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The Best Road Trip Apps That Help You Find Cheap Gas, Avoid Traffic, and More

Download these before you hit the highway.

Elizabeth Rhodes is a special projects editor at Travel + Leisure , covering everything from luxury hotels to theme parks to must-pack travel products. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to New York City from London, where she started her career as a travel blogger and writer.

Carmen Martínez Torrón/Getty Images

Technology has revolutionized the way we travel in countless ways. Paper maps and GPS navigation systems have been replaced by Google and Apple Maps, old-school CDs by music streaming services, and guidebooks by apps that can notify road-trippers of roadside attractions in real time. One thing is certain: the smartphone has made road trips infinitely easier and, arguably, cheaper.

Whether you need a digital road trip planner to map out your next journey or something to help you avoid traffic jams, here are 11 of the best road trip apps to download ahead of your next adventure.

Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is one of the most practical and popular road trip planning apps out there. Maybe you want to see national parks or the quirkiest roadside attractions. Perhaps you want to stop for the night at an iconic or underrated hotel. You can plan your stops right in the app, adding up to three waypoints for free or 150 with a Roadtrippers Premium account. There are also Basic and Pro memberships that allot you 20 and 50 waypoints per trip, respectively. The higher-tier memberships allow you to collaborate with friends and family and use navigation. The app features lodging, sights, outdoorsy destinations, restaurants, activities, shopping, fuel, and more all around the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The app is free, but you have to upgrade to a membership plan to enjoy all the bells and whistles. The Basic plan costs $40 a year, the Pro plan $50 a year, and the Premium $60 a year. It's available on iOS and Android .

Google Maps

Every road-tripper needs a trusty navigation app in their arsenal, and Google Maps is consistently one of the most — if not the most — downloaded in the U.S. every year. Its dominance can be attributed to how comprehensive its data is, which allows it to generate the very best directions based on distance, road conditions, and traffic patterns.

Google Maps gives you route options and provides accurate estimates of how long it takes to get from A to B. Plus, you can plot several waypoints along your route — be it a mid-morning coffee stop or a hotel for overnighting (you can see reviews right in the app).

Google Maps is free and available on iOS and Android .

Waze is another one of the top navigation apps. With real-time updates that help you avoid traffic jams, construction, and more, it will have you navigating new cities and unfamiliar streets like a seasoned local. It's perhaps a little more proactive than Google Maps in changing up a route when problems arise, and that means Waze users should prepare for their drive to be a little unpredictable.

No one wants to spend hours sitting in traffic instead of exploring, so the fact that Waze collects data from other drivers to streamline the driving experience is a huge help. The app is free and available on iOS and Android .

Paying for fuel can eat up a good chunk of your road trip budget, but GasBuddy can save you a few bucks. The app crowdsources up-to-date fuel prices for more than 150,000 gas stations around the U.S. and Canada. The app also tells you how recent the submission is so you know whether it's outdated.

GasBuddy is not just helpful for finding cheap gas but also for finding gas stations in general (and parking), which can be difficult in foreign territory. The app is free and can be downloaded on iOS and Android . While using it, be a good road-tripper and submit gas prices you see as you travel.

Roadside America

Barry Winiker/Getty Images

The offbeat and kitschy roadside attractions you can find throughout the U.S. are often some of the most delightful parts of a road trip. The Roadside America app helps you find the most unique attractions worth stopping for, like the large sculpture of a cartoon mouse holding a cheese platter in Plain, Wisconsin — where else? — or the decidedly odd larger-than-life-sized three-way electrical plug that rests on a lawn in Philadelphia. The app features museums, murals, tours, quirky restaurants, and photo ops.

Roadside America costs $3 to download, which gets you access to one region in the app. You can purchase more regions for $2 or get access to all of the U.S. and Canada for an extra $7. The app is available only on iOS .

iExit Interstate Exit Guide

Knowing where to stop for road trip snacks, a drive-through latte, or a public restroom can be challenging with all the exit signs whizzing by at 70 mph, but iExit Interstate Exit Guide takes the guesswork out of it. The app will list which exits are coming up on your route, what's there, and what they offer — including food, lodging, fuel, and even hospitals. It pulls fuel prices from OPIS (the Oil Price Information Service) and displays Yelp reviews for businesses.

The app is free to download. Find it on both iOS and Android .

HotelTonight

Even if you've planned out all your stops ahead of time, you might find that you need to pull over for a night unexpectedly. Driving is tiring, and unplanned naps can be life-saving. HotelTonight can help you find accommodations in a pinch. The app offers day-of deals on unsold rooms, and the user-friendly interface means you can book a discounted room in minutes. There are well over 1,000 properties to choose from in cities all over the world, from Mexico City to Jakarta (in case you happen to take your road-tripping global).

It's free to download and available on iOS and Android .

If staying in a tucked-away A-frame cabin, a yurt, or a private guest house in someone's garden is more your travel style than bouncing between hotels, then Airbnb is the ticket. On the Airbnb app, you can search properties (millions in the U.S. alone) on a map and read reviews before you book, which you can do in advance or at the last minute.

The app features not just vacation homes but also activities, so if you're keen to experience a city like a local you can do so via a pottery class or a guided walking tour, for example.

The Airbnb app is free. You can download it on iOS or Android .

Patchareeporn Sakoolchai/Getty Images

Travelers who dream of camping out under the stars should download The Dyrt , a free app that helps you find tent, RV, and cabin sites across the U.S. One of the top camping apps on iOS and Android , it has more than a million registered users who submit reviews, pictures, and tips. On The Dyrt, you get real intel on campsites and a built-in community that makes camping on a road trip especially fun and safe. You can even book some of the campsites right on app.

The app is free, but there's a premium version for $36 a year that allows you to plan trips and search campsites while offline — convenient for remote regions.

What is a road trip without a perfect playlist? Whether you're keen to create a soundtrack of nostalgic singalongs, modern pop songs, or music inspired by your destination, you'll find even the most obscure tunes on Spotify , a catalog of more than 100 million tracks. When you tire of Taylor Swift, you can turn to podcasts or an audiobook to keep you company. Road trips are a great opportunity to delve into a docuseries like "Serial," an all-time favorite.

Spotify is free to download and listen to, but the ad breaks are annoying and streaming can chew through your phone data. A better option is to purchase a premium membership for $11 a month. It's ad-free and you can download music to listen to offline. The Spotify app is available on iOS and Android .

Electric vehicles are increasingly commonplace and great for more environmentally friendly road-tripping. The problem is often finding charging stations, as most EVs can go 100 to 300 miles before they need to be plugged in. PlugShare lists 700,000 charging stations across North America, Europe, and beyond. Users share their reviews of the stations, helping to guide EV drivers to the best, fastest, and most reliable charging spots.

PlugShare is free and available to download on iOS and Android .

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We love road trips! Planning them can be fun but, let's be honest, also stressful. The right road trip planner apps can take some of that stress away by helping you plan, organize, and manage travel before and during your trip.

We've researched and tested these apps to help give you peace of mind so that you can spend more time enjoying your trip.

The Ultimate Map App for Planning Your Route: Roadtrippers

Access to free and convenient travel guides.

Start-to-finish routes.

App might drain your device's battery quickly.

Built for travelers, Roadtrippers helps you create your route while allowing you to discover great places as you plan it out. Add a new place to your itinerary to work it into your trip.

The app features an easy-to-use interface. In addition to covering the U.S., it also covers Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Download For:

Automate Your Trip Planning and Organization: Google Travel

Automatic trip organization via Gmail integration. 

Offline access.

Limitations with customizing some day trips.

You can count on Google to make your trip planning a breeze. Pre-constructed day plans are available for hundreds of the world's most popular destinations, which you can customize to your liking.

It's one of the most versatile travel planner apps out there, giving you one convenient place to see your hotel, rental car, and restaurant bookings.

Find and Book a Last-Minute Place to Stay: Hotels.com

A fast, easy-to-use booking feature.

Possible to get one night free after 10 bookings.

No option to easily cancel if you change your mind.

Whether your road trip itinerary changed, or you haven't decided on a place to stay yet, Hotels.com can help you find a place and book it when you're on the go, even when it's super last-minute.

You can sort and filter hotels, see the amenities they have to offer, compare prices, and catch a glimpse of how many rooms are available.

This is the app you'll want to have handy if you want to see in-depth hotel details at a glance and need to find a place to crash ASAP without breaking the bank.

Find Local Restaurants, Read Reviews, and Make Reservations: OpenTable

Lots of great filter options and suggestions.

Gorgeous, high-quality images of menu items.

Informative reviews from other users.

Reported problems with built-in reward system.

Searching for specific restaurants can be difficult.

Deciding on a place to eat in a new area is quick and hassle-free with OpenTable. See what's nearby, filter restaurants by cuisine, see photos of what's on the menu, make reservations, and get personalized recommendations based on your preferences.

OpenTable is known to be one of the top location-based food apps available, so you know you can trust its information when you're dying for something to eat.

Navigate Like a Local: Waze

Hands-free navigation with voice commands.

Alerts-only mode for road hazards and police.

Share up-to-date ETA with friends.

Spotify and Apple Music widgets get in the way.

Cluttered maps can be confusing.

Higher battery usage than Google Maps.

Waze  is a community-driven travel app that shows you the shortest possible route to your destination. Like Google Maps, Waze makes real-time adjustments for traffic jams and other obstacles—but Waze is often more accurate since it caters specifically to drivers.

