As an independent solo traveller, I depend on a good set of travel apps. I am a dreamer who travels, raised on Jules Verne and Salgari, and what I love most is the slow pace, the silence, the surprises, the encounters and the long musing pauses. But I am also a woman of my time, with an unashamed passion for gadgets and technology, and on the road, those two passions get along rather well.
I went paperless years ago, and I remember exactly when. It was after a road trip in Thailand during which I hauled around a backpack stuffed with books, guidebooks, a folder of printed reservations and my Moleskine. Back home, I made myself a promise: never again. Since then, I have left with my Kindle, which is also where I keep my travel documents, and an iPhone full of apps I have been refining ever since.
These are the ones that have earned their place.
Getting there: flights and transport
Kiwi.com
If you want a flexible way to compare cheap flights across airlines, including the odd combination that conventional search engines miss, Kiwi is worth knowing. It comes into its own for complex itineraries, mixing low-cost and full-service carriers and finding alternative routings that can substantially cut the cost of a trip. If you value flexibility and creative routing over simplicity, it belongs in your toolkit.
Going
Going hunts down flight deals so you don’t have to. Since 2015, it has helped over two million members travel for less by alerting them to mistake fares and deep discounts, and its flight experts hand-verify every deal rather than firing off algorithmic noise. Useful whether you are planning a dream trip or a last-minute escape.
Hoppa
Ground transport is the part of a journey that most often goes wrong, and it is where I have wasted the most money over the years, usually in the exhausted five minutes after landing.
Hoppa is a global mobility platform that lets you compare and book ground transport in one place, across more than 182 countries and 2,600 airports and resorts, serving over 40 million customers. In a single search, you can weigh up airport transfers, airport taxis, ride-hailing, private holiday transfers and shared shuttles, with live fares across the range, so you can pick the cheap seat on a shuttle or the private car that meets you at arrivals, depending on the day you have had. Its reach is such that enterprise platforms, including Mastercard and UnionPay, use it to power their own mobility ecosystems.
What I like about the model is simple: it removes the moment of standing in an unfamiliar arrivals hall, jet-lagged, trying to work out whether the man with the sign is a fair price. You book it before you fly, at a price you agreed to while thinking clearly.
This section is a paid partnership with Hoppa.
AirportTransfer.com
A comparable service, worth putting side by side with the above. It covers over 160 countries, offers pre-booked private rides at fixed prices, and has generous cancellation terms, including a full refund up to 48 hours in advance. Free, multilingual, and on both Google Play and the App Store.
Where to stay
cozycozy
If you want a simple way to compare accommodation across Airbnb, Booking, VRBO and Expedia at once, cozycozy pulls listings from the major booking sites into a single interface. Handy whether you are after a hotel, an apartment, a B&B or something odd like a treehouse or a houseboat.
Traveloka
Traveloka is good for travelling affordably, with daily promotions, customisable packages, and a search engine that learns your preferences over time.
Staying connected and safe
An eSIM
An eSIM has quietly become one of the best upgrades to modern travel: no swapping physical cards, no roaming shocks, and a local network in minutes wherever you land. SIM Local’s eSIM covers over 150 countries and activates remotely. Use my link with the code SILVIAS10.
You might also want to use a VPN.
Planning
XE Currency
XE Currency is one of the apps I use most is first in the daydreaming stage while planning, then on the ground to keep an eye on what I am spending. It updates rates automatically, lets you set favourite currencies, converts in a blink, and works offline. Free.
Converter
I reach for Converter far more than I expected to when I downloaded it: distances, weights, units of every kind. Works offline, which is exactly when you need it. Free.
Maps, weather and getting around
Offline maps
Do not leave without them. Whatever app you choose, download the region before you fly, because the moment you need a map is reliably the moment you have no signal. Google Maps lets you download areas for offline use, and Organic Maps is a good open-source alternative built on OpenStreetMap.
ViaMichelin
I use ViaMichelin even at home. The maps stay up to date, and the route calculation, geolocated and cost-based, works well. Depending on the settings, it will calculate fuel, tolls, and scenic routes. Its one sin is the intrusive advertising.
A weather app
I have never fully made peace with the preinstalled weather app, and I want forecasts broken into hourly ranges rather than vague daily shrugs. Whichever one you settle on, look for hourly detail and a rain radar, which is the feature that actually changes your plans. I personally like this weather forecast website, which also comes with a free app.
Keeping track and remembering
Skratch
Skratch is for anyone who likes to keep count of where they have been. It lets you mark countries, regions, cities and sights on a visual world map, pin memories, and share your travel stats. Its Explore section doubles as a source of ideas, with destination guides and practical country information.
GPSmyCity
GPSmyCity turns travel articles into GPS-guided walks, with the coordinates already embedded in the writer’s itinerary. Download it, and you have thousands of self-guided walking tours, articles and offline city maps across more than a thousand destinations. You can read the articles offline for free, and for a small upgrade, the app will guide you from one stop to the next. Some of my own articles are on there.
TripAdvisor
It needs no introduction. I am rarely convinced by its food and drink rankings in Italy, and I stopped trusting those reviews long ago, but it has led me to real gems abroad, and the “nearby” function still earns its keep. For deciding where to sleep, I still lean on it heavily.
Tipulator
Perfect for splitting the galley bill on a sailing boat, which my friends adore me for at the end of a week at sea, and useful for working out tips when travelling in countries where tipping is expected. Free, English only. It’s here: Tipulator
What is not on my phone
The Moleskine and my pen, which still come with me everywhere. And of course my Kindle. I even downloaded the app on my iPhone and iPad to always have a handy copy of my Kindle‘s content, just in case, but luckily, I never had to use it.
What about you? Is there an app you would add to this list? Tell me in the comments.
Further reading
- My essential travel gear, the ten things I never pack without
- My packing list for independent traveller
- My hotel booking guide
- My guide to what to do when your flight is cancelled and how to claim compensation
Some links in this article are affiliate or partner links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only include services I would use myself.
FAQ
What are the best travel apps for solo travellers? The most useful travel apps cover four needs: getting there (flight comparison, such as Kiwi.com, and ground transport booking, such as Hoppa), staying connected (an eSIM and a VPN), navigating offline (downloaded maps), and managing money (a currency converter). Beyond that, packing-list and trip-logging apps make travel smoother.
What is the best app for airport transfers? Airport transfer platforms such as Hoppa let you compare and pre-book transfers, taxis, ride-hailing, private cars, and shuttles in a single search across more than 180 countries and 2,600 airports. Pre-booking locks in the price before you land, avoiding the classic mistake of negotiating a fare while exhausted in an unfamiliar arrivals hall.
Do you need an eSIM when travelling? An eSIM is one of the simplest upgrades to modern travel: it activates remotely, avoids roaming charges, and connects you to a local network the moment you land, with no physical SIM to swap. Buy and install it before you fly, so you have data and maps from the airport onwards.
What is the best offline map app for travel? The best offline map is the one you remembered to download before you left. Google Maps allows you to save regions for offline use, and Organic Maps is a strong open-source alternative built on OpenStreetMap data. Download the area you need while you still have wifi.
