Have you ever wondered what are the best apps for Travel and Camping? Our phones are usually one of the first things we pack and they can come in really useful for many things.
From seeking out great hikes to making sure your campervan is level. Editing Photos to checking the weather. There are so many great travel apps out there to make your trip easier.
These are the best travel apps that I use on most trips.
Video of our Favourite Travel Apps
AllTrails
If you are into walking, hiking, or cycling, this could be a great app for you. Open it up, and it will recognise where you are. And show you walks and hikes near you.
You can add filters such as the length of the trail, what your preference is (hiking, road biking etc), plus if there are any attractions along the way.
It is free, but you can upgrade to the Pro version if you want to download maps for Offline Navigation, or perhaps, print one of the trails.
BubbleLevel
This is a perfect app for checking whether your motorhome or Campervan is level. You lay your phone flat on a reliable flat surface in your van.
The bubble finds its way to the middle, and if perfectly flat, you get a satisfying ‘ping’ when level.
Occasionally an ad pops up, but it is easy to clear. This is the easiest and quickest way I have found to see if your van is level
Canon Camera Connect (or your camera’s equivelent)
This is an app to get your DSLR or Mirrorless camera photos to your iPhone.
They connect via Bluetooth, and when you are traveling, and want to share a great photo on social media, you can beam it from your camera, direct to your Phone or iPad.
My camera shoots in RAW, but it sends over a jpg equivalent. Perfect for getting that stunning photo out on social while you are still travelling.
Lightroom
This brings me nicely onto the next App.
One for those of us that are really keen on photography. I like using Lightroom to edit photos more than the iPhone native app.
You can edit, and share straight to social media, and use it also to sync any iPhone photos back to your computer at home, with the Lightroom edits.
Although, there is a subscription for some of these services.
I have quite a few articles on photography and how to use Lightroom if you are interested.
CAMC App
This is the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s App. This is one of the Apps or Websites we use when booking trips.
It has decent search functionality, and it allows you to search by location, and filter it down to include certain criteria, such as one with a shower block, or close to a Town for example.
You can also ‘Favourite’ the ones you like. I tend to use this if we are visiting an area, and want to just group together all the ones we are thinking of staying in.
There is membership, Which I will explain in another post, but you can use the app and book the sites even if not a member, just for a few pounds more.
GeoTag Photos (Paid)
This is one of the few Paid apps on this list.
As a photographer, I like adding location data to my photographs. It is just a thing I do. I like to look back and perhaps see exactly where a photo was taken.
I have done a separate blog post all about this if you are interested in learning a bit more. It simply generates a GPX file, which you match with your Photos based on the time. As a result, you can see on a map where the photos are taken.
As mentioned, this is a paid app, so may not appeal to everyone.
Google Maps
When we are talking about the Best Apps for Travel, there is no surprise this is on here. But it isn’t just about directions.
Yes it gets us from A to B, and it hooks up nicely to the Car Play in the van, but I also use it for highlighting and saving areas of interest. If I am reading something, or someone mentions a good place, I can search on the maps, and save it.
I have sections by county around the UK. I plan on doing another blog post all about how this can make your trips easier, so don’t forget to sign up for the Newsletter!
Kindle App
I like a good book, whether it be a campervan book, or a nice novel, and I have found the Kindle App for the iPad is perfect.
It is great to hold a real book, but for convenience and for reading when the light isn’t the best or the rest of the family are sleeping, then this is one of the best apps for travel I cannot live without!
Met Office
My favourite Weather app.
It seems to be reliable, accurate and easy to search and save locations.
Not much more to say. A simple app, but totally sufficient for what we need, and it certainly belongs on my list of the best travel apps.
Petrol Prices
If you want to find a local Petrol Station, with the cheapest fuel, then this will help.
I admit I have not used this extensively, but it is great if you are in an area you don’t know.
Open it up, search by Current Location, and it shows you the Petrol Stations closest to you.
You can choose to sort the results price or by distance.
Trip Advisor
If you are ever spending a day, a week, or a month in a place, then this is perfect for finding the Top 5 / 10, etc things to do in XXX.
We have used it many times to find a popular place that we may be camping at for a day or so.
A lesser-used app, but definitely useful if you are looking for places to go, near where you are staying.
what3words
I am just starting to use this. At first, I thought it was a fad, but now I think otherwise.
We have all put a postcode into a map, and occasionally, it has not exactly worked out!
With what3words, you can pick the exact spot on the map, then in a couple of clicks, navigate to that location in Google or Apple Maps.
Best Apps for Travel – What are Yours?
So they are my favourite apps for travel and camping.
Did I miss one-off? What is your favourite app, and why do you love it so much.
Let me know in the comments.
I hope you found this useful, and if so, why not sign up for the newsletter to get more posts all about Van Life, and Camping or head over to my YouTube channel?
Whatever you decide, thanks for checking out this post, and I look forward to seeing you here again soon.
Rich