travel.com app

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.

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Sweepstakes

22 Best Travel Apps Every Traveler Should Know About

From tracking flight delays, finding last-minute accommodations, and even locating the nearest public restroom, these are the most helpful travel apps to download before you travel.

Using the right travel apps can help you save both time and money , while making the journey much less stressful . Many of these apps also provide local recommendations and hidden gems tourists don't often get to see — and some are completely free.

Whether you're looking for an app that will give you discounts for popular local events, offer a last-minute booking at a fraction of the price, or help you breeze through the airport , these are the 22 best travel apps to download before your next trip.

Citymapper helps travelers find the speediest route to their destination, providing step-by-step instructions on where to find the nearest bus and train stations. You'll be able to see when the next arrivals are, and real-time routing means you'll get updates every minute. The app also has a chat feature that allows you to update friends and family on your E.T.A. wherever you are.

Available on iOS and Android .

PackPoint takes the hassle out of packing by creating a customized list of what you'll need for your getaway. Enter your destination, travel dates, length of stay, and activities that might require special gear, like hiking or swimming, and the app will create a custom packing list you can save for future use. Besides checking weather conditions for you, the app also allows users to share their packing lists with fellow travelers.

The beauty of Rebtel is you don't need an internet connection to call friends and family back home. The app connects to local phone lines to provide you with cheap calls in 51 countries around the world without having to deal with the hassle of getting a local SIM card or racking up your phone bill.

If you're looking to get outdoors, this app will provide you with the area's best hiking, biking, and running trails. In addition to details on length, starting location, and trail quality, AllTrails includes reviews and photos from a community of hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. You'll find useful information like what to pack, obstacles you'll find along the route, and the best scenic spots to check out.

If you find yourself in the middle of a long layover, Dayuse can get you into a hotel room for a few hours for up to 75 percent less than what the typical overnight rate would be. The app features 5,000 hotels in 23 countries, and allows you to make free cancellations at the last minute, in case you manage to catch an earlier flight.

Selections include everything from business hotels to wellness accommodations, with payments made directly when you arrive. You also get full use of the hotel's amenities for the duration of your stay.

The prices of flights can fluctuate, making it tricky to decide if you should book right away or hold off. That's where Hopper comes in, predicting the best time to find the cheapest fares, saving up to 40 percent. The app also has a price-monitoring feature so that you can select a particular flight and receive alerts if the price drops. Through Hopper, users can also compare the prices and amenities of more than 250 airlines and get alerts about airfare flash sales.

RV Parks & Campgrounds

This camping app helps you locate prime RV parks, campgrounds, rest areas, and gas stations across North America. With more than 40,000 facilities, the app sorts locations based on ratings and includes both privately-owned RV parks and public parks to choose from.

Nike Training Club

Hitting the gym while you're traveling can be tough, but with Nike Training Club , you'll feel like you have a personal trainer right in your pocket. That's because you can access hundreds of free workouts from Nike Master Trainers and celebrities like Kevin Hart, Serena Williams, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Audio and video clips help you make sure you're on top of your technique, while personalized training plans will keep you on track.

If you don't have much time to spare at the airport, Grab allows you to check out what food selections are near your gate, and gives you the option to pre-order your meal so you can pick it up on the way. The app currently operates at over 60 airports worldwide, giving you plenty of bites to choose from on your next trip.

GasBuddy is the app you'll want if you're taking a road trip. GasBuddy tracks down where to find the cheapest gas prices, allowing you to filter by price, location, brand, and amenities. It also provides you with deals at nearby convenience stores and price hike alerts so you can nail down the best prices every time.

Want to know what local events are taking place at your destination? Headout will show you the top attractions, shows, tours, and experiences in popular cities like New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orlando, Hawaii, Dubai, and more.

Activities range from catching a Broadway show, yoga in the hills, or taking a helicopter tour, with exclusive last-minute offers that can be up to 80 percent off.

If you need to access the internet during your travels, chances are you'll have to connect to public Wi-Fi, which can be sketchy. TunnelBear allows you to connect privately and securely by providing you a VPN (virtual private network) that will encrypt your browsing data to keep your information hidden from hackers and advertisers. The app comes with 500MB of free browsing data each month, or you can opt for unlimited data at a low monthly rate.

Hostelworld

Hostelworld is where you'll find more than 17,000 hostels, hotels, B&B's, and communal spaces in 178 countries. The app is great for solo travelers looking to meet fellow vacationers during their trip, including a Noticeboard that highlights events and meetups, and a translator that will help you communicate in up to 43 languages.

WeatherBug provides forecasts for millions of locations around the world, with current, hourly, and even 10-day options. The app also has specific weather maps to track everything from lightning and wind to pressure and humidity, and makes staying on top of changes to the weather easy with instant alerts.

Eatwith allows you to dine with locals, in their homes, all over the world. Menus are posted for you to see, while hosts will typically list what they cook, the languages they speak, and any alcohol pairings they'll be serving. Not only does the app give you a chance to meet locals and get superb dining recommendations, but it also allows you to enjoy a high-quality meal for less than what you'd typically pay at a restaurant.

Available on iOS and Android.

Trying to locate a public restroom can be tricky, especially in a new destination. That's where Flush comes in. The app has a database of more than 200,000 toilets, and quickly provides travelers with nearby bathrooms. You can search without an internet connection, and the app will also notify you if a restroom requires a fee.

While banks may charge you a fee for transferring money abroad, Wise allows you to make a transfer based on real-time currency exchanges, so you can send money at rates the company says are up to eight times cheaper than what you'd find at traditional banks.

TripIt makes it easy to put together a cohesive travel itinerary. Simply forward your confirmation emails, like your hotel and flight reservations, or your rental car reservation, and TripIt will build a full itinerary to help you stay organized with all of your plans.

With real-time alerts, you'll know if your flight is delayed or canceled, while the flight finder can help you book a new option should a cancellation occur.

Another good app for the road, Waze gives you community-based data about traffic jams, and information to locate points of interest like the cheapest gas stations and the fastest routes to your destination. Live maps include voice-guided navigation to easily guide you.

Xe provides live exchange rates and charts to keep you on top of money matters during your travels, easily allowing you to choose between different currencies you'd like to convert. It also has a rate alert so that you can monitor your favorite currencies — and it can be used offline.

Timeshifter

If you're sick of the jet lag battle that inevitably comes with travel, check out Timeshifter , an app that helps you to avoid jet lag long before your flight departs. Thanks to neuroscience research on circadian rhythms and sleep, the app provides personalized recommendations that take into account your age, gender, typical sleep patterns, and specifics about your trip. The app will tell you when you should avoid or seek daylight, and when you should stay awake or take a nap. The result? A gentle jet lag experience, which translates to more time exploring your destination.

FlightAware

If you have a tight connection or are picking up friends or family from the airport, look to FlightAware for help. The app tracks flights in real time, so you can see exactly where the aircraft is at any given moment. In addition to providing arrivals and delays, you can also see if weather will have any affect on certain locations.

Evie Carrick is a writer and editor who’s lived in five countries and visited well over 50. She now splits her time between Colorado and Paris, ensuring she doesn't have to live without skiing or L'As du Fallafel.

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.

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions ), our Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement and to receive marketing and account-related emails from Traveller. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Best travel apps in 2021

Beat the traffic, avoid flight delays and find a place to stay on your next trip

The best travel apps are the ones that take all the stress out of a trip, freeing you up to enjoy the journey. And fortunately, you've got a lot of choices when it comes to finding apps that can help you plan your next getaway. 

You'll find everything from trip planners and itinerary generators to online marketplaces for flights and hotels in both the Play Store and Apple's store for apps. Combine one of the best travel apps with some great travel tech , and your chances for a smooth trip will increase dramatically.

• These are the best Android apps overall
• Get better trip photos with the best Android camera apps

Not sure where to look first? We've found a list of the best travel apps for when you're ready to hit the road again after sticking close to home for more than a year.

1. MyTSA (Free: Android; iOS)

Before you hit the road, make sure you've got MyTSA on your smartphone. The official app of the Transportation Security Administration isn't going to win any beauty contests, but it will let you check wait times at security checkpoints at major airpots. And that can help you plan on how much travel time you need to allow.

The app includes historical wait-time data while also giving you the option of checking crowd-sourced reports of how long security lines are at that moment. The ability to search what you can bring on a plane, get live assistance and find out info on the TSA PreCheck program make this a good app for travelers to keep handy on their smartphone.

Download MyTSA: Android , iOS

2. Expedia (Android, iOS: Free)

If you're a frequent traveller, you need a good all-in-one travel app, and Expedia is a tried-and-true option. You can book every aspect of your trip through Expedia, including hotels, flights and rental cars. The app also lets you bundle deals on travel and lodging, look for cruises, and research things to do when you arrive at your destination. 

If you're looking to stretch your travel budget even farther, Expedia promises exclusive deals for mobile users, with members of Expedia's rewards program enjoying additional perks. 

Download Expedia: Android , iOS

3. Flighty (iOS: Free)

There are flight trackers, and then there's Flighty, an iOS app for people who really want to know the location and arrival time of their plane. The free version of the app gives you basic flight-tracking tools, but pay up for a subscription ($8.99 a month or $49.99 per year), and you get access to more sophisticated features such as push notifications, syncing with TripIt or with calendars, and an assistant to help with your flight connections. 

Flighty also claims to be able to predict flight delays by monitoring inbound planes for 25 hours and monitoring FAA-mandated delays. You can check out the portions of the paid app for free during a 14-day trial.

Download Flighty: iOS

4. Hopper (Android, iOS: Free)

Another app bringing big data and predictive algorithms to the world of air travel is Hopper It uses a massive database of airline prices and historical trends to predict when prices to a destination are likely to be lowest, when they're likely to change, and the best time to buy a ticket for a particular date and destination. 

You can watch flights on specific dates or destinations, and the app will advise you whether it's worth it to buy now or to wait, tell you the dates when it's likely cheapest to fly, estimate changes in price, and notify you of price drops or rises. You can also save your payment details within the app for quick booking.

Download Hopper: Android , iOS

5. iExit (Android, iOS: Free)

If your travel plans involve a lot of driving, iExit works as a handy freeway exit guide, listing nearby highway exits, as well as the kind of businesses and amenities there are nearby. Need to gas up or find some good food or a place to stay for the night? iExit’s search tools come to the rescue, showing you nearby gas stations (with price data powered by GasBuddy), motels, and even deals and discounts from nearby businesses.

Download iExit: Android , iOS

6. Waze (Android; iOS)

Nothing gets a vacation off on the wrong foot like getting stuck in traffic. Waze can't eliminate the traffic, but it can help you get around any jams, especially if you're in an unfamiliar city. 