The app syncs with your Google Calendar and can tell you when you should leave for appointments based on traffic. There's also a cool option to record your own voice and use it for directions .

Know Exactly When and Where to Make a Pit Stop: iExit Interstate Exit Guide

Detailed summaries of what's at next exit.

Information on gas prices at nearby gas stations.

Search for the next 100 exits from your location.

Can only be used on major U.S. exit-based highways.

No offline access, so you'll use your data.

Making a pit stop for food, gas, or a bathroom break is easy when you have the iExit app. Using your device's GPS, the app offers helpful suggestions for when and where to stop based on your location along the highway.

Whether you're looking for well-known franchises like Starbucks and Walmart to convenient amenities like free Wi-Fi and truck or trailer parking, this app has you covered.

Find the Cheapest Fuel Nearby: GasBuddy

An in-app gas payment feature.

Opportunity to save 10 cents per gallon on your first fill-up.

Save five cents per gallon on every fill-up after.

The app can take up a lot of data and battery life.

GasBuddy is an app specifically designed to find nearby gas stations and save money on gas. Use it to find the cheapest gas in your area and filter gas stations by amenities like car washes, restaurants, and bathrooms.

It's the app you want to have if you're serious about finding the cheapest gas around. Information comes from users like you, so you have the most up-to-date prices.

Download For :

Never Forget an Item: PackPoint Premium Packing List

Access to a built-in library of items to pack

Add or remove items as needed. 

An elegant, intuitive app interface.

Can't input multiple destinations for a single trip.

Not a free app.

PackPoint helps you make sure you have everything you need based on where you're going and what you're doing. In addition, the app takes into consideration the length of your trip and the expected weather conditions.

Perhaps best of all, this app turns a mundane chore into something that's actually quite fun.

Find Out Where to Park and How Much It Will Cost: Inrix ParkMe

Includes street parking and meter rates,

Also shows parking lots.

Real-time updates on available parking spots.

Rates and hours may be inaccurate in some areas.

ParkMe claims to be the world's largest and most accurate parking database. It allows you to purchase your parking spot through the app and compare prices across parking providers to help you save more money.

If you're road tripping around major cities in the U.S., Canada, or Europe, this app can be a huge help. You can even compare parking options and prices so that you always get the best deal.

Automate Your Itinerary: TripIt

Automatically creates itineraries from your inbox.

Widget displays trip details on your home screen.

Annoying amount of alerts by default.

If you're planning a trip, you'll likely have a lot of confirmation emails for hotels, appointments, restaurants, and attractions. TripIt syncs with your inbox and uses that information to compile an itinerary so that you don't have to scramble for it.

The free version is fine for road trips, but if you ever fly, the premium version gives you the option to upgrade seats and track reward miles.

In addition to your phone, laptop, and tablet, other travel tech essentials include chargers, headphones, travel adapters, cameras, luggage trackers, and off-grid communications

Yes. You can use Google Maps as a trip planner through the “Places” and “My Maps” features. Both the Google Maps website and app let you save locations to lists and get directions.

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21 of the BEST Road Trip Planner apps to get before you go

Looking for the best road trip planner apps , tools and hacks to help you plan your perfect road trip? Look no further! We’ve compiled all the essential road trip apps you need- including ones to help with planning a road trip , apps to use whilst on your road trip and tools we couldn’t (and wouldn’t) road trip without!

Before we found these tools, road trip planning and organising used to take HOURS. Or even days. Now, we’re a lot quicker- partly because we’ve compiled road trip checklists and gear, but partly because these apps make it easy. Promise.

*We work hard to make this the best motorhome travel blog and road trip website possible, full of helpful content for you. The website is supported by our readers, so if you buy through links on this site we may earn a commission- at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain our own .

If you find this post useful, you can also treat us to a coffee – we promise to enjoy it while creating more useful content like this- we might even indulge in a biscuit (or two!)

Whether you’re roadtripping in the USA with friends, exploring Europe in a camper or setting off on a road trip with kids *gulp*- these are the only road trip planner tools you need.

Pssst- want to travel healthily on your road trip? Check out these awesome, easy and HEALTHY snacks for road trip travels! 

JUMP AHEAD TO...

The BEST Road Trip Planner Apps and Tools to plan your road trip

Google maps.

I’ve said it before ( Here in fact ), Google Maps is amazing for planning a road trip . And it’s free. (Actually, many of these road trip planner apps and tools are free- we’re thoughtful like that!)

We use Google maps to put together a visual guide to places we want to visit- and then we use it to plan a route. You can see how we do it here

Another option is using Guru maps for offline navigation

Pinterest is an AMAZING road trip planne r resource! There are destination guides, things to do, road trip kit reviews and everything else you need! I never used to use it for anything other than recipes- what a mistake! Now, it’s the first place I go to look for new ideas when we’re heading off.

You’ll be pleased to know Wandering Bird is on Pinterest too, sharing destination guides, travel tips and yep- road trip planner tools!- You can follow us on Pinterest here

Roadtrippers

This is another site I think we underuse in Europe, but it’s a great road trip planner. Use it in the same way as Google maps, but there are also many other cool features; it estimates how much money you’ll spend on fuel and how far you have to drive, among other things.

Instagram is a road trip planner’s paradise! So many amazing destinations, secret locations and beautiful places are shared every single day. Just search the hashtag #roadtrip or your planned destination and see what comes up!

Facebook might not be your first thought for road trip planning apps, but if you ask a question on a relevant facebook group, you’ll get LOADS of ideas and info to help you plan your trip. I love asking advice from real people who’ve been there- and I find people are more likely to respond on Facebook, rather than Instagram.

You can find us on Facebook too- sharing tips, destination advice or general silliness- check out our page HERE

Road Trip Travel Blogs

Not an app, but travel blogs are a fantastic road trip planning tool. To find one for the area you’re planning to road trip to, just search ‘Road Trip Blog ________’ You’ll find people have road tripped all over the place and you can use their suggestions and favourite places in your road trip planner.

I hope if you’re heading to Europe you’ll find a certain road trip blog especially useful *cough cough * Feel free to sign up to our resource library so you can get useful road trip checklists, travel planning tips and destination guides.

Road trip forums are a great source of information- if you use them correctly and accept that there are many people in there who talk a lot, but haven’t necessarily DONE a lot.

That said, there can be some really good road trip planner advice and info- again, type into Google ‘Road Trip Forum for _____’ or even travel forums if you’re looking for destination advice for a particular location. The only downside to forums is you often have to sign up/ register before you can get access.

Other awesome Road Trip planner tools we recommend

Ok, so you’ve planned your road trip destination and started plotting places into your chosen road trip planner- but now WHAT??

If you don’t have a vehicle for your road trip, check out:

I LOVE this site . What a brilliantly awesome idea to help you plan and cut your costs for a road trip. Basically, people just like you and me list their RVs, campers and even trucks- and other people rent them out! Seriously, there are a HUGE number of vehicles on there, all over the world, available for rent at really reasonable prices.

If you’re looking for low-cost vehicle rental, this is a great place to start! Just please be aware that, as with many sites like this, there is the potential for unscrupulous people to take advantage. If in doubt, pick another van or hire through an approved rental agency.

So, now you’ve got a road trip destination, an overflowing road trip planner and a vehicle! Last planning tip- get some:

Packing Checklists

A packing checklist can be invaluable- especially if you’re roadtripping and moving around regularly. It is SO easy to forget something silly as you travel – so get yourself a packing checklist to make it easier.

You can either use a FREE app like My Trip List, which allows you to customise a packing list.

Useful Road trip planner apps whilst ON your road trip

The fun doesn’t stop just coz you’ve started travelling! Oh no, if you’re anything like us, you’ll keep planning your road trip as you’re on the road! After all, what’s the point in having an adventure if you can’t be adventurous?!?

Navigating is hard enough on a road trip- without getting your camper stuck down a narrow street! This app works on any iPad or phone with GPS and allows you to input the dimensions of your vehicle so you can avoid streets and bridges which are too small. Read our full review of CoPilot here.

>>Looking for other sat-navs. These are the best on the market<<

Google translate app to convert languages.

Road tripping to another country? Get the Google Translate app. This is one of our favourite road trip planner apps- because it’s so darn useful. Just open the app and hold it up to a sign, menu, paper, whatever- and Google Translate will translate the words into your chosen language! This is BRILLIANT for roadtripping Europe where the languages change constantly and we don’t always speak them very well.

Recipe Book

I LOVE this app. I use it all the time and it’s so freaking easy- and FREE!! Find a great recipe on Pinterest or Google, make it, and then save the recipe to your recipe book app, so it’s there for the next time you want to cook it. The app syncs between ipad and phone, which is great- I can grab whichever is closest to hand. I prefer following a recipe from a larger screen, but having the app on the phone is SO useful when I’m shopping and can’t decide what I want to cook for dinner.

DroneAssist

The BEST app in the UK for telling you where you can safely and legally fly your drone. It’s a brilliant and easy-to-use app and we use it whenever we want to get our drone out… or at least we did, until we lost our drone in Lake Annecy *sob* Hopefully by the time you read this we’ll have another one ready to go! We haven’t found a similar app for use in Europe or North America- if you know of one, please let me know and I’ll update this list.

Find fuel with these great road trip planning apps:

If you have refillable LPG gas installed on your motorhome (one of our Road Trip essentials!), this app and website is brilliant for finding places where you can fill up. Most of the locations are current and the app/ website are updated frequently.

