much more glitchy than Airalo and would recommend using the desktop version.

This one is for the planner of the group. Wanderlog merges the best of a bunch of different apps into one. Imagine an app that lets you plan a trip with ease: collaborate with friends as if you’re on Google Docs, manage expense tracking like Splitwise, and have a central place for your reservations, checklists, and more. Tripit is a similar travel planner app, so you can download both and get a feel for which interface you like better.

Been allows you to track the countries you’ve visited and make a wish list of places you can’t wait to cross off your travel bucket list . It gives you information like the percentage of the globe you’ve been to and shows you a world map of your trips. It’s always fun to add in a new country whenever I reach my destination.

This app was introduced to me by fellow nomads I met at a cafe in Montevideo, Uruguay . It automatically tracks your route across the world, allowing you to quickly upload pictures throughout your travels that can be viewed by anyone who has access to your profile. It’s an excellent way to share important moments with loved ones without needing to send photos to each person individually. Users can also create easily accessible guides filled with up-to-date information to help you plan your own trip.

Steller is another app that a friend recently introduced me to, and I’ve quickly fallen in love with it. It uses a combination of AI and user experiences to help you plan trips around the globe. From recommendations of things to see, like the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires or the Royal Palace of Naples, to full guidebooks created by users, you can get inspired, book experiences, and discover hidden gems within this app.

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30 essential travel apps every traveler needs before their next trip

When it comes to planning and taking a vacation, travelers rely on their phones now more than ever.

Travel apps are a source of inspiration and are extremely useful for booking and managing logistics — even making restaurant reservations or finding a great fitness class wherever in the world you're flying next.

From apps that help with everything from day-of hotel bookings and last-minute flight changes to those that serve as guidebooks and foreign-language dictionaries, travel is infinitely easier thanks to technology.

Apps can help you navigate a new city, make currency conversions, pack a perfect suitcase and even provide on-the-ground local expertise. Whatever you need when you hit the road, there's an app for that.

We've rounded up the most-loved apps here at TPG. Some may be obvious, and others more obscure, but either way, get ready to download.

Best apps for researching and booking trips

In addition to the apps for the airlines you fly most frequently and your favorite hotel brands, these apps can help you save money on flights and accommodations.

Hopper has changed in recent years from just offering a price prediction tool for flights to being a true online travel agency. The app helps travelers find the cheapest flights, hotels and rental cars.

Of course, Hopper also still offers its signature price prediction technology to help you plan out when to book, as well as travel protection options and a price freeze to help you lock in the lowest possible price on hotels and flights.

Kiwi is used mainly to book flights, but it also helps you book hotels (using its partnership with Booking.com) and car rentals (using its partnership with RentalCars.com).

Some of the app's most interesting features include the "Deals" section, which pulls in discounted flights, and the "Travel hacks" section, which includes options for hidden city ticketing, throwaway ticketing (making one-way flights more affordable) and free price alerts.

Hotel Tonight

A dream for last-minute travelers, Hotel Tonight ( now owned by Airbnb ) lets you book stays for the same evening up to a few months in advance in thousands of cities worldwide. Available hotel rooms are categorized into sections like basic, luxe, hip, charming and solid, so you can select what works for your vibe. Take advantage of the daily drop feature, where you swipe to find a personalized deal with a special price only valid for 15 minutes after unlocked.

At TPG, we love a good loyalty program, and HT Perks, the app's nine-level reward program, is extensive. Not unlike a video game, you "level up" by reaching specific spending thresholds on the app, and you'll gain access to perks like discounts, VIP customer support and credits. Also, your levels never expire, so you can only continue to move up.

To book home rentals instead of hotels, use the Airbnb app. After entering your destination and dates, you can filter results based on the home type, price, requisite amenities and more. If you find something you like, you can book directly through the app.

The app is ideal for managing your trips while on the road — you can access all your bookings under the "Trips" tab, where you can view your reservation (and the address or directions), contact the host or change your reservation. Once you have a booking, you can also explore and book local experiences in your destination, such as wine tastings, kayak tours, hikes, shows and concerts.

We can't talk about travel apps without mentioning the TPG App. Use it to track your credit card, airline and hotel points balances; earn points and miles efficiently through using the right credit card ; and research how many points or miles you'll need to book your dream getaway. You can even curate your own news feed so you see the news and advice that matters most to you first.

