TECH & APPS You'll USE
Here's my running list of the best travel apps and tech that will make your travel relaxed and easy.
Download the free MyTSA app before your next departure.
It lets you check real-time security wait times at your airport, look up whether a specific item can go in your carry-on or checked bag, and view flight delay status pulled directly from the FAA. The historical data feature is particularly useful. It shows how busy your airport typically is on your specific travel day and time, so you can plan when to arrive rather than guess. It also connects you to live TSA support if you have questions at the checkpoint. Available on both iPhone and Android.
MyTSA App
This is TSA's own app, and it's surprisingly useful.
FlightQueue estimates security, immigration, and check-in wait times at over 8,700 airports worldwide. What makes it useful is the "Best Time to Arrive" calculator. Enter your airport and flight time, and it factors in historical patterns, current conditions, and crowd-sourced reports to tell you when to leave for the airport. It covers both domestic and international terminals, so it's just as helpful when you're clearing immigration at Heathrow or Fiumicino as it is at Sky Harbor. The free version handles the basics. If you travel frequently, the premium tier adds real-time checkpoint data and alert notifications.
FlightQueue.com
Airport Wait Times
Before you head to the airport, check FlightAware's MiseryMap. It's a live visualization of delays and cancellations at major U.S. airports, updated in real time.
Green means flights are moving. Red means they're not. It won't tell you why a delay is happening, but it gives you an immediate read on conditions at your departure airport, your connection, and your destination. I recommend checking it the night before you fly, once in the morning, and again before you leave for the airport. If your hub is showing heavy red, you'll have time to adjust rather than react.
The "Misery Map" on FlightAware
Before heading to the airport, check this.
If you have Global Entry, download the Global Entry Mobile App and set it up before your next international trip. The app lets you complete your arrival processing from your phone while you're still on the plane, then bypass the kiosk line entirely and go straight to a CBP officer. It's available at 53 U.S. ports of entry and all Preclearance locations U.S. Customs and Border Protection. With ongoing staffing disruptions causing longer lines at immigration, this is one of the simplest ways to shave time off your re-entry. Open the app once you land, take a selfie for biometric verification, and you'll receive a digital receipt to present at the officer station. Free to download on iPhone and Android.
Global Entry Mobile App
I spend more time than you'd expect doing what I can only call geography coaching. Most of us underestimate how far apart destinations actually are, and that matters when you're building an itinerary. The True Size Of is a free tool that lets you drag any country onto a map of the United States so you can see it at a comparable scale. It's surprisingly revealing. If you picture Tehran as Long Island, Athens would be somewhere in Montana. If London is Vancouver, Rome is Las Vegas. That kind of context changes how you think about pacing, internal flights, and how much you can realistically see in a week. It's also just fun to play around with before a trip.
Understanding the Scale of Where You're Going
Download the free Mobile Passport Control app now, whether you have Global Entry or not. This is your backup plan. When the government shutdown began, Global Entry kiosks went offline and members were funneled into standard immigration lines. Travelers who already had MPC on their phones were able to use the dedicated MPC lane and clear customs in minutes while everyone else waited. The app lets you submit your passport info, customs declaration, and a selfie from your phone before you even leave the plane. You'll receive a QR code receipt and walk straight to the MPC lane at the airport. It's available at 60 locations including 35 U.S. international airports, 14 Preclearance locations, four seaports, and four land border crossings U.S. Customs and Border Protection. No application, no interview, no membership required. It takes five minutes to set up, and you'll be glad you did if anything disrupts normal processing again.
Mobile Passport App
If you're renting a car abroad, you should have an International Driver's Permit (IDP). It's a translation of your U.S. license into multiple languages, and many countries legally require one, even if the rental counter doesn't always ask for it. If you're stopped by local police without one, the fines can be significant. You can get an IDP at any AAA location, and they now offer an online application as well. The permit is valid for one year, costs $20, and you'll need two passport photos and a valid U.S. driver's license. Get it before you go. It takes five minutes and eliminates a problem you don't want to deal with overseas.