Gasbuddy is one for my American friends- find the cheapest gas along your route. (To avoid confusion, by gas I mean petrol. Or diesel. Not gas for cooking.) I asked my group of road tripping RVers which app they recommend and this one was top of the list!!

Road Trip planner apps to help you find somewhere to stay

If you haven’t booked a campsite or a hotel, you’ll need to find places to stop as you road trip. Here are some of the best apps to help with finding somewhere to stay as you road trip:

If you’re exploring Europe, park4night is THE app to have to help you find free or cheap parking spots. You can even use this in advance as a road trip planner- find suitable looking spots and add them to your itinerary or Google maps before you go. I’m pleased to see Park4night is now coming to the US and Canada too- more and more overnight spots are popping up.

Campercontact

Campercontact is another overnight stop app, but what I love about this one is that you can set your vehicle height and length in order to find appropriate spots. We use this app a LOT when we have a trailer, as many aires or free spaces are too small for us.

>> Read our complete review on apps for navigation here<<

Allstays has a range of campgrounds, rest stops and free camping spots across the US. I believe most of the free places are only available if you buy the Pro version, but there seems to be a LOT of options on there, which would be a great way to help plan your road trip. iOverlander is another option to find places to stay.

Road Trip planner apps to make the miles go faster!

I have become a huge podcast fan over the last few months. They are perfect for driving- and there’s a HUGE range to choose from. Even better- they’re free! I like educational podcasts- learning things helps keeps me awake as I drive, but there are all sorts of different road trip podcasts to choose from and make the miles fly by. Jump onto your podcast app and see what appeals!

Another awesome app. Find and download audio books, listen to them, then return them! I’m slowly working my way through the Harry Potter books- Stephen Fry’s voice is just magical and it’s one the whole family enjoys listening to. Sign up to Audible here and get a FREE TRIAL!

Spotify/ iTunes

Whether you are a die-hard spotify user or an iTunes convert, I think most people agree that all good road trips need an awesome playlist! This section should probably be in road trip planning- creating the perfect playlist takes time, you know!

Want some ideas to get you started? Here are 150 of the BEST Road Trip songs!

Kindle Unlimited

There are very very few books I can read more than once. Even if it was a good one- once I know the end, it’s dead to me. (Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are notable exceptions to this rule!)  What I LOVE about Kindle Unlimited is you can read a book and then return it- and there are some BRILLIANT, well-known books and authors on there. It’s a proper library, ready for you to explore, for only a few pounds (or dollars!) a month. See what you could be reading on your road trip HERE (there’s even a 30-day free trial!)

Notes for Budgeting

Yep, notes. This is what I use for all our budgeting and diary for our road trips. Heck, sometimes I use it as a road trip planner before we even leave!

No, it’s not sexy and yes, there are apps out there which do budgeting and diary entries and everything else- but I find it so easy to grab my phone every time we stop for fuel/ shopping/ an attraction and make a quick note on what we spent and what we thought!

I’ve used notes for years to keep track of our spending as we travel- then I can write it up into a spreadsheet when we return or when we’re stopped in one place for a few days. Whatever you choose, definitely get a way to keep track of your spending!

PSSNGR for Splitwise

You’ve heard of Splitwise, right? It’s a brilliant app which allows friends to split the bill on things like meals out, rent, bills, etc. PSSNGR is an extension of that- but it’s designed for car shares. It can calculate and split the cost of a road trip, with fuel costs, snacks, meals etc- perfect for when you’re road tripping with friends!

Accuweather

Does anyone else have 3 different weather apps on their phone… and they look at all of them until they get a forecast they like? I definitely do that, but then I tend to believe what Accuweather says! The app is a great road trip planner tool as it can help you prepare for the weather ahead- essential for road trip safety.

Star Gazing App

One of my favourite things about road trips is getting far enough away from the world so we can enjoy the night sky in all its glory. I have only seen the Milky Way ONCE- and I plan to see it again as often as possible because it was breathtaking.

There are several star apps available, which will show you which stars and planets you are looking at as you gaze in wonder at the sky. There’s also one called Photopills, which will help you line up the perfect shot of the Milky Way (it also works for sunrise/ sunsets.)

Can’t go on your own road trip?

Check out ‘Roads by Porsche’- a road trip app filled with videos of other people driving some of the most beautiful roads on this planet! It’s a perfect road trip planner app- but it’s also a lovely way to while away a rainy afternoon, dreaming about your next adventure!

I hope you find these travel apps useful. Is there one you LOVE which I’ve missed? Let me know! If you enjoyed this and think others would find it useful, please share on Facebook or Pinterest.

Safe travels!

More road trip tips:

Best road trip gadgets you need, amazing destination ideas for a european road trip, how to plan a road trip to europe.

Kat never planned to buy a motorhome. She also never planned to quit her job as an air traffic controller, go touring around Europe in said motorhome, start one of the UK’s largest motorhome travel websites… or get a cocker spaniel.

Find out how she went from stuck in the rat race to being a digital nomad and inspiring thousands of people to have their own epic adventures here.

If you’d like to connect with Kat, send her an email or follow her adventures on social media.

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Nice post! Thanks for sharing this wonderful post with us. These apps sound interesting definitely gonna very helpful planning road trips. I really found this post very helpful for me. I bookmarked this for future. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Absolutely stunning! Thank you on a detailed impressive guide!

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• Scenic Drives
• Road Trip Planner

Road Trip Planning Made Easy

Create custom day trips, weekend getaways, and cross country adventures worldwide

Powerful features for planning your epic road trips (and the shorter adventures in between)

Unlimited stops.

Add unlimited stops and sub-stops. Combine your own stops with our pre-planned routes and recommended places of interest.

Smart Scheduling

By the minute, hour, or overnight, set preferences for each stop. Export your trip to your own Calendar.

Set Vehicle Type

Car, RV, camper trailer, truck, motorcycle, pulling a boat? Get a realistic estimate of driving time. Adjust travel speed by percentages for each unique situation.

Divide Trips Into Days

Divide your trips into manageable driving days based on your custom settings by time or distance. And of course you can customize each day differently.

Route Preferences

Configure route preferences such as avoiding highways or tolls for each day or any segment of your trip.

Use Any Device

Plan trips from your desktop computer, iPad, Android tablet, and mobile phone with the same easy-to-use interface. No app to download or software to install.

Automated To Do List guides you through the road trip planning process.

Manage Your Budget

Track expenditures before you go and along the way. See a summary of expenses for entrance fees, activities, restaurants, and lodging, etc.

Gas Calculator

See the estimated fuel cost for your vehicle type.

EV Charging

Find EV charging stations along your route. Get reminders to recharge. Use Charging Ranges to display icons on the map where your vehicle will require recharging.

Export Options

We support Google Earth (KML), Garmin Communicator, BaseCamp and MapSource (GPX), Co-Pilot Live (TRP), Microsoft Streets and Trips, TomTom itineraries (ITN), TomTom Places of Interest (OV2), Comma Separated Files (CSV), and Tab Separated Files (TSV).

Directions on paper come in handy. Print your road trip with turn-by-turn maps and full directions, divided into your day-by-day itinerary.

Is This Really Free?

Yes! It is free to use our Scenic Drive Itineraries and Road Trip Planner. Please consider purchasing your National Park or National Forest passes on myscenicdrives.com.

Why Do I Need An Account?

A free account is only required for the Road Trip Planner, enabling you to create, edit, and save your trips. Your account is secure. We never share your information.

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More Resources

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Best Apps For Planning Road Trips 

Technology has transformed the way that we travel in countless ways. Paper maps and GPS navigation systems have been replaced by our iPhones and Androids, making road trip-planning apps easier. 

Travel apps help users research destinations, find good routes and accommodation deals, and book services. Some apps will even offer travel guides and allow users to check reviews and ratings from travelers. 

Check out these handy road trip planners to make your next trip much easier and more enjoyable.  

15 Best Apps For Planning a Road Trip 

Here are the best road trip apps you can download to give you peace of mind and spend more time enjoying your trip. 

Waze ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

The Waze app encourages passengers to post any eventualities on the road and lets you know when there are speed traps. This app also syncs with your google calendar and can tell you when the right time is for you to leave for appointments based on traffic. 

Waze also has hands-free navigation with voice commands.  

Cost: Free  

Google Maps ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

With pre-constructed day plans that you can customize to your liking it makes, it is one of the most versatile travel planners. This app lets you see your rental car, hotel, and restaurant bookings. In a nutshell, it helps you to build a tentative itinerary. 

The Dyrt ( The Dyrt | Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

And before you entirely decide on the cabin site you have chosen, it will help you get to read the site’s review, which is fantastic. With the reviews and photos of the site, you will be able to make the best choice for a place to stay.  

Cost: Free [upgrade for Pro features]

All Trail ( All Trails | Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

The all-trail app will also allow you to access a database of trail maps, trail guides, trail reviews, and trail photos. This makes the all trails app a great companion, especially if your road trip involves hiking. 

Gasbuddy ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store)  

But how does it help in saving you a few bucks? This app enables you to find the cheapest gas station in your area, ensuring that you do not pay more than you have to when filling up your tank. It also helps you to filter gas stations by amenities like restaurants, bathrooms, and car washes. 

The information on the app comes from other motorists like you ( as you can enter the gas prices as you travel). This ensures you always have the most up-to-date gas prices and nearby parking, guaranteeing the perfect road trip. 

Cost: Free 

Roadtrippers ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

The Roadtrippers app is built for travelers, as you can plan your journey in collaboration with your friends and families, and features an easy-to-use interface. With the Roadtrippers app, you will discover great places you can stop along your route. 

