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Country guides

Travel apps by country, and what you need to get in

Every country runs on its own apps: the taxi app drivers actually use, the metro card on your phone, the way stalls take payment. Each guide covers the entry rules first, then the apps worth setting up at home, money and the practical bits, all checked against official sources.

Before any trip

Six things to set up wherever you’re going

These work almost everywhere. Do them at home on Wi-Fi, then open the guide for your country for the local apps.

  1. Offline maps. In Google Maps, download the cities and regions you’ll visit, so directions work without data. China is the exception: Google is blocked there, so use Amap.
  2. A language pack. In Google Translate, download the local language for offline use and try camera mode on a menu before you go.
  3. A card that works abroad. A travel card such as Wise or Revolut, or a bank card with no foreign fees, in your phone wallet. Local QR payment systems, like Thailand’s, often won’t take them, so each guide says what does.
  4. Mobile data. Buy an eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land. Check first that your phone is unlocked and supports eSIM.
  5. The messaging app locals use. WhatsApp covers most of Europe, the Middle East and Mexico. Japan, Taiwan and Thailand run on LINE, Vietnam on Zalo and China on WeChat.
  6. Your bookings, offline. Save hotel confirmations, tickets and your hotel’s address in the local script somewhere you can open without signal.

Southeast Asia

Grab is the main app for rides and food in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

Europe

Each country’s rail operator has its own app: SNCF Connect, Renfe, Trenitalia, DB Navigator. A contactless card now pays for the metro in Madrid, Rome and Milan, but not yet at Paris metro gates.

The Gulf

Careem and Uber for rides, and check your visa route early: rules differ by passport.

East Asia

Japan’s Suica can live in an iPhone wallet, Taiwan runs on the EasyCard, and China needs Alipay or WeChat Pay set up before you fly.

East Asia

JapanBullet trains, tiny bars and a Suica in your phone, with cash still close at hand.Key apps: Welcome Suica Mobile, Suica, Google MapsEntry rules and 12 apps · 9 to set up at home →
TaiwanNight markets, mountain trains and an MRT that now takes your phone at the gate.Key apps: Uber, Taipei Metro Go, EasyCard and contactless cardsEntry rules and 11 apps · 6 to set up at home →
ChinaNot yet reviewedPay by QR code, use Amap and DiDi, and set it all up before you fly.Key apps: Alipay, Amap, DiDi10 apps · 5 to set up at home →

Southeast Asia

ThailandStreet food, temples and islands, with a 30-day visa-free stay for many passports.Key apps: Grab, Bolt, BTS and MRTEntry rules and 13 apps · 7 to set up at home →
VietnamPho, sleeper trains and motorbike cities, with an easy online e-visa.Key apps: Grab, Xanh SM, BeEntry rules and 13 apps · 6 to set up at home →
SingaporeHawker centres, gardens and an MRT you can ride with the card in your pocket.Key apps: SimplyGo, Grab, GojekEntry rules and 11 apps · 4 to set up at home →

Middle East

United Arab EmiratesMetro, malls and desert, with taxis and food a few taps away.Key apps: Careem, Uber, S'hailEntry rules and 12 apps · 3 to set up at home →
Saudi ArabiaCheck travel adviceDesert heritage, a brand-new metro and high-speed trains between the holy cities.Key apps: Uber, Careem, BoltEntry rules and 11 apps · 3 to set up at home →

Europe

FranceTGVs, café terraces and a Paris metro you now ride with your phone.Key apps: SNCF Connect, Trainline, Île-de-France MobilitésEntry rules and 12 apps · 5 to set up at home →
SpainFast trains, late dinners and a tap-to-pay Metro in Madrid.Key apps: Renfe, Iryo, OuigoEntry rules and 14 apps · 5 to set up at home →
ItalyFast trains between art cities, tap-to-ride metros and a coperto on the bill.Key apps: Trenitalia, Italo, Trainline or OmioEntry rules and 13 apps · 4 to set up at home →
Türkiye (Turkey)Ferries across the Bosphorus, overnight buses and taxis you can book with an app.Key apps: BiTaksi, Uber, IstanbulkartEntry rules and 12 apps · 6 to set up at home →
United KingdomTap your card on the Tube, book trains in an app, and sort your ETA first.Key apps: TfL Go, Citymapper, TrainlineEntry rules and 14 apps · 6 to set up at home →
GermanyOne ticket for every local train, quiet Sundays and a wallet with some cash in it.Key apps: DB Navigator, Deutschlandticket, BVGEntry rules and 11 apps · 4 to set up at home →
GreeceIsland ferries on your phone, tap-to-ride in Athens and taxis booked by app.Key apps: Ferryhopper, seamore, Athens public transportEntry rules and 11 apps · 5 to set up at home →

North America

United StatesBig distances, tap-to-ride subways and tips on almost everything.Key apps: Uber, Lyft, WaymoEntry rules and 12 apps · 4 to set up at home →
MexicoTacos, ruins and beaches, with Uber and DiDi a tap away in most cities.Key apps: Uber, DiDi, inDriveEntry rules and 10 apps · 4 to set up at home →

What each guide covers

  • Entry rules first: visa, eVisa or travel authorisation, passport validity and any arrival card, with a link to the official checker for your passport.
  • The apps that work there, by job: rides, metro and trains, maps, paying, messaging, food and translation. Each says what it’s for, a tip from using it, and whether to set it up before you fly.
  • A checklist for home, money and tipping, plugs, emergency numbers and mobile data.
  • Sources for every rule and app note, from government sites and the apps’ own pages, and the date we last checked.
A traveler scans a QR code to pay at a street food stall at dusk

Going somewhere else?

Ask for your country in the app’s Travel Kit tab. Guides are added one country at a time, after research, and requests help decide which comes next.

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