10 Must-Try Alternative Best Travel Apps for 2025 That Will Make Your Trip a Breeze

Are you searching for the best apps for travel in 2025? Whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter, a digital nomad, or one of the many business travellers hopping between meetings, having the right travel apps on your phone can make all the difference.

Best Alternative Travel Apps 2025

From navigation to budgeting, translation, and everything in between, these must-have travel apps will help you plan smarter, travel easier, and enjoy your journey stress-free.

This isn’t your usual list of the best travel apps packed with the same big-name airline, hotel, and tour operator apps. Instead, we’re looking at hidden gems—apps that might not be as well-known but can be game-changers when organising your travel plans. Some are already go-to apps for savvy travellers, while others are rising stars that deserve a place on your home screen.

A well-chosen mobile app can be the difference between a smooth, enjoyable trip and one filled with unnecessary stress. These essential travel apps help with everything from real-time itinerary tracking to finding the best routes in unfamiliar cities. Some focus on securing cheap hotels and cheap flights, while others specialise in on-the-go language translation, making them a must-have for both leisure and business travellers.

Why pay extra when a free app can do the job as well? Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one planner, taxi apps to find a reliable ride, or an app to help you track spending, these apps are designed to streamline your next trip from start to finish.

Why the Right Travel Apps Matter

Smartphones and mobile apps have completely transformed the way we explore the world. With just a few taps, you can compare flights, book cheap hotels, and even arrange last-minute transport. Gone are the days of scrambling for paper tickets or struggling with language barriers—today’s great travel apps make it effortless to navigate new places, track expenses, and stay connected.

Take Google Maps, for example. It’s long been a go-to app for travellers, but beyond basic navigation, it now shows best routes for driving, walking, and public transport, plus offline maps and real-time restaurant wait times. Pair it with Google Translate, and you can communicate in over 100 languages, making it easier than ever to ask for directions, order food, or read travel information in a foreign country.

Need a ride? Taxi apps help you compare fares, track your driver, and even book a ride in advance so you’re never left stranded. For those keeping an eye on expenses, budgeting apps can help break down your trip costs, ensuring you stay on track financially.

Whether you’re after a free app to help with budgeting or a must-have travel app to uncover local gems, these essential travel apps are worth checking out. Keep reading to find out which ones will elevate your next trip and make every journey smoother.

There are few things more frustrating than losing a day of your vacation. An early hotel check-out followed by a late-night flight leaves you with your luggage.

Vertoe is a web-based (but can be saved to your smartphone desktop as a favourite) app that will locate your nearest verified luggage storage provider. Your items are insured for up to $5000, and storage can be booked online, in advance, from $5.99.

Rome2Rio is a travel planning app designed to make trip coordination seamless for travellers who want to make every journey an adventure. With a global reach, it lets users search and compare various transportation options by plane, train, bus, ferry, or car hire to get from point A to B.

The app offers routes, estimated travel times, and fare comparisons in one place, making choosing the most convenient or budget-friendly travel option easier. It’s ideal for those who value efficiency and want a hassle-free way to plan multi-leg journeys across different countries.

Are you travelling on a budget? Maybe you don’t fancy a meal alone on a business trip or don’t need a big meal. Too Good to Go fights food waste and allows travellers to try local bites at a fraction of the price.

My pick for Best Travel App in 2024 connects travellers with participating restaurants, coffee shops and even supermarkets that create take-away bags of food that are approaching the use-by date but still perfectly good to eat for as little as $4/£4/€4.

Suppose you don’t want the hassle of carrying a physical Pocketalk device. In that case, the Pocketalk app brings real-time translation to your mobile device, making communication across language barriers easier than ever.

It supports over 70 languages and offers voice and camera translation, ensuring fast and reliable results. The app selects the most accurate translation engines for each language, making it ideal for spontaneous conversations on the go.

If you would rather learn a language than rely on a translator, Duolingo is a user-friendly language-learning app designed to make mastering a new language fun and effective.

Perfect for kids and adults, it covers over 40 languages, making it an excellent option for travellers looking to improve their communication skills before heading abroad. The app uses a gamified approach, keeping users engaged with streaks, rewards, and challenges as they progress through different levels of fluency.

Hopper is a smart travel app that helps you save money on flights, hotels, and car rentals by predicting the best booking times. Using advanced algorithms, it monitors prices and sends notifications when the right time is available to secure the best deals.

Focusing on making travel more affordable and stress-free, Hopper provides personalised recommendations and allows users to plan and book their trips directly through the app. It’s an ideal tool for frequent travellers who want to make informed decisions and maximise their savings without the hassle of constant price checking.

We all do it: We jump on to the nearest public Wi-Fi hotspot without pausing to consider the consequences. NordVPN is a reliable and secure app designed to protect your online privacy while travelling. It uses advanced encryption to shield your internet activity, making it ideal for frequent travellers.

With servers in numerous countries, NordVPN allows you to browse and access content from different regions safely. Whether you’re checking emails in a café or streaming your favourite shows abroad, NordVPN ensures your data stays private and your connection secure, giving you peace of mind wherever your travels take you.

As an affiliate of NordVPN, we have access to their current offer of up to 73% off 2-year plans with an additional three months free. You can view and sign up here.

With the Been Travel App, you can easily track your journeys by selecting the country you’ve visited, which are highlighted on a personalised world map. Signing in allows you to keep your map updated across all your devices.

Upcoming features will let you zoom in for a closer look, explore detailed regional maps within each country, and more. While the app primarily lists countries based on United Nations membership, it also includes universally recognised regions. Document your travels and record memories.

If you want to avoid mainstream car rental services and some of their excessive hidden fees, then Turo might be the app you’re looking for! This car-sharing app connects travellers with local vehicle owners, offering a flexible and convenient alternative to traditional car rental services.

The app allows users to book cars directly from people in their area. It provides a wide range of options, from economy models to luxury vehicles. Whether you need a car for a quick day trip or a more extended road adventure, the app makes it easy to find the right vehicle for your needs.

Put it on your bucket list, travel to it, and document it. Pin Traveler is the ultimate travel journal that helps you build a personalised map of the countries and you’ves you’ve visited.

With just a few taps, you can mark destinations, add photos, and even log details like favourite spots and dates you visited. Whether you’re reminiscing about past trips or planning future adventures, the app lets you keep track of all your travels in one place.