Download This! The Best Travel Apps for Making Your Trip a Breeze

Seeing the world can be one of the most rewarding things that you ever do. It can also be one of the most hectic! As any seasoned traveler knows, there are always a million tiny things to keep track of while you’re on the move. The good news is that having the right apps can take away a lot of the stress of making travel arrangements, so here’s our list of essential travel apps for booking hotels, tracking flights, ordering food, and even finding bathrooms in strange cities.

Rome2Rio

Rome2Rio is the perfect app for daydreaming. It’ll also be useful when you’re ready to work out the nitty-gritty details of your journey! It’s basically a route planner that will scour everything from planes and trains to ferries and bike shares to help you get from Point A and Point B. Just input your start and end locations to generate huge, detailed lists of your traveling options, many of which the app will earmark with helpful suggestions like “cheapest” and “fastest.” You can also use the app to search for other necessities like hotels and rental cars, making Rome2Rio a convenient instrument for all aspects of globetrotting.

FlightAware

Available via web and mobile, FlightAware is a must-have tool for the modern traveler. It provides accurate, to-the-minute updates on flight statuses worldwide, allowing you to track delays, flight paths, estimated arrivals, gate and terminal changes, and more. You can even watch your progress on a map and toggle things like weather patterns and other aircraft flying nearby! Just input the number of your flight and get a wealth of information instantly at your fingertips. If you’d like to remain in the know even while the app is running in the background, you can also set up push notifications for things like ETA changes.

Grab

Between the long lines and the sheer labyrinthine quality of your typical airport, finding food can be a challenging experience. Fortunately, apps like Grab make it easier. Just browse the available restaurants around your gate or terminal, order your food through the app, and pick it up without having to deal with the crowds. You can search by location if you don’t want to hoof it around the airport, or you can look for specific cuisine if you have a craving. Either way, Grab will get you fueled and ready to go for the next step of your travel adventure.

MeetUp

MeetUp is a great way to get out and about in your chosen destination. It isn’t exclusively meant for travel; it’s mostly used by folks who are looking to connect with others with shared hobbies and interests. However, it can become a vacation tool just as easily. There are meet-up groups focused on everything from hiking to bar hopping during happy hour, so you can browse until you find a gathering that looks interesting to you. You don’t have to be a resident of the area to join in. You just have to RSVP through MeetUp. What better way to get to know the place you’re exploring that to immerse yourself among the people?

DayUse

Have you ever found yourself wanting a hotel room for just a few hours during the day? With DayUse, you can make it happen. It’s a standard hotel booking app, but rather than showing you nightly rates, it shows you chunks of time like “7AM – 12PM” or “4PM – 11PM.” You can choose your accommodation based on time, location, availability, amenities, and more. It’ll be perfect for long layovers or days when you just want a nap and a shower to wash away the fatigue of travel. You can also use your booking to take advantage of hotel-exclusive perks and privileges while you’re a guest there!

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Flush

Flush is one of those apps that you’ll be desperately glad that you downloaded in advance. Its single purpose is finding public bathrooms in your area! You can move around a map and get directions. You can also customize your search with requirements like “free” or “disability access.” Most importantly, you can use the app while offline, allowing you to find much-needed facilities even when you’re somewhere with spotty Wi-Fi. Flush might not be the sexiest app out there, but when you’re in an unknown city with no idea where the bathrooms are, it’ll be one that you return to again and again.

Last but not least, check out our own travel app! OneTravel can help you find flights, hotels, rental cars, and more. We offer mobile-exclusive deals to keep money in your pocket as you make travel plans, and we also have a rewards program to earn points for future trips. If you’re looking for resources to plan your dream getaway, download OneTravel!

What are your favorite apps for making travel easier? Let us know in the comments below!