The navigation app feeds your smartphone real-time traffic information, based on reports from other Waze users. That data includes accidents, speed traps and other hazards that might keep you from getting to your destination in a timely fashion. 

Other features sure to impress travelers include automatic rerouting, cheap gas alerts and the ability to send your ETA to anyone waiting at your final stop.

Download Waze: Android , iOS

7. Skiplagged (Android, iOS: Free)

If you're traveling light and looking to save a few bucks, check out Skiplagged. It's a neat app that can keep your travel costs down by taking advantage of "hidden city flights", where flyers get off at a layover, instead of at the final destination. 

Enter your origin and destination, and Skiplagged will show you the cost of a direct flight, as well as any cheaper "hidden city" flights that have your intended destination as a layover. The caveat? Stick to carry-on luggage, as any checked-in bags will go all the way to the flight's final destination. 

Skiplagged also allows you to book hotels, including last-minute deals and special offers.

Download Skiplagged: Android , iOS

8. Flio (Android, iOS: Free)

Flio aims to be the all-in-one companion app for harried travelers making their way through airports worldwide. An official partner of 300 airports, Flio also has info on thousands more. That lets the app feature terminal maps, a boarding pass scanner, a flight tracker and directions to shuttle buses and booking options for everything from parking to lounge access. 

The app's sheer variety of services and features make it a great addition to the app toolkit of frequent fliers and vacationers alike.

Download Flio: Android , iOS

9. AtYourGate (Android, iOS: Free)

AtYourGate is another helpful airport companion that focuses more about retail opportunities while you're killing time waiting at the airport. If you need food, supplies (like say a phone charger to replace the one you forgot to pack), or last-minute gifts, you can browse the AtYourGate app for nearby shops and restaurants instead of having to wander around the airport. 

AtYourGate users can order food or other items, pay through the app, and even arrange for the item to be delivered to them right at their gate, lounge, or other location. AtYourGate currently operates in a select number of major airports, including JFK, La Guardia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Portland, San Diego, and Newark.

Download AtYourGate: Android , iOS

10. Mobile Passport (Android, iOS: Free)

Mobile Passport is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection-approved app that helps speed you through lengthy immigration lines. It allows anyone with U.S. or Canadian passports to submit their passport control and customs declarations through the app, replacing paper forms and providing faster processing in a number of major US airports where the Mobile Passport service is supported. 

The app will save you a good amount of time in line, but it’s no reason to leave your physical passport at home. Mobile Passport is a companion app, not a replacement.

Download Mobile Passport: Android , iOS

11. TripIt (Android, iOS: Free)

TripIt promises to cut back on the travel hassle by consolidating your travel plans into a simple, convenient itinerary. Viewable online and synced to your cell phone, you can also share itineraries with your contacts. 

You just link your email account to TripIt, and the service will automatically dig through your inbox for reservation confirmations and other forms. Using that data, TripIt builds an organized itinerary of your flight boarding times, hotel check-ins and more. While TripIt is a free download, a $48.99 annual subscription gets you features like real-time flight alerts and updates on how long airport lines are.

Download TripIt: Android , iOS

12. App In The Air (Android, iOS: Free)

App In The Air is designed to help you through the entire process of your airplane flight, serving as a booking assistant that reminds you of your gate, ETA, check-in requirements, baggage tips, and more. 

The app condenses all of this important information so that it's easy to refer to at a glance, while also providing handy extras. You can view a summary of your airline's baggage rules (or even have an augmented reality overlay that you can use to measure your baggage to see if it will fit for carry-on or overhead guidelines). 

Travelers can integrate the app with TripIt, track loyalty rewards, view airplane amenities and even forward their details to their Apple Watch or Android Wear device. A premium subscription ($29.99 per year) includes real-time flight status updates, automated check-ins, and more.

Download App In The Air: Android , iOS

13. GasBuddy (Android, iOS: Free)

If road trips are more your thing, consider GasBuddy, a mobile app that helps users track down the cheapest gas in their region. Users can tap into their GPS location through their phone, or search by address or zip code to find the nearby gas prices.

As many of the prices are based on user reports, GasBuddy rewards users with points for reporting and updating a station's prices, with points making you eligible for regular raffles of prizes like free gas.

Download GasBuddy: Android , iOS

14. Roadtrippers (Android, iOS: Free)

Another handy travel companion when you hit the road is the aptly named Roadtrippers, a trip planning and itinerary app that lets you plot your next road trip, and helps you discover destinations, attractions, and useful stops along the way. 

With Roadtrippers, you can share your route and schedule with friends and family. The app helps users find everything from diners and dives to hotels, restaurants, national parks, roadside attractions and other scenic points of interest. 

If doing that research on a small phone screen stresses you out, you can plan trips in the Roadtrippers web portal if you prefer, saving locations and stops into a trip plan which you can sync across multiple devices for easy reference.

Download Roadtrippers: Android , iOS

15. PackPoint (Android, iOS: Free)

PackPoint is a travel packing wizard that provides a checklist of travel essentials that you'll need to pack, depending on the nature of your trip. 

Simply create a trip profile with your destination, length of stay and purpose of travel. PackPoint then creates a customized packing and luggage checklist that takes into account whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, the type and amount of clothing to pack based on the weather forecast and other factors. 

The app also comes with a variety of premium features, such as TripIt integration for automatic packing list creation.

Download PackPoint: Android , iOS

16. TripAdvisor (Android, iOS: Free)

TripAdvisor is your crowd-sourced guide to hotels, restaurants and attractions worldwide. The app allows you to browse through plenty of reviews, images and videos featuring various establishments worldwide to get a better idea of what awaits you at your destination. 

You can also access contact details; search for nearby establishments; explore restaurants by food type, price range or rating; check out air fares; and even add to the knowledge base by posting your own reviews, images and entries for the places you visit. There are even some handy "Near Me Now" features to alert you of nearby points of interest once you're on the scene.

Download TripAdvisor: Android , iOS

17. Airbnb (Android, iOS: Free)

Airbnb is a marketplace app that allows users to search for and find unique accommodations across the world, from mom-and-pop B&Bs for a night, to a small apartment for a week, or even a castle for a month. There's no shortage of quirky and unique establishments. Airbnb covers a range of prices in more than 34,000 cities across almost 200 countries, which means the adventurous or flexible traveler has some interesting choices for accommodations on their next trip.

Download Airbnb: Android , iOS

18. Vrbo (Android, iOS: Free)

Vrbo's mobile app is another option for finding places to stay on your next trip. At Vrbo, the emphasis is on vacation rentals, and with 2 million unique places to stay in 190-plus countries, you've got plenty of options. 

Use the Vrbo app to search for vacation homes, plan your trip and book your lodging. The app also gives you access to key booking details — what is the Wi-Fi password at your rental property, anyway? — and lets you share your itinerary with friends and family.

Download Vrbo: Android , iOS

19. Hotel Tonight (Android, iOS: Free)

If you unexpectedly need to look for last minute hotel rooms, check out  HotelTonight. It offers last-minute discounts on vacancies and same-night accommodations from top-rated hotels. Users can search by category and quality such as Basic, Hip or Luxe; view information on nearby hotels; and quickly book accommodations from within the app.

Download HotelTonight: Android , iOS

20. GlobeTips (iOS: Free)

How much should you tip? GlobeTips is a handy app that can tell you how much gratuity is customary wherever you are in the world. In addition to global tipping guides, GlobeTips includes a calculator for automatically calculating the tip, splitting the bill, and handling sales tax.

Download GlobeTips: iOS

• Best iPhone apps

Sign up to get the BEST of Tom’s Guide direct to your inbox.

Upgrade your life with a daily dose of the biggest tech news, lifestyle hacks and our curated analysis. Be the first to know about cutting-edge gadgets and the hottest deals.

Instagram Blend could surface reels for you and a friend

Apple Arcade April launches just revealed — including two Vision Pro games

Samsung plans more Galaxy AI updates, with video AI, Google collaboration looking likely

Most Popular

• 2 Ditching Telstra can save you up to AU$3,660 on your NBN bill — here’s how
• 3 Ooni Volt 12 pizza oven review
• 4 Peloton Tread+ review: big in every way
• 5 Massive Champion sale at Amazon — shirts, joggers and more starting at $10

• Best Mac Apps
• Unknown Caller

The best travel apps for iOS and Android

The smartphone is the modern-day travel agent. From the palm of your hand, you can book flights, plan accommodations, and even reserve a seat at a seaside restaurant using nothing more than your phone.

Finding the most affordable flight and hotel and making sure you’ll have plenty of cash to spend during your trip can be challenging. Check out these travel-booking apps to be a master planner. Once your trip is booked, you can use the best flight-tracking apps to make sure traveling is as seamless as possible. You’ll also need some directions once you’ve arrived to make sure you get to your hotel and see everything that you want to see, so we’ve included apps for that too.

• The best tablets in 2024: top 11 tablets you can buy now
• An Apple insider just revealed how iOS 18’s AI features will work
• The 6 best tablets for kids in 2024

Planning your itinerary

While many of us have canceled travel plans this past year due to restrictions on travel, there’s no time like the present to plan your next vacation. Our favorite travel apps for iOS and Android can help you enjoy a stress-free vacation where all you should be thinking about is having an amazing time.

Airport travel, especially in the United States, can be a confusing and daunting experience. MyTSA, a U.S. government-sponsored app, demystifies all the rules you need to follow in order to avoid a stare down and possible delays by security agents who are trying to do their jobs. Discover which items you can bring with you through the security checkpoint and onto the aircraft, request live assistance from the Transportation Safety Administration, check how historically busy your chosen airport will be on a given day, check crowd-sourced security wait times and offer your own estimates, check for delays and current weather conditions, and find out how to access and sign up for TSA PreCheck to get you through security in a jiffy. New updates customize the Dashboard, let you view airports in a map, and get directions to the airport.

iOS   Android

Flights, hotels, rental cars — Skyscanner has got you covered. The app searches for the most affordable and best options via its travel partners. Similar to Google Flights , you can see the cheapest dates to fly, and you can also get alerts when prices change. If you’re not sure where exactly you want to go, Skyscanner offers a category that lets you explore Top Deals from your nearest airport as well as a curated list of destinations at affordable prices. You can now monitor your bookings with status updates in Trips and move booked flights from one trip to another. This lets you move things around without losing your saved details. New versions let you discover which countries have low entry restrictions and no quarantine regulations. With flexible booking and free cancellation options, you won’t lose money if your plans change.

