3 Apps You Need for International Travel: GigSky, Wise & Google Maps
Your phone has become one of the most useful things you carry when traveling internationally. It holds boarding passes and reservations, gives you directions, helps you communicate, provides access to your money and can solve countless little problems that come up along the way.
I’ve previously written about the two most important things when traveling internationally: your passport and reliable access to money. Your phone comes in just behind those essentials because it has become the tool we use to access so much of everything else.
That makes the apps you put on your phone pretty important too.
You could install dozens of travel apps, but three categories handle an enormous portion of what I actually need when traveling outside the United States:
GigSky or another eSIM provider for connectivity.
Wise for managing and accessing money.
Google Maps for navigation, with Citymapper as a useful alternative in transit-heavy cities.
Together, they solve three of the most common international travel problems: How do I get online? How do I pay for things? And how do I get where I’m going?
In This Post
1. GigSky or Another eSIM Provider: Get Connected
Reliable mobile data makes almost everything about international travel easier.
You may need your phone to navigate from the airport or cruise terminal, access reservations and tickets, check transportation schedules, translate something, order a ride, message your travel companions or simply look up information while you’re exploring.
Your regular wireless carrier may offer international roaming, and it may work perfectly. The problem is that you don’t want your entire trip depending on the word “may.”
I’ve experienced this firsthand.
During a river cruise on the Seine, our Verizon international coverage completely failed on both my phone and my wife’s phone even though international service was active. We were in Paris trying to navigate, access reservations and make the most of limited sightseeing time.
Without backup connectivity, the situation would have been much more difficult and we likely would have missed several places we’d traveled all that way to see.
That experience is a big reason I now consider a backup eSIM an important part of international travel.
eSim Providers To Consider:
Related: Why a Backup SIM is a Requirement for International Travel
Why an eSIM?
An eSIM is essentially a digital SIM that allows compatible phones to add another cellular plan without swapping a physical SIM card.
For international travel, that means you can potentially leave your normal cellular plan installed while adding a second provider for international data.
There are a number of international eSIM providers, and the best option can depend on where you’re traveling, how long you’ll be gone and how much data you need.
The bigger point isn’t that everyone needs to use the same company.
The important thing is having another way to get connected.
Your primary international plan and an eSIM don’t necessarily compete with one another. They can back each other up.
Why GigSky Is Particularly Interesting for Cruises
GigSky is particularly compelling for cruise travel because it offers cruise-specific connectivity in addition to land-based plans.
That’s different from a typical international eSIM that connects to terrestrial cellular networks while you’re in port but loses that connection after the ship heads out to sea.
If you’re buying an eSIM specifically for a cruise, check whether the plan provides land coverage, cruise ship coverage or both. Those are not the same thing.
For cruise travelers who want another connectivity option beyond the ship’s Wi-Fi and their regular carrier, that can make GigSky particularly useful.
Even if you prefer to unplug while you’re traveling, having a second connection available as a backup can be incredibly valuable when something goes wrong.
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2. Wise: Manage Your Travel Money
If connectivity is problem number one, access to money is arguably even more important.
My broader international travel strategy is not based on having one perfect credit or debit card. It’s based on having multiple independent ways to access money and keeping those payment methods separate.
Wise fits extremely well into that strategy.
Wise lets you hold and convert money in multiple currencies and spend from your balance using a Wise debit card. You can convert some money into your destination’s currency before leaving, or leave funds in dollars and allow Wise to handle the conversion when you make a purchase.
For a trip that crosses several countries and currencies, that’s particularly convenient.
But currency conversion isn’t actually my favorite reason for using Wise.
Wise Can Be a Financial Firewall
When I’m traveling, I don’t particularly like the idea of repeatedly inserting the debit card connected directly to my primary checking account into unfamiliar ATMs, ticket machines and payment terminals.
Wise gives me another layer between those transactions and my everyday banking.
I can transfer a limited amount of travel money into Wise and spend from that balance instead.
If there’s a problem, I haven’t necessarily exposed the debit card attached directly to the account I use for everyday banking.
I think of Wise as a financial firewall of sorts for travel.
I cover that strategy, currency conversion, ATM withdrawals, digital cards and more in much more detail here:
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Related: Using Wise for Travel: Convert Currency, Spend Abroad & Protect Your Everyday Card
Don’t Make Wise Your Only Card
Wise is a debit card, not a credit card, and I don’t think it should be your only payment method.
