Recommended apps for your Danube cycle tour

Here we recommend apps that you may want to download to your mobile device before your cycling holiday.

Mobile navigation

A map on your mobile device certainly makes sense (apart from the printed map/guide which is irreplaceable of course). You will be able to find out where you are once you managed to get lost. Make sure you test the app while having no access to the internet. Map data take a lot of space on your device. You don't want more than one on it.:

  • 'MAPS.ME' and
  • 'HERE We Go' are just two of many apps that provide downloadable, offline maps.

Check the App Store, Google Play Store or Windows Store for availability.

Overcoming language barriers

Reading signs or the menu at the restaurant can be tricky sometimes. Having GoogleTranslate or any comparable app on your smartphone or tablet will certainly help: GoogleTranslate on AppStore and PlayStore.

Train information

Very useful, not only when you think about changing your plans on short notice:

  • 'DB Navigator' for Deutsche Bahn in Germany
  • 'ÖBB Scotty' for ÖBB in Austria
  • '???' for MÁV (Magyar Államvasutak) in Hungary*
  • ...
  • and for the playful traveller: 'DB Zugradar' to see your position on a map while being on a train operated by Deutsche Bahn, the German national rail - sounds cool if you want to know the name of the picturesque place you are just coming along.

Have in mind that you need internet access to get topical information. Check the App Store, Google Play Store or Windows Store for availability.

* There is an app available, unfortunately in Hungarian only.

Finding free WiFi

Free WiFi on airports: In case you travel by air, we recommend downloading the free FLIO app. It detects the airport you are at and logs into the free WiFi networks if there is one. The app also provides airport maps which helps you to navigate around.

Free WiFi in cities and on the cycle path: Looking for such hotspots makes sense generally only in big cities where there are a lot of free hotspots (Vienna, Munich, Budapest). But why wasting time with looking for internet access there? Go into a café where they offer free WiFi, ask for the code and order a drink. Spend your time in the real world.

We will extend this list once we find noteworthy apps. Feel free to suggest apps which you use yourself when cycle touring. Send an e-mail! You may also just tell us what kind of app you are missing.

Other app stuff

  • Activity tracking (Strava and others): A good idea if you want to document the route you took. Make sure you tested it at home before. Have in mind the limited internet access while cycling.
  • GuideBooks as apps: Quite frankly, in our experience they are behind what one can expect. It could be the perfect travel companion. However, the free ones we have seen didn't convince us. There might be better ones available in the future. So far, we recommend to buy a book and take it with you on your journey.
  • If you are not used to the Celsius scale, get yourself 'TempConvert' (or any other app) to convert Celsius into Fahrenheit.
  • One of the other apps might be 'Convert Any Unit' which additonally converts weights and currencies too.
  • Weather apps: You certainly have a preferred weather app already. Use it but ask yourself why a weather forecast from your home country should be able to tell the most precise forecast in a small place in continental Europe? Instead of an app we recommend using ww.yr.no. As an example, see the weather forecast of Passau. You can set the language to English in the upper right corner. A mobile version is available as well.
  • If cycling the Danube in Germany, try downloading the NINA app (Android, iOS/Apple). The German Federal Office of Civil Protection and and Disaster Assistence sends you warnings via this app if natural disasters (dangeriously heavy rain, flooding) are forecasted to happen where you are. You are able to change the language to English by clicking 'Sprachauswahl'.