Have you ever taken a trip and on the way back you thought "I definitely should have organized myself better"? That’s right, pre-trip organisation not only avoids a lot of headaches, it helps us to have more time to enjoy the walks and tours calmly, and it also helps to save money - and a lot of money, trust me! We don’t want unforeseen events happening, therefore, ideally, you should prepare yourself before you even board. In this article you will find out 10 essential apps to save money and time on your next eurotrip. Here we go!
You’re free!
1 - Kiwi
The first one, mainly used to book flights, but also takes care of all your basic travel reservations: flight, hotel, car rental, even activities and tours. You have multiple options of departures and arrivals for the same search, which allows you to add several cities or airports. Just select and filter by price, and the app makes you a compilation of transports (plane, train or bus) until you reach your final destination. A tip that only few people know is: through the website you can use searching filters that are not yet available in the mobile app, which can help you even more during your itinerary creation.
2 - GoEuro
A very well known platform among travellers, which brings together in a single research several possibilities of schedules and paths with cheaper bus, train and plane tickets to any city in Europe. You can do your searches through website or application and really find more affordable options for your budget.
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3 - Visit A City
You don’t know which country or city to choose? Visit A City might be the best application for you. It’s great for planning your trip itinerary, before or when you’re already at your destination! This app gives you a complete itinerary, based on the number of days you plan to stay on site. It shows you sightseeing spots, historical places to see, tips and prices. It’s great for both choosing a place in Europe to travel and finding activities to put on the itinerary. It’s fair to warn you that the tours the app recommends are not always the cheapest (friend tip!).
4 - BlaBlaCar
BlaBlaCar is a carpooling platform that offers short and long distance rides. It works all over Europe and is proper for travellers who want to save money. Often the service can be more accessible than other transportation applications, such as Uber or even bus and train. Drivers and passengers should confirm their phone, link their social media profiles, and send documents - which promises to give users more safety. In the end of each journey, driver and passenger give each other a public feedback from 0 to 5 stars. You might end up meeting new people, since there may be more travelers in the same car. If you don’t find the perfect ride, you can also create an alert and as soon as there is a route that fits with yours, you get a notification.
Blablacar is all over the world!
5 - Google Maps
You shouldn’t travel without this one, because it offers a bit of everything and it’s amazing for not only your trips but also for your day-to-day. Known worldwide, this tool has some great features, like building routes for cars, public transportation, on foot and bike. It shows you nearby markets, ATMs, gas stations, hospitals, pharmacies and much more. There are functions not so well known, such as saving favorite places, share your location with friends in real time and customize and save a map to use offline - save on mobile data!
6 - Maps.Me
Great for those who are traveling without an international data plan, Maps.me is an app that provides offline maps. It is a free and very detailed application. Besides destinations, you can also search for different categories such as restaurants, tourist attractions, public transportation, etc. To use it offline during your trip, just download the map of the city or region of destination via WiFi. Honestly? Some people prefer Maps.Me, others Google Maps. I had my time for each one of them, so it’s all about your taste. Try them!
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7 - Just Eat
Takeaways will never be the same again. This is an online food delivery service, similar to Uber Eats (the same concept). You can find it in more than ten countries in Europe. It takes the menus of every takeaway it can convince, puts them online and lets you click to order what you want. Purchase is simple and delivery is fast. Sometimes you can find discounts in the app that they won’t offer outside it, so it’s always cool to look it up even if the restaurant is close by.
8 - Money Manager
This application is fundamental for those who need to control expenses during a trip. Money Manager gives you an overview of spending and which categories you’ve consumed the most, as well as showing separate graphs by day, week and month.
Save to travel!
9 - Google Translate
Yes, him! What many people don’t know about one of the greatest apps of all times, besides translating words, phrases and written texts, it also translates by means of image (you can take the picture on the spot or search your library), handwritten, real time conversation or just the voice. If you have internet connection, you don’t even to take the picture - the app opens up your camera, and translate the words you’re pointing in real time!
10 - Hostelworld
One of the best platforms to find a great hostel with free cancellation within seven days. Without having to open several guides, you can compare prices and other information, such as distance from the city center, advantages, cleaning, among others. Also, it indicates reviews and comments by date. You can find all of our hostels in the app, or book straight through this website (discounts!) This is the list of Oasis Hostels in Portugal and Spain:
Stay with us! Oasis Hostels are waiting for you
BÔNUS - Uber & Cabify
Uber, already well known in most countries, is a transportation company that allows the user to search for drivers close to their location. But know that, this is not the only company that work on this concept. For example, if you’re in Portugal or Spain, we suggest you check the rates in the Cabify app as well. Spoiler: Cabify is very often cheaper than Uber!
Download Cabify: Android & IOS
Sweet!
It’s awesome to have a schedule, but remember, enjoying your trip is also about the unexpected come to you, and in case some event won’t match your itinerary, maybe that’s ok. Who knows what is going to happen? Who you are going to meet? The experiences that you might live, that would never happen if you had strictly followed your schedule? Yes, you know what I’m talking about. We all miss travelling, and hopefully we will all have been through this pandemic soon, healthy and motivated back to our activities. If you want to know more about how to save money while traveling, read this article too!
Take care, wash your hands!