Three years as a digital nomad, here are my favorite apps. What are yours?

1. Google Maps Lists

I use Google Maps for navigation but I also use Lists in Google Maps to save places I want to visit in a given city. For example, I'll have a list of a given city with local attractions, restaurants, bars, and other points of interest. This helps me organize places I want to visit. 

There are a few limitations, though. For instance, when I have too many places on a list (this starts becoming an issue with 20+ places), it is difficult to browse through the list to find what I’m looking for. Plus, all the icons are the same, which can clutter your map.

2. Google My Maps

Great for road trip planning. I use Google My Maps when I travel between cities in the U.S. where I often take a few days to a week to travel in between places. In this case, I can map out points of interest along the way that I might want to stop at. For example, when I drove from New York to Arizona, I took 6 days to make the trek. I used Google My Maps to add points of interest, attractions, and National/State parks that I might want to visit/stop at along the way. 

One nice feature is the ability to change icon colors, which can help me prioritize places I want to visit (e.g., a green icon for places I’m most interested in, a blue icon for everything else, etc.).

3. Nomads.com (Nomad List)

My go-to resource for initially researching cities and finding somewhere I’d like to go. While information here isn’t always 100% accurate, it is a good barometer for what a city might be like, pros and cons, and cost of living. 

It’s particularly helpful for international travel and deciding where to go. Once I have a sense of where I might go, I can do further research on Google or in different communities/forums, but Nomads.com is a good palace to start.
place

4. FurnishedFinder

I love Airbnb but for stays for more than a week, it’s not always the best solution, especially in the U.S. While I’ve spent time in Latin America and Europe, most of my nomading has been traveling across the U.S. and living in different cities for 1-6 months at a time. 

In this scenario, FurnishedFinder is a better solution for finding accommodations. Rentals are still furnished but pricing seems to be more reasonable compared to Airbnb, and you often deal directly with the landlord, eliminating fees that you might pay on Airbnb.

5. Bumble BFF

Being on the move all the time is lonely. BFF has been one of the best ways I’ve been able to meet friends quickly. I used Bumble for dating too and other ways to meet people like Meetup.com and social rec leagues (e.g., adult volleyball) but BFF has been the most consistent (and quickest) way for me to meet people. 

Honorable mentions:

  • Uber/Lyft
  • Tripadvisor/Google
  • Kayak
  • WhatsApp
  • Spotify
  • Google Translate

Edit: Wow! I appreciate the responses from everyone here. There are quite a few tools here that I had never heard of before. I created a directory with tools for digital nomads here: nomadtoolfinder.com (if anyone’s interested to check it out)

I’m going to add a few of the missing tools mentioned in this thread! This is super helpful.