I Can't Leave My Home Without These Excellent Travel Apps

I used to travel a lot for business and pleasure, especially on my previous job which required many work-related trips. We live in the smart device era and there are thousands of fabulous travel apps that make our lives easier. Before this era started, I often relied on yellow pages to find what I need, from a good restaurant, hotels to veterinarians. It was time-consuming, and it usually involved some additional costs. For example, to book a hotel room, I had to call several hotels until I find the perfect one. Nowadays, with a smartphone or tablet in your hand, you can make everything much easier. All you have to do is to install proper apps on your device.

Keep It Simple

I know there are many fabulous apps you can find on the App Store for iOS and Google Play if you are using Android device, but you don't have to install a ton of apps. It will be better to simplify everything by choosing the one you really need and the one you will often use. Here are the travel apps on my iPhone. I put them all in a separate folder on my iPhone so that I can find them with ease.

The Most-Used:

Skyscanner Flight And Skyscanner Hotel

I used this app to find the best deals on airplane tickets and hotels. I had this app on my iPhone before I decided to remove it and switched to Kayak. The reason for that was simple. Kayak has 3 different features together in one app while Skyscanner separates them into 3 apps: Skyscanner for flights, hotels, and car rental. So, in order to simplify things a bit, I have chosen Kayak. But, then I found out that Kayak was not as simple as Skyscanner. It has some features which I don't really need, like Flight Tracker feature to track your departure, progress, arrival, and gates for all your flights. So, I removed Kayak and re-installed Skyscanner apps on my iPhone.
Besides the simple design, Flights and Skyscanner Hotels are easy to use. Once you launch the Flights app you will find the page to type your destination. On the next page, you have to give some information related to the flight, such as your departure and return date. After you tap the Search button, the flight schedules and prices will appear, so you can choose the perfect one. To go back to the previous page, you can tap the small black arrow in the top-left corner.

The Most-Loved:

Travel Butler

I love this app. Travel Butler is an app designed to help you packing for your journey. Before I found this amazing app, I used to write down all the things I need on a paper, from clothes to important documents especially if it was a business trip. But, Travel Butler will make it much better and easier. That's why I like this app so much.
After you launch the app, type your destination, the date of travel, choose your travel purpose (vacation or business), and the app needs to know whether you are a female or male. Let's say I am going to Amsterdam for vacation from March 28 until April 2. I will be directed to the next page where I can see Packing List menu and if I scroll down, I will also see the forecast and other useful information, including Tour & Activities, the Restaurants, Bars & Cafes around, and Sightseeing powered by Foursquare. Tap the Packing List menu and you will find your suitcase lists: Clothing list, Documents, Electronics, Essentials, and Sports. All of these have been selected by Travel Butler based on the information you've given earlier. Off course, you can add the other things to the list. Isn't it amazing? As if I have my own personal assistant.

Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is a travel community app. I love this app because I can find the local people in my destination, foremost when I travel alone. There isn't a better advice than the one you'll get from a local. You can post on their local forum and tell them that you are going to visit their city or something like "I will be in this town tomorrow. Does anyone here want to meet up and have a cup of coffee?". You can also find out the local gathering. Usually, they have a routine gathering, monthly or weekly, and the occasional gatherings. Every Couchsurfer is welcome to join the gathering.
Moreover, some of them will offer to host the other Couchsurfer. If you are a backpacker or budget traveler this can save some of your money. However, I haven't tried this one because I prefer to stay in the hotel.

The Most Essential:

Google Maps

This app is the most essential. Make sure never to leave your home without this app even if you use a taxi, Uber or a car rental with a driver. It will be very useful if you rent a vehicle and drive it by yourself. I found how useful this app is when I traveled to Bali. In Bali, you have to rent a vehicle - a motorbike or car - for your transportation, because the only public transportation there is a bus, and often you have to wait for too long for the bus to come. So, during my visit to Bali, I rented a motorbike and everything was simple even though that was the first time for me to visit this wonderful place. Here, I found Google Maps very useful.