Most people carry smartphones with them on holiday. As well as being useful for communication and taking photographs, there are numerous apps that can benefit your trip. We choose 12 of the best free apps for a great holiday. All the apps are available free in the App Store or on Google Play.

1 Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a great app for searching the cheapest or most efficient flights and routes. It allows you to search, compare and book flights without having to trawl through endless airline sites or apps.

2 Google Maps

It’s hard to beat the free GoogleMap app for navigating in a new place. It works worldwide and offers downloadable maps for offline use, too.  

3 XE Currency

Convert any currency on-the-go with the XE Currency app. It provides offers live proprietary exchange rates and historical charts. It also stores the last updated rates so it even works off-line.

4 Entrain

The Entrain app can be useful for adjusting more quickly to new time zones. The app monitors your body's circadian clock using your smartphone. It also asks questions to work out what time your body thinks it is at that moment and it then tells you if you should be in a light or dark environment

5 Splitwise

If you are travelling in a group you can use Splitwise to help you to work out the shared costs for each person. All you need to do is add joint expenses and costs as you go along and Splitwise will tell you who owes who. There’s also a PayPal integration system for easier payments.

6 Foodspotting

This app recommends food dishes, rather than restaurant reviews. People upload photos of great dishes they have eaten to Foodspotting. This is a useful app if you are traveling to a new city.

7 LiveTrekker

The LiveTrekker app allows you to keep a detailed record of your holiday complete with a route track, geotagged photos, videos and audio. All this is laid out on a map. This could be a great app to sue if you are on a walking or cycling holiday.

8 Gogobot

Explore, plan and book anywhere in the world thanks to Gogobot reviews of hotels, restaurants and activities. Gogobot also helps you to create a "passport" of your travels and share your experiences, pictures and reviews.

9 TimerCam

If you are in remote places with no one to take your photo, but you’re tired of taking selfies, try a self-timer app such as TimerCam.

10 Snapseed

Snapseed allows you to edit photos and apply digital filters with ease. You can change the ambiance, structure, saturation, contrast and so much more with this useful on-the-move app.

11 Memrise

Memrise combines memory tricks with games to help you to learn the local language of a new destination. There are some 200 languages on this free app.

12 Opera Mini

The Opera Mini browser shrinks webpages to as little as 10% of their original size so that websites load faster and cost less, since you'll use much less data. Opera Mini can also help with crowded Wi-Fi networks and poor internet reception.