Best Apps for Travelling Australia in 2026: 10 to Install Before a Road Trip

The apps at a glance

Install the entry and emergency apps before you fly, then the road apps once you have a local SIM or eSIM. Every app below is free to download; the prices column shows what costs money.

1. AussieCamps: where to stay, and the plan for the whole trip

We make AussieCamps, so read this entry with that in mind. It lists 1,838 campgrounds, 5,552 rest areas and 745 national parks, plus 1,393 dump points, 3,004 drinking water points and 1,186 toilets, from state park agencies, road authorities and public facility datasets, with filters for water, toilets, showers, power, dogs, vehicle access and fees. It also lists holiday parks, motels, B&Bs and tours you can book in the app.

Trips let you add stops in order and show the driving distance and time for each leg, arrival dates with a forecast for each stop, a checklist and a packing list, with sharing and Calendar sync. Place details stay readable with no signal; the map, directions and weather need a connection. It runs on iPhone only, has no traveller reviews or fuel prices, and is new, so it has no Australian rating yet.

2. AustralianETA: the visa app for eligible passports

The Department of Home Affairs publishes AustralianETA, the app you use to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority if your passport is eligible, which includes the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. The app is free, but each application carries an A$20 service charge that is not refunded if the ETA is refused. It is rated 4.6 from 1,206 Australian ratings and was updated on 30 October 2026.

Passport holders from much of Europe apply for the free eVisitor online instead, and other travellers need a different visa. Check which one applies before you pay, and use only the official app: sites that sell an ETA form charge more for the same thing.

3. Google Maps: navigation, downloaded before you need it

Google Maps is free, rated 4.6 from 503,750 Australian ratings, and lets you download an area to keep driving directions working without signal. Download the regions you will cross while you still have Wi-Fi, because reception drops quickly outside towns, and set the app to avoid tolls if you would rather not use Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane's toll roads.

Apple Maps is the alternative already on an iPhone. Either one takes directions handed over from a camping app, so you can plan in one and drive with the other.

4. BOM Weather: forecasts and warnings you can trust

The Bureau of Meteorology's own app is free, rated 4.6 from 473,513 Australian ratings, and shows forecasts, radar, rain alerts and official warnings for cyclones, floods, storms and fire weather. It is the app to check each morning on a road trip, especially in summer.

For fires and floods, add the warning app for the state you are in: Hazards Near Me in New South Wales and VicEmergency in Victoria are both free. Their ratings are low because people rate them in the middle of an emergency, but they carry the official warnings.

5. Emergency Plus: triple zero with your location

Emergency Plus is the official triple zero app, published by the National Triple Zero Awareness Work Group. It calls 000 from a single tap and shows your GPS coordinates, the nearest street address and a what3words address, so you can read your location to the operator when you are on a highway or a track with no landmarks. It is free and rated 3.9 from 524 Australian ratings.

It still needs a mobile network to place the call. Where your own network has no coverage, a mobile phone can still reach emergency services through 112 on any network in range.

6. Petrol Spy: fuel prices across the states

Petrol Spy compares fuel prices across Australia and is free with ads; it is rated 4.8 from 187,024 Australian ratings, though its last update was in July 2025. In New South Wales, the government's own NSW FuelCheck app shows prices from every station by law and is rated 4.8 from 123,128 ratings.

Fuel prices in Australia move in weekly cycles in the big cities, and country prices can be much higher, so a minute in the app before filling up can save a few dollars a tank on a long trip.

7. Linkt: tolls in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

Only Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have toll roads, and none has a toll booth. Transurban's Linkt app, rated 4.6 from 165,962 Australian ratings, lets you buy a visitor pass or open an account for the number plate you are driving, so tolls are charged to your card rather than turning into a notice with fees.

In a hire car, ask first: many hire companies pay the toll and charge you a fee for each one, and a pass may or may not be allowed. If you never drive in those three cities, you can skip this app.

8. Opal Travel and the PTV app: city transport

In Sydney you can tap on to trains, buses, ferries and light rail with a contactless card or phone, and the Opal Travel app, rated 4.5 from 37,008 ratings, plans trips and shows live times. In Melbourne, the Public Transport Victoria app, rated 4.6 from 64,108 ratings, does the same for trains, trams and buses.

Leaving the campervan at a holiday park outside the city and going in by train is often cheaper and easier than city parking. Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have their own apps, with more mixed ratings.

9. Xe: exchange rates and money

Xe shows live exchange rates and converts prices in your own currency, and it can send money abroad; it is free and rated 4.8 from 49,718 Australian ratings. It is useful for checking what a campground, a hire bond or a fuel bill costs you at home.

Most Australian businesses take contactless cards, but some remote campgrounds and honesty boxes take cash only, so carry some notes for the outback.

How we chose

We picked one app for each job a visitor's road trip needs, and checked each price, rating and update date on the Australian App Store on 9 November 2026. We left out booking and ride-share apps, which most travellers already have, and paid offline topographic map apps, which matter only for remote four-wheel-drive routes.

We make AussieCamps and put it first; no other developer here paid to be included. Spotted something that has changed since? Say so on the support page.

Places along the way