APPS you need for any trip to Scotland

Here are my top recommendations for apps you will need during your Scottish holiday including practical apps to help you save money & tourism apps to help enhance your stay!

Banking💸

Nowadays most of the places you visit in Scotland will have Apple Pay or Contactless as their preferred method of payment, (there may be a few places that do not accept American Express- but this is getting rarer), so I would recommend getting a travel Debit or Credit card for your trip, instead of getting out a lot of cash! 

Your Visa or Mastercard may already offer no charges* on foreign transactions (check with your bank) - in which case you are good to go! If not here are some options: 

*If you do have a card that offers charges great! However make sure to always pay in the local currency, as you will usually get a better exchange rate

💳 Monzo

Monzo is a financial technology app that offers accounts to US residents in partnership with Lead or Sutton Bank. The best thing about Monzo is that it will not charge you any foreign transaction fees for using your card abroad, and you will get Mastercard’s up to date exchange rate on all transactions. Once you are up and running you can add your card to Apple or Google pay.

⬇️ Start by downloading the app and you can get a physical and digital Mastercard debit card that you will be able to use all over Scotland.

📈Wise & Revolut

Wise and Revolut are two other financial technology companies designed for travellers. To start the process of signing up for either of them simply download the relevant app. 

Revolut allows you to open digital cards in different currencies, and to choose to exchange your currency when the exchange rate hits a desirable point. Revolut offers different plans (some are subscription based) and each plan comes with a certain amount of free international transactions. 

Wise also allows you to hold money in multiple currencies, and offers you the real time exchange rate, however it has a percentage based fee when transferring internationally.

Insurance 🔒

I would highly recommend true traveller insurance for your trip! It's good value for money and the insurance is very customisable depending on what activities you plan on doing, and any luggage or valuables that you wish to insure. 

Getting around Scotland 🚏⛴️

Scotland Wide

🚏Traveline Scotland is a great app (or website!) for planning any journey around Scotland using public transport - simply enter the intended start and end destinations and it will find the best route for you. 

🚂When you’re booking train tickets, I would recommend checking the Trainline app before you purchase. Sometimes they will offer cheaper fares, depending on demand for that service. 

Service Specific

⛴️ Some service providers will have their own route planning apps including CalMac ferries (the ferries you will be using if you’re planning on visiting the West Coast islands). 
🚌 First bus (a private company that serves a lot of Scotland’s cities) also has an app. 

Specific Destinations

🏰 If you’re in the capital city of Edinburgh, the city mostly uses the Lothian bus service. You can use the Lothian bus app to access real time info on buses and trams around the city. If you prefer to get around by taxi, Uber works in Edinburgh, and the local black cab company, City Cabs, also has an app. 

🚞 Lastly, in a bid to reduce pressure on the countryside roads and help out the environment, one of Scotland’s beloved national parks Loch Lomond and the Trossachs has released an app so you can plan your journey there on public transport! 

Hillwalking & Munro Bagging! 

If you are looking to get some hiking in during your visit or even bag some Scottish Munros these are some apps that can help you while route planning and navigating!

🌳 All Trails - this is a popular choice for a reason! All Trails is accessible for beginners, easy to navigate on and easy to compare different hikes when planning your route! It has a free version, but to download route maps you need to purchase a subscription.

🥾 Walk highlands - This website and app stands out for dedicated local hillwalking knowledge. It’s a great resource to research walks on before setting out, and you can download route information on the app.

🗺 OS Maps is a good choice for routes that may take you off an obvious trail or require more detailed navigation. It is a subscription based app, however their maps are incredibly detailed, and a good choice for serious hillwalkers. (If you purchase a physical map there will be a QR code that allows you to view that map on the app)

🌦️The Met Office App is great for reliable UK weather, but if you are setting off anywhere with elevation I would recommend downloading Mountain Weather Information Service (available on Google Play) for forecasts for mountainous areas across the UK, or Windy if you are confident understanding weather charts and want more detailed information.

History

Historic Environment Scotland is an app that allows you to explore Historic sites in an interactive way.

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