Traveling abroad? Skip Apple Maps and Google Maps. Try these apps instead
Americans often receive a lot of grief for being less internationally traveled than citizens of other countries. But in recent years, more Americans are traveling abroad than ever before. Numbers compiled by the digital magazine Travel and Tour World (TTW) show that in March 2025, 6.56 million Americans flew outside of the country. That's 1.6% more than the same period a year earlier, and more than 22% more than in 2019—the year before the pandemic caused international travel to grind to a halt.
TTW cites 'pent-up demand, strong personal savings among affluent demographics, and a growing appetite for immersive cultural experiences' as the main reasons more Americans are traveling overseas. And those numbers from March will likely increase this month as the school season ends and Americans start heading out on summer vacations, especially since ticket prices have been dropping lately as airlines lower their fares to entice inflation-wary consumers to travel.
But if it's your first time traveling internationally, you may not be aware that the reigning transportation and mapping app kings in the United States, Google Maps and Apple Maps, aren't always the best to use in other countries. There are others that will enable you to navigate new lands more easily, especially the abundant public transportation options that most other countries offer. With that in mind, here are some apps to download before you head out on your global travels.
Citymapper
Citymapper is probably the most recognizable app on this list, and that's because it does one thing better than nearly any other app: It helps you navigate some of the world's best cities, whether that be by foot, car, bicycle, scooter, tram, ferry, or other city-specific modes of transit—way more modes than Apple or Google offers in most locales.
Citymapper is already pretty popular in America because it helps residents and visitors in big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., get around. However, while the app supports just 28 cities in America, it supports 72 in Europe, along with prominent Asian destinations, including Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong.
Moovit
If you need public transit directions in America or most major European cities, Google Maps or Apple Maps can do a decent job of getting you from point A to point B. But if you are in less frequently traveled countries of the world, you'll find that Google Maps and Apple Maps don't always reveal all the public transportation options that are available when trying to get across a city—or from city to city.
Thankfully, there's Moovit, which boasts public transit directions for more than 112 countries and 3,400 cities across the globe—including many in the Global South, which many transit apps frequently overlook. If you are traveling in Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, or large parts of Asia, Moovit will likely show you the most public transportation options available. Another great thing about the app is that it lets you download a city's transit maps for offline viewing.
Naver Map
Few countries have a geopolitical postwar history that's as fascinating as South Korea. The country, which is still technically at war with North Korea, rapidly industrialized after the 1960s to become one of the world's most economically and technologically advanced nations. If you plan to visit South Korea, be sure to download Naver Map before you go.
Naver Map is the Google Maps of South Korea, and it features nearly everything you would expect to find in Google Maps, including transportation directions and business listings. You can still use Google Maps or Apple Maps in South Korea, but their real-time transportation direction capabilities are significantly nerfed. That's because South Korean law requires mapping providers to store their mapping data within the country—something neither Google nor Apple does. And yes, while Naver Map is predominantly used by locals, the smartphone app is also available in English, making it a must-have for American visitors.
Rome2Rio
The apps above are mostly very city- or country-specific. But what if you are going on a multination journey—say from Portugal to Finland—and stopping at multiple cities on the way? There is probably no better app that helps you get from one country to another than Rome2Rio.
Fast Company has previously spotlighted the platform—which is basically like a Google Maps for major modes of travel between any two points on the planet—but it's worth mentioning here again because it is so useful (and the smartphone app is great). Rome2Rio will show you how to navigate between two places—no matter if by car, train, bus, plane, or ferry—and show you how much it is likely to cost based on your selected mode of transport.
Transit
Finally, it's worth mentioning that one of the easiest transportation apps to use is Transit, thanks to its excellent user interface, which makes following step-by-step transit directions a cinch. As soon as you open the app, you'll instantly see the public transport options closest to you—no searching required. It also displays route options in a color-coded bar chart format, letting you choose the best one for you at a glance.
