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At a glance
If your trip planning modus operandi is a messy braid of browser tabs, confirmation emails, screenshots, and group chats – or like us, a haphazard Google sheet of dates, costs, links and notes – it's time to level up your travel game.
There's now a smorgasbord of travel apps that make any trip, from the long weekend getaway to the great Australian road trip to the big overseas holiday, a much smoother experience, by helping you to keep the moving parts in one place, reduce admin, and stop the trip feeling like a second job.
Below is a practical guide to travel planning apps that genuinely deserve a spot on your home screen for next time you plan a trip.
TripIt is the app you need so you don't ask your significant other “where is my booking confirmation?” one more time.
It allows you to forward (or link) your travel emails to the app, then it automatically builds a master itinerary, stitching flights, accommodation, hire cars and activities into one clean timeline. It also lets you upload PDFs and boarding passes, which is handy when an airline app is having a tantrum or reception is patchy.
For multi-leg travel, it’s especially useful. Instead of hunting through multiple apps, you’ve got a single, scrollable plan you can show at a check-in desk or pull up at the gate. TripIt can also surface nearby basics like restaurants and parking, though it’s not always better than your own local search.
The free version is enough for most travellers. The paid tier adds extras like flight status alerts, reward point expiry reminders, and airport navigation. This last one might be helpful for frequent flyers or older travellers, but many airlines already push flight updates, so the value depends on how you travel.
If your trip is Australia-based and you’re planning to cover ground by car, the My NRMA app is a must have, showing the cheapest fuel in your area, plus discounted dinind and attractions. The NRMA Trip Planner is also worth a look as a starting point. It’s designed to take the guesswork out of building a route, pulling together the practical building blocks, itinerary structure, accommodation options, attractions and places to eat, rather than leaving you to juggle a dozen tabs.
The big advantage is that it nudges you beyond the obvious “A to B” approach. Instead of only plotting the fastest line down a highway, it can help you uncover stops and detours you might not otherwise consider, which is exactly what turns a long drive into an actual holiday.
It’s also useful for early-stage planning when you’re trying to lock in a realistic shape for the trip, roughly how far you’ll drive each day, and what you’ll do along the way.
Wanderlog is built for planners who like to collect ideas first, then turn them into something that works in the real world.
It blends itinerary building with review-led planning and collaborative features, so it’s a strong option for couples, families and group trips. You can map out days, reorder stops, and keep everything in one plan, rather than spreading it across a notes app, multiple chats and a dozen saved posts.
Where Wanderlog really shines is trip logistics. The pro version can optimise routes and help you cut dead time in transit, plus it offers offline maps for when roaming is expensive or reception is unreliable. It also includes a packing checklist, which sounds basic until you’re packing for multiple climates or moving often.
If you’re travelling with others, the shared expense tools are genuinely handy. You can split bills, track spending and settle up without the post-holiday spreadsheet. Wanderlog is premium-only with a seven-day trial, so it’s worth testing for a short trip first to see if it fits your planning style.
Ever started discussing travel plans only to have your socials feed suddenly turn into a travel log? Tint is Apple only, but offers a cool solution for the modern travel problem of discovering great places in a social feed, then losing them to the scroll.
It lets you save favourites from social media and turn them into an actual plan you can use on the ground. Copy a link from your feed into Tint and it appears on a map, complete with ratings and directions, and a pathway back to Google Maps for navigation.
It’s not trying to be a full itinerary manager. Instead, it sits earlier in the planning process, capturing inspiration before it disappears. If you’re building a trip around cafés, lookouts, walks and “I saw this place and want to go” moments, Tint makes that far easier than managing a camera roll full of screenshots.
Wander is another similar app that is on both Apple and Google Play.
These are just some examples of the many bill-splitting apps out there. Group trips can be brilliant, right up until someone starts doing mental maths at a bar or after a hop, skip, and jump across a country and the mood shifts.
Shared expense apps exist to stop that happening. Splitwise, Tricount, Splid and Settle Up all do the same core job: track who paid for what, divide costs fairly, and settle at the end without turning the holiday into a ledger dispute.
TravelSpend is a simple but effective travel budget tracker, best for travellers who like to know where the money is going while they’re still travelling, not weeks later when the statement arrives. You log expenses as you go, categorise them, and see a running total so you can gauge whether you’re sticking to the plan or quietly blowing it in small increments.
It’s particularly useful on longer trips, where little purchases pile up: public transport, snacks, coffees, entry fees, and the endless “just one more” items that don’t feel like much until they add up. It also includes currency conversion, which is a practical win when you’re crossing borders or constantly translating prices in your head and getting it slightly wrong.
You can add a friend and split bills too, making it a neat option for couples or two-person trips. It won’t replace a dedicated group-splitting app for complex travel, but it’s a tidy way to stay aligned. Its biggest value is awareness, it helps you adjust early, rather than panicking late.
Jet lag is one of those travel problems you can’t fully avoid, but you can reduce the damage if you approach it strategically. A personal favourite, Timeshifter uses science-backed guidance to help adjust your circadian rhythm before and after travel, especially on long-haul flights where you want to function quickly on arrival.
Instead of generic advice, Timeshifter gives you a schedule: when to seek daylight, when to avoid it, when to sleep, and when caffeine helps or hurts. The standout feature is pre-adjustment, starting before departure, which can make a meaningful difference if you’re crossing multiple time zones and have a short trip where every day matters.
It does require commitment. Sometimes the plan tells you to avoid daylight when you’d rather be exploring, or to delay coffee when your body is begging for it. But if you’re travelling for work, heading straight into meetings, or you simply hate losing the first three days to fog, it’s worth considering.
Tripadvisor is still a reliable planning layer, mainly because of its sheer breadth. If you’re trying to answer “what do we do here?” or “is this place actually worth it?”, you’ll usually find a stack of reviews, photos and practical details. It’s useful for narrowing options quickly, especially in unfamiliar cities where everything looks good in promotional photos.
The forums are an underrated feature. They can be genuinely helpful for destination-specific questions that don’t have clean answers, like seasonal closures, local transport quirks, and whether a day trip is realistic without rushing. When lots of travellers mention the same issue, it’s usually worth taking seriously.
The trick is to use it thoughtfully. Reviews skew emotional and travellers have wildly different tolerances for crowds, noise, walking and value. Filter for recent posts, look for detailed reviewers, and cross-check important claims elsewhere. Used well, Tripadvisor can save you time and disappointment.
Google Maps remains one of the best travel planning tools because it works at every stage: dreaming, planning and navigating. The most useful feature for planners is Lists. You can save restaurants, attractions, lookouts and shops into themed lists, then actually see what’s near what. Planning by geography, rather than ambition, is how you build days that feel enjoyable rather than rushed.
In unfamiliar places, Maps is also a quick reality check. Reviews and photos can help you dodge disappointing meals, while opening hours often prove more accurate than venue websites. Navigation is where it earns daily use, whether you’re walking in an unfamiliar neighbourhood, using public transport, or trying to find the correct car park entrance without a minor meltdown.
Before you leave, download offline maps for key areas and save essentials like accommodation, stations and medical centres. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the app you’ll perhaps lean on most.