The TPG App is available for download on iOS . Android users can join the waitlist here .

Related: The TPG App has arrived — here's why you should download it now

Best apps for organizing a trip

From keeping all your documents in order to perfectly packing your suitcase without forgetting a thing, these are the best apps for organizing travel plans.

TripIt declutters your itineraries and documents by keeping them organized in one place. You can set your reservations to automatically send to TripIt, which lets you view travel confirmations, flight itineraries, tickets, hotel and Airbnb booking information, rental car reservations, ferry tickets and driving directions without ever leaving the app.

TripIt also makes it simple to share your trip plans with whoever picks you up from the airport or train station or anyone else who may need to coordinate with you. TripIt Pro subscriptions cost $49 per year and include extras like real-time flight alerts, security wait times, baggage claim information and updates on your loyalty reward programs.

Roadtrippers

Perfect for organizing that epic road trip you've always wanted to take, Roadtrippers plans out your driving route and lets you book hotels and activities along the way. The app is especially useful for finding interesting and off-the-beaten-path roadside attractions, cool restaurants and can't-miss landmarks you can bookmark.

A Roadtrippers Premium membership includes offline maps, live traffic information, overnight RV parking and more for $59.99 per year. For those looking to only venture on a few road trips per year, the app also offers a Pro ($49.99 per year) and Basic ($35.99 per year) membership.

PackPoint takes all the stress out of packing . The app shows you what to bring based on the length of your trip, the weather in your destination and any activities you're planning along the way. If you have access to laundry facilities at your destination, PackPoint even allows you to account for washing your clothes and wearing them multiple times.

Just download and install the app, type in the city you're visiting and plug in your travel details. So, stop waiting until the day before your trip — or the hours before you have to leave for the airport — and start packing now.

Best apps for navigating the airport and flights

Track flights, navigate airports and find airport lounges with these apps.

LoungeBuddy

LoungeBuddy offers access to premium airport lounges around the world, regardless of the airline or class you're flying. When you create a trip in the app and type in the credit cards you currently hold, it will tell you which lounges you have access to based on the airports you'll be transiting through and how to purchase access if you don't already have it.

You can purchase access on the day you're traveling or up to two months in advance if you're the plan-ahead type. If you prefer to search by lounge or lounge program, the app will tell you exactly what is needed to use them.

Priority Pass

Priority Pass offers access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide and provides meal vouchers at select airport restaurants across the world for an annual fee starting at $99.

Several cards, including The Platinum Card® from American Express , the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve , offer Priority Pass memberships for all cardholders (enrollment required). Otherwise, you'll have to pay an annual fee to be a member and, depending on your membership tier, a fee to enter each lounge on top of the annual fee.

To use the Priority Pass app, enter the name or code of the airport you're in, and Priority Pass will pull up the lounges or restaurants that you have access to, including photos, hours, amenities and specific location information. For more information on the Priority Pass Program and how to gain lounge access, click here . Enrollment is required for select benefits.

Related: The best credit cards for Priority Pass lounge access

FlightAware

The FlightAware app allows you to track flights online, see a live map of a flight and check on delays, cancellations and gate changes. This app is especially helpful if you have a tight connection or want to track your flight.

It's also useful when picking up friends and family at the airport, as you can track their flight and see updated landing times or delays. AvGeeks will enjoy digging into flight statistics, flight maps and community aviation discussions on the app.

Best apps to use during your flight

Timeshifter.

What better way to cure jet lag than with an app? Timeshifter actually helps you avoid jet lag long before your flight takes off and also offers inflight and post-flight suggestions. The app relies on neuroscience research about sleep and circadian rhythms to provide personalized recommendations, taking into consideration your age, gender and normal sleep patterns — as well as specifics about your trip and travel plans. Timeshifter maps out when you should avoid or seek light, take a nap or try to stay awake. It even tells you if you should consider supplementing with melatonin or caffeine.

Your first jet lag plan is free, then $9.99 per plan, or you can enjoy unlimited plans for a year for $24.99.

Flying can cause anxiety — or provide a welcome relief from constant contact with our digital devices. Either way, use travel as an opportunity to relax, meditate or listen to soothing sounds that will lull you to sleep or a deep, relaxed state. Or, perhaps, you'll simply find it helps pass the time during a long flight.