Transit is currently available in 25 countries and over 870 cities. The majority of those cities are in the United States, Canada, and France, but the app also supports major cities in popular destinations for U.S. tourists, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other select global cities.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
15 minutes ago
- Fox News
8 hiking water bottles to stay hydrated on the trails
Unlike regular water bottles, hiking water bottles are designed with durability, portability, and functionality in mind, ensuring they can withstand the rigors of the trail while keeping your water fresh and easily accessible. You'll want a lightweight bottle that straps to your hiking bag or is easy to carry. Each of these eight water bottles offers distinct advantages to help you stay hydrated and energized on your adventures. Whether you're a seasoned hiker or a beginner, make sure you're prepared for the trails. The Raymylo water bottle comes with everything you need to stay hydrated on your next hike. The copper-plated triple-wall vacuum insulation keeps your drinks cold for days. Attached is a paracord handle that easily attaches to your backpack and comes with a compass and carabiner for your keys or other necessities. The straw lid is easy to drink from, and the leakproof lid ensures you don't lose any water, no matter how rugged the trails get. Also included with the Raymylo bottler is a water bottle carrier and cleaning supplies like a bottle brush. Owala FreeSip water bottles come in a large variety of fun colors, and are designed to keep your drinks nice and cold for hours. The bottle has a leakproof spout that opens with an easy push button, plus a carrying loop you can hold or attach to a hiking backpack. Made from BPA-, lead-, and phthalate-free materials, you can be sure you're consuming water and other drinks safely. It's also designed with a FreeSip spout that allows you to sip upright through the straw or tilt it back to swig from the spout opening. Is your classic Yeti a little too heavy to carry on long hikes? Then Yeti's 34 ounce lightweight water bottle is an ideal compromise. You get the same durability that all Yeti cups come with, plus a 100% leakproof tether cap that saves your water during long, bumpy hikes. The water bottle is made from BPA-free materials and 50% recycled plastic, making it a sustainable option. A Yeti water bottle is 50% lighter than Yeti's Rambler bottles, so it won't weigh you down on the trails. You can also find this water bottle, and other Yeti options, on Amazon. Nalgene water bottles are a classic for a reason. They're affordable, colorful and lightweight. The Nalgene ultralite bottle is even more lightweight, designed for hikers and backpackers. Made from Lightweight High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), the lightweight bottle doesn't sacrifice durability. Find this Nalgene on the Nalgene site or on Amazon. There are dozens of designs you can choose from. L.L. Bean has a National Parks-themed Nalgene bottle with logos from all the National Parks. You can also get a limited-edition camo Nalgene, or a psychedelic botanicals bottle. Stanley makes every kind of water bottle you can think of, including one designed for athletes and hikers. The Stanley Cross Bottle has a unique flatter design that makes it comfortable to carry. Also attached is a durable shoulder strap that clips and unclips from the bottle easily. The Cross Bottle comes in a variety of unique colors, just like all of Stanley's bottles. You can find a handful of color options on Amazon. The recycled stainless-steel the bottle is made of keeps your water or other drinks ice-cold while you're out on the trails. Plus, the leakproof lid and removable straw make this a one-of-a-kind bottle all Stanley fans will love. If you aren't ready to part with your Stanley Quencher, you can get a Quencher Carry All case that fits snuggly over your bottle and comes with a shoulder strap. There's also an additional side pocket for smaller items. The Hydro Flask lightweight trail series is 25% lighter than Hydro Flask's wide-mouth bottles, but they still have the same stainless-steel design that keeps your drinks colder for longer. Cold drinks stay cold for up to 24 hours, while hot drinks stay hot for up to 12 hours. The flexible carrying strap pivots easily when clipped to your backpack, so it won't weigh you down. A Hydro Flask bottle is completely BPA-free and leakproof when closed. Find a Hydro Flash trail series water bottle on the Hydro Flask site or on Amazon. A collapsible water bottle gives you the space you need in your backpack and is an ultra-lightweight option. You can choose from dozens of fun colors, including tie-dye options and bright, solid colors, perfectly customizing your water bottle to your hiking look. You won't have to worry about leaks with this bottle. The silicone sealing ring prevents all leaks. Plus, if you don't want to put the bottle in your bag, the carabiner clip allows you to clip it to the outside of your bag. For more deals, visit Already have a water bottle you love? Make it easier to carry with the Mountain Hydro Sling. You can store a water bottle that's up to 32 ounces, plus your keys and other essentials in the included pockets. The versatile bag straps to your bike with the included Velcro strap, or comes with a shoulder strap for easy carrying. There's a paracord cinch and lock at the top that keeps your bottle in place, no matter how bumpy the road. The pockets also have cinches that lock in all your belongings. Grab a Moutain Hydro Sling on Amazon.
