If you love to travel, you know how chaotic planning and taking a trip can be. That’s where a great travel app can help you get organized. From booking reservations to organizing them, from packing to planning, from eating to paying to communicating to getting around, we researched to find the best travel apps to help you plan your next adventure.

Best for Travel Planning: Kayak

Award-winning travel app Kayak allows you to search for flights, hotels, and car rentals. The clean interface gives you a full list of possible options, including reduced hacker fares, where you book outgoing and returning flights with two separate airlines. Set filters to find exactly what you want quickly and easily.

  • Researching prices is fast and easy.

  • Finds independent hotels and short term rentals you may not see otherwise.

  • Book almost any travel method.

  • App is user-friendly.

  • Can’t take advantage of loyalty programs you may belong to.

Not sure if now’s the right time to pull the trigger? The app answers that question with an indicator when it looks like prices are going to go up.

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Best for Packing Help: PackPoint

A delight for anyone who hates packing, PackPoint tells you exactly what to bring. First, enter where you’re going, when, and for how long. Choose business or leisure, then select the types of activities you’ll be doing. The app develops a list based on the information you provided, plus the expected weather. Check items off as you pack, or swipe to remove ones you don’t need.

  • Configure trip lists according to your specific plans.

  • Simple, easy-to-navigate interface.

  • Hide irrelevant items and add new items to your list.

  • Must upgrade to Premium to create custom packing lists.

The paid-for premium version ($2.99) removes ads, gives you custom activities and packing templates, and integrates TripIt and Evernote.

Best for Last-Minute Hotel Deals: HotelTonight

If you’re a seat-of-your-pants type traveler or one who likes to have a backup plan in case your reservations don’t work out, try HotelTonight. Tell the app where you want to stay and watch the deals appear on your screen. Tap one to get additional details. A few more taps to pay, and you have a room for the night.

  • Book last-minute rooms at great prices.

  • Browse photos and ratings to get a feel for the hotel.

  • Can’t select your room type.

  • Prices don’t include taxes and fees.

You can make reservations further in advance, but the longer you wait, the better the deals are.

Best for Navigating: Citymapper

Navigating a new city can be maddening if you don’t know how to use the local transportation systems. With Citymapper, you’ll get around like a local in no time, exploring and enjoying your new surroundings.

  • Find out which method is fastest (for example, train vs. Lyft).

  • Know the cost of your chosen route ahead of time.

  • See preferred routes to avoid the rain.

  • Not all transportation services offer updates through Citymapper.

  • Not all cities are in the app’s coverage area.

Pick your city, then choose a location or your preferred mode of transportation. Citymapper gives you complete, clear instructions on how to reach your destination hassle-free whether you’re walking, taking an Uber, traveling by train, and more.

Be sure to switch to the right city before downloading the app.

Best for Travel Tips: Foursquare City Guide

This app makes it easy to find somewhere to eat or a fun activity to do. Enter the area you want to search, along with what you’re looking for, such as breakfast, nightlife, or things to do. Use the flexible filters (including distance, price, open now, places you’ve been) to narrow down your search. Tap your selection to see additional details, including ratings and photos. If you end up liking the location, add it to a custom list.

  • Find great places to eat and drink.

  • Tips and advice from members of a global community.

  • Keep a history of the places you’ve been.

  • Use of GPS can deplete your battery.

Best for Finding Your Way Around: Google Maps

Google Maps is great for finding your way around in your city or anywhere in the world. Get the best route with automatic rerouting based on live traffic updates and road closures. Find information about businesses, such as if a restaurant is open. If you’re somewhere with spotty internet, download a map of an area in advance and use it to navigate.

  • Maps for over 220 countries and territories.

  • Information on hundreds of millions of businesses.

  • Real-time updates help you beat traffic.

  • Search and navigate with offline maps.

  • Some features aren’t available in all countries.

Best Currency Converter: XE Currency

This currency converter and money-transfer tool allows you to determine exchange rates quickly and easily. Type an amount in one denomination and see the results in as many other denominations as you want. To add another currency, tap the editing icon and search for the one that corresponds to the place you’ll be visiting.

  • Reliable exchange rates and charts.

  • Monitor up to 10 currencies.

  • Access live rates for every world currency and precious metal, including Bitcoin.

  • Perform global money transfers.

  • Need the Pro version if you want to monitor more than 10 currencies.

Use the charts function to see how the rates between currencies fluctuate throughout the day. With the app’s global transfer function, you can send and receive money all over the world.

Best Tour Guide: Guides by Lonely Planet

These curated city guides are like having a tour guide in your pocket. Download the city you’re visiting and swipe through the options (See, Eat, Sleep, Shop, Drink, and Play) to get expert ideas. Look at results that are recommended or nearby and filter by price and activity subtype. Tap any activity or location to see a detailed description. Save your favorites for later reference, or share with your travel companions.

  • Available for more than 8,000 cities across the world.

  • Use offline maps if you’re in an area with spotty internet.

  • Filtering options help you find the perfect activity.

  • Must pay a subscription fee to get unlimited access to all content and tools.

Best Food Finder: Zomato

Perfect for traveling foodies, this app has it all, including recommendations for a nice lunch out, trending restaurants, nightlife picks, delivery services, and where to get food to go. Looking for something specific? Search for a dish or ingredient. When you find something that looks yummy, tap it for a map, menu, reviews, and photos. When you’re finished, bookmark, share, and review your experience.

  • Search by restaurant, cuisine, or dish.

  • Browse restaurant menus, photos, user ratings, and reviews.

  • Book a table through the app.

  • Find restaurants around you in Map View.

  • The service is not available in some areas.

Best Language Translator: iTranslate

Gone are the days of fumbling with a paper dictionary as you try to assemble sentences in a language you don’t know. Use this app to type or speak your sentence, and get the translation in your chosen language. A handy expand feature lets you display the result on your full screen to show to locals you’re trying to communicate with. The iTranslate Phrasebook is a handy way of looking up and learning common expressions and questions.

  • Translations are available in more than 100 languages.

  • Phrasebook has more than 250 predefined phrases.

  • Switch between dialects and voices.

  • Must subscribe to the Pro version to unlock some of the most useful features, such as offline translation mode.

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