The travel industry loves a portmanteau. In the last couple of years alone, we’ve been introduced to Coolcationers (people fleeing summer heat for Scandinavia), Set-jetters (visiting locations where films or TV shows were set, like the ’White Lotus effect’). Then there are devotees of Hushpitality: the pursuit of silence as luxury. (Yes,really).
I’ll confess: I rolled my eyes at most of these. And then I caught myself booking a week in the Norwegian fjords specifically to escape the southern hemisphere’s summer heat – which, it turns out, makes me a Coolcationer whether I like it or not.
All of which is to say: the way we travel is shifting, and so is the toolkit. And, somewhere along the way, our phones have become the most reliable member of any travel party. Gone are the days of misplacing physical maps and feeling lost, or flicking through pages and pages of bookings and reservations. Our phones store everything for us, just a few taps away.
But not everyone travels the same way. Some of us seek out the quirky, unusual and off-the-beaten-path sites; others want to visit a great-grandmother’s village in rural Poland. There are collectors ticking off UNESCO sites, retirees who find group tours exhausting, booklovers going on their own literary pilgrimages, and independent travellers searching for connection without the crowds.
So, whether you’re a city-hopper, cultural deep diver, or a slowmadic (slow travel) wanderer, here’s what’s actually worth downloading, organised by the kind of traveller you might be.
The Single-City Deep Diver: Neighbourhoods Over Monuments
Deep divers skip the famous sights in favour of local rhythms and deeper connections. They’re after the café where regulars gather, the bar that doesn’t appear in guidebooks, the neighbourhood that’s been at the historical centre of a city’s story. The goal isn’t to see everything; it’s to see one place properly.
Culture Trip
Average rating: 4.65/5 (9.4k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Culture Trip offers locally-written guides to neighbourhoods, restaurants, and cultural spots that don’t make the standard tourist circuit. The content skews toward unusual attractions and authentic experiences rather than greatest-hits lists – exactly what deep divers want.
VoiceMap for context and depth over photo ops
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
Want to open doors, go into courtyards and generally find your feet in a way that’ll make you feel like a long-term local? Then VoiceMap is the app for you. Its neighbourhood-specific audio tours are created by those who know it best: the people who live there – like this Trastevere or this Montmartre tour. With VoiceMap, you won’t just see the sights.
Freetour.com
Average rating: 4.15/5 (2.6k ratings)
Free, tip what you want | iOS and Android
Freetour.com aggregates tip-based walking tours across 115+ countries. It’s the backpacker’s secret to getting oriented in a new city without blowing the budget. Find a tour that suits your mood, book a slot, show up, and tip what you think the tour was worth. The app also lists pub crawls and themed tours for those wanting a tour with a difference.
World of Mouth
Average rating: 4/5 (444 ratings)
Subscription, $11.90/mo | iOS and Android
World of Mouth is a restaurant guide curated by chefs and food critics. (I don’t think I’ve ever trusted a recommendation more). If, as Anthony Bourdain once said, “food is everything we are… your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma”, then the right restaurant is an education in culture and a place’s story.
The Solo Socialite: Travelling Alone, Not Lonely
Solo travel demand has jumped 83%, according to Skyscanner’s 2026 report. The challenge, for many, is finding connection without sacrificing independence. There’s a fine line between travelling alone and travelling lonely. Sometimes you want to explore the sites alone; sometimes you want someone to share that bottle of wine with.
Bumble
Average rating: 4.35/5 (3.2m ratings)
Freemium | iOS and Android
Bumble – yes, that Bumble – has ”BFF“ and ”Date“ toggles that let you connect with locals on a level that feels right for you. Change your location to your destination a week before arrival to start making connections. With no strings attached, you can meet up or just connect and get local recommendations.
Polarsteps
Average rating: 4.8/5 (161.5k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Polarsteps turns your trip into a living travel journal that friends and family can follow in real-time. The app auto-tracks your route via GPS (works offline, barely touches your battery), and you add photos, videos, and notes along the way. Friends get a link to follow your journey, and there’s no app required on their end. It’s the difference between sending ”I’m fine!” texts and actually bringing people along for the ride.
VoiceMap for independent travellers craving guidance
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
Hate being herded but still want the rich, historical context of an expert-led tour? VoiceMap puts the experts into your pocket with their self-guided GPS-tours. See Soller with travel writer Anna Nicholas who’s lived there for years, or take veteran blue-badge guide Brian Cookson’s London walks. Interested in architecture? Reid Addis, a Philadelphian architect, provides the inside scoop and historical roots behind the city’s buildings. VoiceMap gives you the independence of a solo walk, coupled with a private guide – without the awkwardness of a group.