For many, Kayak is the go-to trip planning destination — and for good reason. Like Skyscanner, Kayak searches across various travel sites for rental cars, hotels, and flights. Kayak often has exclusive deals, and you can set price alerts and use Price Forecast to see whether you should buy now or wait. Kayak also acts as a trip planner, offering important details at a glance, like your hotel confirmation number or gate number. You can also access these details in real time and on devices such as the Apple Watch. The app now suggests hotels at launch and can even pinpoint results if you’re traveling with kids, while the car search now supports addresses. From hotels to guest houses, the app displays different categories of accommodation to help you narrow down where you’re spending the night, complete with sleeping arrangements so you can plan and book your next stay.

If you’re looking for the cheapest possible price for a plane ticket, you need to download Hopper. Like Kayak and Skyscanner, you can look at the cheapest dates to fly, but Hopper prides itself on telling you when to buy your tickets via push notifications. The company says it can save you up to 40% on your next flight by analyzing and tracking billions of flights. The user interface is simple, and Hopper says you can book a flight in 60 seconds or less. You can now set a watch for a specific hotel you want to stay in instead of setting a watch for the entire city where it’s located.

Whether it’s legal in the city you’re visiting or not, Airbnb is a household name. The app undercuts hotels by offering far cheaper prices and a more authentic experience by allowing you to stay with a local, or in their home. The app also offers a feature called Trips , which offers Experiences to choose from during your stay — these are curated events you can partake in with local guides. Eventually, the app will become an all-in-one travel app that lets you plan your day, book a car, and more. The latest update includes improvements to the browsing functionality for a new way of searching.

Hotel Tonight

Did your Airbnb plans fall through? Did your flights get delayed at your layover? You never know what will happen with your booking, and Hotel Tonight is a reliable service that thrives on last-minute deals. The company partners with hotels to offer discounts on empty rooms, and you’ll be able to book one in under 10 seconds. You also get 24/7 customer service from the Hotel Tonight team in case something goes awry. The app has launched a Daily Drop feature that offers a super-economical deal for the day. You can also book multiple rooms in a single go and broadcast that info via group chat. The new Local Getaways is available at a glance from the new Hotel Tonight widget to show you the best deals nearby.

Booking.com

With Booking.com, you can find the best hotel deals at a moment’s notice, or in advance. The handy hotel comparison feature lets you compare features and prices, with over 135 million reviews from other users to help you choose your accommodation. Hotels, motels, B&Bs, and luxury apartments for your next trip are all bookable in seconds, with paperless confirmation, no booking or credit card fees, and 24/7 support from the Booking.com team.

Get a ride from 600-plus airports in more than 10,000 cities worldwide, Uber is the global king of ridesharing apps . The app pioneered on-demand services, and it can be particularly handy when you’re abroad. You can quickly request a car within the app after perusing an assortment of differing vehicle rates and fare quotes. Afterward, you can connect with your personal driver, track the approaching car’s location, and securely pay your fare using a credit card — no cash needed. Rather than trying to find a taxi or a taxi stand, just bring one straight to you. Uber is constantly updating its app to improve features like trip sharing, ride selection, and tipping. Updates improve localization across the app.

Google Maps

Google Maps is an essential travel app to have. It offers directions for travel by car, on public transit, on foot, by cab, or by bicycle. You’ll find it fairly reliable in offering up local public transportation options in many countries, and you can also download specific areas for offline use. You can also use Maps to find out when places like museums or restaurants close and check to see how busy a place is in real time along with using the app to find local restaurants, bars, and attractions. You can even search for hotels by features like free Wi-Fi, pet friendliness, or air conditioning, for example. You can now view and manage all your favorite places from the Your Places page. You can also use Google Assistant while driving, so you can focus on the road and quickly get estimated arrival times and step-by-step directions to destinations you’ve saved.

With a growing list of countries, Citymapper is one of the best tools to find and use public transportation. It connects with a few ridesharing services, offers the fastest way to arrive at your destination, and best of all, lets you check out subway and train times offline for a number of cities. You can subscribe to specific train or bus lines, and the app can even alert you when you need to get off the bus, which is handy when you’re riding for the first time in a new country. The app now features a SuperRouter that lets you view floating brands like cycles, scooters, mopeds, car sharing with full travel times — including walking and availability. A wheelchair-accessible section is now available for some locations. The newest version features new Routing Powers: Fast for the fastest route, with routes updated and re-ranked every 60 seconds, and Price, which compares fares to find the cheapest route.

Preparation and finding places

There’s always something we forget to do before a trip, whether it’s failing to pack sunscreen or change some currency. Take a look at these apps to keep you on track. Looking for a spot for lunch? Have some extra time and want to check out another museum? Scroll down for apps that offer up things to do and the best-rated places to eat during your stay.

Making a checklist of everything you need to pack can be useful, but what if one’s already made for you? PackPoint looks at the weather forecast for the dates and location of your trip. It will also ask you to select activities you may participate in during your trip, like a meeting for business, a swim at a pool, or a fancy dinner. It will then offer up a list of items you should pack based on these activities, along with general items you’d need on any trip. You can remove items you don’t think are necessary as well as share lists with others in case your friends need some help, too. You can now hide or tap and hold to reorder items on your list.

Xe Currency

While it’s not the prettiest app, Xe Currency is one of the more robust currency converter apps available for both iOS and Android . It’s constantly being updated and offers live exchange rates for every world currency and precious metals. What’s neat is that it can store the most recent rates, so you can access them if your device is offline. Also neat is support for Siri Shortcuts . You can now monitor up to 20 currencies at the same time.

Mobile Passport

Traveling to the U.S.? Mobile Passport lets you skip the regular line to enter the country and is officially authorized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. All you need to do to skip long lines is download this app and add your passport information — you can do this quickly by scanning it with your phone’s camera. Mobile Passport is accepted at more than two dozen airports in the U.S., so check ahead of time to see if your airport supports the app. A premium version is available for $15 per year and offers the convenience of a digital scanner and secure storage of your passports.

TripIt organizes all your travel plans in one place — just email your confirmations to them and they’ll create a master itinerary that syncs to your calendar and can be shared with your travel buddies. You can even store your travel documents in the app. Upgrade to Pro for $49 per year and you’ll enjoy additional features like flight alerts, terminal notifications, and seat tracker, which notifies you if better seats become available, as well as updates on security wait times and searchable airport maps with walking directions. New updates let you find the latest information for airlines you’re travelling with, including food and drinks service, cleaning procedures, middle-seat policy, and more. If your reservations include PDF files, you can share the files you upload — right from the app.

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is a catch-all app when it comes to travel. You can quickly peruse millions of reviews, opinions, videos, and photos pertaining to just about anything related to your trip — bars, restaurants, hotels, airlines, and more. You can use Tripadvisor’s Near Me function to find well-reviewed places close by, but the best feature the app has to offer is the number of countries it supports — it’s just about everywhere, making it a necessary guide for every traveler. You can also ask specific travel questions in the app’s forums or add your own reviews in a similar fashion to Yelp. New updates let you access your personal travel feed, find friends and get expert advice, and save travel ideas for the future. Improvements to the app offer access to coronavirus health and safety information for hotels, restaurants and experiences, let you book reservations with free cancellation, and organize and share ideas.

Yelp has officially become the Yellow Pages of restaurants and bars, and its use extends not just to the U.S., but all around the world. Its most powerful feature is the sheer number of reviews housed in the Yelp app — it’s an excellent resource for when you’re looking to hit some of the best spots in the country you’re visiting. Yelp also offers hours of operation, a phone number for listings, and sometimes even a menu, so you can be as prepared as possible before heading out. Businesses have been adding more health and safety information all year.

Language and day-to-day apps

If you’re traveling to a country where your native tongue isn’t the official language, you may as well pack a few of the best language apps to translate on the go or brush up on your language skills. We also have a handful of miscellaneous apps you may find useful during your time abroad.

If you need to get online fast without an expensive cellular connection, WiFi Map is the place to go for worldwide information. This app shows you the nearest free hot spots, complete with passwords and user comments. The app offers full map navigation to get you to the right place and lets you filter your search and test for connection speed. A network scan checks for intruders. There are even offline maps for travelers and a VPN (with the pro version) for secure, anonymous connections. You can also add new Wi-Fi connections yourself to help other travelers in your location.

Google Translate

Google Translate provides translations, which are now more conversational thanks to machine learning , between more than 100 different languages, allowing you to listen to translations out loud and translate dictation and your own handwriting on the screen. You can star your favorite words or phrases for offline access, view dictionary results for a single word or phrase, or use Siri Shortcuts for bilingual conversations. Look for more regional options for speech in English (U.S., U.K., Australia, and India), Bengali (Bangladesh and India), French (France and Canada), and Spanish (Mexico and Spain). You can now continuously translate someone speaking a different language in near real time.

If you’ve booked your trip months ahead of time, try tackling the country’s language in Duolingo. It offers beginner-level courses, but it’s also a great tool for those looking to brush up on a language. You can also chat with bots in select languages, which can be particularly helpful when you’re trying to learn the phrases you’re likely to use the most abroad. You can take placement tests to move up to tougher sections. Leaderboards get you into that competitive spirit with fellow users.

Memrise has more languages than Duolingo, and the app also uses mnemonics to help you memorize words and phrases. You can view video clips of native speakers the first time you try a new word or phrase, which allows you to hear local pronunciation. Swipe to listen to more audio and compare different pronunciations. The company says the app adapts to your learning style over time, and there’s a pro version that lets you unlock even more features, such as an offline mode.

Changing time zones and battling jet lag can make your travels extremely confusing if you’re moving around a lot. Circa, which is iOS-only, helps travelers track the time in the destination they’re heading to and the location they’re currently in. You can set a clock to match the time in your home country or a place where your loved ones are. The app highlights times in both locations where both parties are likely awake. The calendar ring helps you see your current availability or continue swiping to find an available time slot. This app is also compatible with Apple Watch.

WhatsApp is now home to more than a billion users. The app is free, no matter where you are in the world, and operates over a Wi-Fi connection. Add some fun to your conversations by sending stickers, photos, or videos to your contacts. Enable extra security features, like a Face ID or Touch ID, to unlock the app. You need Wi-Fi or a data phone plan to send messages via WhatsApp, but there are no international calling charges. The only downside is that you can only communicate with people who have the app. The newest versions have updated image and video previews, so you can now see more of the media in chat, and all group participants can now change the Disappearing Messages setting by default.

