Our Best Travel Apps
July 8, 2026
By Raistlin van Spronsen
In today’s ever changing world, the evolution of smart phones has taken over society. With these tiny computers (they can pretty much do anything a computer can do nowadays) in our pockets can be very beneficial. You may be wondering how it relates to traveling? Simple, there are a handful of apps that can make your travel experience so much better
Planning & Booking
Planning and booking your vacation can be a stressful, but also exciting process. These apps make the process even easier
Expedia – the go-to app for flights, accommodations, rental cars and so much more. You can even book your flights and accommodations right on the app
TripAdvisor – I usually use this app when looking at hotels, activities and tours. This app allows users to review attractions, hotels, restaurants and so much more. Some activities can be booked right on the app as well.
Airbnb/VRBO – this is the place to go for short-term rentals for any city around the world. From shared rooms to full condo/apartments this allows you to connect with homeowners who are looking to rent out their properties for travellers
Flights & Airlines
While you’re traveling there are a few apps I like to have handy for terminal maps, airlines and flight tracking
Airline Apps – When you are traveling make sure to download your specific airline’s mobile app. This will allow you to check in remotely, pay baggage fees, and have your boarding pass. Some apps also have terminal maps for specific airports (I have both Air Canada and WestJet on my phone as both airlines fly out of my nearest two airports)
AtAirports – This app is very beneficial for navigating major airports around the world as it will have offline terminal maps for your travel needs and for your reference upon arrival in your destination.
FlightRadar24 – If your an aviation enthusiast like myself, you will enjoy this app whether on your phone or the website. This platform allows you to track any flight anywhere in the world and find the current altitude, airspeed, destination and more. This is made possible by the ADS-B data broadcasted from the thousands of aircraft around the world to the radar systems (same systems the ATC controllers use).
It also lists current departures, arrivals and aircraft on the ground at any airport, or air force base worldwide. It really is a fun application to use along with LiveATC (live ATC communications for major airports around the world)
Getting Around
Once you arrive at your destination there are 4 main ways to get to your accommodations; transit, taxi, rideshare or a shuttle bus. These apps will help you in planning on these ways
Transit/Moovit/local transit apps – depending on the transit agency where you are visiting having the local or a compatible transit app will allow you to see when the local trains, buses and other methods of transportation. Google Maps/Apple Maps also provides this information (check with the local transit agency for information)
Transit Payment Apps – depending on the destination, you may be able to pay for public transit directly from your phone. This can come in handy especially in a different city you don’t need to find a transit station to purchase tickets or passes as some will allow you do it right on your phone
Uber/Lyft – these are similar to taxis, except you pay for the ride ahead of time and destination is known before you get in the car.
Taxi apps – while these are scarce, some cities have apps where you can book a taxi through your phone
Weather
The weather is always changing, so being in the know of the everchanging weather conditions is very crucial. There are a few apps I use for the weather
The Weather Network – this is hands down my favourite weather app and has all of the weather I need on it for which ever city I’m visiting. I quite enjoy the ‘follow me’ feature which allows users to see the weather in their exact location (tracking needs to be enabled for all the time for this to work) no matter whether they’ve entered that city or not as a city to follow in the list. It makes it easy to plan the day just by opening the weather. I even have a widget on my iPhone home screen so I can see the current temperature and conditions and and access the entire forecast with a singe tap on the widget
WeatherCAN – for travel within Canada, the WeatherCAN is directly from Environment Canada to bring the latest weather across the country
Music & Media Apps
Music, podcasts and other forms of media are crucial especially for long flights, bus rides and transportation. When I visit Vancouver I stay with my aunt, and it’s at least an hour journey from her home to downtown Vancouver, so having media is very helpful
Music Apps – Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, Spotify are among the common names. Personally I use Spotify and have done so for years. Which ever music app you subscribe to, be sure to download at least 3-5 playlists for offline listening (I have one country, one praise & worship and one with the hits from back in high school all downloaded on my phone)
TuneIn – local radio, music and sports. This app is a great asset to have as not only do you have radio stations of many different genres, but also access to local radio stations around the world. I use this to listen to my favorite Christian radio stations (K-Love from Tennessee and Praise 106.5 from Bellingham, along with Shine FM in Calgary)
News – for those news lovers who enjoy reading the news, there’s an app for that. In Canada I use the most known and most trusted source for all my news, CBC News. I’ve enjoyed CBC for many years and am an avid fan of The National dating back to when Peter Mansbridge was the Chief Correspondent. Having your local/national news network will help keep you informed of events happening around the world and in your community (I use our local news station CJDC TV News for local news)