The Independent Retiree: Flexibility and Quality
Retirees often find organised tours too rushed. The appeal of digital tools is flexibility: move at your own pace, linger where you like, skip what doesn’t interest you. Spend a couple of hours in the morning enjoying the sights and history of a place, then take the rest of the day off.
VoiceMap for exploring at your own pace
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
Early risers rejoice! With VoiceMap, you can explore cities like Venice and Vienna at your own pace before the crowds. And the best part? It allows for long lunches and spontaneous detours – you simply pause or end the tour, and restart wherever you’re ready to get going again. No rushing. You can even spread a tour out over several days if you need a break or find a museum too enthralling.
Rick Steves Audio Europe
Average rating: 4.2/5 (1.5k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Rick Steves Audio Europe offers walking and museum tours from the American perspective, updated for 2026. With major European cities covered, simply browse, pick and download the audio content you want before leaving home.
The Cruise Passenger: Maximising Shore Time
European cruise ports are efficient but can be logistically confusing – especially if you want to explore independently rather than follow the ship’s excursion. And with strict ”back-on-board” times, there’s no room for getting lost or long journeys from the port to your destination. The trick to maximising your port time? Choose activities or tours that start at the harbour and keep them relatively short.
Shipmate
Average rating: 4.65/5 (57.8k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Shipmate does what your cruise line’s app can’t: it works across every line and every ship. Join your sailing’s ’roll call’ to meet fellow passengers and swap excursion tips before you board. You can even browse and book directly through the app with ”trusted partners.” The community’s been sharing port reviews for 15 years, so someone’s already figured out the best lunch spot in Santorini.
VoiceMap for smarter shore exploration
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
When you only have four hours to see a city and get a sense of its story, your options are limited. VoiceMap is an efficient way to make the most of your time. The app has multiple tours in port towns like Kiel and Tromso, designed to fit standard shore excursion windows. The GPS autoplay means audio starts automatically at each landmark, so there’s no fumbling with your phone while navigating unfamiliar streets.
The Set-Jetter: From Screen to Cobblestones
Set-jetting – planning trips around filming locations – is quietly becoming a billion-dollar phenomenon. (Yes, you read that right.) If you’ve ever paused a film to squint at the background architecture, you’re in good company: 81% of Gen Z and Millennial travellers now plan trips based on what they’ve seen on the silver screen.
SetJetters
Average rating: 4.8/5 (11k ratings)
Free, with premium tier | iOS and Android
SetJetters does exactly what it sounds like: finds the precise GPS coordinates for thousands of movie scenes. There’s even a scene-syncing feature that overlays film stills on your camera view, for those who want to stand exactly where their favourite character stood. Obsessive? Perhaps. Satisfying? Absolutely.
VoiceMap for when you want to go off-screen
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
VoiceMap takes a different approach: immersive audio tours, filled with behind-the-scenes secrets and filming bloopers, led by people who actually know these places. The London Theatreland tour by Sir Ian McKellen is a personal favourite, where the celebrated actor asks you to ”do a bit of acting, a little bit of imagining” as you walk. It’s the kind of local lore that guidebooks rarely capture. They’ve got Emily in Paris, Dr Who, The Last of Us – and more – covered.
The Heritage Seeker: Beyond the Family Tree
Genealogy tourism is having a moment. Whycationers, according to the Hilton 2026 Trends Report, are travelling to ancestral villages in Poland, Italy, and Ireland. Not just to tick a box, but to stand where their great-grandparents stood, breathe the same air, and walk the same paths. There’s something about being in the actual place that no amount of online research can replicate.
FamilySearch Tree
Average rating: 4.6/5 (521.9k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
The app connects you to the world’s largest shared family tree and billions of historical records. Before your trip, use the heritage maps to see exactly where your ancestors were born, married, and buried. On the ground, the ”Relatives Around Me” feature can reveal if any distant cousins happen to be nearby. You might just find your long-forgotten 12th cousin. Stranger things have happened.
VoiceMap for the stories that move you
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
VoiceMap fills in what digital records can’t: the texture of a place. Tours of neighbourhoods like Rome’s Jewish Ghetto and Palma’s Medieval Jewish Quarter turn names on a family tree into something you can feel. You won’t find your great-great-grandmother here, but these cultural tours go where guidebooks rarely do – into the human side of a place.