If you’re using a specific app to stay in touch with your loved ones while you’re traveling, but that app isn’t available in certain countries like China , you’ll need to get creative to ensure you don’t fall off the map. We recommend skirting around this issue by using a virtual private network ( VPN ). VPNs keep your private information inaccessible to others who may be on the same network, making it safer to use public Wi-Fi. NordVPN is our favorite service, partially because it has thousands of servers across the planet. This service will cost you about $12 monthly, but you can test whether you’d like to use it in a free seven-day trial. Additionally, they constantly offer promotions for an even lower monthly subscription fee. The VPN is compatible with phones, tablets, or laptops , and you shouldn’t have any trouble with geo-restrictions as NordVPN has servers across the globe ready to adjust to what you need. Ensure you’ll always have a safe connection, no matter where you are in the world, with a VPN .

Editors' Recommendations

• The best Android tablets in 2024: the 11 best ones you can buy
• Best refurbished iPhone deals: Get an iPhone 14 for $513
• The 6 best tablets for travel in 2024
• What is NFC? How it works and what you can do with it
• Best phone deals: Save on the iPhone, Galaxy Z Fold 5, and more

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (left) and Google Pixel 8 Pro Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Smartphones tend to have pretty good camera systems these days, whether you're talking about the very latest Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 14. But even the perfect photo can sometimes need a little additional pizazz. A little extra sparkle can come in the form of a simple color filter, artificially added background blur, or can extend as far as diving into an image's levels and other advanced features. Heck, now that we're in the AI era, it can also include using a tool to transpose yourself into a medieval setting or swapping a face with a friend.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will start on Monday, June 10. During the conference keynote, the company is expected to unveil new software updates for its major products, including iOS 18 for iPhones.

iOS 18 is expected to be a major iPhone update, likely ushering in a new design and AI features. If you are wondering when you can get your hands on the latest software version, here's everything you need to know about iOS 18's release date. When will the iOS 18 beta be released?

While iOS 17 fell short on a visual overhaul, Apple is rumored to be working on an updated identity for its next iOS version. Previous reports have claimed that the upcoming iOS 18 will feature visionOS-like elements introduced on the Apple Vision Pro. A new report confirms this with a leaked image of the iOS 18 Camera app.

According to a report from MacRumors, the next version of the Camera app could feature visionOS-style design elements. It is based on an iPhone frame template that the publication received from an anonymous source who claimed to have received it from an iOS engineer. It is said to have been included as part of the Apple Design Resources for iOS 18.

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

8 of the best travel apps that travel editors can't live without

By Charlotte Davey

The best travel apps, when used to your advantage, can be the most indispensable companion for a trip. Not only can they save you time and money, but they can also reduce any journey-induced stress. Need to work out costs on a group trip , translate a menu, or get from A to B when you don’t speak the language? There’s an App for that. But just as you don’t need a suitcase laden with unworn clothing, no one needs a phone clogged with gimmicky or useless apps. We asked our jet-setting editors to share the apps they genuinely use while travelling and the lesser-known gems that have saved a holiday. So while the BA App, Rome2Rio, or Monzo might be stalwarts of the frequent flyer’s home screen, here are the clever, hardworking Apps our travel insiders swear by.

Cost: Free to use (Wanderlog Pro includes additional features and costs around £40 per year)

USP: One of the best travel apps for planning every kind of trip, including road trips and group travel: create a trip itinerary, budget costs, organise flights and hotel reservations, and collaborate with friends. After your trip, share a travel guide to inspire other travellers.

Wanderlog brings everything you need to plan your trips into one seamless app experience. Its user-friendly, web-scanning database contains a huge wealth of information about sights, attractions and places to eat and drink. Not only can you find recommended hotspots through the app and add these to a map view, but you can also import reservation and flight details from your emails. Wanderlog is especially ideal for group trips. Your customised itineraries and lists can be edited by multiple people in real time, and users can leave notes for fellow travellers – such as a reminder of the must-have dish or dress code at a restaurant. Smart AI functionality means that the app can offer (editable) auto-generated itineraries as well. And if that isn’t enough, you can track expenses and cost-splitting too, indispensable for larger groups and squabble-prone families. Toyo Odetunde

Cost: Free to download.

USP: Request a chauffeur-driven, class-leading car on-demand or in advance for yourself or on behalf of others.

Wheely is a seriously plush chauffeur service within an easy-to-use app, currently operating in London, Paris , Dubai, and Moscow. What makes this ideal for the frequent flyer is that you can add in your flight details when booking an airport pick-up, so the driver knows exactly what time you’ll be landing (so no risk of them driving off if you’ve been delayed), and they’ll be ready and waiting for you (with your name on a sign) at arrivals. For any other queries, you can live chat with a real person (no bot responses here) – for example, if they can provide a baby seat (which they happily did for a recent family holiday ). Cars come with water and chargers as standard, and drivers are friendly, professional and knowledgeable. Peace of mind at the click of a button. Charlotte Davey

Hong Kong Taxi Cards

Cost: £1.99

USP: With over 9,000 Hong Kong addresses translated into written Chinese and Cantonese, equipped with a function to request additional addresses and get feedback quickly, this is not an ordinary dictionary-type translator app.

This is indispensable for travelling around Hong Kong if you’re not fluent in Cantonese. The App has pretty much every address ready in Chinese and Cantonese, so you can show your taxi driver where you want to go without getting lost in translation. It also has a speaking option which delivers the address fluently, which is really helpful if you have zero grasp of the language. Another handy feature is that the App will show you the journey time and estimate fare – something to remember is that not all taxis have card machines so you’ll need to make sure you have enough cash on you before you hail a cab. Matt Buck

Cost: Free to download (Splitwise Pro costs £2.79)

Lauren Burvill , CN Traveller

Olivia Morelli

CNT Editors

CNT Editors , CN Traveller

USP: Splitwise is the easiest way to share expenses with friends and family and stop stressing about “who owes who”.

This is a game changer for working out costs on group trips. Everyone in the party signs up, and then you simply enter your expenses as you go – with a description of what it was (flights, accommodation, food, etc) and who it needs to be split between (i.e. the whole group or just those who were in the taxi, for example). It’s a great way to stay on top of costs, from larger expenses to smaller spending, like a round at the bar. At the end of the trip, click ‘simplify debts’, and you should be left with just one transaction each to ensure everyone has paid the same amount. You can label each trip and see who has settled up, and if someone doesn’t pay the App will send them helpful reminders (saving pennies and friendships). Charlotte Davey

Google Translate

USP: Translate between up to 133 languages with instant camera translation.

Google Translate is nothing new, but if you download the app, you can use the camera on your phone to upload signs, labels, or menus for an instant translation. This is a lifesaver for travelling in a country that doesn’t use the English alphabet or a language you’re unsure how to pronounce. The platform is currently proficient in 133 languages, so this is a great one wherever you are in the world. The App also works offline so you don’t need to worry about data roaming charges. Another function that is noteworthy is the speaker option – not only can you point your phone at a sign for a translation, but it will then speak in your chosen language, which is particularly helpful for those who are visually impaired. Charlotte Davey

USP: Find wheelchair-accessible restaurants, cafes, toilets, shops, cinemas, parking lots, bus stops and much more.

Developed by a not-for-profit company based in Germany , this is a great app for wheelchair users, families travelling with prams, or even for those with heavy suitcases navigating public transport. Operating in over 30 countries, a vast number of restaurants, stations, shops, and more are shown on an interactive map with a traffic light system for whether it is fully accessible (green), part accessible (yellow), or not accessible (red). The App replies to users rating places they have visited, so less touristy areas won’t have as much information. Charlotte Davey

Cost: Free to download

USP: Stay connected in over 200 countries and regions. Install an eSIM and get online in minutes with no roaming fees.

Especially handy if you’re travelling through different countries, Airalo allows you to use different eSim cards to keep your data roaming costs down. The App is free to download, and then simply choose the country you’re in, and select a data plan depending on how long you're there and how much you’ll be using your phone. You can often save around £10 for a week's holiday which is worth it if you’re a frequent flyer or watching the pennies while travelling. Sophie Knight

Cost: Free to use. In-app purchases.

USP: Whering is the digital wardrobe and styling app where you can curate, organise, style and plan your outfits.

Whering is essentially a portable digital wardrobe – a ‘Clueless’ style outfit planner on your mobile phone. Fill your in-app wardrobe by uploading photos of your clothes, or by importing images from the app’s cosmic database or your favourite online retailers. Whering will then process these images into sleek, combinable ‘cut-outs’, allowing you to put together countless outfits, looks and mood boards, which can also be organised by occasion. If you’re short on time, or feeling either uninspired or spontaneous, Whering’s AI can deliver outfit suggestions in seconds – even taking into account the weather forecast, ideal when travelling a country you’re not familiar with (or just braving London’s erratic climes). The Planner function is especially great for trips, storing your outfit ideas for specific dates and events. Also great for travel planning is the packing list feature; you can add items to a packing list for a particular destination, and Whering can suggest items you may have forgotten. Toyo Odetunde

Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

The 9 Best Travel Apps

These days, everyone travels with a smartphone. Beyond the ability to take endless selfies and keep in touch with family back home, they provide us with a never-ending stream of tools and apps to help us plan our travels and deal with any hiccups we encounter on the road.

Unfortunately, while there’s no shortage of travel apps, most of them are terrible.

To help you avoid downloading (and maybe even paying for) apps that aren’t worth your time, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite travel apps. These apps will save you time, money, and help you make the most of your travels. They’re the apps I think every traveler should have on their phone before they leave home.

Table of Contents

1. GetYourGuide

2. loungebuddy, 3. hostelworld, 4. skyscanner, 6. xe currency converter, 7. google translate, 8. happycow, 9. gasbuddy.

Whether you’re in the planning stages and looking for things to fill out your upcoming itinerary or you’re already in a new country and want something to do later that day, GetYourGuide can help. I’ve used them a bunch and always have a great time!

LoungeBuddy takes the pain out of the process. After entering your credit card, airline status, and lounge memberships, the app tells you which lounges you can access at any given airport. It makes even the longest layover tolerable so you can relax and enjoy your travels. And if you don’t have status, you can book lounge access directly through the app. It’s easy to use, and free to download.  

You can also use the app to see who else is staying at the hostel. You can join a group chat for the hostel and connect with travelers to make plans before you arrive. In short, it’s a must-download app for backpackers and solo travelers. The app is free to download.  

The best feature of the app, however, is the ability to search for flights to everywhere . You simply input your departure airport and the dates you want to travel, and it will bring up all the potential options — from cheapest to most expensive — so you can browse for ideas without needing to check each one manually.

If you want to save money on flights, this app is a must. The app is free too.  

The basic version is free while the pro version is $49 USD per year.  

If you have to stay on budget (and don’t want to get ripped off), download this app. It’s free.  

The app can read out your text too so you can hear how it is properly pronounced, and you can also use your camera to take photos of text that it can translate too (which is helpful if you need to read ingredients while shopping, for example). The app is free.  

