The few app types that help most on a trip to less-visited places, what each one does well, and where its limits are.

Offline maps

Mobile coverage is often patchy in mountains, national parks, islands and rural areas. Offline maps keep navigation working without a signal, but only if you download them before you lose Wi-Fi.

Maps.me

Maps.me describes itself as offline maps of the whole world, with offline maps, navigation and travel guides. It is designed to be used without a connection once a region is downloaded, which makes it a common choice for hiking areas and smaller towns.

Google Maps offline areas

Google Maps also lets you save an area to your mobile device or tablet and use it when you’re offline. According to Google’s own help page, it has several limits that matter for travelers:

• When you’re offline, transit, bicycling, or walking directions are unavailable. Offline navigation is for driving.
• If you’re offline when you drive, you can’t get traffic info or alternate routes.
• You must update the offline maps you’ve downloaded before they expire. The app tries to update them automatically on Wi-Fi when they are close to expiring.
• You can’t download offline maps in some countries or regions, because of contractual limits, language support, address formats or other reasons.
• On Android, maps go to internal storage by default, but you can also download them on an SD card.

Which to use

The main difference: Maps.me is built around offline use, while Google Maps adds offline areas to an app designed mainly for online use, and offers only driving directions once you lose signal. Before relying on either app for walking routes in a particular region, check that the region downloads and routes as expected.

One practical setup is to keep both: Google Maps for driving and for business details checked online before the trip, and a dedicated offline app for walking and hiking. Whatever you use, test it in airplane mode at home before you leave.

Route planners

Rome2Rio

Rome2Rio is a route search tool. It says it searches any city, town, landmark, attraction or address across the globe and lets you compare your options: plane, train, bus, car, ferry, bike share, driving and walking directions all in one search. Its stated aim is to help you compare the cheapest, quickest and most convenient travel options.

It is most useful early in planning, when you are working out whether a remote town is reachable by bus, ferry or train, and roughly how long the trip takes.

Confirm times with the operator

Route planners combine data from many sources, and small operators in rural areas may change timetables by season or without much notice. Before you rely on a connection:

• Find the operator’s own website, timetable or ticket office and check the current schedule.
• Check whether the service runs on your travel day (weekend, public holiday or off-season timetables often differ).
• Buy tickets from the operator or an authorized seller, and leave extra time for connections.

Translation

A translation app with offline languages is useful wherever English is less common. Google Translate lets you download languages so you can translate them without an internet connection.

Two practical points from Google’s help pages:

• Download before you go. Google advises: to avoid slow downloads or extra data usage charges, download languages only when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.
• Not every language is offered offline. If a language isn’t in the download list, the language can’t be downloaded.

It also helps to save a few key phrases (your accommodation address, allergies, “how much is this?”) as text or screenshots so you can show them without opening the app.

Money and payments

Apps cannot fix a missing ATM, so plan payments before you go. The U.S. FDIC advises travelers to ask your bank about any fees, such as an ATM or foreign transaction fees before traveling, and to only carry enough cash for local transit, tips, and other small expenses. When a card machine offers to charge you in your home currency, the FDIC suggests you choose the local currency and let your own bank do the exchange.

Your bank’s own app is often the most useful money app on a trip: you can check balances, see fees and contact the bank if a card is blocked.

A note on privacy and location permissions

Map, travel and photo apps often ask for your location. On Android, you can choose whether an app may use location all the time, only while using the app, ask every time, or not at all. You can also choose between approximate location, an area about 3 square kilometers, and precise location. iPhones offer similar controls in Settings.

A sensible default is “only while using the app” for maps and navigation, and approximate or no location for apps that don’t need your exact position. Review permissions after the trip and remove apps you no longer use.

App features, offline coverage and permissions change. Confirm current details with each app provider, and confirm timetables with the transport operator, before you travel.