%3Amax_bytes(150000)%3Astrip_icc()%2FTAL-header-truck-rv-BOUGHTRVNP0625-56f6010158e34194b25f6a729527e8c9.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Travel + Leisure
17 minutes ago
- Travel + Leisure
How Winning a $15k Price From T+L Led Me to Buy an RV and Visit 20 National Parks Around the U.S.
The white was blindingly bright against the blue, cloudless sky. But it wasn't fresh snowfall; we were in the desert of New Mexico. It was gypsum—undulating dunes of gypsum sand, one after the other, stretching across the horizon. We were in White Sands National Park. The sun appeared gold on a distant spire. It could have been a golden temple in Thailand, but it was a distant mountain glowing at dusk. We were in Death Valley National Park. The trees dripped. The ocean below heaved. But it was quiet under the redwoods, their girth dwarfing our truck and trailer. We'd driven to Redwood National Park in northern California on the road trip of a lifetime. White Sands, Death Valley, Redwood—we visited 20 U.S. national parks and monuments on an 11,000-mile, two-month journey through southern and western America. And we have Travel + Leisure to thank for it. I entered T+L's World's Best Awards survey by rating hotels we'd stayed at in Singapore and Thailand. Then, I forgot about it. Months later, I received an email saying I might have won a prize. I thought it was a scam. But it wasn't: I had won $15,000. I thought, what could I do with $15,000? I could take a trip. In 48 years of marriage, we'd traveled to Europe, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, and China. We'd been to resorts and on cruises. But other than the Grand Canyon, I'd never been to the national parks. It had to be a road trip, and it required a traveling "home,' a recreational vehicle. The prize money from T+L helped us buy Rosie, a small camping trailer named for her likeness to the robot maid in The Jetsons . She had everything we needed: a queen-sized bed, a diminutive kitchen with a dinette, and a bathroom just big enough for Superman to change in. Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure We left our home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Nov. 25, 2024. Our first national park was the smallest one: Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. We took the ratcheting little elevator up to the top of the world's tallest arch at 630 feet. The view from above St. Louis was pretty, but I found the one from below, at the base of the stainless-steel monument designed by Eero Saarinen, to be even better. We spent Thanksgiving near Oklahoma City, and had steak, eating local, instead of turkey. After a long drive following Route 66 through Texas and New Mexico, we visited Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Entire trees, some 200 feet tall, left where they fell in the Painted Desert more than 200 million years ago, are now crystalline. The Route 66 wall mural in Winslow, Arizona. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure Entering Death Valley National Park, we stopped at the first overlook, Zabriskie Point. The view was shocking: miles and miles of rock—mudstone badlands—filling the horizon. People were scrabbling over these enormous piles far off in the distance. It was just before Christmas, and The Inn at Death Valley, a restored adobe compound set in a desert-oasis garden, was decorated with pinyon pine. Frank Sinatra's voice, singing Christmas songs, wafted in the air. From our first view of El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite felt big—big sky, big climbs, big views. The valley is ringed by monumental granite walls, made famous by photographer Ansel Adams. On our second night, we visited The Ahwahnee hotel for dinner. Walking into the dining room, we were overwhelmed by the height of the windows at one end and the timbered ceiling beams above us. When we left Yosemite, snow was just starting to fall. Our last national park before the holidays was the Redwood. It was wet with rain, but silent under the protection of the big trees. We hiked quietly through the park, the only sounds the squishing of our shoes and the dripping of water onto our heads. The iconic Joshua trees in Californias Joshua Tree National Park. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure In January, we visited Sequoia National Park, California wine country, and Palm Springs, followed by Joshua Tree and Saguaro national parks. In Carlsbad Caverns, we walked 750 feet down into the earth, met at every turn with calcite formations. Big Bend National Park is in the southwest corner of Texas, along the Rio Grande. It's one of the biggest and most remote national parks, with 1,250 square miles that includes the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains, and spectacular river canyons. We hiked Santa Elena Canyon, its sheer walls rising in Mexico barely a stone's throw away. Traveling through Big Bend National Park in Texas. Jane Siegel/Travel + Leisure Our last park was a national parkway, the Natchez Trace, which follows an ancient trail used by Native Americans and explorers such as Daniel Boone, from Natchez, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee. We hiked parts of the Sunken Trace, a portion so deeply worn down that its walls can reach up to 15 feet above the trail. We arrived back in Michigan on Feb. 1, 2025. Rosie is now in storage, waiting for the next adventure. And I am itching to get back out again. The national parks restored in me a childlike sense of wonder. Every day brought something new to see. You should go. And when you see the next T+L contest, enter it. You might be surprised by what happens next.