In this day and age, if we need to know something, we turn to our smartphones. Whether that’s to find the nearest beer garden, hunt for an interesting walking route or find something to keep the children entertained. With so much information at our fingertips out there on the world wide web, sometimes it can be hard to separate the wheat from the chaff – that’s where apps come in.
We’ve picked out some of the best travel apps for your UK holiday. These top travel apps are beautifully designed, easy-to-use portals which will help you plan and make the most of your trip. Read on for our top holiday apps or click the button below to browse cottages for your next getaway.
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The holiday countdown app - Holiday Extras Countdown
This holiday countdown app performs the simple task of letting you know how long you’ve got left until your holiday begins, helping build up the excitement in anticipation of your break. Share the countdown with your friends on social media and personalise it with a choice of backgrounds or your own images.
One of the best things about this free app is that there are no annoying adverts. You can countdown to multiple trips or events, so if you’re lucky enough to have lots to look forward to, you can keep track of all your getaways with Holiday Extras Countdown.
The best packing app - Packpoint
This packing app is vital for making sure you have everything you need for your holiday. The app will tell you exactly what you need to take on holiday based on details about your trip, for example, the length of your holiday, the weather where you’re heading and the activities you’ll be taking part in. You’ll wonder how you ever packed so efficiently without Packpoint!
The best app for travel budgeting – TrabeePocket
TrabeePocket is a simple app to take care of your travel budgeting. Record your expenses prior to your trip in the ‘preparing’ tab, and then input anything you spend while you’re away. You can set yourself a monthly budget, and you won’t have to count the app itself as an expense, because it’s free!
There are extra features if you pay, but the free version of this travel budget app is perfect for tracking single-currency spending, great for a UK trip. You can even take pictures and link them to the expenses, so it becomes a bit like a spending diary, and nice to see the fun things your money has paid for.
The best travel tracking app – Polarsteps
We all love looking back at our holiday snaps, and now you can pop them onto a digital world map to create a growing, pictorial diary of your travels with the Polarsteps app. Add your thoughts, leave tips for others, and find adventures to add to your itinerary while you’re away.
It’s one of the best holiday apps for keeping track of those magical places you happen upon and want to remember for your next trip. You can even turn your trips into hardback travel books when you’re done, so you’ve got a physical reminder of your time away.
The best UK travel planning app – UK Bus Checker
There are lots of travel planning apps available to cater for all types of trips, but arguably the best planning app for bus travel across the UK is the UK Bus Checker. You can plan journeys from A to B, search for bus stops and check for the next bus, how busy it is, and where it’s heading.
Oh, and it’s not just buses! You can plan travel on trains, trams, the underground, ferries and more too! Download it for free now and make journey planning a breeze.
The best parking app – Appyparking
Take the stress out of parking in a new or busy place, with the help of Appyparking. Discover free and cheaper parking, find walking distances, check time restrictions, and get links to the various parking payment apps you might need.
We’re on board with anything that helps save time on parking so there’s more to spend on exploring and enjoying your holiday, so this free parking app is definitely worth its salt!
The best dog walks app – Dog Walks App
There are so many dog-walking apps out there, from options like Rover which will help you find dog walkers and boarding, to Tractive Dog Walk to track the routes you take with your pup. When you’re on holiday though, it’s really handy to have an app which helps you find enjoyable dog walks nearby. Dog Walks App does just this, with 500 walks at the touch of your fingertips.
The tried and tested routes have maps, instructions and tips on where to park and find refreshments etc. One of the cons is that, at the moment, it just covers walks in England, but we’re hoping the developers might expand the selection!
The best walking app – Go Jauntly
For those who love to explore under their own steam, Go Jauntly is a great little app! If you’re looking for walking apps with walking route suggestions (rather than mapping your walks like lots of the apps out there), this one’s for you.
You can discover new walks based on your location, join walking challenges, and use their unique feature, Nature Notes, to help you pause and notice the simple things in nature.
The best postcard app – Touchnote
Holidays are all about having fun, and what better way to share your adventures with your family than sending a good old-fashioned postcard? Touchnote is one of the best holiday apps for sharing your special memories. Use your own photos to send real, tangible postcards to the letterboxes of your loved ones.
What’s more, you can also send cards and gifts, so it’s handy all year round, not just on your holidays.
The best holiday entertainment apps for kids
With so many options out there, we found it hard to narrow down the best holiday entertainment apps for kids to just one! So here are a few great apps to keep those little ones entertained on long journeys – some are free, some require payment, and some have in-app purchases.
The World of Peppa Pig app is a great one for young Peppa fans, with games, videos and activities. Have hours of fun on the Hey Duggee apps with different themes, including outdoors, jigsaws, animals and colouring. The Create and Play app from Crayola is fun for creative kids, with colouring and educational games. And it goes without saying really, but a video app is a good one to have in your arsenal! BBC iPlayer Kids and Netflix are both good options (a subscription is required for the latter).
The best family days out app – National Trust Days Out App
There are over 550 places owned by the National Trust all over the UK, and with their handy app you can not only find interesting days out wherever you are, but you can also keep up to date with events throughout the year. It’s one of the best apps for families holidaying in the UK, and also a top choice if you’re looking for UK attractions apps.
The app has all the information you’ll need, including opening times, prices, addresses and what’s on.
The best eating-out app – Dojo
Most of us are familiar with food delivery apps such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and JustEat, but Dojo, formerly known as WalkUp, helps you find a table at a nearby restaurant for that full eating-out experience. When you’ve got a restaurant app on you’re phone, you’ll never be lost for somewhere good to eat on your holiday – the perfect app for foodies on vacation!
The best app for discovering new places – Bimble
Bimble is a place to remember all those recommendations and tips that you’ve been given. Next time someone says ‘Oh, there’s a lovely little cafe just next to the park’, or ‘Make sure you check out the bookshop behind the museum’, you can add it to Bimble to save it for your trip.
You can browse recommendations from other users, and also give your own tips on places you’ve been and loved.
Start planning your holiday
Now your phone is packed with useful holiday apps, why not put them to the test and book a UK break away? Head somewhere you’ve never been before and follow your nose (or your phone!) as you explore a beautiful new place. Or take a trip down memory lane to revisit that favourite spot that’s full of happy holiday memories.
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