5 Essential Apps to Help You Out in London

I thought this might be helpful to some people who are planning to explore London in the next upcoming months. I would have been lost without these apps/ tools. I don’t know how we did it years ago when there was no smartphone. I suppose there were our parents who were just magic and knew where to go all the time. There was also the maps and still is. You can see quite a few people going around with maps to find their way around. I prefer to have it all on my phone rather than taking out the map all the time. It’s handier in my pocket.

Oyster Visitor Card

The Oyster Visitor card is the cheapest way to get around London. It can be used on all public transport including riverboats. So if I wanted to I could have taken the boat from Greenwich back into town but the cold put me off a bit doing that. One tube journey comes at a cost of £2.20 whereas when you pay in cash it’s £4.40. Another advantage is price capping. No matter how much you travel in London, you never use more than £6.50 credit in central London per day. Cheap, right? You can do so much sightseeing. There are many websites that send it to you worldwide.

Google Offline Maps

I really don’t know how I never came across using this before. I don’t have a roaming plan and my data plan is pay as you go. This means going online abroad can get quite expensive. If you run into the same problem as me, then Offline Maps might be just your answer. Before you start traveling to your destination, download the map/area you require via Wifi onto your phone. The GPS signal is picking up your current location and doesn’t require an internet connection. I used it so much and I never got lost because it shows exactly what direction you are going. You are the blue dot.

Booking.com

When I travel and I have to stay overnight, I always book via booking.com. The more you book with them, the more discount you get and if you register with them, they also offer you a secret deal which is only available to members. To access your booking, you do require internet BUT you can download the booking information to your phone as a PDF file or to your gallery before you leave.

Ryanair

I have to admit, I was never a fan of flying with Ryanair. Mainly because their fees for baggage is like twice the price than Aer Lingus. In the last year or so I found a liking to them though. Especially when it comes to short weekends away. Ryanair is known for cheap flights if you book them at the right time. And you don’t necessarily need big baggage, just a carry on suitcase with 100ml toiletries will do. The app allows you to manage all your trips as well as checking in and keeping your boarding passes.

Tube Map

The tube map allows you to view London’s underground map. They also have a section for tubes running at night and a rail section. You don’t need internet for any of them. The app does give you more advanced options also, such as route planner, and line status where you would need an internet connection but I have never used those. All I needed was a map to tell me where to go.