The app is free but for $9.99 USD per month, you can upgrade to premium, which saves you 20 cents a gallon (up to 50 gallons) and provides 24/7 roadside assistance.

While it’s important to not spend your entire trip on your phone or social media, there are times when using your smartphone can easily improve the quality of your trip, keep you safe, and save you money. By downloading the apps above, you’ll be able to have a much smoother trip, giving you more time, energy, and money to invest in your next adventure.  

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for everyone)
• Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

Related Posts

Get my best stuff sent straight to you!

Pin it on pinterest.

25 Travel Apps That'll Help You Save Money

And, they're all free!

Best for Finding Cheap Flights: Hopper

One of the best travel apps for flights, Hopper analyzes billions of airfare and hotel prices a day—as well as its vast archive of historical data—to tell you whether to wait or book your trip.

Here’s how it works: Type in your destination and a color-coded calendar will show you the cheapest (and most expensive) dates to fly. Hopper will then recommend whether you should go ahead and buy now, or hold off until the rates get better.

If it tells you to stay tuned, you can set up a price watch and put your phone away. When the fare has dropped to its lowest point and it’s time for you to swipe, Hopper will send you a notification.

Best Travel Planner App: TripIt

TripIt organizes all of your itineraries in one place. Available for both iPhone and Android , users simply forward confirmation emails to [email protected], and the app will create you a *free* master doc for each trip. You can access the itinerary anywhere, even without an internet connection.

Their premium service, TripIt Pro ($49/year) boosts your organizing power with additional features. These include real-time flight alerts, refund notifications, and the ability to track reward points and miles as well as a currency converter, a list of socket and plug requirements, and tipping advice for 180 countries.

Download Now

Best for Road Trips: Roadtrippers

You have a considerable amount of flexibility on a road trip , but planning them requires effort. Try Roadtrippers the next time you're inspired to grab a car and go. The app allows you to map your route with up to 7 waypoints free of charge. After that, there's an option to upgrade to Roadtrippers Plus.

Along your route, the app will recommend local food options , roadside attractions, scenic stops and more. They even have pre-made guides for popular road trips.

Best for Finding Unexpected Destinations: Skyscanner

Skyscanner's "everywhere" feature allows you to look for surprising destinations simply by sorting by your budget and your travel timeframe. For example, you may think Europe will be out of your price-range, but this feature could make the trip possible. Like Hopper and Kayak, it also helps you find the best airfare rates by alerting you when prices dip.

Best Travel Weather App for Road Trips: Drive Weather

The last thing you want is to get caught in a nasty, vision-obscuring storm when you're on a long stretch of highway with your family or friends. DriveWeather was designed to help road travelers avoid the worst weather conditions. The app lets you track your best (read: sunniest) departure time, providing radar views and routes from one point to another—with rain, freezing rain, ice, and snow icons that let you know when there's slippery roads ahead.

The free version offers 2 days of forecasts, city-to-city routing, and a 900-mile trip limit; the ad-free $9.99 a year version offers 7 days of forecasts, wind direction info, specific address-to-address routing, and no cap on trip length.

Best Last-Minute Hotel Deals: HotelTonight

Booked that spontaneous flight, and now you're trying to figure out where you're going to sleep at night? In the middle of a road adventure and need to find lodging ASAP? Don't panic, there's an app for that. HotelTonight finds last-minute deals on hotels near your location, ranging from "basic" to "luxe" options, including unique boutique hotels.

The app allows you to filter for location, dates, the number of guests, pet-friendly options, and amenities like a gym.

Best for Navigating Traffic: Waze

Waze makes it easy for you to avoid congestion, blocked roads, police, accidents or other hazards that might increase your driving time—because starting off vacation by sitting in traffic is a major mood killer.

The app has a speedometer to help you make sure you're staying within the speed limit, and it updates your arrival time based on live traffic data.

Best for Filtering Airlines and Hotels: Kayak

The beauty of KAYAK is that it aggregates the best fares from most airlines, allowing you to filter flight options based on your airline preference and departure times, while easily changing dates and destinations. You can also find deals on car rentals and hotels.

Once you've booked, the app, available on iOS and Google Play, keeps your plans organized and updates you on flight status, airport terminals, and security wait times.

Best for Non-Hotel Lodgers: Airbnb

Whether you're looking to rent a room, a house, or an entire hacienda, you can search for accommodations in your desired location. The app (free on Google Play and iTunes) lets you filter through photos and reviews, as well as sort by amenities—like a pool or washing machine. Plus, a local host can provide insight about great dining spots.

Best for Preventing Jet Lag: Timeshifter

If you have an international trip in the works and you're hoping to fend off jet lag, give Timeshifter a try. The app was developed by scientists who used sleep and circadian neuroscience to help inform the personalized jet lag plans they craft for you. According to the app's website , even astronauts and elite athletes have used it to arrive at their destinations in tip-top shape.

The first "jet lag plan" is free, so try it out on your next adventure across the world.

Best for Connecting With Locals: Meetup

One way to fully immerse yourself in your travel destination is to meet and talk with locals. Meetup can help you connect with people who are interested in the same things as you, even while on vacation. Whether it's cooking, tech, sports, music, or photography, the app will help you make new friends all over the world.

Best Voice Controlled App: Hound From SoundHound

Free on iOS devices and Android, Hound from SoundHound is a voice assistant app that you can chat with like you would a travel agent. For instance, say, "Okay, Hound. Show me hotels in Chicago for this weekend that cost less than $300 and are pet-friendly.”

Best App for International Travel: Rome2rio

With data from over 160 countries, Rome2rio is one of the best international travel apps. Simply enter any address, landmark, or city as your destination and the app displays info about accommodations and things to do.

Free on iOs and Android, Rome2rio also shows you how to get around, and compares costs, if, for example, you're debating flying from Florence to Rome versus taking the train.

Best for Frequent Flier Travel: App In The Air

This one's been placed on Apple’s coveted “Best App” list because it not only keeps track of itineraries, boarding passes, and frequent-flier programs, but it also tracks boarding and landing times, along with current waits for check-in, security and customs. Through augmented reality, it even helps you figure out if your carry-on is the right fit for your next flight.

For the best place to grab airport coffee, or where you can get a mimosa before 7 a.m. in a specific terminal, the app also pulls tips from fellow travelers. And, if you're the competitive type, you can keep "score" of all of the places you've been on the worldwide leaderboard.

The app is free on iOS and Google Play but also offers a paid upgraded version.

Best for Finding Recommendations: TripAdvisor

For the unacquainted, TripAdvisor has over 700 million reviews of 8 million destinations to peruse before booking your hotel, dinner reservation, or even planning a day at the museum. Free on both iOS and Google Play, the comprehensive app is available in 28 languages.

You can also follow friends and travel experts for advice that matches your interests, view travel videos, read articles for inspo— and write your own reviews, if you're so inclined.

Best for Budgeting: Trabee Pocket

Perfect for the business traveler who needs to track spending and receipts—or anyone who likes to stay on top of budgets—this app also boasts a helpful exchange rate calculator. It's free on iOS and Android with option to upgrade.

Best for Remembering Items: PackPoint

"Never Forget Your ______ Again!" is the slogan for PackPoint , which helps you build a packing list based on your trip. Input the dates, location, the type of travel, and the activities you plan on doing, and the app will conveniently generate a list of items you should bring. It even checks the weather to make sure you bring an umbrella or a heavier jacket depending on your destination.

Best for Refueling On Road Trips: GasBuddy

Despite the cost-saving benefits of a road trip, gas money can really start to add up if you're driving for days. Enter GasBuddy , which helps you find the best gas prices near you. With at 4.7/5 rating and over 300,000 reviews on Apple, the app has helpful features like a gas price map, outage tracker during natural disasters, a trip cost calculator, and useful search filters like brand, price location, available restrooms, and more.

Bonus, you can save 5¢/gal on every gallon if you use the app's free "Pay with GasBuddy" card.

Best For Nature Lovers: AllTrails

If you're like Oprah and think "hiking is so fun," you need to download this app. AllTrails is for nature lovers, hiking enthusiasts, and even those who just want to fit in a cardio workout while on vacation. The app has over 100,000 curated trails—which all but guarantee you'll find one near you—and lets you create and share custom maps with friends.

Best For Bathroom Breaks: Flush

When you gotta go, you gotta go, but finding a public toilet when you're traveling can be quite the task. The Flush Toilet Finder saves you time and helps you avoid an accident with the over 190,000 public bathrooms in its database. Flush will tell you which ones are free, accessible for the disabled, or require a key—and users can even rate and report a toilet.

The Flush app is available for free on iOS and Google Play.

Best Backpacks for Work, Travel

Luggage Perfect for International Travel

14 Essential Travel Accessories to Pack Now

These Travel Dresses Are as Comfy as Sweatpants

25 Best Beach Hats for Sunny Days Ahead

Comfy and Cool Travel Pants for Your Next Getaway

The Best-Tested Compression Socks for Women

The Best Places to Travel Alone

20 Makeup Bags That’ll Keep You Organized

34 Stimulating Things to Do Alone

The Best Fanny Packs for Hands-Free Travel

Popular destinations

3 travel apps you need before your next flight to keep you out of long TSA lines

Travel can be stressful, especially when airports are involved. 

Flights get delayed, or, worse still, canceled.  

Ever-growing security lines sometimes snake through the airport, putting you in jeopardy of missing your flight.

Last-minute changes can happen and derail months of planning, potentially starting off your trip on a bad note.

Programs like TSA PreCheck and Global Entry can help travelers, but there are also ways that tech can help you prepare for your journey and stay aware of the curveballs that might come your way.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Here are three apps to download before your next trip. 

Watch the video above to learn which three apps you need before your next trip. 

Airline app 

Download your airline’s app! 

It keeps all of your travel information in one, easy-to-access place. 

Turn on notifications to get immediate alerts when it's time to check in so you'll know if there are any delays or gate changes. 

Once you have a boarding pass, save even more time by adding it to the digital wallet on your smartphone.

The lines at airport security can be very unpredictable. Sometimes there is no wait, other times, the line extends into the check-in area. 

The Transportation Security Agency’s (TSA) app, MyTSA, tries to make the wait a little more predictable and helps you determine what to expect, especially if you’re traveling from one of the busiest airports in the US.  

The app provides a real-time look at your selected airport's wait time, any FAA delays, and which TSA PreCheck lanes are open. 

The app also uses historical data to help you plan ahead. So, even if your flight is three days away, the app can show you what you’re likely to encounter that day based on previous experiences. 