The best part of the Roadtrippers app is that it covers not only the US but also Australia, Canada, and New Zealand . While the app is free for you to maximize it ( all the good stuff) entirely, you will need to upgrade to Roadtrippers Plus, which charges $29.99 annually. 

Cost: Free [Upgrade to Plus]  You can get $5 off using our code BTR5QTP here .

Hotel Tonight ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

Hotel Tonight will help you to find a good deal on nearby hotels and motels and give you directions straight there whether you did not make plans or your overnight plans did not fall through.  

It is a user-friendly interface app that allows you to book a discounted room in minutes comfortably. No more paying double for a hotel room at the last minute! 

iExit Interstate Exit Guide ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

This app got you covered whether you are looking for well-known franchises like Walmart and Starbucks, convenient amenities like truck or trailer packing, or even free Wi-Fi. 

Spotify ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

But you seriously need to get Spotify Premium for $9.99 a month so that you can listen to music without ads and also download playlists that you can listen to offline. It’s so worth it. 

Cost: Free {Upgrade to Premium]

Maps.Me ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

The Map. Me is famous worldwide and will help you with your precious time with exceptional navigation. What’s more, is that with the Map. Me app you can make your travel more enjoyable by utilizing the app’s fantastic ready-made travel guides.  

The ready-made travel guides have been curated with some assistance from some of the best travel content creators in the world—the Map. Me app is also great as it includes GPS navigation, offline search, and optimized maps that effectively save memory space on your phone.  

Packpoint ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

It is a free travel packing organizer and packing planner designed to help you travel smart. This app will help you organize what you need to pack based on the length of your travel, typical weather at the destination, and activities that you wish to plan for the trip. 

After you build your packing list , you can share it with your friends and families to help them pack better. For the best results while using this app, you will need to input details such as: 

• Departure date 
• Number of nights that you plan to stay 
• Destination city 

The best part of this app has to be that it turns a mundane chore into something quite fun. 

ParkMe Parking ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

This app also has a feature that helps you estimate the parking cost you will have to pay before parking in a particular spot. It will also allow you to compare prices across parking providers, helping you save a buck. 

In most cities, ParkMe also displays real-time parking availability and allows you to reserve parking at certain lots and garages. 

Using the ParkMe app will help you avoid spending hours searching for the right parking spot making your road trip experience even more pleasant.  

Yelp ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

With the Yelp app that features over 100 million reviews on businesses worldwide, you can search for the closest and best-rated restaurants, services, and shops. The best part is that you can refine your search by filtering the results by price, ratings, neighborhood, distance, and what’s open now.  

With millions of reviews written by local experts, you will surely get the best recommendations for your needs. And more importantly, you will be able to avoid restaurants that flirt too closely with the health code. 

Cost : Free 

TripIt Travel Planner ( Google Play Store | Apple App Store )

TripIt will also allow you to sync travel plans to your calendar or share them with anyone you choose using this app. The app also lets you stay aware of evolving travel landscape with guidelines, restrictions, and requirements that can easily be viewed using the trip itinerary screen in the app. 

TripIt has a free version that is fine for road trips, but if you are flying, the premium version allows you the option to upgrade seats and track reward miles. 

Cost: Free [upgrade to Pro]

Airbnb ( Google Play Store | Apple Store )

In addition to booking a place to stay while on your road trip, the Airbnb app now also offers city guides written by savvy locals, workshops, host meet-ups with fellow travelers, and even get some audio walking guides. 

Airbnb will help you get a taste of wherever you are traveling to, irrespective of how long you are staying there. So, whether you are booking rental home weeks in advance or looking for a last-minute place to sleep, the Airbnb app will help you through. 

We hope you’ve discovered a useful travel app for your next road trip on this list. Don’t forget before your next journey to check out our complete guide to road trip essentials – it includes a downloadable family travel checklist to help getting your car and your family ready for your next big adventure on the road.

© Family Road Trip 2024

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10 Helpful Road Trip Planning Apps For Your Next Adventure

Whether you need a travel packing list, the cheapest gas price, or a toilet finder, there’s “an app for that!” Using a road trip planning app is a convenient way to store all your essential travel plans in one place.

1. Roadtrippers (Route Planning)

Roadtrippers is a robust road trip planner app with many useful features. Not only can you plan out your entire trip, but you can also use the app to navigate. The app allows you to mark your planned stops easily and suggests things to do along the way. You can estimate how much you’ll spend on gas, book hotels, and tours, and get traffic updates. Roadtrippers Plus has even more features, allowing you to create itineraries and download pre-made trip guides.

2. PackPoint (Packing List)

A road trip packing list can help you keep track of your belongings before, during, and after travel. It’s the best way to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything essential. But rather than keep track of a paper checklist, why not use an app? PackPoint is a travel packing list app that allows you to create custom packing lists for free. You can categorize your list and even see what the weather is like at your destination. The premium version also allows you to link to your TripIt itinerary! 

3. TripIt (Itineraries)

TripIt is a mobile itinerary app that allows you to compile your road trip or travel plans all in one place. You can send your travel confirmation emails to the app, add photos and PDFs, email your itinerary to someone else, and even sync your trip to your calendar. TripIt Pro has additional features such as trip reminders, a rewards program tracker, “go now” reminders, and various flight-related tools. If you love itineraries, you’ll love this road trip planner app!

4. Waze (Traffic & Directions)

Waze is a GPS navigation and live traffic app that helps you get where you need to go. Not only does it help you get to your destination, but it allows users to input information such as road hazards, construction sites, and police sightings.

Another popular feature of the app is its rerouting tool. When the app notices traffic back up ahead, it will notify you of the situation and offer alternative routes. Waze has also added features such as a speedometer, a gas finder, a parking garage/lot finder, and it will even sync with your music and podcast apps.

5. Google Maps (Destination Finder)

Suppose you’re directionally changed, like me. Using Google Maps to get around a new city is a game changer. The app isn’t just for driving navigation and can be used when getting around on foot or by bike. And if your location history has been enabled, the app will even give you destination recommendations based on places you’ve previously visited. In addition, Google Maps will let you share your location and download maps offline if you know you’ll have spotty service.

6. GasBuddy (Best Gas Prices)

GasBuddy is a fuel savings app that uses your location to help you locate cheap gas. You can also sign up for a free Pay with GasBuddy card to save even more at the pump. Here’s how it works.

Once you receive the card in the mail, you will connect it to your bank account. Next, you’ll use the app to unlock deals. Then, when you are ready to fill up, you use your GasBuddy card instead of your debit card. When you do this, you’ll receive up to 25 cents off per gallon, and if you upgrade to their premium account, you can get up to 40 cents off per gallon. The GasBuddy card works at 95% of gas stations in the U.S.

Additionally, if you want to save even more on gas, you can participate in their Shop Your Way program. Use the app to shop for their retailers, and they will apply more gas discounts to your card.

7. Flush (Toilet Finder)

The Flush restroom finder app is genius! All you have to do is open the app, which will display public restroom options near you. The app also tells you if the bathroom is handicap accessible, if there is a fee, and even lets you know if a key is required. And this app isn’t just for those in the U.S.; it helps you find toilets worldwide!

8. Trabee Pocket (Budget Tracker)

The Trabee Pocket app was designed specifically for tracking your spending while traveling. The app allows you to enter pre-trip costs, add on-the-go costs, categorize your purchases, and show you how much you’ve spent via a pie graph. And if you don’t want to hold on to your paper receipt, you can take photos and upload them to the app.

When your road trip is over, you can export your expense details to a PDF or even a CSV file that you can open in Microsoft Excel. This simple-to-use expense tracker is great for budget-conscious road-trippers looking to watch their spending!

9. HotelTonight (Last-Minute Stays)

If you’re looking for last-minute hotel deals, HotelTonight is your app. Perfect for road trips, this app is ideal for those who decide, unplanned, that they want to stay the night in town before moving on to their next destination. So how does it work?

HotelTonight partners with hotels to help them fill up their unreserved rooms. In return, they can offer deep discounts to get those rooms filled. And although the app advertises last-minute accommodations, you can also book stays up to 100 days in advance. Be careful, though! Because these are great deals, you probably won’t get a refund for a cancellation or the ability to request a different type of room.

10. Guide Along (Audio Tours)

Guide Along , formerly known as GyPsy Guide, is a GPS-narrated audio tour app that will give you information about your current location. While driving or walking, the app will suggest local tips and tell you about things to do and see around you. It’s a personal tour guide at your fingertips! The app lets you download and play tours offline if you know you’ll have lousy cell service in an area.

Final Thoughts

There are many road trip planning apps, so research and find the apps that best fit your needs. It’s always a good idea to test your apps before your trip so you’re not fumbling around while driving. Enjoy your vacation, and be safe out there!

This article originally appeared on Wander With Alex . Photo Credit: [@scanrail/DepositPhotos]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandrea Sumuel Groves is a nationally syndicated travel writer and founder of the Wander With Alex travel blog. Her work has appeared on MSN, YAHOO!, Euronews, and FOX, ABC, and NBC affiliates across the United States. 

Alex travels to experience, eat, explore, and occasionally escape! She collaborates with destinations, vacation property management companies, and hospitality technology firms to provide her readers with exclusive insights and information.

20 Essential Travel Apps for Awesome Road Trips

By Jason Barnette | Travel writer and photographer with 15+ years of road tripping experience

• Last Updated on May 25, 2024
• Published on August 14, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Affiliate Disclosure here .

