5 Best tour guide apps for travelers in 2025

Are you planning a visit to an unfamiliar city? Do you want to explore the local attractions at your own pace and experience the culture without getting lost? If yes, then a digital travel guide is the solution for you. However, with so many applications available in 2025, choosing the right one for your tour can be challenging. Here are some of the best tour guide apps that will help make your trip more enjoyable and stress-free.

Image downloaded from iStock

1 SmartGuide

This app converts every smartphone into a personal tour guide with extensive coverage across more than 1500 popular destinations worldwide. The audio narrations of the self-guided tours, curated by experts and local guides, are automatically played based on precise geolocation as you approach predefined points of interest on a tour.

SmartGuide also offers offline access. Once you've downloaded a tour, you can access it anytime, anywhere, without worrying about internet connectivity – a boon when you're in remote locations or places with limited network coverage, or want to spare data. Best of all, most tours are publicly available and completely free (whether it's walking tours, bus tours, car rides, or boat tours). To unlock the paywalled tours on SmartGuide, users can buy a Premium subscription. The app can be downloaded at no cost from the App Store and Google Play Store.

Moreover, this tour guide app takes your travel experience to the next level with AI-powered personalized recommendations. Its advanced AI model creates a profile based on your preferences and suggests places to visit that match your interests. It's like having your personalized travel curator. It works similarly to platforms like Netflix or Spotify which provide highly personalized content selection to each user.

For a more interactive experience, SmartGuide's audio guides incorporate an Augmented Reality (AR) feature. This allows you to engage with your surroundings in a fun and engaging way, bringing history and culture to life right before your eyes (should the tour content creators add AR elements to their tours).

Automatic GPS tracking and step-by-step navigation ensure you never lose your way while exploring. You can also bookmark your favorite destinations for easy access later. Additionally, SmartGuide is set to launch its AI Chatbot soon, which will offer custom itineraries within the SmartGuide app.

Pros

1. Currently covers 100,000+ tourist places worldwide including regional tours.
2. The app is free to download and offers many quality content for free as well.
3. Supports content in multiple languages, making it an accessible tool for travelers from all corners of the globe. (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Dutch, or Finnish, to name a few).
4. With AI-personalized recommendations, the app not only enhances the tailored experience for its users but also promotes sustainable tourism in the destinations they visit by dispensing crowds more evenly.
   
   

Cons

1. Fewer integrations, although more are being implemented (currently, SmartGuide supports e.g. GetYourGuide ticket sales).
2. Not accessible on the Windows Phone Store.

               SmartGuide digital audio guide

2 VoiceMap

VoiceMap is an app that offers GPS audio walks, cycles, drives, and boat rides across 400 destinations in 71 countries. The app is also available for free on Google Play Store and App Store.

VoiceMap’s tours are crafted by knowledgeable local storytellers, including journalists, filmmakers, novelists, podcasters, and tour guides. Among the contributors is Sir Ian McKellen, who has created a tour around London's West End, where he has been a regular performer for over 50 years.

Just like SmartGuide, this travel guide allows you to explore at your own pace, starting and stopping tours whenever you like. Its GPS autoplay feature allows you to focus on your surroundings instead of your screen. Simply tap on 'Start', and let VoiceMap guide you. The built-in GPS in your phone, accurate to between 5 and 15 meters, triggers narratives and directions at precise moments.

It also offers offline functionality. Furthermore, if you accidentally veer off course, this digital guide plays an audio alert, and you can follow the map on your screen to get back on track. The app also includes satellite photography, 360-degree video and augmented reality features.

With over 1500 free and paid tours, it offers a great collection that caters to various interests and preferences. Furthermore, thanks to having a user account, the app syncs across multiple devices. All your comments, ratings, and purchases sync across multiple mobile apps and vice versa, ensuring a seamless user experience with "one account, multiple devices" option.

You can access VoiceMap tours in the following ways:

1. Signing into the app and Mapper with the same account.
2. Using voucher codes to redeem tours in the apps.
3. Purchasing tours at voicemap.me.
4. Listening to free tours from start to finish without adding them to their account.

Pros

1. Tours are available in 11 languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Russian, and more).
2. Offers the convenience of a single account that can be accessed across multiple devices.
3. Provides alphanumeric vouchers for specific tours, which can be redeemed through web browsers, mobile apps, or by entering codes in tour URLs. These vouchers are unique, allowing for one or multiple uses.

Cons

1. Does not offer personalized recommendations based on the visitors' interest.
2. Some app users report issues with location-based triggering.
3. The information provided during the tour is reportedly limited in some cases.
4. Not accessible on the Windows Phone Store.