The Bookbound Traveller: Literary Pilgrimages
‘Shelf Discovery’ is one of Skyscanner’s many hit words for 2026, and describes trips planned around bookshops and literary sites. There’s a particular pleasure in reading Joyce in Dublin, or strolling the same Parisian streets as Hemingway with no particular agenda. For some of us, staying in a fairytale castle or browsing a good bookshop is reason enough to visit a city, but seeing the sites that actually inspired a favourite book? Magic.
PangoBooks
Average rating: 4.85/5 (18k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
You arrive in Barcelona on a literary pilgrimage to visit the same spots mentioned in your favourite book, Shadow of the Wind. You’ve been searching for a special edition. Enter: PangoBooks. It’s the digital version of stumbling across a rare book store. It’s a social marketplace where readers sell directly to other readers. Use it before you depart to hunt down specific vintage editions or travelogues of the European cities on your itinerary. Because you’re buying from individuals, you can ask for real photos of the book’s condition or its exact weight – critical info for anyone trying to fit Ulysses into a carry-on.
StoryGraph
Average rating: 4.25/5 (6k ratings)
Free, Plus available | iOS and Android
StoryGraph is a mood-based reading tracker, and the primary alternative to Amazon-owned platforms. Match your travel vibe (”Atmospheric,” ”Relaxing,” ”Beach read”, etc.) to a book list for your trip.
VoiceMap for following in your literary hero’s footsteps
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
Want to see the Edinburgh sites that inspired JK Rowling’s Harry Potter? There’s a VoiceMap audio tour for that. There’s even a tour of Dickens ’ London created by the author’s great-great-great-granddaughter. VoiceMap’s Oxford fantasy fiction tour, in particular, feels like walking through a literary audiobook. With this app, you’ll get to experience a place through the eyes of your favourite authors.
The Highlights Tourist: Greatest Hits Checklist
Time-starved travellers or first-time visitors often want the essential version of a city. There’s no shame in this. Sometimes you only have two days, and you want to make them count. And sometimes, you just want to tick off countries visited, UNESCO sites seen, or Michelin stars consumed like it’s a competitive sport. Your shiny gold medal could be a list or, in some cases, an app.
Skratch
Average rating: 4.7/5 (5k ratings)
Free, with Premium available | iOS and Android
Skratch is the digital scratch-off map for people who find satisfaction in watching percentages climb. Tick off countries, cities, and even specific attractions. Plus, the app auto-detects locations from your photos if manual entry feels like work.
VoiceMap for finding your feet in a hurry
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
VoiceMap’s collection of GPS-guided tours often includes city highlights so you can see and get the most out of a quick visit. So, whether you’re visiting Bruges, York, or Krakow, you can get the lay of the land, without missing a thing, before venturing further on your own. The best part? The tours are created and delivered by real people, with personal perspectives behind the stories.
SmartGuide
Average rating: 4.7/5 (6k ratings)
Free, Premium available | iOS and Android
As an alternative to VoiceMap, SmartGuide offers AI-powered, GPS-triggered audio narrations. The ”quick hits” mode focuses on the most critical landmarks.
The Sustainable Traveller: Slow and Steady
Opting for scenic rail journeys over short-haul flights is arguably one of the biggest trends in 2026. (We see you, slowmads). There’s something appealing about watching the landscape change gradually through a train window, coffee in hand, no security line in sight. And it’s always an added bonus when cutting out the airport stress also means cutting down your environmental impact.
Komoot
Average rating: 4.55/5 (373K ratings)
In-app purchases | iOS and Android
There’s nothing greener than cycling or walking around Europe. Komoot specialises in cycling and alpine route planning, with far more detail on surface types (gravel vs. paved) than most apps. Travelling slowly and sustainably takes on a whole new meaning when you’re cycling.
Omio
Average rating: 4.65/5 (175k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Omio compares trains, buses, and flights in one search. The ”Lowest CO2” filter is useful for the environmentally minded, and it surfaces oddball routes that you probably didn’t know existed – like long-distance ferry/train combinations.
Hostelworld
Average rating: 4.8/5 (74.6k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Choosing shared accommodation is one of the simplest ways to lower your travel footprint, and Hostelworld makes finding these eco-conscious communities effortless. The app includes a chat feature that lets you connect with other travellers at your hostel before arrival. And the ”Eco-Hostel” filter lets you find places that align with your sustainable travel goals.
