The best travel apps for international travel for the parts of the journey that matter.

The best international travel apps depend on the job. TripMemo is useful for capturing the journey and keeping places, photos, notes and a TripBook together. Google Maps or an equivalent map service helps with everyday navigation, Google Translate supports language tasks, a specialist transport app helps with routes, and your airline, accommodation, government and health providers remain the best sources for live trip information.

Prepare the apps you will need for navigation, translation, money, transport, communication and travel memories. Download offline maps and language packs where supported, sign in before departure, save important addresses and keep official booking or entry information available outside a single app.

TripMemo is designed for keeping photos, places, notes, countries visited and day-by-day TripBooks together. It is a memory layer for the journey, not a visa, booking, navigation or emergency service.

Some features do, and some do not. Check each app before departure. TripMemo lets travellers add photos and notes offline, while map, translation and transport apps may offer downloadable areas or language packs. Live departures, current traffic, payments and some account features usually need connectivity.

There is no universal app that should replace official entry guidance. Use the government, embassy, airline or destination authority that applies to your passport and route. A travel app can help you keep research and reminders together, but current immigration rules should be checked at the official source.

Usually, a small app stack is more dependable than one app that claims to do everything. Keep specialist jobs separate, then use a memory layer such as TripMemo to connect the places and moments you actually want to remember.