When I was a kid on family vacation, I sat in the backseat of the car with nothing more than a paper map and a pen to trace our route. I always knew where I was, and where we were going, but nothing else. Today’s world is different; road trips are dominated by mobile apps and GPS devices meant to connect us to the world before we even arrive. But which apps do you really need?

These are my favorite apps that I use almost daily when road tripping. I’ve had most of these for years now, but I’m always looking for something new to develop. Here are my favorite apps for road trips.

Road Trip Planning

Every great road trip needs to start with a plan. That plan may be nothing more than a route from Point A to Point B. But sometimes, a road trip plan needs to include business hours of attractions, various routes to drive, and things to do along the way. That’s where these next few apps come in handy.

Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is the ultimate planning resource for any road trip. The app contains thousands of user-generated points of interest like parks, museums, attractions, and restaurants. The user interface is pretty simple: launch the app, search a map of your current location, or use the search bar for another destination. With the app you can save POIs, create routes, and plan entire road trips.

The app is free to download, and the free account allows you to search, save, and plan your road trip. For $29.99/year users can subscribe to Roadtrippers Plus that allows you to design longer routes and download maps for offline use.

iOS (iPhone and iPad) | Android

Google Maps

Google Maps is my favorite tool for planning the route of a road trip. I begin the process on my laptop by entering a starting and ending point for a road trip, then I click to drag the route to include other destinations along the way. Once I have a route established, I begin scouring the mapping tool for POIs. My Maps is a way of creating fully customized road trip routes and itineraries you can then access through Google Maps.

The app is free to download and use. My Maps is also a free utility by Google.

Roadside America

Roadside America is one of the most fun apps for road tripping. The app is filled with listings for quirky roadside attractions like largest fire hydrant, oldest tree, and a cellphone tower in Mississippi designed to look like the Washington Monument. The app uses your current location to show a list of nearby attractions, or you can manually search for an upcoming destination. Details for each listing include GPS address for directions, hours of operation, and what to expect when you arrive.

The app is free to download and users are allowed to select one region for free. The app divides the US into six regions with each region costing $1.99 to unlock.

iOS (iPhone only)

Fantastical

For the longest time I was just like so many other travelers who kept a loose itinerary scribbled on a notepad. Eventually, I got frustrated with arriving at a museum five minutes after it closed or a restaurant on the one day a week it wasn’t open. I started taking notes in the calendar app and planning itineraries.

Fantastical is without a doubt the most powerful calendar app I have ever used. Using Cloud storage, the app flawlessly links the calendars on my phone, tablet, and computer for easy planning. I can create multiple calendars; I have a calendar for travel times, places to explore, and lodging. It’s also really easy to drag and drop to move items around so I can still be spontaneous, but have a bit of a plan.

iOS (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Watch)

During the Road Trip

There is no greater travel feeling in the world than hitting the start of a road trip. But the moment the trip starts, so do the necessities. Where is the next gas station? Place to eat? What’s the weather doing tomorrow? These next few apps will help you keep the road trip going once you’re on the road.

Once upon a time I was one of those people who would spend thirty minutes sitting in gridlocked traffic to get to the other side of town so I could save three cents per gallon on gasoline. I’m not quite that picky anymore, but I do still use the GasBuddy app when I’m traveling.

Just two clicks after opening the app will load a map with my current location and all the gas stations nearby. GasBuddy is user-generated content, so someone needs to have inputted the gas prices for you to see that price as you scroll the map. But in my experience about 70% of the gas stations will have a price. It is without a doubt the easiest way to find a gas station and check the price while traveling.

iOS (iPhone, iPad, Watch) | Android

National Park Week 2024

Learn about the annual celebration of the National Park System and read my travel guides to national park units across the country.

My Golden Rule for Road Trips is to never travel an interstate highway. However, I realize that’s not always possible or desirable. For those times you find yourself driving hours on the interstate, iExit is a great way of finding food, lodging, and gas.

Think of iExit as a preview of all the interstate highway signs you’ll pass. The app uses your current GPS location and heading to create a list of exits ahead of you. Each exit lists an icon for gas, food, lodging, transportation, and so much more. Click on the exit number and you’re given details of all the businesses along with websites, phone numbers, and even gas prices!

Everybody needs a little music for a road trip! I have been a big fan of Pandora almost since the app first debuted years ago. Although I have tried Spotify in the past, and it has a huge following, I have found Pandora to be the better app for road trip music.

For $4.99 per month, the Pandora Plus plan, which is the plan I use, you get an ad-free experience, unlimited skipping, replaying songs, and higher quality audio. For $12.99 per month, Pandora Premium also allows you to search for particular songs to play on demand. And for those times in the mountains where you inevitably lose cellular signal, both plans allow you to listen to music on four channels in offline mode.

AccuWeather

I once watched a document about how meteorologists generate their predictions for the weather forecast. I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized there were almost two dozen models and basically the person standing in front of the camera just picks one.

Over the years, I have found AccuWeather to be the most accurate for predicting the weather. The radar loads pretty quickly, even in low-signal areas, and the hourly forecast is usually pretty close to accurate. It’s on the first screen of my phone because it’s one of my most-used road trip apps.

One of my favorite features of the app is the weather alerts. Severe weather such as approaching thunderstorms, tornado warnings, and heat are pushed to devices as soon as they are issued. On my Apple Watch, I’ll receive a notification so I’ll know if I need to duck for cover on a trail.

iOS (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch) | Android

Finding Things to Do on a Road Trip

Even with all the meticulous planning and research, being spontaneous is still a great feeling on a road trip. These next few apps are great at helping you find things to do based on your current location, so they’re actually better to use on the road than sitting at home.

It was love at first sight when I discovered this app. AllTrails is my go-to app for finding hiking trails, but there is so much more to the app than just a search engine. This app has grown over the years to be a fantastic planning and recording tool for outdoor adventures.

The app syncs smoothly with their website so you can begin the planning from the comfort of your computer, but hopefully not while you’re at work. The website and app has a search feature to quickly find a specific trail, state or national park, or destination you want to hike. You can also search via map if you know the route you are driving and want to find something interesting along the way.

With the app on your phone and smartwatch, upgrade to their AllTrails Pro plan for the option to download hiking maps for offline use. With their free plan, you can create lists to easily find particular trails later and you can record your hike for posterity!

iOS (iPhone, Watch) | Android

The Outbound

When I first came across The Outbound, I realized I had stumbled upon more than just an app for finding outdoor adventures. It was a community of travelers who thrive in the outdoors, create stories of their adventures, and share points of interest for others to find.

The app has a pretty amazing search feature, and you can also use your current location to search for adventures on a map. The adventures include information on how to get there, where to park, admission if applicable, and photos of previous users who have taken the option. It’s more than just hiking trails; The Outbound is all about getting outside, so the app includes parks, trails, waterways, beaches, pretty much anything that puts the sun on your face.

Google Maps is a great tool for finding business nearby, but what about the menu at a restaurant, ratings at the bar, and photos to get you inspired? Yelp is my absolute favorite tool for finding food, museums, and shopping as I travel.

It’s user-generated content so you know you can trust the reviews, although a few false Yelpers have snuck onto the platform over the years. The greatest advantage of the app is the access to information like photos of the menu, hours of operation, website address, and phone number. Be sure to sort the reviews in order of rating instead of Yelp’s built-in suggestion for the most accurate picture of what to expect.

I was never a big fan of Groupon until I came across the Powder Magazine in Charleston, South Carolina. I was visiting for a week and wanted to check out some of the museums. When I walked into the two-room museum, the manager asked if I had the Groupon discount. As it turns out, for just two dollars more than general admission I could have an annual pass! I used it twice that week and saved money.

The Groupon app uses filters based on your interests to help find discounts on admissions to museums and attractions, discounts on meals (especially for families), and opportunities for discounted packages for travel. I have found guided tours through the Groupon app not listed anywhere else that led to some wonderful times!

Where to Stay on a Road Trip

Sleep in your car, grab a hotel room, or park your RV, everyone needs to sleep at some point on a road trip. I prefer to sleep every night. These next few apps are my favorites for finding a comfortable and safe place to get some sleep, and some of these apps have perks I quite enjoy.

Trucker Path

I discovered Trucker Path during my three years of road tripping in a camper van. The app is designed for truckers, but it works just as well for people who sleep in their vehicle. The app locates truck stops on a map and lists details such as number of showers, current gas prices, and other amenities.

With filters, uses can narrow the list to particular chains of truck stops or even Walmart’s that allow overnight parking. Reviews of the stops are also helpful, even for non-truckers, in deciding if it would be a good place to spend the night.

There are a lot of apps for finding and booking hotel rooms, but I have always used Hotels.com for one simple reason: book ten nights and you get one free. The one free night is worth the average of the ten previous nights, so don’t expect to spend a free night at a five-star resort, but you’ll still get a good deal.

The app has a wonderful search feature using your current location with filters for whittling down the list to find exactly what you want. Details on each hotel includes amenities, types of rooms, and nearby attractions. Sometimes, the app includes discounts for getting a few dollars off the price of a room.

I have booked hotel rooms while sitting in the parking lot and walked inside to find the reservation already registered. It’s usually pretty fast, and after ten years of using the app I’ve only had a reservation lost once.

Pro Travel Tip: Hotels usually do not list every room on third-party booking websites like Hotels.com or Expedia. If you’re browsing a booking app and the hotel doesn’t have any vacancies, it’s possible they still have rooms – just not on the app. Give the hotel a call and see if they have any available rooms.

