Top Travel Apps for Families: Make Your Next Adventure Stress-Free
Family travel can be an exciting yet challenging experience. Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or a long international trip, keeping everyone organised, entertained, and safe can be a daunting task. Thankfully, technology has made it easier to stay connected, manage itineraries, and ensure smooth travel. With the right travel apps, you can plan and enjoy a stress-free adventure with your family.
In this article, we’ll explore the best travel apps for families—from organisation and navigation to entertainment and safety. These apps are designed to simplify the process, help with real-time decisions, and ultimately make family travel more enjoyable. Let’s dive into the essential apps that will transform your next trip into a smooth and memorable experience!
Planning and Organisation
Effective trip planning is key to reducing travel stress. Below are some of the best family travel apps for organising your adventure and staying on top of all the details.
App 1: TripIt
TripIt is a fantastic app for managing your travel itinerary. It helps you organise flight details, hotel reservations, and other trip plans in one easy-to-access place. Simply forward your booking confirmations to TripIt, and it will create a master itinerary for your trip.
Features and Benefits:
- Automatically organises travel plans in a simple timeline
- Syncs with your calendar for easy access
- Provides real-time flight updates and notifications
- Perfect for families needing to keep track of multiple bookings
App 2: Family Orbit
Keeping track of family members during travel is important, especially when navigating busy airports or exploring new destinations. Family Orbit is a family locator and messaging app that lets you monitor the location of each family member, ensuring peace of mind during travel.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time family locator
- Private family messaging for easy communication
- Geo-fencing alerts when family members arrive or leave designated areas.
- Ideal for family safety during travel
App 3: PackPoint
Packing for a family trip can be overwhelming. PackPoint simplifies the process by helping you create custom packing lists based on your destination, length of stay, and weather conditions. It’s especially useful for families, as you can create separate lists for each member.
Features and Benefits:
- Customisable packing lists
- Weather-based suggestions for what to pack
- Perfect for family trips where each person needs different items.
- Share packing lists with other travellers.
App 4: Hopper
Hopper is an app for booking flights and hotels at the best prices. It predicts future price drops and gives you real-time notifications on when to book to save money, making it ideal for families looking to stick to a budget.
Features and Benefits:
- Flight and hotel price predictions
- Price drop alerts
- Easy booking process for budget-conscious families
- Ideal for saving money on family vacations
Navigation and Transportation
Navigating unfamiliar destinations and finding transportation can be one of the most challenging aspects of family travel. Here are the best navigation and transportation apps to help your family move from place to place with ease.
App 1: Google Maps
Google Maps is the gold standard for navigation. Whether you’re walking through a new city, driving to a destination, or finding public transportation options, this app ensures that you never get lost.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time GPS navigation for walking, driving, and public transit
- Access to local business information and reviews
- Offline maps for use in areas with limited connectivity
- Perfect for navigating new cities or road trips
App 2: Waze
If you’re driving, Waze is a must-have app for avoiding traffic and finding the fastest routes. This app provides real-time updates on traffic conditions, accidents, and road closures, helping you get to your destination quickly.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time traffic updates and road alerts
- Voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation
- User-reported road conditions (police, hazards, etc.)
- Perfect for road trips and avoiding traffic jams
App 3: Uber/Lyft
When you need a quick ride, Uber and Lyft are reliable ride-sharing services available in most cities around the world. Both apps allow you to request a ride, track your driver, and pay through the app, making transportation with kids easier.
Features and Benefits:
- On-demand rides with driver tracking
- Various vehicle options (from standard cars to larger family-friendly vehicles)
- In-app payment and easy ride-splitting
- Great for families travelling without a rental car.
Accommodation and Dining
Finding the perfect place to stay and eat is crucial for a comfortable family trip. These apps will help you book accommodation and discover family-friendly dining options wherever you go.
App 1: Booking.com
Booking.com is one of the most popular hotel booking platforms, offering a wide range of accommodation options from hotels to vacation homes. It’s perfect for families looking for flexible stays.
Features and Benefits:
- Large selection of accommodations (hotels, apartments, vacation homes)
- Flexible cancellation policies for families with changing plans
- Filters for family-friendly amenities
- Easy-to-use interface for quick bookings
App 2: Airbnb
For families who prefer unique accommodations or need more space, Airbnb offers a variety of vacation rental options, including entire homes or apartments.
Features and Benefits:
- Variety of accommodation options (homes, apartments, unique stays)
- Option to book entire homes for more privacy
- Filters for family-friendly spaces and amenities
- Great for long stays with kids
App 3: Yelp
When travelling with kids, finding family-friendly dining spots is essential. Yelp provides restaurant reviews, photos, and ratings, helping you choose the best places to eat on your journey.
Features and Benefits:
- User reviews and photos of restaurants
- Filters for family-friendly restaurants and kid’s menus
- Provides information on attractions and services nearby.
- Ideal for discovering new places to eat with kids
Safety and Entertainment
Family travel requires both safety and entertainment, especially when keeping kids happy on long trips. Below are essential apps that ensure family safety and offer entertainment options to keep children engaged.
