Must Have (Free) Travel Apps To Save on Your Next Trip

Taking advantage of free travel apps is such an easy way to cut out costs, so that you can put your money towards other areas of your trip! In this post, we share all the best travel apps for your next budget friendly adventure–for majority of these apps, we cannot imagine how we ever traveled without them!

Each app offers up a different service with unique features and benefits. So knowing the type of trip you are planning will help you get the most out of them.

Incorporating these travel apps along with other budget traveling tips will get you steps closer to traveling more for less.

AroundMe: This app can be helpful on any given day, but we find that we use it the most when we’re traveling. It’s essentially a hybrid between Yelp and GoogleMaps because it helps you find the nearest restaurants, bars, gas stations,and attractions when you are exploring a new city. Our favorite feature of this app? It easily displays all prices so that you can quickly see if it fits within your budget–a thrifty essential.

Award Wallet: This app tracks your points and miles from your loyalty program accounts. The company started in 2004 and has grown to support more than 670 loyalty programs across credit cards, airlines, hotels, car rentals, and so much more. It also has a custom function to manually track gift cards and vouchers too. So for all of the type A’s out there, you can now have it all in one place! One thing to note, major airlines such as Southwest, Delta, and United are not compatible with the app, so you will need to manually upload your loyalty points to your Award Wallet.

Hopper: If you are a regular traveler, then this app should not sound new to you. Hopper is like the gold mine of travel saving apps because it essentially does all of the thrifty work for you. How it works is that you enter in the dates and destination of your trip, and the app will send you notifications when prices drop. This is a sure way to getting the best value for your flight. It also lets you know when to “hold on purchasing” if they anticipate prices dropping in the near future so you know the absolute best time to buy. They even have a new feature that offers international flights 35% cheaper than what you would find anywhere else.

Maps.me: This app is rated the #52 in Travel on Apple’s App Store. If you’re traveling around with no data plan or physical map, consider downloading this app before you’re on the go! This free app allows you to store maps and directions, and let’s you review offline when you’re enroute. Its very similar to the app CityMaps2Go, but consider this the free, thrifty version.

Priceline: When you’re spontaneous, traveling can be exciting and much more budget friendly. How this travel app works works: put in your criteria (dates, location, and star rating). Priceline will provide you with a list of hotels with up to 60% savings based on your info. Since it won’t reveal the name of the hotel until after you book, you’re getting a savings for the surprise! If you’re not ready to let go of your anxieties and need to know the hotel brand, there is always the option to book without the surprise.

Rick Steves Audio Europe: You know when you get to a new city, and you’re too cheap to pay for the walking tour guide?? Relatable. This app brings you all the knowledge you would want to know about a city or landmark, through the audio descriptions of Rick Steves– the Godfather of travel tour guides. Whether you are climbing the Eiffel Tower or browsing the streets of Madrid, you can use this app to paint some color around your trip! The one downfall is that the tours are limited to Europe, but if you have a Euro adventure coming up, the tours are definitely worth a listen.

TripCase & TripIt: Rated 4.8 stars out of 5, with nearly 80k reviews. This app scans your inbox for travel-related emails in order to create itineraries for you. It gathers all of your confirmation messages and scans for important details. Now you’re able to have all of your information in one place. If you aren’t comfortable providing TripIt access to your email data, try out TripCase. It’s very similar, but it allows you to forward your emails rather than providing immediate access to your inbox.

Turo: An AirBnB version of car rentals. Skip the hassle of rental companies and rent cars from the locals of the city you are traveling in. You can choose from a variety of makes and models at the budget you’re looking for! Once you sign up, the app will confirm your identity and eligibility so you can begin the searching process. It is extremely credible and a flexible alternative to the traditional rental cars. Insurance is available through the app, but for additional information, you can check out the “Trust & Safety” section of the website.

Viber and WhatsApp: These apps come in handy for international travel. This is a big one because it allows you to stay connected with friends and family while overseas for free! Instead of paying for global cellular data, these apps give you a free messaging platform when you connect to WiFi, allowing you to reach anyone else who has the app. Aside from the basic call and text, you can check out their additional features like group chatting, voice messaging, and location sharing.

And there you go! Our absolute favorite travel apps that we rarely travel without. Let us know which ones you try or if you have other apps you like to use to help save on trips.

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