Must-Have Apps for Italy: Trains, Taxis, Translation & More
Planning a trip to Italy? These essential travel apps can make your trip much easier. From Google Translate and train apps like Trenitalia and Italo to taxi apps including FREENOW, WeTaxi, appTaxi, and Uber, this guide explains what to download and which apps work best in different Italian cities.
ITALY TRAVEL TIPS
Adam Rachiele
6/29/20263 min read
Must-Have Apps for Traveling in Italy
Having the right apps on your phone can make traveling through Italy much easier. From navigating train stations and translating menus to ordering a taxi when you’re tired after a long day of sightseeing, a little preparation before you leave can save you a lot of frustration once you arrive.
Here are the apps I recommend downloading before your Italy trip.
Google Translate
Google Translate is one of the easiest tools to have available when you need help with a menu, sign, ticket machine, or quick conversation.
Before leaving home, download the Italian language pack so you can still use many translation features even when you don’t have a strong internet connection.
The camera translation feature can also be especially useful when reading menus, signs, instructions, and labels.
WhatsApp is extremely useful in Italy.
Hotels, tour operators, private drivers, restaurants, guides, and other local businesses often communicate with travelers through WhatsApp rather than traditional text messaging.
Set up your account before your trip so you can easily communicate with anyone assisting you while you’re in Italy.
Google Maps
Google Maps is great for walking directions, finding restaurants, checking transit options, saving attractions, and getting back to your hotel.
Before your trip, save your hotels, train stations, restaurants, attractions, and meeting points so they are easy to find later.
You can also download maps for offline use, which can be helpful if your mobile signal becomes unreliable.
Train Apps
Trenitalia
Trenitalia operates most of Italy’s national and regional train network.
The Trenitalia app allows you to:
Search train schedules
Purchase tickets
View your reservations
Check platform and train information
Monitor delays and schedule changes
If you will be using regional trains or traveling between several cities, this is one of the most useful apps to have on your phone.
Italo
Italo is Italy’s other major high-speed rail company.
It operates popular routes between cities such as Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice, Bologna, and Naples.
If your itinerary includes several major Italian cities, it is worth having both Trenitalia and Italo available so you can compare departure times and options.
Moovit
Moovit can be helpful when navigating local transportation such as buses, metro systems, and trams.
It is especially useful when you are trying to figure out how to get from a train station to your hotel or how to reach an attraction using public transportation.
Taxi Apps in Italy
Taxi apps in Italy work a little differently than rideshare apps in the United States.
Traditional licensed taxis remain very common, and different taxi apps tend to have stronger coverage in different cities.
For that reason, I recommend downloading more than one before your trip.
FREENOW
FREENOW is one of the easiest taxi apps for travelers to use in larger Italian cities.
It currently operates in cities including:
Rome
Milan
Turin
Naples
Palermo
Catania
Modena
Monza
Cagliari
Reggio Emilia
The app allows you to request a licensed taxi and pay through the app in many situations.
WeTaxi
WeTaxi is another useful Italian taxi and transportation app.
One feature travelers often appreciate is the ability to see a guaranteed maximum fare for certain rides before getting into the taxi.
It is particularly useful in major cities including Rome, Milan, Turin, and Naples.
WeTaxi also includes additional transportation services such as public transit tickets and Trenitalia train tickets in some areas.
appTaxi
appTaxi has extensive coverage throughout Italy and is especially useful because it operates in many cities where other taxi apps may have limited availability.
Cities include:
Rome
Milan
Florence
Venice
Naples
Verona
Padua
Palermo
Catania
Trieste
Treviso
Vicenza
Syracuse
Lecce
…and many others.
In Venice, appTaxi can even be used to request a water taxi.
Uber
Yes, Uber does operate in Italy, but it does not always work the same way Americans are accustomed to.
Depending on the city, Uber may connect you with licensed taxis or premium services such as Uber Black rather than inexpensive independent rideshare drivers.
Uber can still be useful as a backup, particularly in larger cities such as Rome and Milan or when arranging certain airport transfers.
However, I would not rely on Uber as your only transportation app while traveling through Italy.
Which Taxi App Should I Use?
As a quick reference:
Rome: FREENOW, WeTaxi, with Uber as a backup
Milan: FREENOW, WeTaxi, or Uber
Florence: appTaxi
Venice: appTaxi
Naples: WeTaxi or appTaxi
Turin: FREENOW or WeTaxi
Taxi availability can change, so having two taxi apps installed is often the easiest solution.
One Last Tip Before You Leave
Download and set up these apps before arriving in Italy.
Add your payment information, verify your phone number, download offline Italian in Google Translate, and save your hotels and important locations in Google Maps.
Doing those few things before your flight means that when you arrive in Italy, you can spend less time figuring out your phone and more time enjoying your trip.
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