Going on an Italian vacation soon? Understandably, the travel and planning process can be daunting, and navigating a new country can be overwhelming. Luckily, your cellphone is at your disposal and is easily equipped with applications to make life easier. That’s where these resources come in – the best travel apps for Italy.
Whether planning a trip to Italy for a few days or weeks, these apps will help make the journey more seamless. This list includes a range of useful apps that assist in critical areas of travel, including transportation, tours and activities, food, communication, weather reading, and more.
READ: Our guide to Using your cellphone in Italy.
Keep reading to learn more about the best apps to accompany you on your Italian adventure, with their relevant download links on both IOS and Android platforms.
Apps for Getting Around
First, you need travel apps to help get around while exploring Italy, whether simply for directions or for learning how to navigate transport systems. These apps offer various tools for driving, identifying legal parking zones, or using public transportation, depending on your needs.
Google Maps
When exploring a new country, you need a map to learn your way around, and most recommend Google Maps. Google Maps offers a conventional road map layout and the option for street view, which shows 360-degree images of the area.
Not only can you download maps offline, but the app also shows locations for almost everything, including restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions. Google Maps also gives detailed directions for various modes of transport, including car, bicycle, or on foot.
Download Google Maps: IOS | Android
Omio
Omio is an app that makes bookings for public transportation across Europe simple, including planes, buses, trains, and ferries. The app allows you to purchase tickets and compare prices with six different transport companies in Italy, including two for trains (Trenitalia and Italo Treno) and four for ferries (CNG, Mobylines, NLG, and Positano Jet).
Once your ferry or train tickets have been booked, you can track any updates and have access to 24/7 customer service in English. Omio is perfect for finding the best and exclusive deals on your tickets. Booking cancellations are also pretty straightforward, and you can receive up to 80% of your total ticket cost back.
Trainline
Similar to Omio, Trainline is used for public transport and bookings. It shows detailed bus and train schedules across various Italian cities, with live timings to help plan your day. You can book numerous trips in advance, making getting around much more effortless when hopping between cities.
The app also shows price comparisons for various companies, alerts you of lower prices or discounts on train tickets, and allows the ease of mobile tickets. If you’re in a pinch, the app makes it possible to book a ticket as little as 15 minutes before a train or bus ride.
Download Trainline: IOS | Android
FreeNow (Rome)
FreeNow is a necessary addition to your Italy trip. It provides the opportunity to order taxis and cars and is particularly useful when visiting Rome. Payment is made right from your cellphone, which means no cash is required.
Your driver will pick you up from your current location and quickly take you to your destination. If you find a driver you like, there’s the option to rate them and add them as a favorite for next time. FreeNow also offers the option for scooter, Moped, or car rentals if you’d prefer to travel alone.
Download FreeNow: IOS | Android
itTaxi (Florence)
This is another taxi service app that provides taxi rides across Italy. However, it is especially good when visiting Florence. A driver will pick you up from your location and take you wherever you need to go, and you can pay digitally thereafter. A bonus of this app is that it can save data on your favorite routes, so you can request the same trip without re-entering any information.
Download itTaxi: IOS | Android
Uber (Rome and Milan Only)
Uber is likely one of your favorite apps, but unfortunately, it isn’t available in most Italian cities. That said, if you’re in Milan or Rome, you can use Uber easily. The ride-sharing service has plenty of private car or car-sharing options, whether you want an affordable ride on your own or an UberXL for a group of up to six people. Request rides right from the app, pay easily, and make traveling through the city a breeze.
Moovit
Moovit is your go-to for all local public transport options across Italy, from buses and subways to bikes and scooters – pretty much anything. It prioritizes efficiency and ease of use, showing you all the information you’d need to travel. That includes live timing and schedules, pricing details, arrival times, alerts on traffic jams or accidents that might affect your journey, and more. It also provides detailed maps of travel routes.
Download Moovit: IOS | Android
Waze
Waze is another useful GPS app that provides directions, locations for your destinations, and the ability to download offline maps when you don’t have access to Wi-Fi. It’s similar to Google Maps in that it gives safety and traffic alerts but includes the added benefit of ZTL alerts. ZTL zones are restricted traffic areas, usually near popular and important cultural sites in major Italian cities, where you will be heavily fined for driving or parking. So, an app like Waze is essential to help you avoid them.
EasyPark
Driving in Italy is daunting enough as it is, so the last thing you need is to worry about parking. If you are renting a car in Italy, EasyPark is a necessary companion to help you identify parking areas, pay for parking sessions, and keep track of how long you’ve been parked. The EasyPark app is easy to use, works in most places, and allows you to extend your parking sessions remotely. The app also allows you to pay to charge your electric vehicle if needed.
Download EasyPark: IOS | Android
Apps for Tours and Activities
Without a doubt, the best way to explore Italy is through a tour. They’re easy to follow and jampacked with information on each destination you visit. So, whether you are planning a private tour of Italy or trying some of the best Vatican tours in Rome, these great apps will become your new favorites.
GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide is an online service that provides access to thousands of tours and activities worldwide, including Italy. Find everything you could dream of, from guided tours and skip-the-line entry tickets to popular locations, like the Vatican Museums, or even cooking classes in the food capital, Bologna. The GetYourGuide app is easy to install on your phone, provides reviews and top-rated experiences, and helps save time and money.
Download GetYourGuide: IOS | Android
Viator
Viator is the second of these two apps that gives access to various tours and experiences during your Italy vacation. Like GYG, you can access thousands of activities and easily book them from your device. It offers comparative prices, a wide range of options, and customer reviews from fellow travelers to help you decide which tour is best for you.
Viator also has a bonus feature to earn rewards, so there will be an opportunity to earn discounts on future bookings. It’s a must-add download app that will help you discover interesting sights and attractions in every corner of the country.
Download Viator: IOS | Android
Rick Steves Audio Europe
To explore Italy’s attractions without a professional guide, these Rick Steves Audio Guides are a must. They allow you to go through each attraction at your own pace while providing detailed information. The app is free to use, organizes the guides easily, and offers audio guides for major Italian cities, including Rome, Florence, Venice, Assisi, Siena, Milan, and Naples.
Each audio guide comes with a detailed map to follow and images that can be compared to what you see in real life. Plus, each guide can be downloaded to your device and used offline. If that wasn’t enough, the guides are updated frequently with new and exciting locations to enjoy.
Download Rick Steves Audio Europe: IOS | Android
Apps for Communication
The local language is an integral part of Italian culture, so immersing yourself in it is essential for an enriched experience. While you might find English speakers, learning key phrases in Italian will make your time there much easier. These apps will improve your communication, both with service providers and locals met along the way.
WhatsApp is very popular in Italy as an alternative to regular SMS texting. The benefit of using it is that you don’t incur additional charges for each text – you simply need an internet connection or data from a local SIM card.
However, in Italy, it’s also widely used by businesses, including restaurants and hotels. It’s an essential travel app for booking and calling (or sending a message) to make reservations on your trip.
Download WhatsApp: IOS | Android
Google Translate
Language barriers can hinder any vacation, so having a way to access basic translations is important for your trip to Italy. Google Translate is the most easily accessible, completely free, and has translation tools for just about every language.
As long as you have Wi-Fi access, it can translate anything. While it’s suitable for basic phrases, it doesn’t quite account for context, which might lead to misinterpretations. That said, it’s still good in a pinch.
Download Google Translate: IOS | Android
Duolingo
Now, what is the best way to learn Italian? Apart from online courses, face-to-face classes, or online services like Google Translate, Duolingo is the most popular language-learning platform out there. It’s free to use, though a premium version is available.
It offers fun, interactive lessons to help you learn basic Italian phrases that will help in your day-to-day explorations. Plus, it will save key phrases learned throughout your lessons, allowing you to refer back, though these can only be accessed with a Wi-Fi or data connection.
Download Duolingo: IOS | Android
Apps for Food and Eating
There are so many restaurants across the country, so you need an app to help you figure out where to eat (and what to eat). The next round of tools offers a streamlined way to locate the best places to eat, navigate online booking, and translate menu items to see exactly what you’re eating.
The Fork
The Fork is the perfect companion for any foodie. The app lets users find amazing local restaurants serving authentic cuisine and make reservations from their devices. You can filter potential restaurants by how nearby they are, by price, Michelin stars, best ratings, and insider recommendations.
The app has a ton of reviews for each restaurant, too, so you can make a more informed decision on what you’re going to order. What’s more, you can earn discounts on your meals if you make a booking using the app.
Download The Fork: IOS | Android
Michelin Guide
Michelin Guide is the go-to app for a guaranteed quality experience at a local Italian restaurant or hotel. It locates all of the best-rated, nearby restaurants or cafés and makes it easy to book a table. The app is free, but premium “VIP” memberships grant access to amenity upgrades in selected hotels. A defining feature of this app is the ability to create and share lists of your favorite spots, as well as access lists created by other travelers.
Download Michelin Guide: IOS | Android
Happy Cow
Eating out in a foreign country might seem impossible if you follow a vegan diet, especially when all you might expect from a restaurant is a boring salad. With the Happy Cow app, you don’t have to worry about that, as it has a handy list of any vegan and vegetarian restaurants in your area. Restaurants can be filtered by cuisine, food delivery options, and various diet preferences, including gluten-free. With this application, healthy dining has never been easier.
Download Happy Cow: IOS | Android
Italian Food Decoder
Knowing the vocabulary associated with local cuisine in Italy can be challenging. Reading the menu, how can you tell the difference between Arancini and Ossobuco or distinguish between different pasta shapes? That’s where the Italian Food Decoder comes in, offering a database of Italian foods, what they are, and how they’re made. It includes terminology, pictures, blogs, recipes, and even information on local food festivals.