It’s also a useful resource if you’re unsure about what you can or can’t pack in your carry-on and checked luggage.

Mobile Passport Control

If you’re traveling abroad, the Mobile Passport Control app makes your return through U.S. customs much faster. 

The app is a digital version of the Customs and Border Patrol Declaration Form that anyone entering the U.S. is required to fill out.  

You can save up to 12 profiles in the app, and only one form is needed per family, per residence. 

The app doesn't work at every airport, so check  the CBP website to see where you can use it. 

Reviewed-approved iPhone accessories  

Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.   

Reviewed helps you find the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of tech experts test everything from Apple AirPods and screen protectors to iPhone tripods and car mounts so you can shop for the best of the best. 

• The best rugged iPhone case: Spigen Slim Armor  
• A top wireless charger: Yootech Wireless Charger  
• Our favorite screen protector: Ailun Glass Screen Protector  
• The best portable battery pack: Mophie Powerstation Plus  
• Durable phone car holders: Beam Electronics Phone Holder  
• An iPhone tripod we love: Aureday Phone Tripod  
• The best lightning cable: Anker 6 ft Premium Double-Braided Nylon Lightning Cable  

More problems, solved

• Pre-travel checklist: 4 things you need to do before your next trip
• Plan your trip: 3 tips to plan your next trip using social media
• Easily get around: 4 tech tips to easily explore a new city
• Stream offline: How to watch TV shows, movies offline
• Communicate in any language: 5 ways to use Google Translate on your phone
• Photograph your food: 4 tips to capture delicious photos of your food
• Snap the perfect pic: 4 iPhone camera tricks you need to know

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

I've Been a Digital Nomad for 8 Years. 8 Unusual Gadgets I Always Pack

Commentary: If you want to cultivate a work-and-travel lifestyle, you need the right gear without being bogged down. Here's what I bring.

• Publisher's Weekly bestselling author with over 2,000 articles published in 100 publications and magazines.

I vividly remember the first time I traveled. I was 10 years old when my mother sent my brother and I to Mombasa, Kenya. She's Kenyan and wanted us to experience our culture and meet family. She couldn't travel with us because of work, so my brother and I traveled from Milwaukee as unaccompanied minors. I was just old enough to be amazed by the experience of flying, walking through airports and landing in a country where English wasn't the primary language.

Decades later, in 2013, I had my first big work trip as an adult. I'm a consultant who owns a software company, and a corporation in Sydney hired me to come to its offices and train its team.

Flying to Sydney was a surreal experience. The client paid for Premium Economy seats on Virgin Atlantic, and the plane had a full bar. My hotel overlooked Sydney Harbour and the Sydney Opera House. It was on this trip that I realized how much I loved working abroad, and the nomadic lifestyle began to call me.

The author in Sydney in 2013.

But I couldn't be a digital nomad yet; three young children waited for me stateside, where I had a home, cars and everything else that comes with a "normal" life. I continued to travel for my business, but they were shorter trips, which piqued my interest in what it would be like to live in Tokyo, South Korea, London, Dublin, Cairo and other places I visited. From 2013 to 2016, I traveled to 38 countries for corporate consulting training contracts. 

Later, when my children were older and living with their mom, I got serious about being a digital nomad. As the possibility of nomadic life became increasingly real, though, moments of excitement were quickly overtaken with the sinking feeling that I was abandoning my children and family. 

Therapy helped me understand that two things can be true: I can live a nomadic lifestyle, and I can still be there for my children. My kids were supportive of my lifestyle as a digital nomad. So, in 2016, I sold all my material possessions, sold my home and relocated to Medellin, Colombia, to embrace full-time digital nomadism. 

Since then, I've lived and worked in Mexico City, the UK, Paris, Madrid, Nairobi, Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town, Rome, Lisbon, Nice and Barcelona.

Digital nomadism has allowed the author to visit nearly 90 countries.

What I like and don't like about being a digital nomad

What I like most about being a digital nomad is how freeing the lifestyle is. I like having fewer material possessions and the ability to travel anywhere, anytime. I enjoy experiencing new cultures, history and the foods of other countries. Consulting and digital nomadism have allowed me to travel to 88 countries and live in over a dozen. I've been able to build my business and be touristy; I work Monday through Friday, then explore whatever country I'm in on the weekends.

What's hard about being a digital nomad is being far away from my family. Technologies like FaceTime, Zoom and social media make connecting more accessible, but it's not the same as hugging my kids and hanging out with them in person. Luckily, my nomadic lifestyle means I can travel to them whenever I want. 

8 unusual gadgets I always pack

As a digital nomad, tech is essential for both work and life. I need to be able to do everything I would do if I had an office, but in an Airbnb, hotel or apartment rental instead. Some of my gear is obvious, like my laptop ( M3 MacBook Pro ), smartphone ( iPhone 15 Pro Max ) and tracking tags ( AirTags ). 

The author's work hardware for nomadic travel.

Below are a few of my more nomad-specific gear picks.

iPad Magic Keyboard Folio

I spend a lot of time on airplanes, and a laptop is not always convenient to use, especially on local carriers in Europe. I travel with an iPad Air because I use it to work on planes, watch movies and streaming series and take video calls. Apple's Magic Keyboard sleeve is an iPad cover, but I also use it for the keyboard functionality in tight spaces.

Audio Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone

Since I own a business, I do a lot of media interviews. Good sound is essential, so I travel with an Audio Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone. The microphone is portable and has multiple ports so that I can connect it to my laptop or iPad.

Anker MagGo Power Bank

Early in my digital nomad life, I learned that I can't depend on airports, hotels or other places for power. I travel with an Anker MagGo Power Bank to power my gadgets when wall outlets are unavailable. I like this power bank (versus the others I've tried) because it has a usage indicator and 15x fast charging. 

AirFly Bluetooth Adapter

This Bluetooth wireless audio transmitter receiver works with AirPods or wireless headphones. You plug the gadget into an airplane or train's entertainment center, allowing you to pair your wireless device. It creates a Bluetooth connection anywhere there's a regular headphone jack.

Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

I've been a fan of Bose headphones and bought a pair of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 a few years ago. I use these headphones to watch entertainment on flights and at the places I'm staying. The Bose Headphones fit more comfortably than AirPods.

Read our Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review .

Apple EarPods

I like to also pack a set of wired headphones just in case something happens with my regular AirPods or I can't get my Bluetooth devices to work. If you scoop these up, make sure you have the necessary dongles for both your phone and computer.

Anker 332 USB Power Strip

I have all the international adaptors, but there can sometimes be a shortage of outlets where I'm staying, so I always travel with an extension cord -- it's an underestimated item in my opinion. This Anker power strip lets me use one international adapter with the extension cord and then plug in all my other cables. Surge protection is also important because every country regulates power differently.

Kings Loot Wallet with AirTag Holder

I travel mainly with credit cards, but also some cash, which is always helpful in other countries. A good RFID wallet brings me peace of mind. The Kings Loot wallet has RFID protection, but is also slim and comfortable, and there's also a slot on the front to slide in an AirTag.

Make your travel tech work for you

Whether you're embarking on a long remote work trip or exploring digital nomadism, the right gear makes the journey easier and more enjoyable along the way. Experiment with your setup on your next work trip to find what works best for you.

Mobile Guides

• Best iPhone
• Best Galaxy S24 Deals
• Best iPhone Deals
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Review
• Best Android Phones
• Best Samsung Galaxy Phone
• Pixel 8 Pro Review
• iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max Review
• Best iPhone 15 Deals
• Best Foldable Phones
• Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review
• OnePlus Open Review
• Best Galaxy Z Flip Deals
• Best Wireless Earbuds
• Best Noise Canceling Headphones
• Best Headphones
• Best Over Ear Headphones
• Best Wireless Earbuds and Headphones for Making Calls
• Best Headphones for Work at Home
• Best Noise Canceling Wireless Earbuds
• Best Sounding Wireless Earbuds
• Best Cheap Wireless Earbuds
• Best Wireless Headphones
• Best iPhone 15 Cases
• Best iPhone 14 Cases
• Best Power Bank for iPhone
• Best Airpods Pro Accessories
• Best Magsafe iPhone Accessories
• Best Speakerphone
• Best Wireless Car Charger and Mount
• Best iPhone Fast Charger
• Best Portable Chargers and Power Banks for Android
• Apple Watch Series 8 vs Series 7
• Best Apple Watch Bands
• Best Android Smartwatch
• Apple Watch Ultra Review
• Best Smartwatch
• Best Prepaid Phone Plans
• Best Cheap Phone Plans
• Best Unlimited Data Plans
• Best Phone Plans
• Best Phone Plan Deals
• Best Senior Phone Plans
• Best Family Phone Plans
• Best Travel Phone Plans
• Best Verizon Plans
• Samsung Promo Codes
• Consumer Cellular Coupons
• Verizon Promo Codes
• AT&T Wireless Promo Codes
• Best Buy Coupons
• Motorola Coupon Codes
• OnePlus Promo Codes
• Sony Coupon Codes
• Apple Store Promo Codes

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Automatic Refunds and No More Hidden Fees: D.O.T. Sets New Rules for Airlines

The Transportation Department issued new requirements on refunds when flights are canceled or delayed and on revealing “junk” fees before booking. Here’s what passengers can expect.

By Christine Chung

The Transportation Department on Wednesday announced new rules taking aim at two of the most difficult and annoying issues in air travel: obtaining refunds and encountering surprise fees late in the booking process.

“Passengers deserve to know upfront what costs they are facing and should get their money back when an airline owes them — without having to ask,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement, adding that the changes would not only save passengers “time and money,” but also prevent headaches.

The department’s new rules, Mr. Buttigieg said, will hold airlines to clear and consistent standards when they cancel, delay or substantially change flights, and require automatic refunds to be issued within weeks. They will also require them to reveal all fees before a ticket is purchased.

Airlines for America , a trade group representing the country’s largest air carriers, said in a statement that its airlines “abide by and frequently exceed” D.O.T. consumer protection regulations.

Passenger advocates welcomed the new steps.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, the chief executive of AirHelp, a Berlin-based company that assists passengers with airline claims, called it a “massive step forward and huge improvement in consumer rights and protection” that brings the United States closer to global standards in passenger rights.

Here’s what we know about the D.O.T.’s new rules, which will begin to go into effect in October.

There’s now one definition for a “significant” delay.

Until now, airlines have been allowed to set their own definition for a “significant” delay and compensation has varied by carrier . Now, according to the D.O.T., there will be one standard: when departure or arrival is delayed by three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.

Passengers will get prompt refunds for cancellations or significant changes for flights and delayed bags, for any reason.

