Must-Have Travel Apps for 2026

You ever wonder how Phileas Fogg made it around the world in 80 days without the help of an airline app OR Google Translate? The poor chap had to call in to find out his flight was delayed. And on a landline phone.

Truth is, our smartphones have become our travel lifeline, more powerful than all the telegraph lines and transatlantic cables that came before.

Of course, the phone can’t do it by its lonesome. It needs apps – travel-focused apps like the following:

Emergency Contact apps

Contacts

Honestly, your best emergency-contact app is simply the place in your phone where you store your phone numbers. Make sure it’s populated with all the people you want to help you in an emergency – friends, relatives, doctors, lawyers, and such.

Obviously if your phone is stolen you lose all those contacts, so write them down as well. (You know – with a pen, on paper). But start doom-proofing yourself with a stroll through your contacts.

SOS Alert

SOS Alert is an Android app that automatically lets your key contacts know where you are in an emergency.

With this app, you can save an emergency message that can be sent quickly by tapping the “SOS” button on your home screen.

The one-button functionality makes it usable in many emergencies, and its simplicity means there’s less to think about when there’s no time to think.

Offline Map Apps

Organic Maps

Useful as the Googleverse apps can be – and Google Translate, Google Maps, Google Flights et al. can be very helpful – sometimes it’s good to zag with an app like Organic Maps.

Organic Maps’ downloadable maps are designed for travelers, with maps of trails, paths, roads, and routes, elevation contour lines, peaks and slopes, and turn-by-turn guidance.

With Organic Maps, you can turn off cellular data and still be able to find your way around.

Best of all, Organic Maps is dedicated to user privacy.

For a little while, anyway.

Air-quality apps

AirNow

AirNow is the standard for air-quality measurements – not only in the U.S. but around the world. And best of all, it comes in an app.

AirNow isn't complex. You type in a location and AirNow gives you the current air-quality measurement, tells you whether it’s good and gives you the forecast for several days ahead.

It also shows smoke patterns and lets you viewindices for the surrounding areas.

It’s not super-granular simply because of the relatively limited number of monitoring stations, especially worldwide, but it’s one of the best way to check air quality at a glance.

Also Read: Wildfires and Travel Protection: Tip to Help You Stay Safe and Protected Around the World

Weather apps

Clime: NOAA Weather Radar

Nothing shows impending weather like radar. And when it comes to radar. Nothing beats the weather radar of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA’s radar is found in several apps, one of the best of which is Clime. Clime doesn’t claim to do everything; all it tries to do is show you the radar and tell you what’s coming.

It’s especially helpful for cruises on the edges of hurricane season.

Clime also gives you a 14-day forecast, making it the perfect bring-along for longer vacations.

Registration apps

Smart Traveler

This app from the State Department keeps you up to date on changing travel-safety ratings for countries around the world – a valuable thing in these days of increased tensions.

Smart Travel also incorporates the Safe Traveler Enrollment Program, a government program that provides safety information by country and includes contact information for embassies and consulates.

It’s not the best-looking or -performing app in the world, but it does the job. And that’s all you want an app like this to do.

MyTS A

An app? From the TSA? That makes travel easier? Surely you’re joking.

Nope – and don’t call us Shirley.

MyTSA is your gateway to the myriad rules and regulations that cover carry-on material. It also provides information on TSA wait times by airport, both historical and crowdsourced.

In case you have difficult questions you can’t get answers for elsewhere, MyTSA can connect you to live support. Finally, you can see which airports support TSA PreCheck.

That’s a lot for a government app. And it’s all helpful.

Also Read: Tips for Enhancing Your Airport Experience

Communication apps

Probably the best thing you can do to ensure secure communication when you travel is invest in a virtual private network connection.

With a VPN, you can be reasonably sure your private conversations stay private.

VPNs vary in cost and features, so compare before you sign up. Also note that VPN providers often put their products on sale, so shop around for the best price.

man sitting frustrated next to a red suitcase

Airline apps

You also need the app of your airline(s) so they can communicate delays and cancellations, and you can communicate with support if need be.

Airline apps have come a long way. They’re now your go-to for all flight information, whether you need a replacement for a cancelled flight or you want to order a bento box onboard.

Some are obviously better than others, just as some airlines are better than others. But all are eminently useful.

No matter which apps you take with you on your travels, you need to bring along one thing more – travel insurance with assistance services from Generali Global Assistance.

Our simple plans have just the coverage you need. Get a quote and see for yourself.