The best travel apps for planning your next trip

Travel planning is a great way to kickstart the excitement of your next journey, but it can be daunting. While AI tools like ChatGPT and travel apps have boomed in popularity, seasoned travellers know that planning the perfect trip takes more than a few simple prompts. Sometimes, the key is finding the right tool to stay organised and stress-free.

Whether you’re a jetsetter or a weekend wanderer, our selection of tried-and-tested travel tools and the best travel planning apps will help you travel smoother, safer and smarter.

Travel planning apps

Layla

A travel buddy to match your vibe: meet Layla , an AI trip planner assistant that goes beyond a list of destinations and tourist spots. It curates a tailored travel itinerary based on your interests, travel style and budget. From beach getaways to safari escapes, Layla asks all the right questions to make sure your itinerary is as personalised as possible. It’s as natural as texting a friend – if that friend also came with never-ending recommendations for hotels, restaurants and places to see, plus stunning travel videos for inspiration. 

Asia Miles by Cathay

A bonus tip for Asia Miles earners is the Asia Miles by Cathay app, which allows you to easily redeem flights, earn miles, and track your member benefits and exclusive offers. From restaurant offers to special deals at shopping destinations around the world, it’s worth taking a look at what’s in store for the next destination you’re heading to. Discover Cathay partners around the globe and dive into a rich collection of inspirational travel content – all in one sleek app. 

Wanderlog

Say goodbye to your hundreds of browser tabs – trip planner app Wanderlog saves you hours of research and simplifies the whole process. In a few seconds, it can generate travel itineraries tailored to your preference and discover a network of globetrotters’ favourite spots to eat, stay and play. Add personal notes, track expenses, reservations, get smart travel tips and invite travel companions to co-edit your trips.

TripIt

The Marie Kondo of travel planning: TripIt takes everything in your inbox, including your upcoming hotel reservations and flight bookings, and automatically organises your entire trip on the app. Just sync your email and voilà – it’s all sorted. You can also forward bookings manually or enter details yourself, invite travel companions to view and edit plans, or share your itinerary with family so they always know where you are. 

Foreca

Nothing derails a great holiday like bad weather. This weather app is ideal for planning activities ahead of your trip – especially if you’re travelling to multiple cities. The app delivers real-time and long-range forecasts, complete with visual breakdowns of humidity, wind, rain, and even sunrise and sunset times. It’s perfect for planning hikes, beach days, or capturing a memorable golden hour shot, helping you stay one step ahead.

Navigation apps

Waze

If you’re driving through unfamiliar cities and want to avoid traffic jams and speed traps, or navigate busy intersections, Waze is your road trip sidekick. The app is powered by real-time, user-generated updates from fellow drivers and offers dynamic rerouting that outperforms Google Maps by a mile. It’s completely free, although fair warning – it can drain your battery quickly and is more helpful for driving than it is for navigating on foot or on public transport. 

Citymapper 

For urban explorers who prefer to explore the city like a local – whether on foot, by car or by public transport – Citymapper will be your guide, offering real-time departure information, accurate walking times and even bike routes. Although coverage is limited in smaller cities, it’s especially handy navigating major cities across Asia, Europe and the United States. The free version is more than enough to get you through your trip, with added features like offline maps and voice-guided navigation, available on subscription. 

All Trails

If your idea of travel involves clocking those kilometres on a mix of rugged trails, then let All Trails lead the way. Discover a diversity of hiking, biking and nature trails, complete with detailed maps, elevation profiles and reviews from fellow adventurers. The free version gives you access to basic trail information, and if you want extra features like offline maps, wrong-turn alerts and fancy 3D flyovers, you can access them by upgrading to AllTrails Pro. 

Translation apps

Google Translate

In case you didn’t smash your Duolingo streak before your trip, Google Translate is your go-to app for communicating. Whether you’re ordering food, asking for directions or decoding a street sign, the app has you covered with more than 100 languages and supports text, voice, photo and even handwriting translation. While some translations might get a little quirky, it’s still great for navigating language barriers online and offline – a lifesaver when you don’t have an internet connection. The best part: it’s completely free. 

Budgeting apps

XE Currency

XE Currency is the app you didn’t know you needed – until you’re standing in a market wondering if you’re being overcharged for a trinket. Ditch the frantic Google searches or calculator apps and level up your haggling game with real-time exchange rates, charts that illustrate trends of past exchange rates and offline access to saved rates. The free version is solid, but it comes with ads. For a smoother experience and extra features like rate alerts, XE Pro is available for a small fee.

eSim apps

Airalo

Simply put, eSims are digital sim cards that connect you to local network carriers in the countries you’re visiting – so you can skip data roaming fees and shaky public Wi-Fi. Airalo allows you to purchase eSIMs for over 200 countries and juggle multiple profiles as you hop between destinations. It’s a game-changer: free to download, easy to set up and packed with flexible data plans to suit your travel style. Just make sure your device supports eSIMs before diving in.

Photo editing apps

Pixelcut

You nailed the pose and framed the perfect landscape, but a throng of tourists have crashed your travel photo. Enter Pixelcut , an AI-powered photo editing app. Remove people, erase flaws, add elements to your backdrop, edit in batches and touch up your shots with smart tools that make your feed look flawless. No more photobombers – just beautiful images as you intended them.