Which apps to download before a trip to Europe
Five needs cover most trips: maps that work without signal, the app of the train operator you will use, a translator with the languages downloaded, a wallet with your card already added, and your bank's app. For emergencies you need no app at all: 112 works across the EU and public alerts arrive on their own. Set everything up at home, on Wi-Fi.
Calculate your dataMaps that keep working without signal
- Google Maps: download the area before you go. Driving directions work offline inside it; walking, cycling and transit directions need data.
- Apple Maps: on iPhone, a downloaded area keeps directions for driving, walking, cycling and transit, where the feature is available.
- Organic Maps: a free app built on OpenStreetMap data, for iPhone and Android, designed to work fully offline, with hiking trails and cycling routes.
One map app is enough for a city break; two is a sensible backup on a road trip or a hike. Download the areas at home and update them before you leave, because Google's offline maps expire if they are not refreshed. The steps are in our guides to Google Maps offline and Apple Maps offline.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
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How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
The train operator's own app
- Spain: Renfe, for long-distance, AVE, Avant and medium-distance trains.
- France: SNCF Connect.
- Germany: DB Navigator.
- Italy: Trenitalia.
- Switzerland: SBB Mobile.
- With an Interrail or Eurail pass: Rail Planner, the official app that holds the mobile pass.
Install the app of the operator whose trains you will use most and sign in before the trip. Deutsche Bahn says tickets in DB Navigator are saved on the phone, so they can be shown without mobile reception, and that a screenshot of a mobile ticket is not valid. A mobile Interrail pass has to go online regularly to stay valid. Our guides on tickets that work offline and Wi-Fi on trains cover the rest.
A translator with the languages already downloaded
Google Translate and Apple's Translate app both let you download languages and translate without a connection, which is what you need in a basement restaurant, on a metro platform or in a pharmacy with no signal. Download both sides of the conversation, your language and the local one, and every language on the route: a week between Brussels and Bruges needs French and Dutch.
Do it on Wi-Fi, as Google recommends. Then test it the way you will use it: switch on airplane mode, open the app and translate a sentence each way. If it works, you are covered. The menus for each app are in our guide to offline translations, including where Apple keeps its downloads, which is in Settings rather than in the app.
Paying, and confirming payments
Add your card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet at home. Your bank has to verify it, and that is a bad job for an airport. At the till, a contactless payment with the phone does not depend on your mobile data, as our guide on paying with your phone abroad explains.
Your bank's app is the other half. Online payments, such as a museum ticket or a booking, often ask for a confirmation in the app or a code by text message. The app needs data; the text goes to your usual number, so keep that line switched on even if its data roaming is off. If you use an authenticator app for your accounts, check it is set up on the phone you are taking. Our guides on bank SMS codes abroad and two-factor authentication go through the details.
Emergencies: 112 and alerts need no app
The European Commission describes 112 as the emergency number available everywhere in the EU, free from fixed and mobile phones. You do not need an app to call it, and phones that support Advanced Mobile Location can send their position to the emergency centre during the call, where that centre is set up for it. Our guide on calling for help with no signal covers the rest.
Public warnings work the same way. Systems such as EU-Alert and Spain's ES-Alert are broadcast from the antennas to every phone in the area, with no app and no registration; you only need the alerts switched on, as our guide on emergency alerts abroad shows. In Spain there is also AlertCops, the Interior Ministry's app for alerting the police or the Guardia Civil about a crime, which the ministry says works in more than 100 languages. For an emergency, 112 is still the number.
The last mile, and what it costs in data
If you plan to take a car from the airport, install the ride-hailing app at home and sign in there, because the verification code may not reach you on arrival; our guide on ride-hailing apps when you land has the details. Boarding passes and bookings are best saved for offline use too, as in travel documents on your phone. If the phone is short of space for all this, freeing up storage comes first.
Downloading at home also shrinks the trip's data needs: maps, languages and tickets are already on the phone, and the data line only carries what is live. The data calculator gives a figure for the rest. If you travel with a Snoozim eSIM, install it at home on Wi-Fi at the same time as the apps; it only starts counting at the first connection in the destination.
Do I need an app to call 112 in Europe?
No. 112 is the emergency number everywhere in the EU, free from any phone, and it works with a normal call.
Do I need an app for emergency alerts?
No. EU-Alert and national systems like ES-Alert are broadcast to every phone in the area. Check that government or wireless emergency alerts are switched on in your phone's settings.
Which train app should I download?
The official app of the operator you will travel with most, such as Renfe, SNCF Connect, DB Navigator, Trenitalia or SBB Mobile. With an Interrail or Eurail pass, the Rail Planner app holds the mobile pass.
Do offline maps work for walking and public transport?
It depends on the app. Google Maps offline only gives driving directions, while Apple Maps keeps walking and transit directions in downloaded areas where the feature is available.
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