19 Essential UK Travel Apps That Are Completely Free!
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Do you love travelling, but always forget about important details or things you need to pack? Do you spend hours researching the best places to visit, looking for cheaper train tickets and trying to fit as many attractions as possible in the short time, because of FOMO*? Does going back and forth between multiple tabs in your browser sound familiar? Travel planning doesn’t have to look like this! It also doesn’t have to make you anxious, believe me.
Check out this list of essential UK travel apps that will allow you to spend more time enjoying the trip, instead of getting stressed out. This will equip you with the best tools possible and make your planning a breeze!
*FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out
Navigate to where you want to go:
Best UK travel apps for getting inspired
Instagram
(Android/iOS/website)
Instagram used to be a place to share heavily edited photos. App has changed a lot over the years, and now people pay more attention to the content they create and very often share interesting, instagrammable locations worth visiting.
You can also find there many unfiltered photos if you want to check what your destination really looks like.
How many times have you seen a beautiful sandy beach and glorious turquoise sea just to realize that it looks completely different in reality? Well, it happened to me. Therefore, I always go through the “Recent” tab and Insta Stories before choosing my next destination. There’s nothing worse than being disappointed after days (even weeks!) of looking forward to the trip, you know?
Tip: Stories are also helpful to see what’s happening in the area right now.
Pinterest
(Android/iOS/website)
Pinterest is a visual search engine popular not only in the food and home blogging community but also in travel. That’s why you should use it while looking for inspiration. Travel guide, itinerary or interesting place you should visit? Pinterest has got you covered.
Snapchat
(Android/iOS/website)
Snapchat is a social media app, but it’s more like Instagram Stories on steroids for me. I use it only to check what’s going on in the area I’m in right now. It’s tremendously helpful when I’m looking for any local outdoor events, like firework displays, for example. Snapchat is very easy to use. The only thing you need to do is opening a map and clicking on blue bubbles around the city you want to check.
TripAdvisor
(Android/iOS/website)
I’m sure everyone has used TripAdvisor at least once – a website where users can review hotels and restaurants, as well as share photos and tips. TripAdvisor is a precious source of travel inspiration, and compliments other apps amazingly.
Visit a City
(Android/iOS/website)
Visit a City is my latest discovery which looks very promising. The app helps you find popular tours and activities, itineraries, and other ideas for things to do in your chosen destination. Keep in mind that you can find mostly popular tourist destinations there. I haven’t come across any hidden gems or unique places so far.
Best UK travel apps for finding an accommodation
Booking.com
(Android/iOS/website)
I always start the process of looking for a hotel with Booking. It’s easier to use than other competitor apps or websites. Do you want to rent an apartment, find 5* hotel, or a hostel? They have them all available to book. Booking.com also has a reward system called “Genius” which gives you a discount when you make bookings with them regularly. That’s why using this app is even more attractive.
Airbnb
(Android/iOS/website)
Airbnb works similarly to Booking.com but focuses solely on holiday rentals. Renting an entire apartment is a great idea if you are travelling with friends. It can be cheaper than staying at the hotel, too!
Best UK travel apps for booking flights
Skyscanner
(Android/iOS/website)
Skyscanner is a great tool, and my go to app, to find cheap flights. They also help with finding the best hotel and car rental deals.
Feeling adventurous? You can set your destination as “Everywhere” and go from there. Maybe it’ll help you find an interesting new place that hasn’t crossed your mind? Set a “Price Alert” to know when the price changes!
If sustainable travel is something important to you, check the “Greener Choice” label. In this way, Skyscanner highlights flights that emit less CO₂ than the average for your search, how cool is this?!
Best UK travel apps for booking train tickets
Trainline
(Android/iOS/website)
I usually start planning my trip with Trainline, where you can find the best deals for train trips. App shows you live train times and railway station information, while users can also report how crowded the train is. If you’re eligible to get a railcard, you can apply for a digital one and keep it inside the app.
Best UK travel apps for getting around your destination
Google Maps
(Android/iOS/website)
Every time you go somewhere new, you should have some kind of offline map. It doesn’t matter if you have a paper one, or an app on your phone. Anything will be better than nothing when you end up in a foreign place with no signal. If you want the easiest option possible, go for Google Map and download them offline. Click here to learn how to do it.
Osmand
(Android/iOS/website)
You might have heard about Osmand – another map app which allows you to download maps offline. Sometimes it’s more precise than Google, especially when it comes to paths that are rarely used by pedestrians. Osmand is open source, meaning that users can add interesting points of interest or alternative routes, that Google hasn’t indexed yet.
Twitter
(Android/iOS/website)
That might be a surprise, but Twitter can be useful for getting around your destination. It’s my go-to app also in everyday life. People will tweet about anything unusual. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for information about why there is a huge traffic jam in front of you, or if the firework display is still on this evening – check Twitter.
Citymapper
(Android/iOS/website)
Citymapper is an all-in-one app for getting around your destination. It will show you all bus stops in the area, location of bikes and e-scooters available to rent and more. Citymapper is a great resource that helps avoid confusion and overwhelm during travels to bigger cities. Every traveler going to the capital should get it as this is a great app for London tube. Downloadable maps will make your life easier when you won’t have any mobile service underground. Citymapper is available only in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Nottingham.
UK Bus Checker
(Android/iOS/website)
Travelling to the area where Citymapper doesn’t work? Use the UK Bus Checker instead! It offers mostly the same features as the other app but is available all over the UK. I really recommend it!
Best UK travel apps for dealing with money
Splitwise
(Android/iOS/website)
Travelling with friends? It might be both fun and stressful, doesn’t it? It’s easy to forget who pays for what, or who lent you money. That’s where Splitwise comes very handy. It allows you to keep track of shared expenses and balances, split restaurant bills, pay for a ride, and more.
Revolut
(Android/iOS/website)
Revolut is great mostly when you travel to the UK from another country. Its exchange rates are significantly lower than in any other bank, which is incredible! Everyone who travels abroad should get Revolut, especially if you’re on a budget.
Best UK travel apps for packing
PackPoint
(Android/iOS/website)
Looking to simplify the packing process? PackPoint creates a list of items you might want to pack, so you get a starting point in this packing battle. It takes into consideration the weather forecast, what your destination is like, and what kind of trip you are after. You can ditch your paper notes which you often forget about anyway and relax! PackPoint will help you organize your baggage in a few clicks.
Best UK travel apps for staying in touch with others
WhatsApp
(Android/iOS/website)
WhatsApp is an encrypted messaging app that allows you to send messages and make video and voice calls over WiFi. It’s the most popular messenger service in the United Kingdom, according to the latest numbers on Statista (2020). 81% of the population uses it every day.
Facebook Messenger
(Android/iOS/website)
Who doesn’t know about Facebook? Well, it turned out that just 75% of people use Messenger every day. Because of that, it comes in second place, just after WhatsApp, according to the latest numbers on Statista (2020). I think this app is more user friendly, but if you’re concerned about your privacy – WhatsApp will be a better choice for you.
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