Worldpackers
Average rating: 4.7.5/5 (17k ratings)
From $59 per year | iOS and Android
Worldpackers connects travellers with hosts in over 140 countries who offer a bed (and often meals) in exchange for a few hours of help. You can find opportunities in NGOs and eco-villages. It’s designed for those who want to trade a standard tourist itinerary for a deeper, more meaningful connection to a community.
Earth Hero
Average rating: 4.9/5 (2.8k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Earth Hero turns climate anxiety into a checklist. The app calculates your carbon footprint across travel, food, and energy, then serves up hundreds of actions – rated by difficulty and impact – to shrink it. Travelling by train instead of flying? You get points. Choosing a hotel with renewable energy? More points.
The Seasoned Veteran: Off the Beaten Path
Confident travellers don’t always want to follow the tourist trail, favouring unique sights and quietly cool experiences instead. You’ve seen the Eiffel Tower. You’ve done the Colosseum. Now you want the places that don’t make the guidebooks.
Atlas Obscura
Average rating: 4.8/5 (8.8k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Atlas Obscura is the definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders, with 22,000+ unusual places mapped by a global community of curious explorers. Filter by interest – from abandoned places, architectural oddities, to natural phenomena – and discover what guidebooks miss.
VoiceMap for going beyond the guidebooks
Average rating: 4.8/5 (6.9k ratings)
Pay per tour | iOS and Android
Seasoned travellers know that the ”real” city is rarely found in a ”Top 10” list. VoiceMap skips the surface-level trivia in favour of authentic, local perspectives – like in these Gilded Age New York City and Valencia tours. Because the tours are created by local journalists, historians, and long-time residents, you’ll discover the ”secret” viewpoints and neighbourhood stories that mainstream guides overlook.
Bonus Apps Every Traveller Needs
These aren’t about what kind of traveller you are – they’re about not getting lost, not getting ripped off, and not getting caught short.
Citymapper
Average rating: 4.9/5 (456k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Citymapper is the gold standard for urban transit in major European cities. (It was a lifesaver for my first visit back to London after 20 years). Think real-time departures, step-by-step navigation including ”which door to exit,” and a ”Get Me Home” button for when you’re too tired to think.
TheFork
Average rating: 4.85/5 (750k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
TheFork is Europe’s answer to OpenTable, covering 55,000+ restaurants across France, Spain, Italy, and beyond. Book tables, browse menus, and even snag discounts of up to 50% off. Because walking into a popular European restaurant without a reservation is a gamble you’ll usually lose. I’ve been there.
Wise
Average rating: 4.7/5 (2.65m ratings)
Free to download, small conversion fees | iOS and Android
Wise offers a multi-currency debit card with interbank exchange rates and no foreign transaction fees. Load it before your trip and spend like a local. The app shows exactly what you’re paying in both currencies.
Flush
Average rating: 4.1/5 (8.5k) ratings
Free | iOS and Android
The unlikely hero you didn’t know you needed. Desperately. Flush finds public toilets near you – and includes accessibility info and whether they’re free or paid. It’s more useful than you’d think, especially when you don’t speak the language, and you’re more likely to be charged than not.
Wanderlog
Average rating: 4.75/5 (29.9k ratings)
Freemium | iOS and Android
Wanderlog acts as a visual planner where every member of your travel group can vote on activities and see a shared itinerary. Democracy in action! And everything is saved and shared in one place, making coordination a breeze.
Tricount
Average rating: 4.75/5 (170k ratings)
Free | iOS and Android
Tricount eliminates the post-trip ”who owes what” spreadsheet nightmare. Everyone adds what they paid (dinner, museum tickets, that round of gelato), and the app calculates exactly who owes what to whom at the end of the trip. Best of all? You only need one account. Just share a link and start logging. There’s also support for multiple currencies if the grandparents are paying in pounds but the kids think in dollars.
AwardWallet
Average rating: 4.5/5 (5k ratings)
Free, with Premium available | iOS and Android
AwardWallet tracks all your frequent flyer miles, hotel points, and credit card rewards in one place. With 700+ loyalty programs supported, AwardWallet alerts you before points expire and shows which card earns the most at any merchant.
That’s the toolkit. Not every app will suit every traveller. And honestly, some of these trend names may not survive the year. (”Hushpitality”? We’ll see.) Regardless of whether they make it past March or June 2026, they’re helpful in narrowing down what type of traveller you are, or want to be. Somewhere in this list there’s probably something that’ll make your trip a little smoother, a little richer, or a little more you.
Safe travels!
