Let’s talk about the apps you think are helping you travel through the Netherlands—and how they’re quietly sabotaging your trip like a passive-aggressive Airbnb host. If you’re relying on screenshots, battery-draining location sharing, and whatever Apple Maps thinks is a “bike lane,” you might be due for a digital intervention.

1. You’re Lost… Constantly

If you’ve found yourself in the wrong town because you trusted your default maps app, congratulations. You’ve become that tourist. The one asking for directions in broken English to a place that’s 45 minutes away. Use NS Reisplanner or 9292, not whatever weird navigation app your cousin recommended from 2013.

2. You Can’t Figure Out When the Train’s Coming, or If It Even Exists

Dutch trains are punctual until they’re not. If you’re checking timetables on a browser and hoping for the best, stop. Get NS Reisplanner. It updates in real time and doesn’t crash just because your phone switched from Wi-Fi to data in a tunnel.

3. You’re Eating at Tourist Traps

If you’re using TripAdvisor to find lunch, just know you’re competing with 4,000 other tourists looking for the “best” stroopwafel in Amsterdam. Instead, try Too Good To Go to eat like a local for cheap, or at least like a frugal, vaguely adventurous person who enjoys surprises.

4. You’ve Got No Memories… Just Blurry Selfies

If your travel log is just a mess of uncaptioned photos and a lingering feeling of confusion, do yourself a favor and download Polarsteps. It tracks your route, photos, and notes without you lifting a finger. It’s like a diary, but it doesn’t judge you for skipping pages.

5. You Thought You Could “Wing It” Without Bike Routes

“Let’s just ride and see where we end up” is a cute idea until you’re pedaling through a suburban wasteland with no snacks and one angry swan. Use Fietsnetwerk to find scenic cycling routes that don’t end in mild emotional breakdowns.

Conclusion

Look, you don’t need 50 apps. You just need the right five or six. Ditch the ones draining your battery and your sanity. The Netherlands is an easy country to explore—if you don’t self-sabotage with bad apps and worse decisions. Download wisely, traveler.