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
World Cup travel ban fallout is ‘part of what it means to host an event': State Dept
The U.S. State Department has sought to justify a travel ban that leaves nationals from over a dozen countries at risk of being blocked from entering the United States for the FIFA World Cup or the Olympic Games, saying that addressing security concerns is 'part of what it means to host an event.' In a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, the State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott was quizzed by journalists following the announcement of full bans for citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Partial restrictions have also been imposed on the entry of nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Advertisement While President Trump's executive order, signed on Wednesday, contains exemptions for nationals who would be entering the country as athletes for major sporting events, as well as support staff and immediate relatives of athletes or teams, there are no such assurances for fans. Iran has already qualified for the men's World Cup in 2026, which will be co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, while Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Libya are among the teams with varying degrees of probability of qualifying for the tournament. Haiti's ability to play in this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup appeared to be confirmed on Thursday, having initially been placed into doubt by the executive order. This is because the order made a specified exemption for the World Cup and Olympics, but added other events would be assessed as whether they are deemed sufficiently 'major' by the Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Thursday morning, the State Department did not answer directly when asked whether either the FIFA Club World Cup or the Gold Cup, both of which will be played in the U.S. this summer, are 'major sporting events.' A State Department spokesperson simply told The Athletic: 'We are implementing the President's directive to secure U.S. borders and protect American communities and citizens.' However, despite the executive order saying events would be adjudicated upon by the State Department, a White House spokesperson told The Athletic that both the Gold Cup and Club World Cup are deemed major events. This appears to pave the way for Haiti to compete in the Gold Cup and also enables nationals from the banned countries to compete in their club teams during the Club World Cup. There was less reassuring news, however, for supporters of these nations. During a news conference, Pigott said: 'I think both people that are coming and Americans would hope that we can have confidence that when people come to the United States, when they come, that they are properly vetted. Advertisement 'I think this goes to the exact same consideration. I think that this is part of what it means to host an event of this magnitude, to make sure that we have that confidence. Again, we're in constant communication with countries about ways that we can see the vetting process we need to see, to have that collaboration and make sure that we're having those security concerns addressed. This is part of what it means to host an event. I believe people coming from all around the world, Americans going to these events, would want to see actions like this. We take security concerns extremely seriously. We want people to be able to go to the World Cup and do so safely.' Trump's executive order describes Iran as a 'state sponsor of terrorism,' alleging that the state 'regularly fails to cooperate with the United States Government in identifying security risks.' Venezuelan nationals are accused of overstaying their visas at a rate of just under 10 per cent when visiting the country on a short-term tourist or business visas, while Trump's order claimed that 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration.' Exemptions are made for individuals, such as Iranian dual citizens who are traveling with a passport from a non-banned country. There will also be entry granted to Iranians on immigrant visas owing to ethnic or religious persecution in their home country.
