Our smartphones have become like our own personalized travel agents these days. From finding flights, to accessing real time translations, they have become a one stop shop for everything we need to search for, book, and enjoy our holidays.
Through the use of helpful apps, we can now easily travel all around the world like a pro. Though the usefulness of an app can definitely be regional; for instance what might be a brilliant app for Australia, might not do you any good in Europe.
When travelling through Europe you are faced with a wide variety of transportation options, hotel decisions, languages, currency conversions, etc. As such, knowing what the best apps are to help you with your journey is vital in order to enjoy a flawless travel experience.
The following are our favorite apps for European travel. I guarantee you’ll be well taken care of if you have these seven apps on your phone, though don’t forget to also set yourself up with prepaid Europe travel SIM cards to maintain reception and data.
The Best Apps for Travellers Heading to Europe
TEP Wireless
OK, not an app in itself, but before we jump into the best apps you’ll need for Europe, to use any of them you’ll need internet access.
TEP offers a very convenient device; a pocket-sized personal WiFi hotspot, to keep you connected to high speed internet anywhere across Europe. (High speed, secure internet).
Portable wifi in Europe is the best way to enjoy unlimited internet (on up to five devices at a time) seamlessly between countries, without having to rely on local SIM cards or unsecure public hotspots. Plans start at $6.95 a day.
Now to our favorite apps for Europe!
TripCase
One of the best apps for general travel, TripCase allows you to organize all of your trip details and travel plans in one place. Easily link your hotel bookings, flights, car rentals, and more. You can then view them all in one handy itinerary in the app.
View airline maps and access helpful contact numbers. Get the latest notifications such as flight delays and gate changes sent directly to your phone, usually before individual airline apps do. Search alternate flights if your plans change and see real time seat availability on your flight.
In addition, you can quickly access directions to your hotel when you arrive at your destination or book an Uber directly from the app. Share your trip with others and TripCase will keep them updated on your behalf.
Omio (Previously GoEuro)
Omio is the ultimate app when it comes to a search and booking platform for trains, buses, and flights throughout Europe. It is one of the best comparison apps for cheap transport as it displays all transportation options for getting from Place A to Place B.
Their real-time comparison gives you direct access to over 600 trains, bus, and flight partners, and you can compare the three different modes of transport directly next to one another to find the quickest and / or most affordable journey.
It allows you to quickly search and compare thousands of routes for trains, buses, and flights anywhere in Europe. In just a few easy steps you can select the journey that best suits your needs, know you are getting the best price, and have your paperless e-tickets available to you in the app, even without Wi-Fi connection.
This is particularly useful for those who want to weigh up the convenience of a flight over the cost of the ticket for a bus or train.
FREE NOW (Previously MyTaxi)
Most likely Europe’s largest taxi app, FREE NOW (previously MyTaxi) has a network of more than 45,000 affiliated taxis across 40 cities. It’s the first taxi app that lets you book, pay for, and rate a taxi.
Simply book a taxi with FREE NOW, add a payment method to your account (credit card or PayPal) and pay for your journey with the app, and watch it arrive in real time and on the map along with receiving a notification when your driver arrives at your location.
If you enjoyed your taxi driver, simply save their name as a “regular driver”. They will be placed at the top of the list the next time you book a journey. Businesses will love FREE NOW as it allows your staff to book taxis without having to pay themselves and the business will receive a single bill for all their journeys once a month.
FREE NOW has been equipping taxis with tablet PCs that allow passengers to view the latest news and weather forecasts during their journey.
Culture Trip
The Culture Trip app is like Tripadvisor on steroids. It gives you the top recommendations when it comes to your destination’s attractions and restaurants along with information regarding its art, music, history, and more.
Explore articles focused on your destination that are written by locals. Bookmark posts you want to come back to and share stories with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. You’ll find suggestions for off the beaten path gems in addition to the usual tourist traps.
The app covers numerous locations all over the world. It caters to the individual user, giving recommendations based on their personal preferences and recognizes your current location to give you inspiration for what you can experience.
TheFork
A foodie’s best friend, The Fork allows you to search from over 40,000 restaurants to find the European dish you’ve been dying to try.
Read restaurant reviews, be tempted by mouth watering culinary photos, browse menus, and find directions to your chosen restaurant. The app allows you to book a restaurant free of charge and sends your booking confirmations by email and SMS.
Take advantage of a loyalty program and in-app discounts of up to 50 percent at select restaurants, including a 10€ discount after making your 1st booking with the app.
Google Translate
Learning a new language can be extremely difficult and travelling around Europe presents you with a wide array of languages.
Thankfully with the Google Translate app, you don’t have to learn all the languages as it allows you to translate over 100 different languages.
Don’t have data or Wi-Fi, no problem, as it can translate 59 languages with no internet connection. One of my favourite features is the instant camera translation which allows you to instantly translate text from nearly 40 languages simply by pointing your phone’s camera at the text.
Star and save translated words and phrases for future reference, take photos for higher quality translations, and translate bilingual conversations on the fly.
CalConvert
If you are like me and despise having to deal with math in your head, CalConvert will help you with currency conversions as well as dealing with converting units of measurements.
It is both a simple and advanced scientific calculator that supports all major mathematical functions. You gain access to 150+ currencies without the internet so you can easily see just how much those Italian pair of high heels will cost you.
Convert feet to metres, pounds to kilograms, and miles to kilometres. You can easily save frequently used units of measurement and currencies as well as being able to see a history of your conversions or calculations.
HotelsCombined
With so many booking websites and apps out there it is hard to know where to look. HotelsCombined acts as a search engine dedicated to finding you the best hotel at the best rate.