Calm offers meditations on topics such as self-awareness, calming anxiety, breathing, lowering stress levels and happiness, among others. The app also has music options for focusing, relaxing and sleeping, as well as stories for adults and content for kids.

A limited selection of meditations and music is available for free (which you can download to use when you're offline or in flight). The premium version of the app costs $14.99 per month or $69.99 annually.

OK, so Netflix isn't really a travel app, but it can be a lifesaver during a long flight on an aircraft without seatback inflight entertainment or at the airport during an unexpected flight delay or boring layover. If you have a Netflix account, the app allows you to download your favorite shows onto your device to watch offline.

Just make sure to download your shows while connected to Wi-Fi before flying and check them again preflight to make sure they haven't expired (you can usually renew any expired downloads, but you must be connected to Wi-Fi or data to do so). Monthly prices vary depending on the plan.

Another app that's not really a travel app, Spotify can still be incredibly useful during tedious travel moments — just pop in those noise-canceling headphones and listen to your favorite music, meditations, podcasts and more.

The app's Premium plans (prices vary) allow you to download all your content offline on your phone, so you'll have it during long flights or when you don't have data or Wi-Fi access. Whether you want to take a morning jog in Bali to your favorite tunes or pass the time with a podcast on the metro in Barcelona, Spotify has it all.

Best apps to use in your destination

From exchanging money and sightseeing to communicating and knowing all the local tips and tricks, you don't want to land in a foreign city for the first time without these key apps.

XE Currency Converter

The XE Currency Converter app quickly provides live, up-to-the-minute currency rates, then allows you to store and view them even when you're offline. You'll never need to wonder if you're really getting a good deal in another country if you have this app.

Google Translate

Google Translate is a translation app that allows you to do it all — translate into more than 100 languages by typing, access 59 languages offline, translate via photo, translate bilingual conversations and even use the handwriting tool to translate.

The app is simple to use, too, with icons at the top you can click on to draw, take a photo, speak or type.

Not quite sure how much to tip when traveling internationally? GlobeTips will advise you on how to tip appropriately in more than 200 countries. It also offers a tip calculator for easy math. Globe also has apps for currency conversion, unit conversion and more that may be useful for travelers.

Related: The ultimate guide to tipping while traveling

For travelers globe-trotting with friends and family members or simply splitting the cost between groups, Tricount calculates shared costs and splits bills so you don't have to think twice about who owes what. Just enter your trip and currency and invite your travel mates to join your trip.

Each time someone pays for something, you enter the amount in Tricount, and the app splits everything up. You can also snap and store photos of receipts in the app. At the end of your trip, it will show the balances of who owes who what, making it easy to settle up.

Metric Conversions

Never be baffled by Celsius temperatures or suitcase weight in kilograms again with the Metric Conversions app . Whether you're measuring flour to cook at your Airbnb, figuring out distances for your Europe road trip or deciding whether to take a sweatshirt with you during your walking tour of the Great Wall of China, this app has you covered with easy conversions in volume, weight, temperature, area and more.

Google Maps

Google Maps is essential when visiting a new city (or even for getting around your hometown). You can map locations, get directions (walking, driving, public transportation, ride-hailing services and beyond) and see how crowded your subway will be in select cities .

You can make restaurant reservations, save your favorite spots and read and write reviews of attractions, eateries, shops and more. Make sure to download specific city or area maps ahead of time for offline access if you know you'll be without internet at your destination. For obvious reasons, the app works best when your GPS is turned on.

WhatsApp is a handy messaging service for travelers abroad as it uses an internet connection to avoid SMS fees.

It works like most other messaging apps: You start by creating an account, then add your friends and family members to contact and voila! You're able to call, video chat and send messages, images, voice memos, gifs and files just as you would in, say, iMessage (but with Android users too). You can also download WhatsApp on your Windows or Mac computer.

Best apps for planning activities

Traveling is about more than just getting from point A to point B. If you're looking for activities to add to your itinerary, check out these apps.

Meetup is an app designed for interacting with locals and other travelers who have mutual interests or shared hobbies. Whether you're traveling or at home, take what you love and do more of it with Meetup.

