7 Must-Have Apps in 2025 for Every Frequent Traveler

I can’t remember a world where I didn’t depend on my phone when traveling. While a big part of me wishes I could chuck my phone in the ocean and be more present when I travel, I recognize that I depend on certain apps to make my travel easier, more organized, and more streamlined.

Anyone who’s traveled knows about the most popular apps for travelers, such as Google (where you can buy flights, translate languages, or use maps to get around), WhatsApp (which helps you communicate with people and businesses worldwide), and Uber (for getting food or rides).

Specific apps are extremely useful, and not just those popular ones everyone knows about. These 7, in particular, are my go-to picks for organizing my travel plans, buying an eSIM, battling jet lag, and beyond.

1. TripIt for Travel Organization

TripIt (iOS, Android) organizes everything in a clear, streamlined view so I can access any of my travel plans whenever I need them. This app lets me view my entire trip — even offline — from beginning to end, including flights, car rentals, hotels, ferries, trains, and more.

But my favorite feature? I can sync the app with my email or forward my trip plans, and the app organizes them into new trips or ones already set up. It’s easy to view past trips to remember the name of that hotel I want to recommend or the car rental company I’d like to rent with again. I also share trips with family and friends who are traveling with me or want to follow along.

While the main version of TripIt is free, the premium version ($49 annually after a 30-day free trial) has many benefits, including seat, fare, and point trackers, check-in and passport renewal reminders, interactive airport maps and baggage claim info, trip disruption updates, and more.

2. Glo for Travel Workouts

One of the few positive things that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic was the rise in fitness apps, which made it possible to work out when quarantined at home or in a hotel room anywhere in the world. But I’d been a fan of doing workouts on the go for years, subscribing to my favorite fitness app, Glo (iOS, Android) for more than a decade. It started with that creaky feeling I’d have after long travel days when I needed a stretching or yoga session after a long flight, but then I found myself using Glo at home, too.

Glo grew even larger during the pandemic, adding cardio, Pilates, barré, and other workouts (even meditations, too) to its ranks. I use the app almost daily when traveling and at home when I don’t have time to get to a fitness class or the gym. I love saving and downloading my favorite videos, and there are even special workouts aimed at helping with recovery from long travel days.

Glo keeps me sane during work travel, limber and relaxed during leisure travel, and happy at home. It’s simple to display the app on a hotel room TV — my preschooler even does some of the shorter, easier videos with me sometimes.

I recommend my favorite teachers like Amy Rosoff Davis, Jeni del Pozo, Gustavo Padron, and Jo Murdock. Memberships start at $30 per month or $245 annually.

3. Timeshifter for Battling Jet Lag

I live in Spain, and with frequent travel between the U.S., Europe, and beyond, jet lag is the bane of my existence. I fight insomnia at night and exhaustion during the day, especially with time zone changes of 8 hours or more. Timeshifter (iOS, Android) makes the time zone transition just a little bit easier, using the scientifically backed concept of circadian rhythms to help me tackle my dreaded jet lag.

The app offers personalized recommendations on when to stay awake, avoid screens, get bright light, avoid caffeine, and more to help my body adjust better during international trips. I enter the details of my trip in the app, and my personal recommendations appear — I can even try to avoid the worst of jet lag by making certain adjustments before I travel.

The first plan with Timeshifter is free; each subsequent plan is $9.99. As a frequent crosser of time zones, I pay for the annual option ($24.99 per year), which gives you unlimited plans. The app also partners with travel brands like United, InterContinental, and others.

4. FlightAware for Tracking Flights

FlightAware (iOS, Android) offers real-time flight data and insights so I can figure out where my flight is and if it’s on time. I’ve seen delays on FlightAware even before the airline I’m flying has notified me of a delay. It’s even helpful when I’m not traveling but tracking flights of friends and family visiting me. I can customize alerts, check the weather at the airport, or check a flight by filters like the route, airline, city pair, aircraft, registration, flight number, city pair, and airport code.

This app is free, though you do have to sign up to use all its features.

5. Priority Pass for Finding Airport Lounges

My Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card gives me a complimentary Priority Pass membership (activation required), which allows me to visit over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. I love my Priority Pass access, especially because my home airport in Madrid (MAD) features several luxurious lounges in the program (the Sala VIPs). After logging in, I can download a digital membership card to show when entering lounges.

The free Priority Pass app (iOS, Android) is especially useful when outside of my home destination and airport, as it helps me find lounges that are part of the program in whatever airport I’m in. It also features policies, photos, amenities, opening hours, and the locations of each lounge so I can find them, compare and contrast amenities, and beyond when traveling.

6. Airalo for eSIMs (And Avoiding Roaming Charges)

I use Airalo eSIMs whenever I travel, so I can use my phone (data, text, and calls) without hefty fees. They’re easy to buy and install via the Airalo app, and they’re much more affordable than any roaming charges I’ve ever had.

The Airalo app (iOS, Android) sells eSIMs, so you don’t have to deal with tiny physical SIM cards and swap them out on the go. Airalo’s eSIMs are available in over 200 countries and regions worldwide. I once had an issue with mine not working in the Dominican Republic, and the app made it easy to consult with a customer service representative and quickly get things straightened out.

7. Tricount for Splitting Group Bills

Nothing is more annoying than figuring out who owes who what on a big group trip or family vacation. I’ll be honest: I don’t like math, and I sure don’t like doing it when I’m supposed to be relaxing beachside in a hammock or touring a new city. Using Tricount (iOS, Android) saves me hassle, time, and annoyance during group trips with its easy organization of group expenditures.

I create a group trip profile, enter in the cost, who paid, and who it was far, and the app keeps the expenses updated. This way, I don’t have to waste valuable vacation time splitting expenses. Each member of your trip can download the app and enter what they spend in your trip profile. At the end of the trip, it calculates everything and lets you know who should pay who and how much. You can even link your credit card or bank account and pay each other through the app.

Final Thoughts

Everyone travels differently, and one of my 2025 goals is to spend less time on my phone in general. But I can’t ignore the ease certain apps offer me when traveling.

Having specific travel apps makes my travel adventures easier and better. They help me adapt faster to my new time zone and give me the strength and flexibility I need to tour a city after a long flight. They also offer affordable roaming and keep all my travel data well-organized and accessible.