Best Free Travel Apps For Your Alaska Trip

Best Free Travel Apps For Your Alaska Trip

Alaska! They call it the last frontier. And in many ways, it is. As soon as you leave the city, you´re in it. As soon as you leave the highway, you’re in it. And here are the best free travel apps for your trip to Alaska, helping you make your vacation the best you´ve ever had before!

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As this trip was a dream of mine for such a long time, and I was a bit scared that everything works out, of course, I did a bit of research beforehand. Will I be eaten by a bear? Will my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and no one will ever find me? I heart, saw, and read so many things, and as much as I saw, as more fascinated I was.

To be prepared as much as possible, and downloaded a few new apps and updated my regular travel “buddies” before I left home.

Below I will tell you a bit about my favorite travel helpers and the top travel apps for your Alaska vacation!

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Best Travel Apps For Your Trip To Alaska

1. TheAlaskaApp 

The Alaska App is based on GPS and provides local recommendations, things to do, lodging, audio guides, wildlife viewing spots, weather and aurora forecasts, and a lot more. The main functions work without internet or cell phone service, which makes this app my favorite. 

Whenever I planned one of Alaska’s days, the app was my go-to for any things to do, no matter if it was things to do or see, tours, shopping, or restaurants. It also provides insider knowledge of viewing points alongside the road. Scenic drives to hidden spots, hikes, or wildlife sightings.

This app also offers a forum to exchange your experience with other travelers or arrange meet-ups with fellow travelers.

It´s the official app of Alaskka.org, and the download is for free. As I said, most features like the guides to the areas are accessible without any internet connection. Most of the time, I left my travel guide book in the hotel and navigated with this one app only.

2. Alaska511

Alaska511 provides information to travelers with state-wide traffic and road condition reporting, covering major highways in Anchorage, Delta Junction, Fairbanks, and more. Any road work, road closures, or any other possible delay. This app knows about it!

I used this app, especially when I was dependant on time. For example, when I booked the Kenai Fjords tour and had to be there at a specific time. I drove from Anchorage to Seward and didn´t want to risk any delays. So I checked the app before and knew that any road work wouldn´t bother me on that day. One day later? A different story.

It´s a handy little helper and also for free!

3. Aurora Alerts

In case you´re traveling to Alaska in winter, the Aurora Alerts app might be something for you. As I visited in the summer season, I haven´t tested it, and no Aurora would be visible for the next four months. Nevertheless, feel free to check it out when or wherever you’re chasing the Northern Lights.

Best Free Travel Apps For Your Trip To Any Other Country

4. Maps.me

One of the best free travel apps not only for your trip to Alaska and my newest favorite offline map! Maps.me provides detailed maps worldwide. The app can be used offline, too, by downloading the needed maps beforehand. You can download any maps, country by country, and delete them when you don´t need them anymore. It took me a while to figure the usage out, but now I can´t live without it anymore! Well, I could, but I don´t want to! It also knows the most hidden addresses, which even my GPS doesn´t know.

I used it for my NYC visit, my Cuba road trip, and now, here in Alaska. I couldn´t be happier. It also works for pedestrian routes, with which google maps often have trouble. Wherever I go, Maps.me is with me!

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5. Google Maps

It works like the regular Google Maps but offline. Unfortunately, it´s not compatible with iPhones. Although I prefer Maps.me I like to have as a backup plan. And because I usually have an Android phone, using it isn´t an issue at all to me.

6. Google Translate

I won´t use it so much for my English-speaking trips. But it helped me a lot while I was traveling to South America last year. It works the same way as Google Maps. Download the necessary language in advance and start translating. Google Translate also can scan text from packaging, menus, or other surfaces and gives you the translation. 

7. Airbnb

Stay in a home away from home. I usually use Airbnb on my laptop, but, of course, there is an app, too! By the way, if you book your first stay with Airbnb, you can get a discount of 25€/ 30$ using this link.  

8. Booking.com

Not forgetting about Booking.com*. One more booking platform which works almost everywhere in the world. You enter your dates and the destination, and *bam* you get all possibly available accommodation. There is no need to look around for vacancy signs or knock on doors if the next B&B has a free room. From Hostels to Luxury Hotels, you can find almost everything here.

9. GetYourGuide

Use the GetYourGuide* app for finding top-rated tours and activities. If you´re looking for any cool stuff to do and want to do an excursion to the Fjords, the Arctic Circle, or anywhere else, this might be the easiest way. You can look up any trips on the internet as well, but finding, booking, and coordinating any of them in one place, this app is the most convenient one.

10. Snapseed

Of course, you´ll take loads of pictures. Every almost every corner, you´ll find new breathtaking scenery, and you´ll tend to take a bunch of photos of each of them. A good photo edit app might be useful. Snapseed is my favorite. Easy to use, many available filters, and if you know a bit about editing, you can even do more with your pics. And it´s all for free.

11. Adobe Lightroom Mobile

Another photo editing app is Adobe Lightroom mobile. I newly discovered that one when I learned more about editing pictures, presets, and such stuff.

I´m not an editing freak, so any apps need to be intuitive useable. If you get familiar with its functions, especially how you can set up your personal presets (many settings so that your pictures get a unique look), this app is more and more fun and provides incredible results.

There are people out there who sell their presets so that you can use them for your pictures. However, here and there, you can find free ones as well. Get one of those and play around with them and find your style. You can save your own presets and use them over and over again. Unfortunately, not all the features are for free.

At the moment, I use Lightroom for getting a distinctive look for my pics, and if needed, I go back to Snapseed for the final touch.

A Few More Not So Free Travel Apps

Of course, there might be many more useful travel apps, free ones, and paid ones. I usually try to reduce my use of apps as much as possible. Therefore, I only mentioned the ones which I use all the time.

For my stay in Alaska, I didn´t need any other apps. But if you´re unlike me, more a fan of camping or hiking, there are a few paid apps that might help you. Alaska Campgrounds and Scenic Map Alaska are useful for finding the next campground or the best hiking trails. But there are not for free.

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No matter if you use any of these apps or if you have other favorites, maybe you have a stack of the best free travel apps for your trip to Alaska yourself? I hope you´ll have a blast on your next vacation.

Comment below which you´re favorite travel apps are or which you don´t like.