International Driver's Permit
Flighty is the flight tracking app I recommend to every client. It predicts delays before the airline announces them, sometimes hours earlier, by pulling from FAA data, inbound aircraft tracking, and real-time pattern analysis. You'll know your plane is running late while the departure board still says "on time." That matters most during connections. If you're routing through JFK during summer thunderstorms or ORD in winter, Flighty gives you enough lead time to rebook before the gate agent queue forms. It also sends push notifications for gate changes, departure time shifts, and baggage carousel assignments. The free version covers the basics. The Pro subscription adds the predictive delay alerts, which is where the real value is.
Flighty
Google Lens is already on your phone and most travelers forget it exists. Point your camera at a menu, a street sign, a train schedule, or an ingredient list and it translates instantly, right on the screen. No typing, no copying text into a translation app. For clients who care about food, and most of mine do, this removes the guesswork at restaurants where the menu is only in Italian or Turkish. You can read every dish, ask informed questions, and order with confidence instead of pointing at what the next table is having. It also works on museum placards, pharmacy labels, and transit maps. Free, built into the Google app on both iPhone and Android.
Google Lens
Jet lag doesn't have to ruin your first two days. Timeshifter builds a personalized plan based on your exact flight times, sleep patterns, and chronotype, then tells you precisely when to seek light, avoid light, sleep, and have caffeine in the days before and after your flight. It's science-based and specific to your itinerary, not generic advice about drinking water on the plane. Clients who actually follow the plan arrive functional and ready to engage with where they are instead of sleeping through their first morning in Rome. For any trip crossing three or more time zones, it's worth the download.
Timeshifter
WhatsApp is the default communication tool across most of Europe. Hotels, restaurants, tour guides, and drivers all use it, and it works over Wi-Fi so you’re not dependent on a cellular signal.
If you don’t already have it, download it before your trip and set it up with your regular phone number. It’s free and takes about two minutes.
I also use WhatsApp for quick communication during your trip, so having it installed means we can connect easily if anything comes up while you’re traveling.
Many tour operators and driving services use WhatsApp to text message you directly as you travel.
Smartify is a free app that lets you scan artwork in museums and galleries and instantly see what you’re looking at: title, artist, historical context, and often a short audio guide. It works in hundreds of major museums across Europe.
It’s not a replacement for a skilled guide, but when you’re wandering a gallery on your own and something catches your eye, it gives you the context that turns looking into understanding.
Smartify
If you've worked with me, you've heard me say it: don't be cheap with your cell phone. Your phone should work abroad the same way it works at home. You've invested thousands in flights and properties. Paying $12 a day to have reliable data is not the place to cut corners. But I understand the hesitation. International phone plans can feel confusing, and nobody wants a surprise charge on their bill. Airalo makes it simple. It sells eSIMs for 200+ countries and regions, and you can buy and install one before you leave home. Local, regional, or global plans are available depending on your itinerary. No SIM card swapping, no hunting for a phone shop after you land, no standing in the arrivals hall with no map and no ability to message your driver. Download the app, choose your destination, and activate when you arrive. It's the most practical fix for the "I landed and now I have no data" problem.
Airalo
On group trips, someone always ends up covering dinner. Then someone else grabs the museum tickets. By day three, nobody remembers who paid for what and nobody wants to be the one doing math at the table. Splitwise tracks shared expenses in real time so everyone can see the running balance without an awkward conversation at the end of the trip. It handles uneven splits, multiple currencies, and groups of any size. I recommend it for family trips, multi-generational travel, and any group where more than two people are sharing costs. Add expenses as you go, and the app calculates who owes what at the end. Free to download.
Splitwise
Most of my clients already have this and don't realize it. Priority Pass comes bundled with many premium credit cards, and it gives you access to over 1,300 airport lounges and dining experiences worldwide. The app shows you exactly what's available at your departure airport, your connection, and your arrival. Comfortable seating, real food, a quiet place to regroup between flights. I've had excellent Priority Pass experiences in Lima and Guangzhou, places where a long layover turned into one of the better meals of the trip. Before your next journey, check your credit card benefits. If you have Priority Pass, download the app and set it up now. You're paying for it whether you use it or not.
Priority Pass
