The travel apps most people discover too late (and that will change your adventure)

Learning something when you no longer need it isn’t learning: it’s cosmic punishment. Think about it. That moment when you’re stranded at a bus stop in Bangkok or arguing with a taxi driver in Tokyo about a fare nobody bothered to explain, and someone casually says oh, there’s an app for that. And you think, “Brilliant, thanks, where was this information two hours ago when it was VITAL?” That’s what we want to spare you with this post.

Yes, you already have Google Maps and Google Translate. Those apps have been on your phone since before it was your phone. But the interesting stuff is one layer down: those country-specific apps nobody recommends before you leave because, quite simply, you don’t know about them until you need them. And no, we don’t know where you’re heading next, but here are a few apps for some very popular destinations that are worth downloading before your trip introduces you to them the hard way.

GO, the essential taxi app for Japan

Hailing a taxi on the street is relatively easy in central Tokyo. You need to keep your eyes peeled and be quick, but there’s no shortage of cars. Things get trickier when you head a couple of metro stops further out. Or when you’re getting around other cities such as Kyoto, where taxis are scarcer than you might imagine. GO takes that problem off your hands: it’s the country’s most widely used taxi app and, as an added bonus, it lets you check the fare before you get in, in your own currency, so you can forget about converting euros and yen in your head.

Ecbo Cloak, a bonus app for storing your luggage in Japan

As a bonus, if you’re heading to Japan, an increasingly popular destination for travellers from Spain, we recommend an even lesser-known app: Ecbo Cloak, which lets you store your luggage by the hour at partner shops and businesses across the country. And trust us: it works really well and can save your afternoon. That free afternoon between checking out of your hotel and catching your flight home, which you don’t want to spend sitting in an airport restaurant. A sharing-economy app where reviews build trust.

12Go, a guiding light for your trip around Thailand

Thailand has two particular features: it’s one of the world’s favourite destinations, and its geography and transport infrastructure are, shall we say, interesting. That’s why we recommend downloading 12Go before you get there. This app brings together buses, trains and ferries to help you travel between cities and islands without the confusion. And beyond helping you piece your route together, 12Go shows you alternatives that you, a tourist firmly in holiday mode, don’t know about and won’t discover simply by doing some research.

Too Good to Go: eat your way around Europe for less

You might not need to download this one because it’s already on your phone. What you might not have considered is that Too Good to Go can also be a pretty useful travel companion. The app operates in many European countries and lets you reserve surprise bags of surplus food from restaurants, cafés, bakeries and shops for a fraction of the usual price. To replace that dinner you’ve been looking forward to trying for three months? Obviously not. But for breakfast before catching a train, grabbing something to eat during a road trip or sorting out a cheap dinner after a whole day out, it can come in surprisingly handy. And you might even find yourself walking into a neighbourhood bakery that would never have made it onto your list of “must-see places”.

GasBuddy: compare fuel prices in the USA

We’ll finish with a seriously useful app for another of the world’s top destinations, the United States: GasBuddy, which lets you check and compare fuel prices in real time. In a country where the cost can vary so much from one motorway exit to the next, that can help you save a few dollars every time you fill up. Even more so if you’re on a West Coast or Route 66 kind of road trip. Every dollar counts there. And when you get home, your car will be waiting right where you left it, at aparca&go. Now that’s how driving should feel.

Of course, none of these apps replaces the ones you already have on your phone as standard. They fill the gaps exactly where those apps stop being enough: the taxi that won’t stop on the street, the suitcase you don’t want to drag around, the ferry ticket nobody tells you about, the fuel that costs more at the wrong exit or the improvised dinner that saves you ordering in when your budget starts running low. Small solutions to very specific problems that you usually discover too late. You’re welcome, and see you in the next article.