I usually love Boooking.com for searching hotels but HotelsCombined allows me to see listed prices from this website as well as numerous others such as Expedia and Hotels.com.
Search some 800,000+ hotels with images and ratings, knowing you are backed by their best price guarantee. A nice feature is that their hotel booking app is available in over 40 languages.
HotelsCombined can also help you get in contact with your hotel and sort out any reservation issues when you can’t seem to get things sorted with the hotel directly yourself. To date I have found the app convenient and easy to use along with always seeming to offer the best prices on hotels I am searching for.
Time to Download!!
➡ Organize portable WiFi in Europe through TEP Wireless
➡ Download Tripcase for organizing your trip details and travel plans in one place.
➡ Download Omio for a search and booking platform for trains, buses, and flights throughout Europe.
➡ Download MyTaxi for Europe’s largest taxi app.
➡ Download Culture Trip for destination guides / recommendations.
➡ Download The Fork for restaurant bookings.
➡ Download Google Translate for real time translations.
➡ Download HotelsCombined for finding you the best hotel at the best rate.
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Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; an online magazine dedicated to opening your eyes to the wonders of the wild & natural world.
Having visited 50+ countries across all seven continents, Megan’s travels focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She has a strong passion for ecotourism, and aims to promote responsible travel experiences.
31 Comments
Interesting list. Folks should evaluate how much information they want to share to obtain information they may or may not want, though.
Glad you enjoyed the post Roy, hopefully we cold introduce you to a couple of new apps :) Absolutely re being aware of the data your sharing – great tip.
A great help, thanks!
You’re welcome, glad it was helpful!
Ridefinder is also really good, for carpooling if you don’t want to get a taxi. Also BlaBla Car – you can connect with people who have empty seats.
Great tip, thanks Kerstin, I’ll check out both of those :)
These are great recommendations! Totally agree that the best apps are often regional – within Europe itself there are apps we’ve downloaded for specific cities, like London and Dublin. I’ve found that the government / local city councils often have helpful apps too that they release for tourists which usually have maps with attractions, restaurants, a local phrasebook etc. Always good to search for once you get there, or in advance because often the maps will be available offline but you need to download them before-hand.
Great advice, I’m making a note to start looking for those when we visit a new city, I love the idea of having offline maps available – I think I have actually seen a couple of city based apps promoted when I visit various visitors centers – it’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing your insight C :)
Surprised that Uber didn’t make a mention here. I’ve only had good experiences with it, and it’s a lifesaver when you’re traveling :)
Glad to hear you’ve had god experiences with Uber Amal, they’re not available in every country, but I agree, a great app :)
Ah CalConvert, my savior! I can’t do math haha the nice thing being though that once you’re in Europe you can travel for a while and only have to worry about converting Euro. I find that rounding up usually keeps me from going over budget.
I usually round up too if I’m trying to run conversions in my head on the fly :)
GoEuro is fantastic – I prefer train throughout Europe.
Agreed! Train travel in Europe is such a quick, cheap and convenient way to get around. And it’s so clean and efficient too. I love GoEuro – so handy :)
Remember to cleanse your phone after you come home. So many apps drain the battery on your phone. Good information.
Great tip Margot. Something I usually forget until I notice my phone going slowly and I have to clean up some space.
Google Translate is getting really, really accurate!!
It really is! It’s a lifesaver. One of those that permanently sits on my phone :)
Great suggestions! Never heard of most of these so thanks!
You’re welcome Dee, glad we could set you up with some suggestions for your next trip :) Happy travels!
I am a student in Florence,Italy
so i need a help to travel a europe in cheaper way so tell me some best application to use in europe and some offline application too
Hi Vivek thanks for reaching out. All of the above mentioned apps will help you with traveling through Europe. Specifically for traveling cheaper though make sure you download Omio (for travel – trains, buses & flights), Uber for ground transport, and HotelsCombined for accommodation. These should all help :)
Happy travels! I hope you’re having a fabulous time in Florence :)
I just found a neat little app for the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France called Potty Poche. The app includes maps and an interesting narrative of seaside towns, Cathar sites, France’s Most Beautiful Villages, and festivals in the area. Plus, (plus!) it locates by directions and GPS all the public toilets in the same areas and rates them. Well done!
Awesome, thanks for the tip! I’ll put a bookmark on it for the next time we’re in France, sounds like a great app :)
Google maps is very useful for traveling too, but it can be misleading in big cities if you aren’t careful.
For sure, we live by Google maps, though we did a road trip from Mildura to Mungo National Park earlier in the year and G Maps was way off – quoted 4 hours, when it was only 1. It doesn’t do well with really off the beaten path rural destinations I’ve found.
It got me running around Ljubljana and i was almost late for an exam.
Thanks for this great list. It helps me to get an overview about other travel apps.
I’m also working on my own on a travel app in my freetime, which helps to create travel routes with AI. If you like it, you can maybe add it to the list. :)
Thanks
David
Hi David, so glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks for reading, and sharing your own app. I’ll check it out :)
Happy travels!
Meg, what a great article!! Some very unique ones here compared to all the standards recos you get out there on other posts! Super helpful. Also thought I’ll share this app ATM Fee Saver – i used it in Europe and even other continents to find free ATMs or whichever cheapest ATM is available closest to me. Was a life saver as ATM fees abroad can really add up!
Thanks for sharing Jess! I’ll check out ATM Fee Saver, that’s a brilliant idea for an app :) So far Ive been using the ATM finder within my Revolut app which is fabulous too, and the local currency option also means not paying any fees. It’s fab!