App 1: Life360
Life360 is a family safety app that allows you to track the location of each family member and receive alerts when they arrive at or leave a destination. It’s perfect for staying connected during travel.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time location tracking for family members
- Safety alerts for designated areas
- In-app communication with the family
- Ideal for peace of mind during travel
App 2: GoWhee
Looking for kid-friendly attractions near you? GoWhee helps families find child-friendly activities, playgrounds, and attractions wherever they travel.
Features and Benefits:
- Child-friendly attraction locator
- Reviews from other parents
- Includes playgrounds, amusement parks, museums, and more.
- Perfect for finding fun places for kids on the go.
App 3: Playground Buddy
If your kids love playgrounds, Playground Buddy helps you find nearby playgrounds no matter where you are. This app provides a map of local playgrounds and their features.
Features and Benefits:
- Playground locator with detailed descriptions
- Perfect for finding outdoor play areas
- Available worldwide
- Ideal for families with young children
App 4: Lego Builder App
If you’re looking for a fun and educational way to keep kids entertained during travel, the Lego Builder App is a great choice. It allows kids to build and create virtually, encouraging creativity and problem-solving.
Features and Benefits:
- Virtual Lego building for creative play
- Easy-to-use interface for kids
- Encourages creativity and problem-solving
- Great for screen time during long flights or car rides
Miscellaneous Travel Apps
These miscellaneous travel apps offer useful tools for managing other aspects of your family trip, from currency conversion to finding restrooms.
App 1: Currency Converter
Travelling internationally? Currency Converter helps you quickly and accurately calculate exchange rates, ensuring you stay within your budget.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time currency conversion
- Supports multiple currencies
- Easy to use during international travel
- Perfect for managing expenses while travelling
App 2: Language Translator
Are you visiting a country where you don't know the language? Language Translator offers real-time translation, helping families communicate with locals and navigate unfamiliar destinations.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time text and voice translation
- Offline translation for use in areas without connectivity
- Supports multiple languages
- Perfect for international travel with kids
App 3: Weather Forecast
Stay ahead of the weather with a reliable Weather Forecast app. It provides real-time updates on local weather conditions, ensuring your family is prepared for any changes.
Features and Benefits:
- Accurate weather updates
- Long-term and short-term forecasts
- Weather alerts for severe conditions
- Perfect for planning outdoor activities with kids
App 4: Flush (Toilet Finder)
Finding a restroom in an unfamiliar place can be challenging, especially with kids. Flush helps you locate nearby public restrooms quickly.
Features and Benefits:
- Locates public restrooms near you
- Offline capabilities for use without internet
- User reviews for cleanliness and accessibility
- Ideal for family travel with young children
App 5: UVLens (Sun Exposure Monitoring)
Protect your family from harmful UV rays by using UVLens, an app that provides real-time updates on sun exposure and suggests the best times to stay indoors or apply sunscreen.
Features and Benefits:
- Real-time UV index tracking
- Personalised sun safety tips
- Notifications for when UV exposure is high
- Perfect for outdoor family adventures
App 6: LoungeBuddy
LoungeBuddy helps you find pay-as-you-go access to private airport lounges, making layovers more comfortable for your family.
Features and Benefits:
- Access to private airport lounges worldwide
- Pay-as-you-go access without membership
- Ideal for relaxing during long layovers
- Perfect for families looking for comfort in airports
Travelling with a Baby
Travelling with a baby requires special attention, and the following apps are designed to make baby travel easier and more convenient.
App 1: Baby Changing Station
Baby Changing Station helps you find clean and convenient places to change your baby, ensuring comfort for both parents and little ones during travel.
Features and Benefits:
- Locates baby-changing stations nearby
- User reviews for cleanliness
- Ideal for parents travelling with infants
- Available in many locations worldwide
App 2: Baby Quip
Need baby gear on the go? Baby Quip allows you to rent baby gear like strollers, cribs, and high chairs, making travel with a baby more convenient.
Features and Benefits:
- Baby gear rental service
- Available in major cities and tourist destinations
- Wide range of products for rent
- Perfect for reducing the need to pack bulky baby gear
App 3: Mamava
For breastfeeding mothers, Mamava helps you find private, comfortable places to nurse or pump, ensuring privacy and convenience during your travels.
Features and Benefits:
- Locates nursing and pumping stations
- Provides privacy and comfort for breastfeeding mothers
- Available in airports, malls, and other public places
- Ideal for travelling mothers with babies
Family travel can be a breeze with the right tools at your disposal. These essential travel apps for families help with planning, organisation, navigation, safety, and entertainment, ensuring that your next adventure is stress-free and full of fun. Whether you’re travelling with a baby, toddler, or older children, these apps make it easy to stay connected, safe, and entertained on the go.
Tip: Before your trip, make sure to download these apps and test them out to familiarise yourself with their features. And remember, having the right gear—like TWO CUBS backpacks and wet bags to keep all your essentials organised and Crafty Curls to keep your kids busy during long waits, flights, or rides—can also make a big difference.
For more tips on stress-free family travel, check out our guide here.