When things go wrong, getting compensation from an airline has often required establishing a cumbersome paper trail or spending untold hours on the phone. Under the new rules, refunds will be automatic, without passengers having to request them. Refunds will be made in full, excepting the value of any transportation already used. Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds in the original form of payment, whether by cash, credit card or airline miles. Refunds are due within seven days for credit card purchases and within 20 days for other payments.

Passengers with other flight disruptions, such as being downgraded to a lower service class, are also entitled to refunds.

The list of significant changes for which passengers can get their money back also includes: departure or arrival from an airport different from the one booked; connections at different airports or flights on planes that are less accessible to a person with a disability; an increase in the number of scheduled connections. Also, passengers who pay for services like Wi-Fi or seat selection that are then unavailable will be refunded any fees.

Airlines must give travel vouchers or credits to ticketed passengers unable to fly because of government restrictions or a doctor’s orders.

The vouchers or credits will be transferable and can be used for at least five years after the date they were issued.

Fees for checked baggage and modifying a reservation must be disclosed upfront.

Airlines and ticket agents are now required to display any extra fees for things like checking bags or seat selection clearly and individually before a ticket purchase. They will also need to outline the airline’s policies on baggage, cancellations and changing flights before a customer purchases a ticket.

The rules, which apply to all flights on domestic airlines and flights to and from the United States operated by foreign airlines, have varying start dates.

For example, automatic refunds must be instituted by the airlines within six months. But carriers have a year before they’re required to issue travel vouchers and credits for passengers advised by a medical professional not to fly.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Christine Chung is a Times reporter covering airlines and consumer travel. More about Christine Chung

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

I used the Apple Vision Pro on a flight to Costa Rica — and it was chaotic

"The Apple Vision Pro is out-friggin’-standing, but what the hell am I going to use it for?"

This is what many tech journalists and reviewers with early access to the $3,499 swanky headset said. They gushed about the accurate eye tracking, the nuanced hand tracking, and slick visionOS interface, but scratched their head over how it’d fit into their daily lives.

I thought I knew the answer to their conundrum: travel. As a frequent jetsetter, I often see the AirPods Max or AirPods Pro as one of the most popular travel accessories, allowing people to drown out the annoying drone of a plane. And I was certain that, in a few years, the Vision Pro could be the next big thing for travelers.

I put my hypothesis to the test, taking the Apple Vision Pro along with me on a JetBlue flight from JFK airport in New York to Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica. As it turns out, I may have spoken a little too soon about the Apple Vision Pro being the next breakout travel accessory.

Apple Vision Pro price

The Apple Vision Pro is often touted as being a spatial computing headset with a $3,499 price tag, but with taxes included, it set me back $3,800 via Apple's website.

Fortunately, shipping is free. (Hey, it’s the least Apple can do, right?)

The configuration I got comes with the following specs:

• 256GB of storage
• Two 3,660 x 3,200-pixel micro-OLED displays with up to a 120Hz refresh rate
• 16GB of RAM
• M2 chip with 10-core GPU and the R1 co-processor
• 12 cameras and five sensors

You can increase storage to 512GB and 1TB, but that’ll cost you $3,700 and $3,900, respectively — and that’s before the taxes kick in.

If I had the wherewithal, I’d grab the 512GB or 1TB configuration because I plan to store countless videos, including spatial content, over the course of my time with it.

What I like about Apple Vision Pro

So why did I bring my Vision Pro with me on my flight to Costa Rica? Apple boasted that the headset can bring a private cinematic experience to users, allowing them to expand the virtual display to a gigantic, floating screen.

Tired of the tiny, seatback screens, I thought the Vision Pro would rectify this issue, finally bringing a massive display bright before my eyes without disturbing other passengers.

Download shows for a theater-like experience

I subscribed to Apple TV and Max (formerly HBO Max) to download shows before my flight so that I could access them on the plane. Even without WiFi, I watched several episodes of Euphoria . I also watched the first half of Dune and a few minutes of Ex Machina , one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time.

All of them played without a hitch, and unlike at the theater or on a laptop, I can make the virtual display as massive or as tiny as I want. Plus, I can toggle on captions, too. To top it all off, the quality, from the rich colors to the sharp imagery, is as crisp as seltzer water.

Easy to carry around

I’m sorry, but there’s no way in hell that I’m going to spend an additional $200 on a travel case . Instead, I had another pouch lying around my house that I used to store my Apple Vision Pro.

However, I barely used the makeshift travel case. Most of the time, the Vision Pro was hanging around my neck, giving myself easy access to the headset.

The Vision Pro has an awkward ski mask-like design. The “mask-esque” portion consists of a laminated-glass front plate. It also features a stretchy, knitted rear headband. Once you put it on your head, you can tighten it with a circular dial on the right side of the device.

As you'll find out in a later section, I'm not the biggest fan of the design — "comfortable" and "Vision Pro" do not belong in the same sentence.

Seamless TSA experience

Similar to your tablet and laptop , you’ll have to take the Apple Vision Pro out of your carry-on or personal bag before placing it on the conveyor belt for security scanning.

I placed my M2 MacBook Air and the Vision Pro in one tray and the headset came out the other end without being flagged as a threat. Nice!

‘Travel mode’ is a must

Before heading to the airport, I’d advise turning “travel mode” on.

If not, while you’re walking — and even while you’re zooming through the air at 500 miles per hour — your apps will fly past you erratically. With travel mode off, windows would disappear from view, hiding in a far corner or under my chair. When my significant other spotted me frantically looking for something — and I looked extra silly with the Vision Pro strapped on — he said, “What are you looking for?” I said, “I can’t find the home apps! I think they flew under my seat.”

Realizing how ridiculous I sounded, we both laughed. That’s why you need travel mode. With it on, it pins your windows right in front of you so they don’t move, holding them in place.

Picks up subtle hand tracking

As the only person on the whole entire plane with an Apple Vision Pro, I’m not gonna lie, I was super self conscious about using it. I could just feel people staring daggers at me — and sniggering behind my back.

Fortunately, the Vision Pro’s hand tracking is elite . For example, in order to make selections inside the headset, you need to use a pinching gesture. Even the most subtle pinches — one where I keep my hands low and close to my body so no one can see any conspicuous movements — the Vision Pro picked up on them with ease. It was super impressive!

And that’s on top of the incredible eye tracking. Being able to simply “tell” the headset what you want to click on by simply looking at it is so Black Mirror — and I’m here for it.

‘Mindfulness’ app for turbulence

On my way back from Costa Rica to New York, my JetBlue flight suffered from some turbulence while flying over Florida.

Sitting inside a rattling winged, metal thingamajig isn’t my idea of fun, so I pulled up the Mindfulness app and launched a meditation session. While being shaken and stirred inside the plane, I found my own slice of peace for five minutes while following breathing exercises with an expanding and contracting spherical virtual artifact.

What’s ‘eh’ about the Apple Vision Pro

Although I have plenty of positive things to say about the Apple Vision Pro, it still needs a lot of work. Let’s start with some things that make me go “eh” – features that aren’t necessarily dealbreakers, but they’re irksome enough to be noteworthy.

Battery pack requires you to wear the right clothing

If you’re going to drag the Vision Pro with you on a plane, you must wear something with pockets. Fortunately, I wore an athleisure two-piece set with pockets, allowing me to place the Vision Pro’s cumbersome battery pack inside my right pocket.

You must make sure the pocket is snug, too, or else it will fall out frequently. Of course, the battery pack is a bit of a nuisance, but it fit nicely into my pocket, so I forgot it was even there.

Streaming with airplane WiFi is OK

Fortunately for me, JetBlue offered free WiFi. As such, I connected to the “FlyFi” network before takeoff. I streamed Apple TV movies including Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, allowing me to watch films that I didn’t get to download beforehand.

This is no fault of Apple, but as you can imagine, airplane WiFi is iffy. Consequently, the quality dropped significantly. I’d say visual content was streaming somewhere between 480p and 720p. On the plus side, I didn’t experience any signal dropping while watching movies — playback was seamless and consistent. However, your mileage may vary. Flying over the ocean, for example, can impact the plane’s WiFi.

‘Sharing’ is a pain

Sometimes, I’d stumble upon a funny or wild scene while watching a movie inside the Vision Pro and I wanted my significant other to have a laugh, too. 

I wished I could “freeze” the content where it stands and have my partner continue where I paused so that he, too, can chuckle along with me. However, passing on my headset to my partner was a pain. He had to ask me for my password and re-navigate to Apple TV app himself before resuming the episode I was streaming.

There is a “guest mode” you can turn on, but it’s still such a hassle. Perhaps in a future update, Apple will allow us to add “trusted users” to the headset so that they don’t need to go through so many steps before seeing the content I want them to see.

Some audio bleed, but Vision Pro works with AirPods

If you turn down the Vision Pro volume, it can be low enough that it won’t bother your neighbors nor alarm flight attendants, but just loud enough for your content to be audible. The sound, by the way, is crisp, sharp and full — à la the divine audio that comes out of my M2 MacBook Air.

If that doesn’t sit right with you, you can pair your AirPods to the Vision Pro — similar to how you’d pair one to your MacBook — allowing you to listen to Vision Pro content at any volume setting.

It’s embarrassing to wear

Coined by The Verge, I became a “glasshole” — someone who ignores social decorum and walks around with a silly headset all day. Some people approached me with curiosity, asking me what’s hanging around my neck — even a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer inquired about the headset.

Others, however, stared aggressively. Some even sniggered behind my back, which is fair — I’d probably do the same if a Vision Pro-wearing passenger was grasping at the air to make in-headset selections.

Because wearing a headset is so uncommon and the Vision Pro is still in its “early adopter” phase, I felt like an alien wearing this around the airport. As someone who is already self-conscious as it is simply wearing plain clothes, strapping a headset to my face heightened my insecurity.

It will take some time before wearing an AR/VR headset becomes normalized.

The Vision Pro isn’t heavy, but it’s not comfy either

Apple touted the Vision Pro as a travel companion, but it still needs some tweaking before it becomes the next big thing for frequent fliers.

Early users of the Vision Pro, including tech journalists and influencers, said that the Vision Pro felt “heavy,” but I don’t think that’s the right word. The Vision Pro weighs about 1.3 pounds. When I pick it up with my hands, it feels quite lightweight.

The problem is, however, that the weight distribution of the Vision Pro is off. All of the components are frontloaded, which means I felt a lot of tugging and tightness around my eyes. I constantly needed to readjust the headset to reduce that “pulling down” feeling I was sensing on my face.

‘Tracking failed’ error messages

While flying to and from Costa Rica, I took nighttime flights, which meant that the cabin was quite dim. Yes, the Vision Pro was still usable, even in low-light situations. It’s also quite helpful that I left the seatback monitor on, so the glare of the screen helped to add more illumination.

