Android Apps I Actually Use When Traveling: A Practical List

General
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I travel for work a few times a year and have figured out through trial and error which apps actually earn space on my phone versus the ones that sound useful and never get opened. Here’s the honest list.

Navigation and transit

Google Maps is the obvious starting point but it’s worth downloading offline maps before you leave. Go to the location > Settings > Offline Maps. A whole city’s map is usually 200-400 MB and completely eliminates the data dependency for navigation.

Citymapper is consistently better than Google Maps for public transit in supported cities. It understands bus routes, tube lines, and bikeshare in real time and gives you clear alternatives when a line is disrupted. Not available everywhere but where it is, it’s noticeably better.

Maps.me uses OpenStreetMap data and works completely offline. Not as polished as Google Maps but excellent backup for areas with limited connectivity.

Communication

WhatsApp is still the most universal messaging app globally. Even if you don’t use it at home, having it installed means you can communicate with businesses, hotels, and locals in most countries without relying on SMS rates.

Google Translate with offline language packs downloaded is the one app I’ve used in genuinely stressful situations – trying to read a medication label in a foreign country, deciphering a menu that had no English, explaining a taxi destination. The camera translate feature (point your phone at text and it translates in real time) is legitimately useful.

Money and payments

Revolut or Wise for currency management if you travel internationally with any regularity. Both offer accounts with multi-currency wallets and favorable exchange rates. The difference between using these and using your home bank card for foreign currency transactions can be meaningful over a long trip.

XE Currency for a quick reference exchange rate that works offline.

Travel logistics

TripIt for organizing flight confirmations, hotel bookings, and itineraries in one place. Forward booking confirmation emails to it and it auto-parses the details.

PackPoint for building packing lists based on your destination, duration, and planned activities. Sounds trivial, sounds essential after you’ve forgotten your adapter three trips in a row.

One underused thing: turn off background app refresh and set your email to manual fetch before you leave. Your battery will last noticeably longer, especially when you’re spending the day away from power outlets.

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the offline google maps tip is so underused. people get to a foreign country, have no data, and suddenly can’t navigate anything. downloading the maps before you fly is five minutes of prep that pays off every day of the trip.

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Citymapper is genuinely excellent for cities that support it. The disruption alerts and real-time alternative routing are the features that matter most. I’ve used it in London and it’s notably better than Google Transit for that city specifically.

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Wise is worth having even if you don’t think you’ll need it much. The exchange rate transparency alone makes it feel better than using a debit card that charges 2.5% foreign transaction fees without telling you. Set it up before the trip so you have the card ready.

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The Google Translate camera feature has gotten dramatically better in the last couple of years. I used it with Japanese menus in Tokyo last year and it wasn’t perfect but it was good enough to understand what I was ordering. Real-time augmented reality translation for signs is one of those things that still feels futuristic even when it works.

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PackPoint is a nice recommendation. I use a simple notes app for packing lists but a purpose-built one that accounts for activities and weather makes more sense. The “adapter three trips in a row” joke is too real.