Download Italian Food Decoder: IOS | Android
Apps for Health and Wellness
Health and wellness is broad, but these travel apps cover almost everything you need. They can help discover the best hiking trails, locate water fountains and public bathrooms, and even find healthcare assistance when necessary.
WC Rome (IOS)
While exploring Italy, you’ll eventually need to head to a bathroom, which can be challenging when you’re not at your hotel, a restaurant, or other public attraction. This IOS app eliminates the need to scramble to find a bathroom. It shows a detailed map of over 120 public toilets in Rome, their operating hours, and directions. While it’s only available on Apple devices, you can find similar apps on Google Play Store for Androids.
Download WC Rome: IOS
AllTrails
If you’re an avid hiker, you’ve likely heard about AllTrails already. It’s one of the best travel apps for locating hiking trails for every fitness level. Whether you visit these beautiful Amalfi Coast towns or trek through the Dolomites, this app will have a trail to try. AllTrails includes details like trail length and difficulty and provides a detailed map and waypoints. It also has many reviews and images from others who’ve tried it to help you choose.
Download AllTrails: IOS | Android
WeTap Drinking Fountain Finder (IOS)
Sometimes the best apps for Italy are the ones you didn’t know you needed, this one included. If you don’t want to buy water bottles at a market or restaurant and simply need a quick refresher, you can use water fountains, locally called nasoni. WeTap provides users with a map and locations of these water fountains, effectively saving you money. This particular app is only available on IOS.
Download WeTap Drinking Fountain Finder: IOS
Fountains in Italy (Android)
Fountains in Italy is similar to the previous app and is an alternative for Android devices. It does the same job of helping locate water fountains in most cities and providing directions to each. However, this app allows you to create and add locations of water fountains that aren’t on the application yet to help other app users along their journey. It also has a street view to see exactly what they look like.
Download Fountains in Italy: Android
MedInAction
Nobody wants to have their trip ruined by an illness or injury. In an emergency, it can be challenging to know where to go. MedInAction allows you to have online consultations with registered professionals via text and video calls or even request in-person consultations at your hotel – whatever you need. These trusted medical doctors will help where they can and quickly refer you to the necessary facilities in more serious cases. And if you don’t speak Italian, the app has plenty of English-speaking doctors to assist you.
Download MedInAction: IOS | Android
DISCOVER: Why you Need Travel Insurance for your trip to Italy and where to go for it.
Other Useful Apps
These last few apps don’t quite fit into a category, but they will no doubt make visiting Italy more straightforward. Whether managing finances, finding safe and reliable luggage storage while traveling to and from each city, or simply seeking out the day’s weather forecast, these tools are a necessity for any traveler.
Radical – Luggage Storage
If you’re planning a day trip to a different city and don’t want to bring all your bags, a safe and reliable luggage storage solution will make your life easier. Radical provides just that. The app is easy to use and provides locations of luggage storage facilities across Italy.
Simply locate the most convenient facility, book online for a flat fee of €5 per day (per bag), and explore to your heart’s content. The Radical Luggage Storage service also has a luggage guarantee of up to €3,000 for added peace of mind.
Download Radical – Luggage Storage: IOS | Android
AccuWeather
What’s one thing that can impact every aspect of your trip? That’s right – the weather. Knowing the weather conditions for the day can be the difference between visiting the beach and visiting a museum.
When you visit Italy, apps for checking the weather can be a lifesaver, and AccuWeather is one of the most popular and reliable. It includes weather forecasts, live weather changes, UV indexes, storm alerts, and more advanced tracking options, like air quality. Accurate weather reading is a must for a successful Italy vacation.
Download AccuWeather: IOS | Android
Wise
Available in over 160 countries and working with over 40 different currencies, Wise is a secure money-managing app that simplifies your finances while traveling. All you need to do is register an account on the app and decide how much money you’d like to transfer for travel.
You can choose the amount in your current currency you’d like to send or what you’d like to receive in Euros, and the app will calculate the exchange rate. Wise works with whichever payment method you find easiest, whether that be bank transfer, Apple, or Google Play.
Xe.com
Xe.com is another app that manages finances, checks exchange rates, and arranges money transfers between currencies. It shows the current exchange rate and provides frequent alerts for changes.
It also allows easy transfers between accounts, calculating the total before you send the money. Then, it gives you an estimated time for when the transfer will be completed. It uses mid-market values to help you save money with fewer transfer fees compared to other international transfer services.
The Final Word on the Best Italy Travel Apps
Whether traveling to Rome, Venice, Puglia, or Milan, these are bound to become your new favorite Italy travel apps. Whether you need Google Maps to provide directions through each Italian city or Duolingo to help you learn Italian, these apps cover just about everything needed for a seamless trip.
So, what are you waiting for? Start packing and get ready for your once-in-a-lifetime Italian journey. And if you don’t know where to start, this Italy travel guide should answer all your questions.
Our team of writers and creatives at Untold Italy are experts in keeping you informed and inspired about travel in Italy. Our team collaboration involves writers, photographers and editorial staff dedicated to sharing accurate Italy travel information.
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