Using your Smartphone to make your trip easier

Traveling with your smartphone allows you to save your pictures and share them with family, keep in touch with home, and have access to great traveling Apps. 

 

To Use your phone without surprise roaming fees :

  • Procure an International plan with your telephone service provider - this is the best option - plan for 50MB of data per day
  • or buy a prepaid SIM card upon arrival in France - your phone must be unlocked for European SIM cards for this
  • Laura, Emilie & Clélia will walk you through finding the best option for you

The team will provide how tos for the most used travel apps:

  • We will provide explanations and short videos : easy & user friendly
  • We recommend you start using WAZE (or Google Maps) GPS at home before the trip as this is the best navigation tool in France

This is a list of applications we find very useful while traveling. Based on the type of "app user" you are, we will glady make a short-list which fits YOUR needs.

 

 

 

Your France Just For You App

The Best GPS in France

  • Waze: if you use only 1 App, this is THE App to get for your French trip
  • Google Maps

Great Tools for your trip

  • Citymapper
  • Gas Now
  • Google Translate
  • The Fork
  • Tiqets (last minute tickets)
  • Uber
  • The French Weather Forecast : France Weather app
  • XE currency converter
  • Flush: to find the nearest public restrooms
  • TouchNote: to mail real postcards from your cellphone - about $3 a postcard - it takes about 5 working days to be delivered

Keep in touch

  • Whatsapp
  • Facebook
  • Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo
  • Instagram
  • Skype
  • Viber

 This way, you can use you own smartphone in France, the same way you use it at home !

FAQ

Yes. Google Maps covers France in detail, including driving directions, public‑transport routes, walking paths, and live traffic updates on major roads. 

Before you leave your accommodation’s Wi‑Fi, download the region of France you're in for offline use since cell coverage can be patchy in the countryside and inside stone villages.

Absolutely; in fact, it's our preferred GPS navigation app. Waze is popular with French drivers because it crowdsources real‑time traffic, road‑work alerts, and speed‑camera warnings.

Just be aware that France restricts precise speed‑camera locations; the app will instead show “danger zones.” Keep a car charger handy—Waze can drain your phone battery quickly.

For most travelers, a combination works best:

  • Google Maps for reliable routing, offline maps, and walking directions in towns.
  • Waze for live traffic on longer drives and alerts about accidents or slowdowns.

Tip: We preload every France Just For You itinerary into our MyFrance travel app with one‑tap links to each stop, so your chosen nav app opens with the exact GPS coordinates—no typing required.

Our Travelers’ Reviews

Judy
This was one of the best trips we have taken to Europe. We have often done our own planning. It was so nice to have Laura help. We were very delighted with accommodations and friendliness of all our hosts and tour guides. As Americans that don't speak much French, we would never have been able to arrange a trip like this ourselves - and we've done …
Valerie
Emilie deserves every 5 (actually I give her 10!) star review since we never dreamed our 2 week trip through the Loire, Normandy and Paris could be so perfect. One of the many steps above and beyond was arranging a full-day private tour in Normandy since my husband's uncle (who is still alive) was there on D-Day. Our guide, Noémie, knew in advance …
Cathy
France Just For You planned the trip of a lifetime for my husband and me. We traveled to Normandy, St. Saint Michele, the Loire Valley and Provence. We are typically not road trip travelers, but this adventure brought us closer to the wonderful people of France than any group tour or "drop and plop" vacation could ever do. The bed and breakfasts …

Our Travelers’ Photos

Bob & Naomi
From the US
In Monet's gardens in Giverny, Normandy
Julie, Mary-Jo, Ben & Kevin
From the US
In the Loire Valley
Myrna & Duncan
from Canada
In Eze gardens on the Riviera
Fred
from Canada
Truffle hunting in Burgundy with Thierry
Nancy & Paul
from Canada
On the French Riviera
Heather
From Australia
At her ancestor's gravestone on Northern France
Elizabeth
From Canada
At her B&B in Normandy
Trea & Anna
From the US
In a little town in Provence
Arnold from Singapore
Is making his first French "choux"
..& the Oyster Guy !
in Biarritz Food Market with Maureen & Roy
Frederick
from Canada
Enjoying some cheese
Leslie & Family
from the US
A la Tour Eiffel, Paris

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