Using the Airbnb app during a road trip can get a bit tricky. Airbnb has grown as the world’s top resource for short-term rentals, otherwise known as a place to spend a vacation that is owned by an individual instead of a company.

When planning ahead, Airbnb can lead to fantastic lodging options in places you otherwise could not afford. Sometimes the rental includes only a bedroom in an occupied house, but quite frequently the lodging has a private entrance or includes the entire property.

The only downside to using the Airbnb app while traveling is spontaneity. Owners of properties must approve renters, and sometimes that takes a day or two. If the owner does not live on site, it can also be difficult to get access with less than a forty-eight hour notice. When using the Airbnb app to book lodging, plan ahead.

Capturing Memories on a Road Trip

How often do you use your cellphone to capture photos and videos on a road trip? Cellphones have become the most common way to capture memories during all sorts of travel. Although I’m still a DSLR photographer, I use several apps and features with my phone and tablet to capture better photos and videos to remember my trips.

The Photographer’s Ephemeris

The Photographer’s Ephemeris has been my favorite travel app for years. It’s a bit overkill for the average road tripper, but I have it to be essential. The app uses Open Street Maps to find your location and then shows lines depicting the direction of sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset.

I use the app constantly while road tripping to determine the best place to see a stunning sunset. When I get close to the last hour of sunlight, I use the satellite image option of the map to begin looking for a scenic overlook with a view of sunset.

I would label this an essential app for anyone traveling through national parks, scenic byways, and coastal areas. Everybody enjoys a great sunset, right?

GoldenHour.One

I use the GoldenHour.One app with a grain of salt, but it’s still useful. At the very least, the app displays sunrise and sunset times along with Golden Hour and Blue Hour times for great photography.

The one feature I use the most is the Weather feature. The app uses local weather reports to determine the chances of seeing a brilliantly colorful sunrise or sunset. On a scale of 1-10, the app will announce opportunities like, “Decent chance to catch a good photo.” However, I will admit the app’s fortune telling are wrong as often as right, but it’s still a good tool.

Have you ever wanted to take manual control of your cellphone camera? For most people, this answer would be an emphatic no. But for those who would like a little bit of control for better photos on road trips, I highly recommend the Camera+ 2 app.

The app allows the user to take manual control of the ISO, shutter speed, and white balance of photos. The user can also manually pick where the camera focuses, especially useful when you want the subject off-center.

The app comes with several pre-defined shooting settings like Portrait, Macro, and RAW. The RAW feature is the one of the best because it allows users to fully edit a photo later for better results.

Pro Camera by Moment

Moment is a company founded on a simple principal: help people capture better quality photos and video on a cellphone. They started with a series of high-quality lenses that screw into custom phone cases, but since then they have expanded with a rather wonderful app.

The Pro Camera app is better camera app than the one that comes with your phone. The app is set for automatic camera settings by default, but more advanced photographers can set custom values for ISO, exposure, and focus. The app also comes with presets for custom settings on demand for special effects. Since buying the full set of lenses, the Moment camera app has become my go-to for photography on the road.

Even the best of photographers need to post-process their images, and don’t let them try to convince you otherwise! The Snapseed app is the best mobile image editing software I have used, and that includes the cumbersome Lightroom.

With Snapseed, it is simple to open the most recent image or quickly browse for a previous photo. The app has the ability to process DNG files captured in RAW format. A full suite of tools are available including levels, crop and rotate, white balance, and about a dozen other tools for special effects. When you’re done editing, you can save a copy or overwrite the original, all within seconds of capturing the photo.

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15 Useful Apps to Download Before Your Next Road Trip (for Free!)

If you are looking for the best road trip apps , you’re in the right place!

Traveling along the wide open road can be a lot of fun but can also be stressful if you’re worrying about getting lost, finding gas, looking for a hotel, or are trying to keep to a tight budget.

Here are a few tools you can access from the palm of your hand that will help with your planning, navigating, budgeting, and finding what you need while on the road. These apps simplify things for you so you can concentrate on enjoying your journey just as much as the destination.

Whether you’re going for 2 days or 2 weeks, these are the absolute  best apps to have for a road trip :

All of the apps can be download for iOS in the Apple App Store or for Android in the Google Play Store.

Table of Contents

Google Maps – best road trip app for navigation 

Price: Free Availability: iOS and Android

Seriously. How did we ever live without Google Maps?

It is arguably the most popular navigation app – and for good reason – as it’s incredibly reliable and easy to use. Whether you’re walking, biking, driving, or using public transportation, it allows you to see the best route based on distance, road conditions, and traffic patterns. I even used it to navigate the subways in Tokyo, Japan and it worked flawlessly (thank goodness!).

Since we’re talking about road trips, Google Maps is an excellent choice when deciding on your driving route and looking at all your options for stops along the way.

Create and save your entire itinerary and update it as you go, or highlight your favorite places and save them for later. It can also help you find nearby restaurants, parking, or public restrooms in a pinch. 

You can even download maps for offline use, which is an excellent feature for adventures that take you out of cell service.

For a step-by-step tutorial on customizing your Google Maps , visit my guide on  How to Plan Your Road Trip with Google Maps .

Waze Navigation – for navigation with real-time updates 

Perhaps second in popularity to Google Maps, Waze is gaining favor with a lot of drivers.

Waze is a community driven navigation app that provides  the most up-to-date maps, real-time traffic updates, and road closure alerts. It’s also useful for  showing drivers where traffic cops are hiding and and speed cameras are mounted. I think we can all agree that speeding tickets will put a damper on any road trip. 

Drivers can report things along the way, giving real-time, comprehensive updates on road conditions and traffic problems. 

Plus, for those of us who prefer to take the longest route possible, there is an ‘avoid highways’ feature that takes you through the backroads, which is the best way to discover fun and spontaneous stops along your journey.

However, one of the standout features of Waze is the “avoid dirt roads” option, which re-routes you to follow only paved roads on your road trip. This is especially useful for countries like Costa Rica , where it’s all too easy to find yourself driving down some extremely rough and muddy roads.

Roadtrippers – best road trip app to build an itinerary

Price: Free for basic version | $25.00/year to upgrade Availability: iOS and Android

Roadtrippers is one of the best road trip apps because it’s designed specifically for road trips. You can use it to build your own road trip route, find places to see along the way, and even calculate gas mileage. It’s essentially your all-in-one road trip app.

To use Roadtrippers, start by clicking “Plan Trip” and add your departure and final destination. Roadtrippers will display the best route and then you can search for stops and accommodation along the way.

While you can plan basic road trips in countries throughout the world, Roadtrippers works best in the US, Canada , New Zealand , and Australia.

Use the free version to add up to 7 waypoints along your route. If you need more, you can upgrade to Roadtrippers Plus for $25.99/year, which gives you 150 waypoints per trip, offline maps, and different map styles.

Instagram – for inspiration

While not technically a road trip app, Instagram is actually a great resource for finding inspiration, hidden gems, and checking current conditions at locations along your road trip route.

For example, I use Instagram every year to plan my fall foliage road trip ! By searching for most recent posts in a certain area, I can check the foliage and time it to get there when the colors peak.

Here are some other ways you can research your trip on Instagram:

• Type key phrases into the search bar on the explore page
• Visit tourism boards profiles
• Browse the posts under location specific hashtags

Similar to Pinterest, you can save your favorite posts and organize them in dedicated boards. I like to create dedicated boards for each trip.

Join me and over 45,000 adventure lovers over on Instagram , where I share more travel tips, unique places, and road trip itineraries!

Pinterest – for exploring blogs and finding itineraries

If you’re a visual person, you’ll love Pinterest because it’s a search engine like Google, but with pictures.

Pinterest is typically my first stop when I sit down to research for a road trip or start crafting an itinerary. It’s a great road trip app for finding road trip itineraries, travel inspiration, and exploring new travel blogs which you may not have come across in a normal Google search.

You can use Pinterest to research a specific destination or just browse for inspo to save for later. Just use the search bar like Google to search for phrases like:

• Las Vegas to Sedona road trip itinerary
• Best countries to visit in December
• Ecuador travel itinerary
• Florida travel

To stay organized, you can curate separate boards to store itineraries, places to visit during your travels, your packing list and any other tips that might make the road trip more seamless.

Click here to follow me on Pinterest and check out road trips Pinterest board!

Spotify – music, podcasts, audiobooks

Price: Free for basic version | $9.99/month to upgrade Availability: iOS and Android

An absolute prerequisite for a good road trip is a good soundtrack. Long gone are the days of fuzzy radio stations or loading CD decks. Spotify allows you to sync up all your favorite tunes into your ultimate road trip playlist, or the app is happy to curate one for you.  

Although Spotify is first-and-foremost a music streaming platform, you can also find hundreds of podcasts and audiobooks so you can learn and stay entertained on the road.

The app can be used for free, but you will get some advertisements, while premium subscribers listen ad-free. 

Tip: Make a unique playlist for every trip with songs you’ve never heard before! That way, you’ll be reminded of your epic road trip every time you hear those songs.

HotelTonight – to find last minute hotel deals

Maintaining a flexble schedule is part of the joy that comes with road trips. Unforseen circumstances such as traffic, roadside attractions, hunger, or sleepiness can sometimes throw plans off course. HotelTonight compiles last-minute, unused hotel rooms at a discount. So, if you have a flexible schedule or you’re looking for a last-minute hotel room because you can’t handle any more drive time, this is a great app to have handy. 