However, if I were to look down at my feet — away from the monitor’s glare — I’d get a “tracking failed” error message, and the virtual windows disappeared. When I popped my head back up, the content resumed without any issue.

Missing popular dedicated apps

I have Netflix , Hulu , and YouTube subscriptions. Unfortunately, none of these apps have a dedicated presence on the Vision Pro (although you can access them through Safari).

As such, to properly test the Vision Pro, I purchased two additional subscriptions: Apple TV and Max. After all, these two have apps tailor-made for the Vision Pro and I wanted to see how well they performed. As aforementioned, Apple TV and Max work well on the Vision Pro, but make sure to download your favorite shows and films before your flight.

Material gets dirty easily

Yes, the knit material, particularly the stretch headband, is breathable.

But it’s definitely prone to getting dirty. You’ll definitely have to wash it often.

One thing I never quite understood about companies like Meta and Apple making a push for spatial computing is the fact that they haven't addressed eye strain.

Airports can be tiring, from queuing at the TSA checkpoint to waiting for delayed planes.

By the time you get on the plane, you're exhausted. The moment I put the Vision Pro on my eyes, which have two high-tech displays sitting right before my peepers, I thought to myself, “I can’t have this on my face for more than 20 minutes!"

Apple Vision Pro battery life

I watched Wonka from start to finish and half of Priscilla on the Apple Vision Pro. With some Apple Arcade gaming sprinkled in (e.g., Jetpack Joyride ), the Apple Vision Pro lasted three hours and 34 minutes on a single charge. (This battery life test was not conducted on the plane.)

This is much better than I expected. For reference, the Meta Quest 3 lasted one hour and 19 minutes.

Is the Apple Vision Pro worth it?

For Apple’s first foray into the AR / VR space, the Vision Pro is a best-in-class headset. Early reviewers were spot on when they gushed about the eye and hand tracking — it’s smooth, seamless, and sensational.

And I can understand why the Vision Pro costs an arm and a leg. At its core, the Vision Pro is a computer you can strap onto your face. If people are spending over $2,000 for laptops , it’s not too hard to grasp why you’re shelling out $3,500 for a nascent, wearable spatial computing device (which, of course, includes the “Apple tax”).

However, this review focuses on the Apple Vision Pro as a travel companion. And as it stands now, it’s not quite ready for primetime. While the Vision Pro can, indeed, deliver a cinematic experience for travelers as Apple promised, the Vision Pro simply isn't comfortable enough.

It’s also worth considering the Meta Quest 3, which is $3,000 cheaper.

Meta Quest 3

Welcome to The Curious Kal, hosted by Kalli Prendergast. Join me on the nomadic journey of all things curiosity. This podcast is your invitation to immerse yourself in the kaleidoscope of unique perspectives, spontaneous experiences and unfiltered curiosity of human existence. Some raw and candid interviews with people I divinely cross paths with AND an abundance of solo episodes to unlock inspiration, joy, laughter and CURIOSITY within you! Take what resonate and leave what doesn't. Live curious my friends! Catch you in an episode!

The Curious Kal Kalli Prendergast

• 4.7 • 7 Ratings
• APR 25, 2024

Functional Approach To Hormones // with Aleece Rose

This episode with Aleece, a Functional Diagnostic Nutritional Practitioner. This episode is a fun deep dive into alllll things  hormones, from a functional approach.  Aleece and her husband, Larry run a business, Health Designed, to guide men and women through functional testing all the way through creating a personalized protocol to create optimal wellness.  I hope from this episode you feel seen, heard and NOW have a resource for you moving forward, to take back control of your HEALTH/HORMONES! Can't wait for you to dive into this episode! Stay Curious!  CONNECT WITH ALEECE HERE ALEECE INSTAGRAM Mentioned in the podcast: Institute of Integrative Nutrition CODE FOR 45% OFF: KALLIPRENDERGASTXIIN Reno Esthetician Stephanie Butler  Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalliskaptures/

• 1 hr 23 min
• APR 19, 2024

LETS TALK SOLO TRAVEL

Welcome to the official first episode of The Curious Kal. Today I dive into the journey of solo travel. I walked you through my first trip out of the country, not solo and how that kickstarted me to solo travel. Furthered the story with my first intentional trip solo, which you may not think it was where it was... MAINE?? You read that right. I of course then guided you into the massive difference of traveling solo abroad versus in the US. Excited for you to listen in and for you to receive what you do from this episode. If you're liking the podcast so far and curious for more to come, it would mean the world  to share this podcast, leave a rating, write a review and follow! STAY CURIOUS MY FRIENDS! Mentioned in the podcast: Hostel World Travel Fanny Pack Connect with Emily for planning your next trip Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalliskaptures/

• 1 hr 33 min
• APR 11, 2024

ARE YOU CURIOUS??

The Curious Kal Podcast is here... and it's going to be EPIC! Listen in for a glance at what this podcast will be filled with...  AND make sure you are subscribed so when every podcast drops, you're in right away. Can not wait to be curious together!  Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalliskaptures/

• © 2024 The Curious Kal

Customer Reviews

Uplifting + honest.

You won’t find a more adventurous woman full of joy and excitement! Her energy is contagious and this podcast is inspiring and fun! Grateful for a new resource.

Can't wait for more episodes!!

Kalli has been an inspiration and resource for all things travel, new insights and looking at the beauty of life for years. Theres nothing surface level about Kalli and I know these conversations will be embodying getting down to the nitty gritty, experiencing life to the fullest and creating opportunities for yourself that serve your bigger purpose in this world. Thankful to be able to tap in and listen to these episodes and can't wait for what's to come. 😊

Kalli is the best.

Oh my gosh I literally am always feeling so much better anytime I hear Kalli’s voice. Having a podcast full of her knowledge, stories and joy. CAN NOT WAIT!!!! A must follow along.

Top Podcasts In Leisure

Top Free Apps

Uber - Request a ride

Expedia: Hotels, Flights & Car

Google Earth

Vrbo Vacation Rentals

Top Paid Apps

HappyCow - Vegan Food Near You

LiveATC Air Radio

Roadside America

USFS & BLM Campgrounds

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

• Restaurants
• Best-of Guides
• MICHELIN Guide Ceremony
• My Favorites
• Subscribe to newsletter
• Booking partnership with OpenTable
• Booking partnership with Resy
• USA - English - USD
• Key Street: Michigan Ave. Leads to 7 Key Hotels in Chicago

A brief guide to all the MICHELIN Key hotels in Chicago.

Travel Hotels Chicago MICHELIN Keys

On April 24, 2024, the MICHELIN Guide announced its very first Key hotels in the United States — a brand new distinction recognizing the most outstanding hotels in the country. We're thrilled to report that in Chicago, eight hotels earned at least One Key. Of those, half make their home in the kinds of historic buildings that give this city its well-earned reputation as one of the most architecturally distinguished cities in the country. Follow Michigan Avenue north from the heart of the Loop to the Gold Coast and you’ll pass within two blocks of all but one of them. The Chicago Athletic Association sits within a Venetian Gothic landmark. The Gwen makes its home in a storied 1929 Art Deco skyscraper. The Pendry sets up shop in the masterpiece that is the 1929 Art Deco Carbide & Carbon Building. And the lower floors of the Viceroy make use of the meticulously-preserved, 1920s-vintage Cedar Hotel. There are Key hotels too in newer builds, among them the Peninsula (with uniformed bellboys and staffers who seem to know the name of each individual guest) and the Waldorf Astoria , its lobby a marble marvel. Below, explore the map and scroll down for more about each of the MICHELIN Guide’s eight hotels in Chicago.

The Eight KEY Hotels in Chicago:

Chicago Athletic Association — One Key

Pendry Chicago — Two Keys

The Langham Chicago — Two Keys

The Gwen — One Key

The Peninsula Chicago — Two Keys

Waldorf Astoria Chicago — One Key

Viceroy Chicago — One Key

Nobu Hotel Chicago — One Key

Top image: Pendry Chicago

In Photos: Every Three Key Hotel in New York City

The ins and outs of the most outstanding hotels in the city.

The First MICHELIN Key Hotels: All the Keys in the United States

The MICHELIN Guide announces top honors for U.S. hotels in 2024.

The Most Outrageous Design Hotel In Miami

The Faena Miami Beach is a Two Key hotel with a $15 million gilded woolly mammoth.

A Brief Guide to All the Key Hotels in Washington D.C.

Seven hotels earned at least one MICHELIN Key in Washington D.C.

Keep Exploring - Stories we think you will enjoy reading

Inside the Top Suite of the Only Three Key Hotel in Big Sur

The so-called "Cliff House" has the views you're looking for.

SingleThread: The 5-Room Inn with Three Keys and Three Stars

Revered for its Three MICHELIN Star restaurant and biodynamic farm, the SingleThread Inn earns Three Keys for its tiny, food-driven hotel.

Inside the Top Suite of Three Key Aman New York

The Aman Suite — among the most impressive suites in New York — brings the city to you.

The Guilty Pleasures of the Chicago Athletic Association

The One Key Chicago Athletic Association has had an illustrious and sometimes sordid history that dates back to 1893, when it wasn’t quite a hotel. A lot has changed since then, but the ghosts of the past are never far away.

Eaton DC Is a Launchpad for Progress

Katherine Lo’s Eaton DC isn’t just one of the best hotels in the United States capital. It’s also a headquarters for activism, community, social justice, and sustainability. And it’s not shy about it.

Hollywood Glamour at the First Key Hotels in Los Angeles

A brief guide to all the Key hotels in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills.

Florida’s Hotel Selection Is Starting to Sizzle

On April 18, 2024, all the new MICHELIN Stars were announced in Florida. Which makes this the perfect time to check in on some of our newest additions to our hotel selection in the Sunshine State.

Auberge du Soleil Napa’s latest renovation evokes timeless but not arrested in time

An interview with their interior designer, Suzanne Tucker.

MICHELIN Guide

Use the app to find the best restaurants and hotels everywhere

Be the first to get news and update about the michelin guide.

MICHELIN Guide selections

The michelin group.

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Legal Notice

Display settings

Customize your experience by easily adjusting display settings for territory, and currency to suit your preferences!

Member privileges

The Plus program provides upgrades and amenities at participating hotels. For this hotel, Plus members will receive:

Non-members can add the privileges at checkout through our 30 day free trial, cancellable at anytime.

KAYAK: Flights, Hotels & Cars

About this app

Data safety.

Ratings and reviews

• Flag inappropriate

• Show review history

What's new

App support, more by kayak.com.

Similar apps