The app shows you groups that are formed around particular interests in your city, including yoga, photography, cooking, wine tasting, hiking, cinema and other activities. You can join groups to get updates on particular events you may want to participate in. The app can even help with networking, as there are many groups dedicated to business and technology. You might even be able to join a coworking group. Travelers with kids can participate in family-friendly meetups, and it's a great way for solo travelers to make friends and connect with others.

TheFork is one of the most useful resources for making restaurant reservations in Europe. Similar to OpenTable or Resy, the app lets you browse different restaurants by category and make reservations. TheFork features more than 60,000 restaurants in cities like London, Madrid and Geneva, as well as spots outside of Europe like Sydney, Australia.

The biggest perk is that many restaurant reservations come with discounts — in some cases, you can get up to 50% off your meal just by reserving a table through TheFork. Since we here at TPG are always down for earning rewards, make sure to monitor your YUMS — TheFork's reward system. You'll earn YUMS with each reservation, and when you hit 1,000, you receive a discount on your bill. Foodie travelers should also consider downloading these apps , too.

Happy Cow helps vegan and vegetarian eaters locate more than 180,000 restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, farmers markets and grocery stores in over 180 countries around the world. The app allows you to filter by not only vegan and vegetarian but also gluten-free and cuisine types. You can also read reviews and get recipes on the app as well.

The app does cost $3.99, but it's a one-time expense.

TripAdvisor

Besides reading reviews of restaurants, hotels and attractions, you can book almost anything on TripAdvisor, from vacation rentals and restaurant reservations to tours and tickets.

The app has grown to include almost all things travel, allowing you to search by destination or interest (like the outdoors, food and drink, family or by the water, for example), which can give you inspiration for a trip or help you get your activities, meals and accommodations organized before traveling or on the fly.

With over 400,000 curated trails, AllTrails can help you find the hike or walk perfect for you and your group. It's not just mountain trails — AllTrails offers city walks, too, like easy meanders through the Marais district in Paris or peaceful strolls through Bangkok's Lumpini Park in Thailand.

See photos, updated weather predictions and key information about each route and connect with other travelers through reviews and forums. Access to AllTrails+ is $35.99 per year, which offers perks like offline maps and wrong turn alerts.

Best apps for staying safe

Use these apps to stay safe when traveling.

Smart Traveler

Smart Traveler is a free service that offers tips and information specifically for U.S. travelers. You can see what visas and vaccines you'll need before traveling and where to find help if you need it during your trip.

Register your trip on the app, which gives your information to local embassies and consulates in your destination. If there's any kind of disaster or tragedy, the local embassy can contact you to see if you need help.

TripWhistle

Another app dedicated to keeping you safe, TripWhistle maps your location and allows you to easily text or send your GPS coordinates or location. It also provides emergency numbers for firefighters, medical personnel and police in nearly 200 countries. After all, 911 is only for U.S.-based emergencies: Each country has its own specific emergency number.

Yes, Uber (or any local ride-hailing service app) is convenient, but it may also keep you safe. Using this app when traveling means you'll never get stuck wandering around in an unfamiliar area late at night or have to deal with unscrupulous taxi drivers trying to scam you. Uber also has in-app safety features such as an emergency assistance button which will allow you to call local emergency services right in the app.

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Barcelona City Guide App

A full travel guide app for barcelona that you download and use from your mobile phone. everything you need to know about barcelona is in our barcelona city & tourist guide app..

Our brand-new app, Barcelona City Guide App has now been published on the Google Playstore. We have put many hours of work and a lot of effort to give you the best possible travel and city guide for Barcelona in a mobile phone friendly app. We wanted to create an app that covers in full all the attractions and sights in Barcelona, features the best hotels and restaurants and highlights the best bars and nightlife. Not only that, but we also wanted to create an app to show all the best places within 2 hours from Barcelona that are worth visiting. You can download our app from the Google Playstore –

Download Barcelona City Guide App For Free

Barcelona Travel Guide App

We have been spending the last few months adding more content to our Barcelona Travel Guide app. Everything is now updated with content that includes important changes for the 2023 season. We are working on a new update that will further improve the users experience. Our app is fully optimised for mobile phone use, but also works great on tablets.The Barcelona Travel Guide app news section features a Barcelona news and magazine section. This new section of the app is great to find out about Barcelona tourist news as well as a general magazine style posts.