I still want a good travel credit card for things such as hotel deposits, rental cars, large purchases and situations where credit-card protections are useful.
I also want another backup card stored separately.
A wallet containing three cards isn’t really three backups if losing the wallet means losing all three at once.
Wise works particularly well as one component of a diversified travel-money setup.
And when an ATM or payment terminal offers to charge you in U.S. dollars instead of the local currency, generally choose the local currency and decline the terminal’s currency conversion.
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3. Google Maps: Know Where You’re Going Before You Get There
The third essential app is Google Maps.
It sounds obvious, but international travel is where Google Maps becomes much more than something you open when you need driving directions.
Before leaving home, save important locations for your trip:
- Your airport
- Hotel
- Cruise terminal
- Train and metro stations
- Excursion meeting points
- Attractions you’ve already booked
- Restaurants you want to try
- ATMs
- Pharmacies
- Rental car locations
- Transportation pickup and drop-off points
For a cruise, I especially like saving the cruise terminal and important locations around each port before arriving.
If you’re exploring independently, you can also save the location of the ship or terminal before wandering off. That gives you a quick reference point when it’s time to head back.
Instead of arriving in another country and starting from scratch, your phone already contains a basic roadmap for the trip.
Google Maps Is Useful for More Than Directions
Walking directions are one of the features I use most when traveling internationally.
Google Maps can also help you find nearby train stations, restaurants, coffee shops, pharmacies, ATMs and other places you may need while you’re out exploring.
That becomes particularly useful in a city where street names, public transportation systems and even the language may be unfamiliar.
You can also save places you want to visit ahead of time. When several saved locations are clustered together, it’s much easier to see what makes sense to visit during the same outing.
Download Offline Maps
Downloading Google Maps data for your destination before leaving home is one of the easiest travel backups you can create.
If cellular data isn’t working, you’ll still have access to downloaded map information.
Offline maps do have limitations, so I wouldn’t treat them as a complete replacement for connectivity.
That’s another reason the combination of eSIM + Google Maps works so well.
The offline map is your backup.
The eSIM provides the live connection that makes navigation much more useful.
Consider Citymapper for Public Transportation
If you’re going to be navigating a large city primarily by subway, train and bus, Citymapper is also worth installing.
Google Maps is my choice as the general-purpose international travel app because it works in so many destinations and handles walking, driving, places and navigation in one place.
Citymapper is much more focused on urban transportation.
For a trip involving several days in a major city, there’s no reason you can’t have both installed.
I think of them this way:
Google Maps = your general international navigation app
Citymapper = your public-transportation specialist
Personally, I tend to come back to Google Maps again and again, even for public transportation but this is another one of those “have a backup scenarios”. I have and recommend both.
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The Common Theme: Don’t Depend on One Thing
The real connection between these three apps is redundancy.
Your eSIM gives you another way to get online if your primary service doesn’t work.
Wise gives you another way to access money without relying entirely on the debit card connected to your everyday checking account.
Offline Google Maps gives you useful navigation information even when your connection disappears.
That’s the same philosophy I discuss in The Two Most Important Things When Traveling Internationally.
One lost wallet, one failed cellular connection or one problem with a card shouldn’t be enough to derail your trip.
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Set Everything Up Before You Leave
The airport after you’ve landed in another country is a terrible place to discover that something wasn’t configured correctly.
Before your trip:
- Install and configure your eSIM.
- Make sure your phone supports eSIM and is unlocked if required.
- Learn how to switch between your cellular plans.
- Set up and fund your Wise account.
- Receive and activate your physical Wise card if you plan to use one.
- Add eligible payment cards to your phone’s digital wallet.
- Save important destinations in Google Maps.
- Download offline maps for the places you’ll be visiting.
Then test as much as you reasonably can before departure.
The goal isn’t to spend your vacation staring at your phone. It’s the opposite.
With connectivity, money and navigation already figured out, you can spend less time solving problems and more time enjoying where you traveled all that way to see.
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Many cruise cabins have a common problem… lack of outlets. This has generally gotten better with newer ships, but can still be an issue. Even newer ships that have more cabin outlets, the outlets can be placed in such a way as to limit their usability. If two outlets are too close together… you can only use one.
