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The Top 9 Apps for a Trip to Bangkok

Undoubtedly the age of the ‘app’ is now well and truly upon us and any traveller these days knows how valuable some of them can be (or how annoying).

But with a seemingly endless array of digital applications continuously appearing on the market and being integrated into life in various aspects, it can sometimes be difficult to know which ones are the most useful without some degree of trial and error, and which ones are simply taking up space on the hard drive.

And then there are the regional preferences and differences regarding the choice of apps used for various functions in particular regions of the world. It might be worth considering what happens when you go travelling to a place like Thailand and find that the apps you normally rely on so heavily do not seem to serve you so well. Is it then back to Lonely Planet guidebooks?

Any discerning traveller or visitor heading Bangkok-wards would benefit hugely from having an awareness of which apps are likely to be the most useful in this city.

And while Bangkok might not be as tech-savvy as some of the other SE Asian regions like Singapore, there’s no denying apps have increasingly become a huge part of life in the Thai capital.

Image by Foodpanda sourced from wikimedia commons

Which means that although it may still be possible, there’s no real reason for anything to get too lost in translation while travelling in Bangkok — thanks to an ever-increasing tirade of  mobile apps that help with everything from language translation to finding your way around the locality.

And whether it be for finding the best way to the city’s tourist attractions, or organising a ride home after a heavy night out — there are a few apps that you need to know about to make ease of your stay in Bangkok.

So here are what we currently consider to be the most useful apps for any Bangkok trip, in no particular order.

1. Grab

Grab is a transport app that seems to be taking over Bangkok.

The app has been the Bangkok resident’s ride-hailing service of choice for a while now, with numbers ever-increasing as people are bored with taxi drivers picking and choosing their fares.

Image by grab sourced from wikimedia commons

Grab started with taxis in the Thai capital in a bid to solve the long-standing problem of moody and unprofessional Bangkok taxi drivers, and the app now also offers other modes of transportation by way of motorbikes (GrabBike), private cars (GrabCar), and there is now even the hugely-popular GrabFood delivery service as well.

The way it works with the transport is after you have turned on your location, and entered your required destination, you are connected by the app with a driver, and provided with their information such as name, car model and colour, and license number.

Once you have been connected with your Grab driver, you are given real-time updates of expected waiting time, which is usually not that long as drivers already in the area will likely accept the job.

Grab is actually the only remaining app of its kind in Thailand after Uber disappeared. This Singapore-developed app offers very similar options to those of its former competitor, and it has already proven its worth in a city where the taxis are notoriously unreliable, and usually non-English-speaking.

Image by Chainwit sourced from wikimedia commons

Even different payment options such as card or cash are available, and there are frequent promo discount codes given out via the app. Grab is most certainly one of your best friends when in the city of Bangkok!

2. Line

This communication app is by far, the most widely-used app in Thailand, and features heavily in both the personal and professional lives of most Thais. 

Gone are the days when anyone in Thailand might require your phone number or email address – these days you will simply be asked for your Line ID.

The Japanese-developed app has various features including free online messaging, video calling, and tonnes of emojis and stickers. In fact, the Line app has an emoji for pretty much every scenario you could imagine.

Image by Line sourced from wikimedia commons

The app also has a few spin-offs, namely LineTaxi, built into Line Man. 

3. Google or Nostra Maps

So whether you prefer good old Google Maps or the slightly more super-charged map app, Nostra, you’ll certainly see the benefits when trying to navigate a city like Bangkok.

Nostra is packed with features for both locals and tourists. It can inform of any potentially high traffic volumes, or even the best public transportation routes to your destination (including boat, which can sometimes be a useful option in Bangkok).

Nostra provides locations of special events in your vicinity, as well as landmarks such as temples, and even public toilets.  

Image by premeditated sourced from wikimedia commons

Google Maps is probably the most-used navigation app for many travellers around the world, although there are complaints by locals in Bangkok (most notably taxi drivers) that the app is not that accurate – nevertheless, it may prove helpful in various situations, especially if it’s all you have installed.

4. Google or IHG Translator

Again this might depend on personal choice, but some kind of translation device might well still be required during any time spent in Bangkok.

Thai is included as one of the languages on the IHG translator, along with a pre-programmed English-to-Thai phrase dictionary. This range of language includes four different possible situations for each expression provided, with varying formality.

You can listen to the pronunciation sounds at various speeds with the IHG, and use the voice-to-voice function to speak English and playback the Thai equivalent. This app even has a ‘Live Translator’ function for any situation requiring translation beyond the pre-programmed vocabulary. With this function you are able to get connected to a human translator!

Image by Google sourced from wikimedia commons

Google Translate might not be quite as accurate with Thai script as it can be with other alphabet systems, but it can still be helpful. Admittedly it can go adrift on some contexts when writing or dealing with longer sentences, but for single words there is little issue.

5. Foodpanda

Bangkok’s food delivery app market is now a fiercely competitive one, but FoodPanda has been the main player for at least a decade.

This app allows you to access an extremely wide variety of restaurants and cuisines, just in case the spicy Thai dishes are already wearing a bit thin. Any delivery usually arrives within 40 minutes or less, and step-by-step order tracking is also a feature, although this won’t always necessarily be reliable during certain times like the rainy season.

Like its many competitors, FoodPanda offers regular promos like free delivery and other specials.

Image by Chainwit sourced from wikimedia commons

However, as stated previously, GrabFood drivers now seem to be everywhere, and these guys are the main competition right now for FoodPanda, along with Line Man. Both of these latter apps include many more of the affordable options that Bangkok is renowned for, which has proved a huge selling point, and Line Man also offers a pickup service for items from convenience stores like 7/11.

6. XE Converter

If you’re not that good with ‘in-the-head’ currency calculation conversions based on questionable bank rates, then let an app like XE Currency Converter do the work for you. XE provides up-to-date real-time conversion rates based on ‘actual’ rates rather than those of the banks.

7. TransferWise

And if, for whatever reason, you find yourself in the position of having to move money into a Thai account from overseas, then TransferWise is the hassle-free (and bank charge-free) app for moving money.

Image by venturethree sourced from wikimedia commons

This app can literally save a fortune on over-inflated bank charges, and is definitely the way forward for travellers and expats alike. Without apps like this one, you could likely find yourself on the end of a ‘double-fee’ scenario as you are charged by banks both ends for making ATM withdrawals.

8. SuperRich

And for straight-ahead cash conversions, try SuperRich, which offers some of the best rates in Bangkok. Unfortunately their app doesn’t facilitate online conversions, but you can check conversion rates and locate any branches in your immediate environment before visiting dropping by.

It ’is also worth noting, for anyone with a Thai bank account, that the bank’s app might even come in handy, mainly due to the fact that mobile-number-powered PromptPay transfers have become more common as a cashless way of making payments is stores and restaurants, etc.

9. Shopping – Lazada

Lazada in simple terms is the Thai equivalent to Amazon. The very word Lazada has, in fact, become synonymous with shopping in Thailand, and the brand has proved itself in terms of product availability and delivery of a whole range of items including electronic equipment, home wares, clothing, sports equipment, books, etc., etc., to the point where it is the first place that many Thais will now look for goods.

Image by Lazada Group sourced from wikimedia commons

Much of the products are stocked and sold by the company itself, along with a wide range of third-party retailers, many of which are international. Prices are among the most competitive in the country for the majority of items, and delivery can be anything from 3-15 working days, depending on where the item originates from.