10 Essential Travel Apps For Your Peru Vacation

Some come to Peru to completely unplug, but most people these days wouldn’t dream of experiencing Cusco or Machu Picchu without their mobile phone.

We’re not of the school of thought that constant connectivity and an arsenal of Peru Apps will necessarily enhance your trip. Far from it. However, below is a list of mobile tools for Android and iPhone we can recommend in the categories of extremely useful and lots of fun.

Top 10 Peru Travel App List

1. Stay in Touch in Peru: WhatsApp and Secure Messaging Apps

Time was not so long ago that exorbitant roaming fees made staying connected during your your trip unreasonably expensive. Not so true anymore. But if you don’t have regular cell service — at the risk of stating the obvious — a must-have app is WhatsApp.

Not only will it allow you to communicate with friends and relatives back home whenever you’re within range of hotel or restaurant WiFi, you’ll also be able to reach our operations staff in case anything comes up.

(If privacy is a concern, consider alternatives like Signal or Telegram. But it must be acknowledged, in spite of META‘s very questionable privacy policies, its messaging App is ubiquitous in Peru.)

2. Break the Language Barrier with Spanish Translation Apps

Once, every non‑Spanish‑speaking visitor to Peru carried a pocket Spanish–English phrasebook. Today, free speech‑to‑text apps like Google Translate or Microsoft’s Bing‑powered Translator cover most everyday needs, online and offline. For travelers who want more seamless, natural conversations, a short  iTranslate Voice Pro subscription can elevate the experience even further.

To unlock those advanced features, travelers can choose a short iTranslate PRO subscription, including weekly options typically priced between about $4.99 and $9.99. Because these plans auto‑renew by default, it is important to turn off auto‑renew in the App Store or Google Play at least 24 hours before the end of the free trial or paid period to avoid being billed for an extra week or month they do not need.

3. Protect Yourself from Peru’s Extreme UV with SunSmart Global UV

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation on Peru’s coast and across the southern Andes and Altiplano is much more intense than in the northern hemisphere due its proximity to the Equator. SunSmart Global UV is a free App that will help you control your exposure to the sun, alerting when you need to apply more sun block based on your skin type and the sun’s intensity. SunSmart Global UV is backed by WHO, WMO, UNEP, and ILO, with five-day UV/weather forecasts and sun-protection time alerts.

4. Offline Navigation in Cusco and Machu Picchu with Google Maps

Google Maps offers highly accurate maps of Cusco, as well as the colonial towns and villages between the Inca capital and Machu Picchu, plus the ability to download those maps offline. It’s also “free” as in no direct cost. You’ll have to decide how much your privacy is worth, since we know Google is constantly banking your data.

5. Stay Private Online in Peru with Mobile VPN Apps

Speaking of privacy, you may want to consider using a virtual private network (VPN). There are many options for laptops, but fewer well‑reviewed VPN apps for mobile phones. A good mobile phone VPN should seamlessly encrypt your connection and help block snoopers and trackers, even when you switch between Wi‑Fi and cellular data. For North Americans or Europeans visiting Peru, privacy‑focused services such as ExpressVPN,  NordVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN are strong choices, combining no‑logs policies, strong encryption, and good performance on mobile.

6. Convert Currency, Distances and Temperatures with Unit Converter Pro

Conversions! Whether it’s the exchange rate from your home currency to Peru’s Nuevo Sol, the number of kilometers to Machu Picchu into miles, the predawn temperature on the Inca Trail from Celsius to Fahrenheit, there will be conversions. And for that, there is the free app Unit Converter Pro. Despite the “Pro” moniker this app is free and has no bothersome ads nor in-app purchases.

7. Level Up Your Peru Photos with Snapseed

There are so many photo editing app, but one worthy of special mention is Snapseed for upping your Instagram game. This free app comes loaded with 29 tools and filters, including: Healing, Brush, Structure, HDR and Perspective, plus editing tools that can handle JPG and RAW format.

8. Shoot and Edit RAW Travel Photos with Adobe Lightroom Mobile

Speaking of Raw format, if you’re one of those SmartPhone camera enthusiasts who prefers RAW file format to  capture all the visual data recorded by the sensor without compression or loss of information, and want powerful editing tools, then hands down you should consider Adobe Lightroom. A subscription starts at $9.99 a month.

9. Free Up Space on Your Phone with Files by Google

Keeping track of the files on your SmartPhone is pretty important, lest you find yourself with a full SD card just when you want to snap that iconic Machu Picchu selfie. There is no shortage of file manager apps, but Files by Google is an excellent option. You can free up lots of space with just a few taps — delete outdated memes from chat, erase duplicate files, uninstall unused apps, clear your cache and more.

10. Souvenirs and sharing memories

So much frigging technology! Do you ever wish you could just send an old fashioned post card? There’s even an app for that little bit of nostalgia. With MyPostcard you can create a personal postcard in your phone, using the photos you took during your Peru vacation. Starting at $3.49, the service covers postage to any address worldwide.

Ready to Use These Travel Apps in Peru?

Stay flexible, keep your phone updated, and install only the apps you really plan to use so they do not drain your battery or clutter your home screen during your trip.

Once you have chosen the tools that fit your style of travel, download them over a secure Wi‑Fi connection before you leave home or while you have a strong hotel signal in Peru.

Use the store badges below to grab any of these recommended apps on Google Play or the Apple App Store and get your Peru travel toolkit ready before you go.

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