Source: https://voicemap.me/

3 STQRY

STQRY is a user-friendly tour guide app and storytelling platform that helps travelers explore destinations with different types of maps like satellite, street, terrain, and indoor maps, making it easy to find nearby attractions. The app also provides helpful features like background notifications and single-use download codes for simple tour access. Additionally, STQRY includes interactive elements such as 360-degree content and Augmented Reality (AR), along with fun games and quizzes to enhance visitors' experience. The app also allows users to access tours without needing continuous internet connectivity, which is particularly useful in remote or rural areas where service may be limited. Its tour categories include cities, libraries, botanic gardens, parks, and festivals. historic sites, museums, and universities.

Pros

1. Supports more than 50 languages.
2. With geo-fenced alerts and iBeacons, travelers can receive relevant updates and location-specific content as they explore.
3. Other than app stores (Android and iOS), it is also available on mobile web.

Cons

1. The platform does not provide personalized recommendations based on the preferences of individual visitors.
2. The app is not available on the Windows Phone Store.
3. Some users have reported problems with app functionality, such as mismatched audio with visual content and navigation difficulties.

Source: https://stqry.com/

4 GeoTourist

Featuring an easy-to-use interface, this audio tour app is free to get on the Google Play Store and App Store and offers location-based audio travel guides curated by local experts. The GPS functionality lets you discover the nearest tours around you that other app users have rated. 

The app also gives an option to save journeys and favorite tours in a folder to visit at later dates or for repeat trips. It also includes augmented reality features to provide a more in-depth journey.

Travelers can also enjoy exclusive offers from nearby businesses for dining, shopping, accommodation, and entertainment.

Although you can manually listen to audios for tours without registering, registration unlocks additional features including autoplay, choosing a preferred language, and adding favorites, as well as leaving ratings and reviews. Additionally, GeoTourist is currently developing an offline accessibility feature so that app users can enjoy their favorite tours without the need for mobile data access.

Pros

1. Offer tours in more than 40 languages (English, German, Spanish, etc.) making them accessible to a diverse range of visitors.
2. Assists in trip planning by enabling you to enjoy discounts from local businesses, book tickets to local events, along the routes – and avoid tourist traps.

Cons

1. Offers unregistered access to manual audio tours, but to enjoy features like autoplay, language selection, favorites, and leaving reviews, mandatory registration is required. This might be seen as a drawback for those who want immediate, full-featured access
2. No offline mode.
3. The app lacks a personalized recommendations feature based on visitor's interests.
4. The app is not compatible with Windows phones.

Source: https://geotourist.com/

5 PocketGuide

This audio city guide application brings more than 150 cities and tourist destinations to life in 5 languages (English, Chinese, German, Italian, and Magyar). It is your go-to companion with GPS technology for intriguing travel experiences.

For those looking to explore beyond the typical tourist attractions, PocketGuide offers themed walking tours that take you off the beaten path. If you are tired, it recommends you the best nearby restaurants and cafés.

During your tour, you can take photos and add comments; PocketGuide can create a 3D video that you can easily share with your friends under “My Diary” Settings. If you download a tour of your choice, you can share it with your friends and walk together hassle-free. The tours can be used offline and will be available in the PocketGuide App immediately after purchase.

What sets PocketGuide apart is the exclusive use of local guides' real voice recordings (not a computer voice), which create a more personal experience. You'll feel like you have your own personal tour guide by your side as you explore each destination. The app is free to download from Google Play Store and App Store.

Pros

• Themed tours offer valuable insights into local attractions and must-see sights, providing a curated and guided experience for travelers
• The app allows users to keep a diary, enabling them to document their experiences and easily track their journey. This feature helps visitors preserve memories and serves as a convenient tool for recalling favorite sights.
• All tours within the app are accompanied by a real voice, providing a more personal touch. This human element adds authenticity.
• Offers offline mode.

Cons

1. All tours offered through the app are paid and not available for free.
2. Does not offer personalized recommendations based on the visitors' interest.
3. In some cases, users have encountered frequent app crashes both before and after making a purchase, leading to inconvenience. Additionally, some users have expressed that the tour information provided lacks sufficient depth and detail.
4. The app is not available on Windows Phone.

Source: https://pocketguideapp.com/

General comparison

Which tour guide app to choose then?

As we enter the year 2025, travelers have a whole list of tour guide apps to choose from, each offering unique features and benefits. SmartGuide stands out with its AI-personalized recommendations and augmented reality (AR) features, providing an unforgettable experience for travelers who want to explore the places they visit in-depth, as with a real guide. STQRY impresses with its availability on both mobile web and app stores, ensuring accessibility for a wide range of users. Similarly, VoiceMap enhances the visitor’s exploration by seamlessly syncing comments, ratings, and purchases across mobile apps. GeoTourist goes beyond tour guides by offering exclusive deals and discounts from local businesses, including dining, shopping, accommodation, and entertainment and PocketGuide entices visitors with the tours having the real voice of professionals.

As you start your travel adventures in 2025, consider utilizing these itinerary apps to elevate your journey. Choose the app that best aligns with your needs and get ready to uncover the captivating stories and wonders that await you in your travels.

Are you ready to explore your perfect travel companion? Download the SmartGuide app today!