Whether you’re travelling for business or leisure, these are the apps you want to add to your travel planning checklist.
Here are my top 8 favourite travel companion apps.
Google Maps
You probably already guessed this, if not had a “Duh” moment.
There’s one tip that not many know about though, did you know that you can save a map of your destination city offline, so you can access it without any Internet? ;)
For loved ones who don’t have Apple devices and are missing out on the Find My Friends feature, good news: Location Sharing is back on iOS! YESSS!!
Uber
Uber is indispensable where taxis are unreliable, not to mention rude and/or dangerous.
Travelling to Manila has just become much better with Uber.
So was my trip to Costa Rica where the cost of my Uber trip from San Jose to Manuel Antonio (a 2-hour drive) cost less than a shuttle!
Grab this UBER discount code for a free ride (varies per location): gretcheno16
Airbnb
Airbnb is my go-to platform for accommodations especially for places that either don’t have a lot of hotels or have overly over-priced ones. New York and Bavaria are two examples.
Grab this Airbnb discount code for AU$50 credits: wchong16
Hotel Tonight
My fave app for last-minute bookings within the following week.
Our first ever experience was at the Dazzler Hotel in Brooklyn. The free concierge asked us for special requests, and since it was my birthday, I thought we’d mention it and see what that does.
We got chocolates and champagne!
You get $30, I get $30 with this Hotel Tonight discount code: gchong12
Waze
In places where Google Maps traffic indicators are less reliable, especially in developing countries, I like to pull up Waze for crowd-sourced, real-time traffic status.
I’ve saved many a minutes with Waze.
Headspace
Though not necessarily a travel-related app, I normally tune in to Tara Brach’s podcasts for my meditation practice, but when I’m in a rush while travelling and only have a few minutes to spare, Headspace saves the day.
Messenger
When I travel and I want to get in touch with a friend who lives in my destination city, I later on realise that I don’t have their number.
But I have them on Facebook. Does this happen to you, too?
Scribd
Last but not least, is Scribd!
Also not a specific travel app, but handy for bookworms like myself who might go through one or two books (but I’ll be honest, sometimes none at all).
I’ve recently been enjoying it even more as I could get access to 10 books/audio books per month. They have a great selection (albeit less than Amazon’s Kindle/Audible) and you can also save them offline.