On our Barcelona travel app, you will be able to create your own itineraries by saving to favorites all the places you wish to visit, hotels you would like to book or restaurants you would like to dine in. Save these favorites and view later. Furthermore, you can find out about public transport, keeping safe and also book tickets to all of Barcelona’s best attractions.

The best thing about having a Barcelona City Guide or Barcelona Travel Guide on your phone is the ease of use. On our travel app, you will find everything laid out in a way you can quickly find what you are looking for. The app also updates content without the need to keep updating from the Playstore. This means you will find new content or the latest Barcelona news when you open up the app.

Barcelona City & Tourist Guide App

We have tried to fit as much information as possible in to our Barcelona City Guide app. Whether you need to find a chauffeur or an Escape Room attraction, we have it all covered. You can see our Barcelona City & Tourist Guide best features below.

• Detailed information on each attraction in Barcelona, including find on maps, nearest metro station and a fully complete and detailed description.
• Save all the places you wish to see or visit to your personal favourite list.
• Barcelona news and magazine section, check on latest news, upcomming events and everything Barcelona.
• Book hotels and tickets to all the attractions, including fast track entry and VIP visits.
• Explore outside of Barcelona with our additional guide of unique places to visit near Barcelona.
• Keep safe, practical advice on keeping safe in Barcelona.
• Full guide on coffee shops, restaurants, bars and nighlife .
• Find out the best hotels, hostals, apartments rental and campsites.
• Learn about Barcelona trains, Metro and public transport to help you get around Barcelona.
• Special section on all the places and attractions to visit within 90 minutes from Barcelona.
• And much, much more… Download for free from Google Playstore HERE

We will be continuing to add much more content to our Barcelona City & Tourist Guide app . We aim to keep improving and adding great places to visit, in and around Barcelona.

The Most Complete Barcelona Travel App

When we first decided to create an app, we outlined three important things to make a great Barcelona travel app. Those three critical factors were to make the app easy to navigate, include absolutely everything a tourist in Barcelona needs to know and create full and detailed articles about the city of Barcelona. In short, our objective is to create a full and complete Barcelona travel guide app that you can view on your phone. Our Barcelona travel app now features almost 200 places to visit in and around Barcelona.

Another point is that we wanted to create a Barcelona city and travel guide app that has everything. As well as explaining everything to see, do and visit in Barcelona, we also included the surrounding area. Great day trips to Tarragona , Girona , Portavetura and even Andorra are all included in our app. Also you can purchase tickets directly from our travel app to all of Barcelona’s best attractions. All tickets purchased on our app can be scanned from your mobile when entering Barcelona’s top attractions .

Overall, our Barcelona City Guide App has been created to help you navigate Barcelona and the surrounding areas. Our app will explain public transport, tips on keeping safe and where to est and drink. We are already working on updates, so make sure you keep the app on your phone, as much more will soon be added.

A really great travel app for Barcelona. It covers everything you need to know about Barcelona, with detailed and long descriptions and all the important information on how to get to each place. You can click on the address icon to go straight to Google maps to find out where you are, and more importantly where the place you want to visit is, and how to get there. Also the app shows just about every other attraction or sight of interest within 120 km from Barcelona. So the Barcelona travel app is actually a Catalonia travel guide as well.

All in all, much better than the other Barcelona travel apps and very well designed. If you are looking for a really good Barcelona travel guide app, download this one.

A lot of time and effort went into creating the Barcelona city and travel guide app. We put our heart and soul into creating an easy to use app filled with original, detailed and informative advice on everything to do when visiting Barcelona.

Download this app now! It has everything about Barcelona from what to see and do, to the very best restaurants. It also includes where to visit outside Barcelona and within Catalonia.I really liked the news section, a mixture of news, articles and blog posts about interesting things about Barcelona. A very good and useful app to have in your phone if you plan to visit Barcelona.

Yes, the Barcelona city and travel guide app is one of the best Barcelona travel apps. Easy to use, good information and a travel guide in your pocket.

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The Best Travel App for Málaga City and the Costa del...

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New York City Travel Guide 4+

With new york city map & metro, jorge herlein, designed for ipad.

• 4.8 • 507 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description.

