Travel apps can be a lifesaver when you’re looking to save a bit of money on that upcoming trip. Nowadays, traveling with a phone is a must and from Google maps to Yelp, we use apps on a daily basis when traveling. The following 8 money-saving travel apps are a few of our favorites because they provide easy ways to save money on travel expenses. As a bonus, all 8 apps are free!
8 Money-Saving Travel Apps
Gas Buddy
Gas Buddy is simple and efficient. Provide the app with your location, and it will search nearby stations to let you know where you can find the cheapest gas. You’ll never again spend more at the station you can see from the street, only to go a bit further along and realize that you could have saved five cents. We use this app on all of our road trips.
Hotel Tonight
If you’re one for spontaneous adventures and saving money, then Hotel Tonight offers the perfect solution by loading up last-minute deals of hotel rooms that are still available. Since they haven’t been booked yet, the prices are about as low as they get, and the Hotel Tonight app makes it easy to go ahead and snag one of the rooms for yourself.
Transit App
Public transportation is a well-known way to save money on getting around a new area, but wading through the schedules can be a chore, if not entirely confusing. Cue Transit App, which pulls departure times for all nearby transit lines in an easy-to-read format. It does, however, only work in certain regions, so check ahead of time whether or not it’ll be useful for you.
Compare Bookings
Compare Bookings is a powerful search engine that will return results from all of the various travel sites so that you can quickly find the best deal. They also offer a hotel search engine with some filters so that you can find exactly the kind of hotel you want.
Kayak
Kayak does it all: you have the power to search for hotels, flights, and cars, keep track of your trips, and even track your flights. Providing one location for so many useful features helps you save money on your trip and also serves as a great time-saver.
Groupon
Groupon searches for deals on restaurants, things to do, and hotels so that you don’t need to do any of the work yourself. Use the “nearby” search feature to find deals near you or the “getaways” search feature to find discounts for upcoming trips.
XE Currency
XE Currency makes calculating prices accessible by constantly tracking current exchange rates. If you’re traveling between countries with different currencies, it’s a must have!
Uber
If you want to get anywhere, Uber is there for you. As a company that provides drivers to take you from point A to point B, Uber is usually cheaper than cabs, and you don’t need to make a phone call! Just plug in your starting point and the desired destination and Uber will send a driver your way. Once you enter your credit card details into the app, everything is taken care of; you don’t need to worry about having cash and you don’t even need to have your physical credit card on hand.
Do you have any money-saving travel apps to add to this list?
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How is your experience with Uber outside of cities, especially when traveling?
I haven’t used it too much outside of cities. I have used it in rural Northern California and was surprised they had it!