11 Useful Travel Apps that will make Backpacking Thailand Easier

Today we are compiling a list of the best travel apps specifically for backpacking in Thailand and to make your life there easier. I have personally used these apps on my last trip to Thailand a couple months ago and they helped me immensely, so I thought I would share them with you. So here they are, the top travel apps for backpacking Thailand..

1) Learn Thai

As the name says, this app is for picking up on the Thai language. And best of all, they make it quite easy by categorizing different common phrases you would use. They even have a button that you can press that will say the phrase through your phone’s speaker. So all you have to do is listen and repeat. So easy and useful!

2) Viatuktuk

Now this app is seriously awesome! What Viatuktuk does is show you attractions and cool places in SE Asia that are near you in that moment. All you have to do is turn on your wi-fi and it will show you on map all of the places that are close by. But this app doesn’t stop there. It will also show you other backpackers who are close to you as well. All you have to do is tap their picture and then you can send them a message. Meeting other travellers has never been so easy! Highly recommend this app, but they are launching this fall. Follow them on Facebook here so you’ll be the first to know when you can download the app.

3) XE Curxrency

This app has update-to-date currency rates, so you can easily see in seconds how much thai baht is equal to 100 American Dollars. Or any currency. It is pretty instant, so it saves you from having to do the math. While Thailand is pretty easy to calculate the conversion in your head, this app helps even more when you are travelling to other countries in the same trip.

4) Google Drive or Copy

Both apps are cloud drives that gives you 15 gigs of space for free. When I travel, I only bring my phone and use it as a camera, but often times I run out of space on my phone. So whenever I arrive at a hostel that has good wi-fi, I upload all of my photos to either Google Drive or Copy and then delete them from my phone. This gives me the opportunity to take way more photos. When I was in Bali, I lost my phone and was so upset that I lost all of my travel photos. Luckily I was able to find my phone, so it was okay. But had I been regularly backing up the photos online on these cloud drives, I still would’ve had all of my travel photos even if I lose my phone forever!

5) Skyscanner

This is an app for booking flights anywhere in the world. Of course there are tons of different flight booking apps out there, so why Skyscanner? The reason I choose them is because they have a feature where you can input where you are, and select the destination to ‘Everywhere’. This will give you a list of flights from where you are to many different places sorted by price. I find this feature to be really great at finding cheap flights to random places.

6) Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp

I recommend both of these apps, but for different reasons. WhatsApp seemed best used for communicating with family and friends back home. Facebook Messenger on the other hand I found was most useful for communicating with other backpackers you meet along the way. It seems the best way to keep in touch is adding each other to Facebook, and then the FB messenger makes it easy to chat with one another. This is especially useful if you meet someone and want to meet up with them again later. People tend to check their Facebook pretty regularly, so coordinating with new travel friends will be easy. As well, these apps now allow you to call one another for free, no matter where you are in the world.

7) Field Trip

Field Trip is an app that shows you what attractions are around you based on your current location. When I was in Chiang Mai, I used this app and found that there was a very old temple only 10 minutes away. I hoped on my motorbike and enjoyed the magnificent sight of a beautiful temple that had a lot of history around it. In fact, Field Trip even told me about the temple, when it was built and its history which made the experience even more interesting. Without Field Trip, I never would’ve known about it.

8) Google Translate

One of the big reasons that I recommend downloading the Google Translate app is really due to its photo-translating feature. What this means is that you can take a photo of a road sign or menu in a different language and it will translate it to english for you! Pretty amazing and extremely useful!

9) Google Maps

This one is very self explanatory, so I just wanted to add a tip that was great for me. When I’m in Thailand, I don’t have a sim card for my phone, so I never have a connection when I’m out and about. So what I will do is get Google Maps to show me my location, zoom out a touch, and take a screenshot. That way I’ll have a little map saved on my phone as a photo in case I get lost. Works like a charm.

10) Banking App with your Bank

Most banks have a mobile app that lets you do online banking on the fly. This is super useful to not only keep track of your funds, but easily make transfers if you need to. I like to check my balance every few days to make sure I’m not overspending. You can also check the balance of your credit card, which helps if you are booking many flights and want to see how much you are spending exactly.

11) Trip It

This I recommend if you are taking multiple flights. Basically it organizes all of your flights onto your phone, so you can check them all in one place. Plus you can view them offline which is useful for arriving to an airport that doesn’t have wifi.

So there you are have it. These are what I think are the best travel apps for travelling through Thailand. If there are great apps that have helped you on your travels, please share them with us in the comments section below.