Tech Desk 
Jun 02, 2025
Travelling to new places can offer unique food, culture, and experiences, but this might cost you an arm and a leg for going with tourist packages. So why not give some Google Maps-like Android apps that might save you substantially?
While Google Maps can surely help you find local destinations, these top travel apps can amplify your holiday just with the help of your smartphone.
Best navigation apps for urban areas
- Spotted by Locals
- Visit A City
- Showaround
- Atlas Obscura
Spotted by Locals
Spotted by Locals is probably the best one, helping users find worthwhile recommendations that are picked by locals. Each recommendation on this app includes a description, other relevantly useful information, and access options for single cities or all 80+ cities for a fee.
Visit A City
Visit A City is much like an ordinary travel app, but it generates local attractions based on users' location or destination. Users can create and share itineraries, see prices, websites, and user reviews. Although it doesn’t connect them directly to locals, they can explore plans from others to find unique places and common tourist spots.
Showaround
Similar to Airbnb, Showaround makes locals independent tour guides. Users on this app can select preferences for hours, destinations, and travel modes, all of which are ideal for personalised tours. It would be more helpful to read reviews as experiences often vary, and users can create rough itineraries that locals can suggest offers for.
Atlas Obscura
Atlas Obscura is another travel guide like Spotted by Locals. It helps you find places not found on TripAdvisor, featuring both well-known tourist spots and some lesser-known destinations as well. However, it has some pitfalls, such as including too many locations that are merely superficial or tourist traps, and it can be slow to keep up with opening and closure schedules. Nevertheless, it's great at discovering isolated places.