HotelTonight will use your location to pull up real-time availability and prices. They have about 50 thousand properties in their database in 1,700 cities around the world. 

AllTrails – find places to stretch your legs

Price: Free for basic version | $35.99/year to upgrade Availability: iOS and Android

If you’re a fan of hiking and the great outdoors, you’ve probably used AllTrails once or twice to find a good walking trail. It makes the list of best road trip apps because you’ll definitely be itching to stretch your legs after many sedentary hours in the car. 

In the AllTrails app, you can enter a general location or use the map view to see your current location and find trails near you. Each route is rated by users and marked with distance, time, and difficulty level, so you won’t be left wondering how long your excursion will take.

There are free and paid versions of the app for $35.99/year. The only noteworthy difference in the paid version is that you can download the maps offline. 

TheDyrt – the best road trip app for finding campsites  

If you’re going to be looking for campsites during your road trip, TheDryt helps you find places all over the US where you can pitch a tent, park an RV or even rent a cabin. This is the best road trip app for finding last minute campsites and free places to park overnight, especially when we have a camper van.

It’s the number one camping app in the US, with over a million downloads. Users provide reviews, pricing, and all the nitty-gritty info you want to know before arriving at your camping location. 

TheDyrt app is free to download, but I do recommend splurging on the PRO version if you’ll be off grid. It costs $35.99/year and it allows you to plan trips and search for campsites while offline.

READ NEXT:  5 Compelling Reasons to Take a Campervan Road Trip (+ Essential Tips to Know Before You Go)

Freecampsites.net – find free campsites on public land

Free camping can be hard to find, but  Freecampsites.net makes it easy to find free, dispersed camping outside of official campgrounds. This makes it one of the best apps to have for your next road trip!

Most campsites are located on public land managed by the State Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Freecampsites.net is crowd-sourced, so campsite information, tips, and site reviews are contributed by other users.

To find a campsite near you, use the map to search for free, cheap, or permit campsites. Alternatively, use the Trip Planner to pull up all campsites along your route. The campsites can be used for car camping, tent camping, or RV camping.

You can’t book these sites in advance, so I recommend doing some research beforehand and always having a backup plan in case the site is full when you show up.

If you like to plan (way) ahead, use Recreation.gov to book organized campsites cross the country.

iExit Interstate Exit Guide – find the best exit stops

Price: Free for ‘lite’ version | $0.99 to upgrade Availability: iOS and Android

Designed for US Interstates, the iExit Interstate Exit Guide is an easy way to find out what’s coming up at an exit near you.

Missing signs and zipping past each turn-off usually means you miss an optimal food spot or bathroom stop. But  iExit helps you find the best exit for your needs, whether it’s cheap fuel, food, or a comfortable hotel. You can even book a hotel directly through the app.

iExit is free, but there are some added in-app purchases available for a small price. 

Toll Calculator GPS Navigation – estimate tolls on your route

Price: Free for basic version | $5.99/year to upgrade Availability: iOS and Android

Don’t forget that toll roads are an important part of your road trip budget! Fortunately, Toll Calculator is one of the best road trip apps for estimating the cost of tolls along a given route. Originally created for truckers, this app is quickly growing in popularity among all kinds of road trippers.

With Toll Calculator, you can easily plan ahead and choose the best route for your trip, estimating how much toll money you’ll need along the way. It currently works in the US and Canada.

The free version is good enough for estimating tolls along the primary route from point A to B. But you’ll have to upgrade if you want to unlock more features like syncing with Google Maps and comparing prices on alternate routes.

GasBuddy – find the best gas prices along the way

Let’s be honest – filling up the gas tank is probably going to be the most expensive part of your road trip. Luckily,  GasBuddy collects user-generated data to help you find gas stations with the least expensive fuel options on your route. It works for road trips in the US and Canada. 

Once you add your destination, the GasBuddy app will show you all the filling stations along the way and let you compare prices. App users report prices and gain points for doing so. Earning points enters you into drawings for gas money that can go towards your next road trip.

TripIt: Travel Planner – keep your travel schedule organized

Price: Free for basic version | $49/year to upgrade Availability: iOS and Android

TripIt is a travel planner that allows you to keep your travel schedule organized and saved in one place. This means that all your reservations, booking numbers, confirmations, addresses, etc., are neartly organized and at your fingertips.

The best part is that you don’t have to add everything in manually, which is such a time saver. Once you book something online, you can automatically sync your plans into your TripIt schedule. It’s very convenient to have everything in one place.

The free version is super comprehensive so you won’t have to pay for TripIt PRO unless you want the added bonuses real-time flight alerts, reminders and city guides. 

TravelSpend – best travel app for budgeting

If you like sticking to a budget while you travel, TravelSpend is a free app that will track your spending. It’s great for domestic road trips, but you can also use it abroad because you can choose your currency.

TravelSpend’s functionality is pretty basic, which makes it easy to use, even if you’re a finance novice. It categorizes your spending so you can see exactly where your money is going and helps you stick to your budget. 

It can cater to solo travelers, couples, families, groups, or digital nomads. The free version comes with ads, or you can upgrade to go ad-free. 

And there you have it—these are the best apps to ensure your next road trip is one for the books. Whether you’re hitting the road for a weekend getaway or considering a bigger move, the right tools can make all the difference.

Looking for more actionable tips to make your next road trip unforgettable? We were featured in a Redfin article! Check it out here: Roaming for Relocation: Plan your road trip to find your new home !

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The 19 Best Travel Planning Apps for Every Type of Traveler

December 1, 2021 15 min read

Planning your next travel adventure can be both exciting and stressful. While searching for amazing destinations and attractions to visit is always fun, keeping track of all of the information relating to your trip isn’t the easiest task. 

If you’ve been using Google docs and sheets or simply storing travel inspiration, confirmations, bookings, and reservations in your email, there’s a better way: using a travel planning app! 

You can discover an array of travel itinerary apps on the market, such as Wanderlog , a free and easy-to-use travel itinerary planner. But deciding which is best for your needs can be challenging. To help, we’ve put together this list of the 19 best travel planner apps on the market. 

To create this guide, we started by searching for the top trip planners online and in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. We then tested these apps and looked at user reviews to create this ultimate list of the best travel planning apps. This extensive list includes a range of apps, from road trip planning apps to itinerary planning apps. No matter what type of traveler you are, we have you covered. 

If you’re looking for a way to simplify travel planning and organization, keep reading! 

Best Overall Travel Planner App: Wanderlog 

We truly believe that Wanderlog is the best overall travel itinerary planning app on the market. Wanderlog allows you to plan detailed day-by-day itineraries, import all of your trip information, and search activity suggestions. It’s also perfect for group travelers and those traveling via a range of transport methods, from flying to taking a road trip. 

You can use Wanderlog in-browser, or download the app for iOS and Android. Wanderlog is 100% free to use, and this free version offers access to almost all of the apps’ features. There is an upgrade option, Wanderlog Pro, that offers added benefits with a one-week free trial.

Wanderlog Features

Activity Suggestions and Access to Pre-Created Trips 

You can search third-party websites and add things to do to your itinerary from online guides, like Tripadvisor or Google Trips. Wanderlog also offers activity suggestions, and you can view trips created by other users for inspiration. 

Storage and Organization of Travel Information 

When using Wanderlog, you can manually add travel information or automatically import reservations, bookings, and other email confirmations by syncing with Gmail. This travel information includes flight info, bus or train reservations,  accommodation details, rental car confirmations, and more. You can also add expenses for places and items on your itinerary, and manage your total budget.

Itinerary Creation 

As you upload travel information and add activities you want to undertake on your trip, a day-by-day itinerary will be created. This itinerary is incredibly easy to edit, and you can add notes to each stop. 

If you don’t need a day-by-day itinerary and want more flexibility in your plans, you can simply create lists, for example, a list of things to do or restaurants to try. 

Access to Maps 

When you add stops to your itinerary or lists, they’ll be displayed on a map. The map feature makes it easy to see where all the attractions you wish to visit are located, allowing you to plan the most efficient itinerary. 

Road Trip Planning

Wanderlog now offers the ability to plan road trips! You can add start and end destinations, plus unlimited stops along the way, and your road trip route will be shown on interactive maps. 

It’s super easy to rearrange these plans, and you can even use our “Road Trip Optimizer” to generate the most efficient route. The total time and distance of your road trip journey will be displayed too.  

Group Collaboration 

Wanderlog makes collaborating with others in your travel group a breeze! You can easily collaborate with others traveling with you by simply adding their email to your trip. Alternatively, you can just share a link to the itinerary. Having done this, all members of your group can collaborate on the plans in real-time. 

Wanderlog Pro Added Features

• Offline access to itineraries and maps
• Exporting of maps to Google Maps
• Auto scanning of travel confirmations in Gmail
• Road trip route optimization  

Who Is Wanderlog For? 

Wanderlog is the best app to plan travel for every type of traveler. From solo travelers to groups, and from the highly organized traveler to those that simply need one place to store information and activity suggestions. Wanderlog also has a highly user-friendly interface, and best of all, it’s free to use! 

Who Is Wanderlog Not For? 

Wanderlog is great for all travelers! Whether you want to organize your travel details, search for an array of activities to enjoy on your trip, or collaborate with fellow travelers, the Wanderlog travel planning app won’t disappoint. 

Does Wanderlog sound like the travel itinerary planner for you? Download the app today ! 

