Southeast Asia is a vibrant and diverse region, and with the increasing number of smartphone users, there are numerous mobile apps that have been designed to make life easier for both locals and tourists. Whether you’re looking for a convenient way to navigate the bustling city streets, find a delicious meal, translate the menu or experience local culture, there’s an app for that. In this blog post, I’m going to recommend the best travel apps for Southeast Asia that I used while living there that really helped me make the most of my travels and daily life. From transportation to food and entertainment, these apps are essential for anyone exploring this exciting part of the world.
Google Translate
Google Translate is a nifty little app that can help you communicate with locals. I especially love the feature of taking a photo and letting Google translate it for me. Very useful for signs, food, menus, documents, and directions. You can also have a conversation by selecting conversation mode and speaking in your native language while the other person speaks in their native language.
Google Maps
Who doesn’t use Google Maps? I love being able to star different places and make my own itinerary of where I want to go. I label different restaurants that I want to eat at and streets that I want to see. You can access your map on a computer and on your phone. So if you’re doing research on your computer, it will seamlessly transfer to your app. If you don’t want to use data abroad you can download area maps for offline use. These will store in the app for 30 days.
Grab
Grab is Asia’s version of Uber. You can hire taxis by the meter, private cars, motorbikes, and private drivers. There’s even a whole section for Grab Food where you can have almost anything delivered to you. The best reason for you to download this travel app for your Southeast Asia trip is that it offers rewards. These rewards can include discounts to airport lounges, free food, discounts on rides, and priority bookings.
GoJek
Mostly used in Indonesia, GoJek is a ride-hailing app specifically for motorbikes. It was founded in 2009. Back then it only had 20 drivers. Today it has over 1 million. It has branched out into 20 different services that you can request all from a touch of a button on your phone. Services include motorbike taxis, car taxis, food delivery, grocery delivery, bike messenger service, and more. But, as a visitor, you’ll just be using ride-hailing services.
Food Panda
Food Panda is your go-to travel app in Southeast Asia for food delivery. It’s available in Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Burma along with a few other countries outside of Southeast Asia. You can order food from many local restaurants on the app or on a computer. Many listings are in English, but you might have to do some Google Translate to figure out what you’re ordering. Or if you want a surprise, you can choose items based on pictures.
LINE
LINE is a messaging app used in Thailand. It started in Japan and also spread to Taiwan. There is also an Instagram-like function to the app where users can post updates about themselves and people in your contact list can ‘like’ your pictures. LINE is also popular for LINE Friends which are sticker/emoji characters designed for the app. They are so popular that they even have their own brick-and-mortar store. You’ll also see the characters printed on items like tissues, snacks, or drinks in 7/11.
Many businesses in Thailand will have QR codes that you can add to your LINE. This is a great way to receive promotional content from stores that you frequent.
When you’re traveling you’re definitely going to meet a bunch of different people from different countries. And while it’s great to add people to your social media, sometimes you just want to have the basic phone number where you can start group chats and keep in touch.
You might even develop relationships with local taxi drivers where you can just message them to see if they are free to give you a ride. Or if you want to create a weekend trip where you need a driver, you’ll easily have someone you can get in touch with.
WeChat is the social media app in China. And while it’s not widely used in Southeast Asia, many Chinese tourists do travel to the region. This app doubles as a payment app and many business use it to accommodate Chinese visitors.
Many of the features are only available if you are in China, but I have this app on my phone because I’ve ended up meeting a bunch of other teachers from China traveling through Southeast Asia during a break from school. I’ve been able to stay in touch with them and it’s a great networking opportunity if you ever wanted to work in China as a teacher. There are a lot of WeChat job groups that you can get people to add you to. These are created by region or city in China.
MoovIt
This is one of the nifty travel apps for Southeast Asia that I discovered while in Malaysia because it will tell you all about the public transportation system in the city you’re visiting. This makes it a very useful travel app not only in this region but also in the rest of the world.
If you’re like me and spend a lot of time double-checking which metro or bus line you need to take to get to a certain place, then this app is for you. All you have to do is put in your location and where you want to go. Then the app will tell you which bus or train to take, when it arrives, how many stops it will take, and when you can expect to arrive. It basically takes all the guesswork out of figuring out public transportation in a new city.
Currency XE
Since Southeast Asia consists of 10 countries, each with their own currency, this travel app will be useful to make sure you’re not overspending. You can easily check exchange rates for currencies all over the world to make sure you’re getting a fair price at an exchange office.
Before leaving a country I would recommend exchanging any larger notes into USD instead of exchanging, for example, Thai Baht to Vietnam Dong. So before you leave Thailand, just exchange to USD. Then when you arrive in Vietnam exchange the USD into Dong. It usually works out to be a better rate.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the apps mentioned in this blog post are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the endless options of tech tools available for Southeast Asia. Whether you’re a frequent traveler or a resident, these apps can simplify your life and help you make the most of your time in the region. From finding your way around to discovering local flavors and experiences, these apps are must-haves for anyone looking to explore Southeast Asia to its fullest. So, be sure to download them before your next trip and get ready to have an unforgettable experience!
Love this post! Have a lot of these already, but found some I hadn’t heard of before too! It’s always helpful to have the local apps before you travel to a place.
Yes! I always discover new apps when visiting new countries. It’s interesting to see popular apps and how they are integrated into the culture.
Love this post! I’ll definitely make sure to come back to this when planning my trip to Asia