Every busy traveller needs an arsenal of good apps. I have navigated around many cities and potentially avoided tons of uncomfortable situations with these digital pals. After years of trial and error, these apps have proven to be some of the best apps to help you travel on a budget like a volunteer and they’re all free to get today!
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To save you time...
Couchsurfing is one of the best apps for *FREE accommodation for budget travel trips, staying with locals and meeting other travellers
As the name suggests, you can stay on a Couchsurfing host’s couch for FREE. *Now, you might be wondering, ‘what’s the catch’? The catch is that up until recently, searching for and booking a stay on the Couchsurfing platform was 100% free. When I went on my roadtrip from Vancouver, BC to Tampa, FL we paid nothing from start to finish. However, in 2020 Couchsurfing started asking users to make a contribution of $2.39/month or $14.29/year in the United States, for example. Visit their website for the most up-to-date membership fees for your region.
Now the name Couchsurfing doesn’t have to be taken too literally. Some hosts also offer a private room, a bed, air mattress, a futon – you get the idea. Free accom with a local means more money in your pocket and you establish local contacts. Depending on your host’s personality and availability, you may even have the opportunity to ask questions, gain some insight on the area or have the most incredible night out at a metal bar in Oslo – as my best friend and I experienced!
Before you couchsurf, be sure to familiarise yourself with the Safety section on their homepage. I’ve never experienced anything uncomfortable but it’s good to be aware of the safety protocol.
+ My favourite feature: Couchsurfing is budget-friendly as you are only paying a membership fee but you are not paying for each individual stay. Also, Couchsurfing is an easy and guaranteed way of meeting new people in the local area.
Join Couchsurfing and get the app!
Skyscanner will find you some of the best deals on flights, trains, car hire and hotels
Volunteering (and travelling!) with Camphill allows for a variety of apps to be shared amongst international volunteers. Most of us are travelling on a budget and eager to learn or share money-saving ideas and apps.
One such app was Skyscanner’s. The volunteer who shared it with me had travelled through the US, Europe and parts of Asia and she only used Skyscanner to search for her flights. I tried it myself and I was sold.
Skyscanner is a global travel search engine turn online travel agency in recent years. With their search engines, you can compare prices from thousands of international providers in order to find impressively cheap prices for flights, hotels, trains and car hire. Once you’ve found the price that suits your budget, you proceed to book with the company listing the offer.
Need more info on how to book a cheap flight? Here’s a quick guide with the best tips on how to use Skyscanner Flights.
From the time I first learned of Skyscanner flights to now, I have developed my own research and booking strategy using Skyscanner to find some of the cheapest flights your eager eyes have ever seen.
Try it here for yourself! If you’re stuck on an idea for a destination, type Everywhere in the “To” box and watch Skyscanner work.
+ My favourite feature: The cheap flights keep me coming back!
Get the Skyscanner app here!
Wise, formerly TransferWise, is your one-stop financial shop for transferring money, managing multi-currency accounts and arguably the most efficient Debit card for travel
For starters, I love Wise. I wish it was around in 2013 when I moved to Ireland. The story:
Not interested? Feel free to skip!
I was foolish (still kinda am) and every month I transferred money from my Irish bank account to an American bank account where I still make monthly payments on two credit cards.
Basically, the Irish bank charged a fee to send the money and the American bank charged a fee to receive it. Fine, maybe for the average individual with a 9-5 but for a volunteer on a budget, not so great. I was losing more money than I needed to but it seemed like my only option.
After months of pure nonsense, a Facebook ad found me. The ad claimed I could transfer money online without extortionate bank transfer fees and it would be fast and easy. Sounds too good to be true right?!
I did a bit of investigating and once I was sure it wasn’t a scam, I signed up. Now I’ve been using Wise since 2016!
Since then, Wise has grown in leaps and bounds and has added a borderless currency account or multi-currency account where you can hold and convert 40+ currencies. If you can, imagine one bank account which is capable of holding your dollars (USD), euros (EUR) AND pounds (GBP), for example, and allows you to switch between currencies in seconds.
It’s like having local bank accounts all around the world. Pretty cool and less paperwork. Wise also released a debit Mastercard® which allows you to spend the currencies in your account with zero transaction fees. My partner got the bright green Wise debit Mastercard® before me and I’m still very jealous!!
Multiple currency accounts, Euro account, USD account…If this all feel very overwhelming, no worries it took me a wee while to take it all in. I encourage you to visit their website. I think you’ll find it quite helpful in explaining how Wise works.
I’ve told most of my international family and friends about Wise by now. I’m proud to say the 7th November, 2016 was the anniversary of my first transfer without multiple bank fees. Awh.
+ My favourite feature: Wise is transparent. When I transfer money, there are no hidden fees. What you see is what you get 💯
Get the Wise app here and start saving!
TripIt saves you time on budget travel trips by creating an itinerary for you while you sleep!
This app allows you to easily consolidate your travel plans into one effortless itinerary. It also keeps track of your travel stats like how many kilometres you’ve travelled, countries you’ve visited along the way, etc.
+ My favourite feature: The free auto-import feature. I use one e-mail address for travel bookings and this auto-import feature pulls the necessary details out of an email and starts an itinerary for me. If for some reason it didn’t quite catch a travel plan, I simply forward the email with the booking to plans@tripit.com or manually enter the plan to my customised itinerary. Easy!
Get the TripIt app here!
Intuit Mint Money Management was my go-to for years to stay on top of my finances while I travelled. Now, some of its features have been absorbed but it’s been reimagined by Credit Karma.
Managing my finances is an ever developing skill and sometimes it takes an army. Thankfully, I’ve got the Credit Karma app to keep me on track.
The app shows you a snapshot of the most recent transactions on all your linked bank accounts, gets an idea of your overall spending habits from your purchases and gives you advice accordingly. You can definitely be as involved as you wish to be and even set budgets for yourself in multiple categories.
+ My favourite feature(s): I get an accurate snapshot of my spending and can adjust my budget accordingly.
Get the Credit Karma app here!
There are loads of good apps out there for travellers! Once you have a general idea of the nature of your next trip, it’ll become clearer which of these apps will be the most useful.
If you have an app that you love using for your travels, feel free to share below! I’m partial to a good app.
I’d love to hear your travel tips!
B the Travelling MS
