Download These Helpful Apps To Score The Best Deals On Flights And Hotels

Anyone who loves to tick a destination off their bucket list will tell you what a thrill it can be to step off a flight on the way to experiencing somewhere new. However, even the most practiced travelers will likely admit that going anywhere — especially if the trip includes air or international travel — has the potential to be hard work. It usually requires a lot of planning, as well as a plethora of different purchases you need to make before you've even left home, making it difficult to know where to begin.

While we do recommend that you unplug and ditch this overhyped travel trend to make the most of your adventures, it doesn't mean that technology won't come in handy when it comes to planning your next vacation. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Nowadays, it isn't even necessary to sit down at a computer to make the most of some trendy travel tools, as there are plenty of apps that can be downloaded right onto your smartphone or tablet. But which ones will help you out the most? The answer depends on the type of trip you'll be taking, along with your individual needs.

There's a travel app for pretty much every situation — from booking last-minute hotels to finding flight deals and tracking flights once you've selected them. There are also apps that can bundle all of those purchases together into one, easy transaction. If you have any interest in spending time in one (or several) of the 10 most affordable countries in the world to visit in 2026, you're going to need some help — and the following apps are sure to keep you organized and moving seamlessly through your itinerary, no matter where you're headed.

Everyone has different priorities when it comes to booking a hotel, and while it would be nice to stay at one of the 15 top-tier hotels and resorts experts recommend booking in 2026 every time, sometimes finding a deal is paramount. Popular search engines specializing in travel-related reservations like Kayak, Expedia, and Priceline all sport their own apps, but it's often still advantageous to book in advance. From traffic to flight delays, there are going to be times when you find yourself in need of a last-minute place to crash for the night — and in these cases, Hotel Tonight is the app you'll want.

The biggest perk of using Hotel Tonight is receiving access to an extremely discounted rate for hotel stays. What's the catch? Booking at the very last minute will earn you its best prices, as the platform specializes in filling day-of vacancies for partner properties. Special offers priced even lower than the site's typical rates are marked with "Deal" banners. For an even steeper discount, look for the "Daily Drop," which is only good for 15 minutes once unlocked. Users can also filter results with categories like Top Deals, Lowest Price, and Most Premium, with the latter typically including well-known, luxury hotels. Hotel Tonight will even give you credit toward future stays if you book prior to finding a better rate elsewhere.

It's worth mentioning that the app allows reservations up to 100 days in advance, but those results may be similar to those of other hotel booking engines, rather than the discounted same-day rates. And remember, last-minute bookings aren't just for when you run into a travel hiccup: Hotel Tonight is also perfect for using one of Rick Steves' favorite strategies for booking accommodations for your international trip.

Everyone wants a good deal on their flights, but most of the time, achieving the very best price feels impossible. Although there are all kinds of tips and tricks for winning against airlines that attach a fee to almost everything — such as using this 24-hour rule to change your flight bookings without paying fees — you're less likely to have to play those games if you get a good deal to begin with. Enter: Hopper. The app offers specific predictions of when prices will fluctuate using a color-coded calendar to highlight the best days of the week to purchase the flight you're searching for. For example, Tuesday was once known as the day to find great fares, and while airlines used to issue their steepest discounts according to this rule, today's pricing structures can be a lot more complex. This means Hopper's assessment can be very valuable. 

You also don't want to miss out on the app's alert system — one of its biggest assets. After signing up, there will be no need to log in to check for price fluctuations, because Hopper will send push notifications with pricing updates when it finds a bargain. Throw in the convenience of in-app purchasing, and you can close that deal at lightning speed. Hopper will even tell you about airline policies such as seat selection, baggage specifications, fees, and options for cancellation specific to your potential booking. 

Although Hopper started with a focus on air travel, it quickly expanded to include hotel reservations. Be sure to utilize the price comparison feature for up-to-the-moment pricing in the city or area of your choice, along with price alerts to ensure you purchase at the right time.

Time is money, so even if you've already found a flight deal, you'll still want as much information as possible about the time you're spending at the airport — this is where the Flighty app comes in. I've been a flight attendant for more than 10 years, and it's rare for someone who doesn't work in the industry to grasp the complexity of an airline's operation. Most people assume delays are the result of one of two things: weather or a mechanical malfunction. However, the truth is often much more complex, and this app can help you understand the how and why of scheduling disruptions that have the potential to impact your trip.

Given that the other apps being discussed here are free, it might seem controversial to consider considering Flighty's paid tier, which unlocks features far past the basic unlimited flight tracking found on a myriad of other apps. There are also several payment options, including a flexible $4.99 per week for those who want to cover just a single trip. However, real globetrotters will save with the annual payment, which works out to that same $4.99 per month, or even the lifetime purchase of $299. 

Upgrading to Flighty Pro will give you the ability to receive push alerts for typical flight updates like gate information, but also provides more specific details like late inbound aircraft alerts and storm, wind, and traffic delays. The feature that really shines, however, is the 25-Hour Where's My Plane, which allows customers to track the path of their incoming aircraft up to an entire day in advance. The app will also provide you with updated potential departure times and, in many cases, delivers all of this information faster than the airline itself.

Websites that boast travel deals and packages have been around for decades. Even retailers are offering to put together travel packages for their customers, including big-box brands like Costco Travel, which might not always be worth it for booking your next getaway. After all, not all travel deals are created equal. Luckily, however, Travelzoo is known to deliver great finds on hotels, flights, and vacation bundles in general. 

Travelzoo is equipped with an engine similar to many of its competitors — you can search by location and dates. But unlike on other sites, you can also be general about what you're looking for, allowing for a much broader approach. Its homepage features categories like Deals Ending Soon, Sunny Escapes, Vacations, Trending Deals, and Cruises. That said, you'll find the steepest discounts on its weekly Top 20 list, which encompasses a variety of locations and categories, including international travel.

For those who aren't quite sure what they're looking for, other than booking a trip somewhere fabulous, Travelzoo's weekly Top 20 is a great place to start. Open to a week-long trip that has you staying overnight in the castles of Ireland? You got it. Want to know if any airlines are offering a great sale? If it qualifies as one of the internet's top current deals, it will likely be on the list. From highly discounted African safaris to a variety of international vacations that combine air travel and hotel stays, Travelzoo is likely to have an array of options to choose from on any given week.

To determine which apps will help the most with scoring deals on flights and hotels, we used a healthy mix of personal experience and research. I do a lot of traveling as a flight attendant — both for work, as well as for leisure. While it's true that flights and hotels are compiled and booked for me while I'm on the job, most people who get into this line of work do it because they want to travel on their own time as well. That's why I've spent the last decade scouring the internet for travel deals to use on my days off, and have personally used many of these apps with continued success.

We were also interested in hearing what others who have utilized these apps had to say about which ones are actually worth the download. After reviewing recommendations from listicles, we moved on to first-hand accounts from both seasoned travelers and beginners, checking social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit, as well as reading through travel blogs. 

Finally, we went through the motions of creating faux bookings to make sure that the usability and deals previously referenced still stack up today. Ultimately, we created this list of recommendations with the knowledge that travel needs and preferences can be both varied and complex, and these apps have a solid history of offering top deals.