SPECIAL FEATURES - AUGMENTED REALITY - AR - STOP CARRYING BOOK GUIDES!!! - 100% OFFLINE TRAVEL GUIDE - OFFLINE METRO MAP - ZOOMABLE 100% REGIONAL OFFLINE MAPS - PICS GALLERY - GPS CAPABLE - INTERACTIVE POINTS OF INTEREST on the maps showing public bus stops, restaurants, pubs, hotels, hospitals, museums, theatres, and many others. - DAILY BASED ITINERARIES - BUDGET BASED HOTELS & RESTAURANTS - WHERE, WHAT & HOW TO SHOP - NIGHTLIFE ACTIVITIES - CITY TIPS, MOVING AROUND, COMMUTING - SAFETY TIPS ------------------------------------------ PRODUCT DESCRIPTION Stop carrying heavy city tours guide in your pocket. TRAVEL LIGHT!!! With this Travel Guide you have a full city guide in your iPhone & iPod Touch. This tourist guide is built to be used offline. No connection to Internet required, meaning no extra charges in your phone bill!! AUGMENTED REALITY, unlike other tourist guides you will be able to discover the city with the best iPhone tool - AR - Just click on the AR button, turn yourself 360° and view on the screen where the best spots are and how to find them. You can also scroll up and down to view the closest and furthest attraction. Slide through the tutorial for more tips. After many requests, we bring to you your own steps with a GPS feature. Do not get lost, just take a look where you are standed. It is a very practical city guide since it is designed to be used by itineraries. There are 4 different itineraries for the city depending on the duration of your journey. We also provide tips and advices to travelers, how to get into the city, how to move around, where to shop, where to go at night, most popular places, safety tips, etc... Unlike other guides, this Travel Guide provides you with interactive zoomable OFFLINE MAPS (x6 zoom + GPS capable) of the region showing the attractions, public bus stops, restaurants, pubs, hotels, hospitals and many other useful points of interest. You cannot get lost!. With this guide, you will not only visit the city but also move around its region. Tourist info for must see attractions such as Statue of Liberty, Empire State, Brooklyn, Times Square, The 5th Avenue, Central Park, New York City Stock Exchange, Manhattan, among others. The travel guide is made based on travelers advices. Unlike other city guides, we can guarantee we have already visited these places and would like to give you a fancy and practical tool to make your visit a more enjoyable one. This app contains IAPs for you to enjoy and discover the best out of your visit.

Version 3.0.65

Minor bug fixed

Ratings and Reviews

507 Ratings

New York City

I spent a week in New York. It was my first time in the city. I was staying in uptown manhattan. This new york app helped me a lot not only to move around but to do the top things to do as a visitor. Ive got to enjoyed the city at its fullest. New york is very big but this app made my walks very enjoyable. I also booked through this app 4 activities and you can save the vouchers within. Im in love with new york. This app is free and has amazing pictures also. I wish I could add mines as well. So give it a try.

Developer Response ,

Thanks you very much. We are glad you liked the app

New York City Travel Guide

The New York City Travel Guide Application is a well designed informative resource for those who want to not know only about the attractions the famed area offers but also the history of it as well. The app allows users to navigate quickly to any section by way of the pop up side menu. The app allows users to save favorites within the app as well as use it offline. The app even provides a gimmick feature such as an AR Tool which will making searching for nearby points of interest more fun. While there are many NYC guides in the App Store this seems like one of the better ones. Well worth a download.

Thank you very much. We are very happy that you enjoyed the app.

The city is a big city and the mayor has been a great friend to the people of the city and to those who have been affected by the disaster on 9/11

In-App Purchases

App privacy.

The developer, Jorge Herlein , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Contact Info
• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

• Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish

• New York City $0.00
• Statue of Liberty $0.00
• New York Full Access $3.99
• Times Square $0.00
• Central Park $0.00
• Statue of Liberty Guide & Plans $1.99
• One World Trade Center $0.00
• Central Park Guide & Plans $1.99
• Rockefeller Center $0.00
• Metropolitan Museum of Art $0.00
• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

More By This Developer

Dubai Travel Guide Offline

London Travel Guide with Map

Lisbon Travel Guide Offline

Yosemite National Park

Amsterdam Travel Guide & Map .

Rome Travel Guide .

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