The Essential Toolkit for Full-Time Travel
After years of squeezing adventures into annual vacations, we've finally taken the leap to full-time travel. Without a fixed home base, the right digital tools have become even more crucial. This isn't a roundup of every app out there—it's our personal, curated collection of tools that solve real problems on the road. From planning complex routes and tracking our budget to finding a locker for our backpacks or storing booking confirmations in Google Drive, these are the apps we rely on most. A few are daily habits, others are situational lifesavers, but all of them help us keep moving without losing our minds.
Planning & Itinerary
Turning ideas into actual trips. We're planners by nature (and sometimes by necessity). These are the apps that keep us sane when juggling flights, trains, and last-minute changes.
TripIt
Creates a master itinerary by automatically organizing your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, and rentals into a single, shareable timeline.
Google Drive
We use this as a secure, cloud-based archive for all our travel confirmation PDFs—accommodations, flights, train bookings, excursions, and rental cars. While TripIt auto-builds our itinerary from email, having all the original documents organized in one place is invaluable for quick reference.
Google Travel
A fantastic free option that automatically creates a trip dashboard from your Gmail. We use it less for planning and more for its "Explore" feature to get inspiration and save interesting spots to a map.
Google Calendar
This is the most important tool for our family. Our TripIt itineraries automatically sync here, creating a shared calendar that lets our children see our flight times, accommodations, and plans in real-time, so they always know where we are in the world.
Hopper
We use this to watch flight prices. Its color-coded prediction calendar (green for book, red for wait) gives us a data-driven gut check before we buy.
Rome2Rio
Our go-to for getting from point A to point B. Type in any two places, and it shows all your options—trains, buses, ferries, flights, even rideshares—with travel times and cost estimates.
Wanderlog
We haven’t used this ourselves, but it’s known for collaborative trip planning. It helps build a visual day-by-day itinerary with friends and includes a handy feature for tracking price trends on activities.
Wanderu
It's a great option for comparing and booking bus and train travel across North America and Europe, with schedules and prices from hundreds of carriers.
Skyscanner
A solid option for flexible searches. The "Everywhere" destination is perfect when you're open to going anywhere and just want the cheapest flight out of town, and the multi-city feature is great for planning longer, more complex routes.
Monday.com
A flexible planning board that's great for organizing longer trips—especially with others. You can map out routes, assign tasks, and keep everything in one place without losing track.
Budgeting & Money
Keeping costs in check. Full-time travel can add up fast if you're not paying attention. These apps keep our spending honest—and stop surprise bank fees from sneaking in.
TravelSpend
This is our daily habit. We log every coffee and bus ticket here. It lets us track spending by trip and category, and its charts quickly show us if our "dining out" budget is vanishing too fast.
XE Currency
Our absolute go-to for exchange rates. It works offline, which is crucial for haggling in a market or double-checking a credit card charge when you have no data.
Wise
We got this for its super transparent fees on international transfers and its multi-currency account. It's a great way to hold and convert different currencies without getting killed by bad rates.
Revolut
We also have this as a backup for its strong exchange rates and fee-free international ATM withdrawals. It's good to have options.
Splitwise
Since we share finances, we don't use this much as a couple, but it's a must-have app for anyone traveling with friends. It painlessly tracks who paid for what and makes settling up at the end of a trip a five-minute task instead of a friendship-ending accounting crisis.
Booking & Accommodation
Finding our home-away-from-home. From quick overnights to longer stays where we settle into a neighborhood, here's where we usually start looking.
Booking.com
Our reliable first look for hotels and apartments, especially because of the flexible cancellation policies on many properties.
Airbnb
Best for when we want to settle into a neighborhood for a few weeks, months or find a unique stay. The long-term stay discounts can be significant.
Hostelworld
One of the best databases for hostels, with reviews that are genuinely reliable. Great for finding budget-friendly stays with plenty of options around the world.
TrustedHousesitters
A game-changer for longer-term travel. We're exploring this as a way to stay longer in one place while cutting costs and caring for pets —seems like a smart way to live like a local.
Connectivity & Communication
Staying online and in touch. If we've learned anything, it's that travel is a lot smoother when you can text your Airbnb host or translate a menu on the spot.
Airalo
A super handy tool for staying connected abroad. With an eSIM, you can buy affordable data packages for new countries and get online the moment you land—no need to search for a local SIM card vendor. Definitely useful.
GigSky
A major eSIM provider that is particularly useful for cruises, offering data plans that work on cruise ships and in a wide range of port countries. A great option to compare with Airalo for coverage and pricing on specific routes.
Our go-to for coordinating with vendors and excursion hosts. It’s widely used across Europe, and free texting and calls over WiFi make communication smooth and reliable while traveling.
Google Translate
We use the camera feature almost daily to translate menus, signs, and labels instantly. The conversation mode is also great for simple, real-time chats.
NordVPN
Critical for security on public WiFi networks in cafes and hostels. We also use it to access streaming services & banking apps from back home.
Travel Tools & Extras
The "little things" that make life easier. These aren't everyday apps, but when you need them, they're magic.
Bounce
An app we've started using to find secure, affordable luggage storage all over the world. It's perfect for when you have a late flight but need to check out of your accommodation in the morning.
Flighty
For av geeks and anxious travelers alike. This app gives hyper-real-time flight tracking and will notify you of delays before the airline does. We find it's worth it for peace of mind on complex travel days.
LoungeBuddy
Helps us find airport lounges we can access, either through our credit card or by purchasing a one-time pass. A quiet place to work and free snacks between flights is a luxury we're learning to find.
AccuWeather
Our go-to global weather app. Its RealFeel® feature is spot-on for helping us decide what to wear, and its international coverage makes it reliable no matter where we are traveling.
Viator
We use Viator to browse and book skip-the-line tickets, walking tours, and unique day trips. Their catalog is huge, and the free cancellation policies give us flexibility while traveling.
GetYourGuide
We cross-check tours on GetYourGuide for prices and unique experiences. It’s especially useful for finding interesting activities with reliable reviews and instant booking options.
Donkey Republic
We've seen these bright orange bikes all over European cities! It's a bike-sharing app that lets you easily unlock bikes with your phone for short trips. It's great for a quick, cheap way to explore a city like a local.