25 Must-Have Apps While Traveling

Traveling can be stressful. There’s planning to be done, pictures to be taken, social media to be shared, and relaxation to be had.

Here’s a list of the apps I use to make that all easier:

Travel Planning

The most important travel app for me Google Maps, followed closely by the combo of Foursquare / Swarm (though I’m still not entirely sure why they separated the two).

Foursquare allows me to check out what’s good in a new city and gives me personalized recommendations based on what I like, and Swarm allows me to remember where I’ve actually been.

The full list of travel apps include:

1. Google Maps – For figuring out how to get to where I want to go. (Android | iOS)
2. Foursquare – For personalized recommendations of what to see / eat in a new city. (Android | iOS)
3. Swarm – For checking in so I can remember all of the places I’ve been. (Android | iOS)
4. Trip Advisor – For finding the super popular things to do and get some tips on how to make it better. (Android | iOS)
5. Orbitz – For checking out the prices and availability of hotels and booking flights. (Android | iOS)
6. AirBNB – For finding a local spot to stay in. (Android | iOS)
7. Budget – For getting a rental car when needed. (Android | iOS)

Social Connectedness

Even if you are anti-social websites, social apps are vital to staying connected with friends and family while traveling the world. Facebook is still probably the top dog (mostly because the majority of my friends and family are connected there) but I only use the mobile site and not the app. Instagram has also been a lot of fun for me.

The full list of Social Apps include:

8. Facebook – For staying connected with people and serving as a hub for all of my other social media. (Android | iOS)
9. Whatsapp – For chatting with people from other countries and avoiding texting fees. (Android | iOS)
10. Twitter – For making jokes and reaching out to people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to contact. (Android | iOS)
11. Instagram – For sharing “1,000 words” in a single image of what I’m up to. (Android | iOS)
12. LinkedIn – For making business connections and finding additional engagements while I’m traveling. (Android | iOS)
13. Snapchat – For silly quick jokes with friends. (Android | iOS)

Productivity

Being on the move means that you have to learn to be productive on your phone as you won’t always have the luxury of your laptop right in front of you. Evernote is the supreme king when it comes to Productivity Apps because it basically serves as my memory.

The full list of Productivity Apps include:

14. Evernote – For capturing all of my thoughts, including training outlines, meeting notes, and blog post drafts (like this one!). (Android | iOS)
15. Perfct Day – For tracking my daily habits. (Perfct Day is currently private beta, launching soon!)
16. Tasker – For automating certain tasks to free me from unnecessary key strokes and app selection. A future post will share some of my top automations. (Android | iOS not available)
17. Gmail – For getting through the slog of the minimally productive business necessity of eletronic mail. (Android | iOS)
18. Trello – For capturing todo lists in a Agile-like method (I’m still working on using this well). (Android | iOS)
19. Dropbox – For accessing presentations and proposals on my phone for review. (Android | iOS)
20. 7M Workout – For a “it’s better than nothing” workout when you’re short on time and space. (Android | iOS)

Fun and Relaxation

All work and no play made me very stressed out. There are some great apps for strategically disengaging, including my favorite, Word Mix, a fun word game that makes you feel like you’re maybe-kinda-learning something?

The full list of Fun and Relaxation Apps include:

21. Word Mix – A scrambled letter game where you find all the words. (Android | iOS)
22. Quora – For reading / answering questions that make you feel semi-productive. (Android | iOS)
23. Amazon Kindle – For catching up on business books or the occasional fictional tale. (Android | iOS)
24. Pocket – For reading long-form articles that sometimes make you feel smart. (Android | iOS)
25. Dots – For mindless creation of squares to try to get points. (Android | iOS)

I’m sure there are a few other apps that I use but none on a regular basis. Have an app you enjoy? Let me know so I can check it out!