Quick Answer
After years of travel across nearly 20 countries, the only five apps worth keeping are: Timeshifter (beats jet lag using science-backed circadian advice), Polarsteps (auto-tracks your route and turns trips into shareable memories), Flighty (gives real-time flight data straight from air traffic control, hours before airlines notify you), Airalo (instant eSIM connectivity the moment you land abroad), and Klook (discounted tickets and tours with skip-the-line perks, especially handy across Asia).
Over the years of visiting almost 20 different countries, I have narrowed my pre-trip download list. When I began my traveling journey, I used to open a dozen browser tabs, each one holding details about my hotel confirmation, flight information, insurance details, etc. Then I switched to their respective apps, and my phone used to be full of unwanted travel apps that I usually did not use during the entire trip. Thankfully, my experience has made me realize that you need fewer apps, but trusted ones.
As WhatsApp, Camera app, and Instagram are crucial for any holiday or trip, I have narrowed down 5 apps that need to be on your phone, whether you are a frequent traveler or travel occasionally. Honestly, after you have sorted out your flight tickets, and once you start using these apps, planning a trip stops feeling like a job, and you will actually enjoy your trip. Let’s get right into it.
Table of Contents
5 Best Travel Apps You Must Download Before Your Next Vacation
Timeshifter: The app that actually understands jet lag
Jet Lag is more prominent when you have to travel frequently between countries in different time zones. A few years back, I had to switch back and forth between India and the U.K. for work purposes, and that was the time when jet lag hit me. One of my friends there told me about the Timeshifter app, and I instantly became skeptical. How can an app help me with jet lag? But since I was feeling like a zombie, I decided to give the Timeshifter app a try, and it has been on my phone ever since.
Timeshifter isn’t a generic “drink water and avoid caffeine” advice app. If you want to understand in simple words, the Timeshifter app tells you when you should seek light, when to avoid it, when taking a nap is fine, and when you should sip a cup of coffee. This way, you prevent doing things and make them work against your adjustments. This app was developed with Dr. Steven W. Lockley, a Harvard Medical School faculty member of over 20 years and a former neuroscientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who has nearly three decades of research experience in circadian rhythms and sleep.
According to official figures, 96.4% travelers who followed the app’s advice were able to avoid severe jet lag entirely. Those who were ignored were 6.2 times more likely to experience severe jet lag. The only catch is that you need to start the plan before departure. Your first jet lag is free; after that, you need to pay $9.99/plan or go for the $24.99/year (unlimited plans).
Polarsteps: Your trip, automatically turned into a memory
Polarsteps is the app that you would wish to have in your phone when you come back home with 1000 photos and zero memory of which ones were from which day. Used by over 20 million users, Polarsteps features are neatly divided into four buckets: PLAN, TRACK, SHARE, and RELIVE. The PLAN bucket includes an AI itinerary planner that builds a personalized adventure based on the number of days and your current goals for the trip. It shows you destination snapshots, which of your friends have already been there, and a transport planner to let you decide how to reach from point A to B.
The TRACK bucket is the heart of the app. It maps out the route you actually took on a digital map, rather than drawing a straight line between the two points. You can invite your friends to add to the trip. You can add photos, videos, and short stories to each step as you go, with a transport mode to know how you got there. The SHARE bucket lets your friends and family follow your journey in real-time (if that’s what you like). The RELIVE turns the whole thing into something useful, a scrollable digital memory of every place, photo, and story, a one-tap Trip Reel video, you can see along with a beautifully printed Travel Book that turns your trip into memory.
The app doesn’t drain your device’s battery and is completely ad-free and free to use. Travel Book is optional, and you can pay to get one. Polarsteps is available for both iPhone and Android, so no one is missing out.
Flighty: The flight tracker that knows details about your flight
You all know that airlines are quite notorious when sending information about flight changes. And other times, we are so lost in prepping for the travel that we miss out on the notifications that they send. To keep yourself in the loop, you have to open multiple browser tabs or install apps. Flighty pulls live data directly from air traffic control and aviation sources to provide you with authentic details about your flight. Some airlines may restrict the type of data they want to show on their apps, but Flighty gives you information on everything you should know.
This means you get information like flight delay, gate change, or even where your aircraft currently is. These data will be with you even before the airline’s official notification arrives. The app tracks your specific plane, a full day before departure. This way, if your flight is sitting in some other part of the world, you would know beforehand that your flight is probably going to be late, hours in advance. Now, whether you should rely on this app or not? I have used this app many times, and all I got was correct information, hours in advance.
Flighty also offers a feature that lets you track a friend or family member’s flight. So that you can decide whether you should leave for the airport now or in the next 20 minutes. The only downside is that Flighty is available on iOS, and there is no info if an Android version is coming or not.
Airalo: Stay connected wherever you go
One of the most daunting tasks after you land in a foreign country is to stay connected. And for that, you have to look out for the best SIM that not only gives you better coverage throughout your trip, but it should also have internet data so that you can stay connected with your social media fam. You can get a SIM very easily at the airport, but most of them are quite pricey and charge you for local calls, which you might not need. Airalo fixes that gap and gives you eSIMs for almost any country in the world, ensuring that you stay connected right after you land. It is one of the best eSIM apps you can download on your phone.
Instead of a physical SIM card, you get an eSIM after you buy a data plan from the app. Installation takes a few minutes, and the best part is that you can do this even before you board your flight. So, by the time you land, you have access to the internet. Having internet access lets you book a taxi, connect with your hotel or loved ones, etc. You can pick local plans for a single country, or regional plans that cover an entire area like Europe or Southeast Asia. Whenever I am heading to Europe, I always choose Airalo, because the internet coverage has never disappointed me.
However, if you want a local phone number for calls, which is what some local taxi apps or food delivery apps require, Airalo won’t be a good fit for you. This is for those who rely on WhatsApp and internet-based apps. On top of this, your phone needs to support eSIM functionality and should be carrier-unlocked.
Klook: Your one-stop shop for things to do
You know how expensive the tickets for any attraction you want to visit in a new country can be. Even if you can manage those expenses, some savings on them won’t hurt, and this is where Klook comes into the picture. The best part is that Klook not only saves you money on attractions, but it also saves your precious time that you would have spent buying tickets and standing in a long line outside the ticket counter. Aside from attractions, Klook also offers deals in activities, tours, transport, and even airport transfers. I’ve found some good deals on airport transfers on Klook that were not available offline.
You can also purchase those premium tickets to Disneyland, where you just skip the waiting queue for your ride and enjoy everything at peace and on time as well. You can also purchase a local train pass or hire a private driver for a day if you want to avoid the crowds of public transport. On top of this, you can get good deals on physical SIMs.
The app’s biggest strength is the coverage it offers across countries. Asia, in particular, where booking tickets in the local language can be a bit confusing, Klook’s English interface makes everything easy, and the easy QR-code-based entry solves the friction almost completely. However, you should always check what you are buying because sometimes a bundled deal may include a voucher that you have to redeem individually for some extra fees. Customer support has also been a mixed bag, at least for me.
Five apps, no clutter
What I like about these apps is that they don’t overlap with each other. Timeshifter handles your body clock before you even leave your home. Flighty handles flight information so that you stay aware of the information. Airalo gets you connected the second you land. Klook fills your days once you are there. Polarsteps quietly stitches your entire trip into a memory so that you know what you did in the new country.