Best Road Trip Planning App: Roadtrippers

If you’re looking for road trip planner apps, Roadtrippers is one of the best options out there! This app is created exclusively for those traveling via car. It not only maps out the best routes for you to follow but also offers suggestions of things to do along the way. 

Roadtrippers can be used online and via their iPhone and Android app. Roadtrippers offers a free Basic version and a paid-for version called RoadTrippers Plus, which costs $29.99 per year.  

Roadtrippers Features

Custom Route Maps

Roadtrippers calculate the best route for you. Simply enter your road trip start and end destination, plus stops along the way if applicable. You can choose the fastest route or ask Roadtrippers to suggest additional stops along the way. 

Activity and Attraction Suggestions 

As just mentioned, Roadtrippers offers suggestions on things to do along your road trip route. These suggestions include activities to try and attractions to visit, as well as dining and accommodation suggestions. 

Gas Cost Estimations 

Once you have a route mapped, Roadtrippers provides an estimation of the total gas cost. This feature is great for those operating on a budget. 

Navigation 

Roadtrippers also help guide you once you set out on the trip with in-app navigation. This feature allows you to stay within the app instead of switching to another navigation app, like Google Maps. 

Roadtrippers Plus Added Features 

• Offline maps
• Collaboration features, allowing multiple travelers to add to the road trip itinerary 
• Live traffic updates 
• Special promotions from Roadtrippers’ travel panthers, such as discounts on hotels 
• Dark mode 
• No in-app ads 

Who Is Roadtrippers For? 

As the name suggests, Roadtrippers is ideal for people planning road trips. The app is helpful for all types of road trip travelers, from those looking for a quick route from A to B to those wanting to visit an array of attractions along a multi-city route. 

Who Is RoadTrippers Not For? 

This app isn’t optimal for those planning different types of travel experiences. For example, if you’ll fly to one city and then want recommendations for tourist attractions, this isn’t the right app for you. You also miss out on features without a paid account, so if you want to benefit from all of a travel apps’ features for free, you may not be interested in RoadTrippers. 

Want to learn more about Roadtrippers? Read our in-depth Roadtrippers review ! 

Best Travel Planning App for Trip Information Organization: TripIt

TripIt is one of the relatively well-known itinerary planning apps that stores all your trip details, like transport and accommodation information, in one place. TripIt can be used via web browser or an app for iOS or Android. 

TripIt has both a free version of the app, with limited features, and a paid-for version called TripIt Pro. You can also purchase TripIt for Teams which is targeted at business travelers.

TripIt Pro: $49 per year with a 30-day free trial

TripIt Teams: Starts at $29 a month for one to ten users 

TripIt Features

TripIt allows you to upload your travel information to one place. Things you can upload include flight details, hotel bookings, and activity reservations. You can manually upload information or email it to TripIt. 

TripIt Pro Added Features 

• Transport fare trackers
• Check-in reminders
• Flight updates
• Seat upgrade information 
• Airport security wait time updates 
• Loyalty/rewards program points tracker 
• Baggage claim location notification 
• Interactive maps
• Ability to share plans with others 
• Features to add documents to your itinerary, such as photos or PDFs 

Who Is TripIt For? 

This is a great app for those that only want to store and organize all the information they already have relating to a trip in one place, and have access to this information on their phone. It’s also very easy to use. 

Those that also want notifications related to their trip all in one place will appreciate the features offered by TripIt Pro. 

Who Is TripIt Not For? 

TripIt is quite a basic itinerary planner. In addition, TripIt doesn’t offer suggestions on things to do in the city you’re visiting. These drawbacks mean that TripIt is best for those that only want to store all of their travel information in one place.

If you’re looking for an app that offers travel suggestions, such as activities to try or landmarks to visit, this isn’t the app for you. Travelers looking for a free travel itinerary app will probably not be interested in TripIt either (you should instead try Wanderlog that’s 100% free to use!) 

Unsure if TripIt is right for you? Read our detailed TripIt review to learn more about the app.

Best Travel Planning App for Documenting Your Trip: Polarsteps

Polarsteps allows you to document your entire trip, along with creating itineraries. This travel app can be used in-browser or via an app and is one of the best free travel planner apps, as you can access all features at no cost. You can pay for a printed travel book with pictures and notes relating to your trip. These books start at approximately $40 for a 24-page book.

Polarsteps Features

Trip Itinerary Creation 

You can create a trip itinerary and add as many stops as you like. These stops include different cities, countries, and landmarks/places of interest. A map showing each stop will also be generated. 

Addition of Images, Videos, and Notes 

For every stop added, you can also upload pictures, videos, and a description of the place. This feature is ideal for those looking to document their adventure and makes Polarsteps somewhat of a digital travel scrapbook. 

Access to Pre-Created Trips

You can follow other users (as you would on social media networks) and access their pre-created trips. This is the one discovery feature on the app to help you find additional places to visit. 

Sharing Features 

It’s easy to share trips with other people, like friends and family. You can add followers to your trip, which allows them to see everything you’re doing. Multiple people, however, can not edit and add to a trip from different accounts. 

Who Is Polarsteps For? 

Polarsteps is recommended for those that want to document their entire trip with images, notes, and the like. It’s also perfect for those taking long, multi-city trips, although can be used by those taking shorter trips too. 

Who Is Polarsteps Not For? 

This app isn’t recommended for those looking to create an itinerary that simply keeps all of their travel information in one place. If you don’t want to document your trip via images, notes, and videos, Polarsteps probably won’t be worth using. 

The app also isn’t great for those looking for activity suggestions, you can access the trips of others for ideas, but the Polarsteps will not offer streamlined activity suggestions itself. 

Read our detailed Polarsteps review to discover more about this app. 

Best Alternative to Print Travel Guides: Lonely Planet Guides

Lonely Planet is an extremely well-known travel guide brand. Recently, they launched an app, Lonely Planet Guides, that is quickly becoming one of the  best travel planner apps. Lonely Planet Guides offers attractions and landmark suggestions for over 1,000 cities. You can also access videos, curated collections, and phrasebooks. 

Lonely Planet Guides is accessible via an app for iOS and Android. There is a free version, but it’s very basic, so paying for a subscription is necessary in most cases. Lonely Planet Guides pricing is as follows: 

• One Month: $4.99
• Six Months: $21.99 (or $3.67 a month)
• One Year: $39.99 (or $3.33 a month) 

Lonely Planet Guides Features

Information on Places of Interest 

You have access to information on landmarks and attractions for the majority of cities on the app. This feature is great for discovery and allows you to find the best things to see and do in the city you’re visiting.

If you don’t have a paid subscription, you can only access info on four places of interest per month. 

Custom Maps and Bucket Lists 

If you discover places of interest that you want to visit, you can add them to a map and/or bucket list. Once in the city, you can open your map to easily see where all the attractions you want to visit are located. 

Without a paid plan, you can only add four locations to your map each month. 

Curated Collections

Access to pre-created collections of things to do is available. These are often categorized, for example, the best markets or restaurants to visit. 

Ability to Purchase Tours and Other Tickets 

If you discover an attraction you want to visit or a tour you want to try, you can purchase tickets via a third party directly in the app. 

Paid Subscription Added Features 

• Access to phrasebooks for 19 languages 
• 360-degree immersive experiences 

Who Is Lonely Planet Guides For? 

The Lonely Planet Guides app is ideal for those looking for a digital alternative to traditional print travel guidebooks. It’s also a good choice for those going on a multi-city trip as you have access to information for thousands of cities across the globe, all from your phone. 

Who Is Lonely Planet Guides Not For? 

Lonely Planet Guides isn’t recommended for travelers that are looking for free travel planner apps. It’s also not the best option for those looking to create complete itineraries that include transport and accommodation information as well as places they plan to visit. 

Get all the details on this travel planner app by reading our Lonely Planet Guides review . 

Best Travel Planning App for Those That Want to Explore Like a Local: ViaHero

ViaHero is a travel planning app with a difference. Instead of planning your itinerary yourself, locals to the area (called “Heroes”) will create an itinerary and personalized guidebook for you. Understandably, this comes at a cost. You’ll be charged $40 per day of itinerary planning, with the maximum paid for a guidebook usually being $125. 

Destinations covered include cities in North America, Central and South America, Asia, and Europe. 

ViaHero Features

Custom Guidebook Creation  

After highlighting the types of activities and attractions you’re interested in, your “Hero” will create an itinerary and guidebook. 

A Personalized Map

You’ll also get access to a custom map that features each location mentioned in your guidebook. 

Booking of Activities and Other Travel Arrangements 

If things on your itinerary need booking (and booking doesn’t require prepayment) your local “hero” will make these arrangements for you. 

Ability to Communicate with Your “Hero”  

You can get in touch with your local “hero” at any point before and during your trip. This feature allows you to request changes to your itinerary and ask questions if needed as you explore the city.  

Who Is ViaHero For? 

ViaHero is one of the best travel planner apps for those that have limited time to plan their own trip, plus a decent budget for someone else to do so for them. It’s also a great choice for those that like to explore off the beaten track and get recommendations from locals instead of visiting tourist hotspots. 

Who Is ViaHero Not For? 

Due to the cost, ViaHero isn’t a good option for those traveling on a budget. It also may not be a great choice for those that are visiting a city for the first time and want to see the most popular landmarks and attractions. 

Being a newer service, only “heroes” from a limited number of cities are available at this time. If you’re visiting an area without a local “hero,” you won’t be able to use the service. 

Best Travel Planning App for Those That Love Reviews: Tripadvisor 

Tripadvisor is another of the itinerary planning apps that’s well-known to the majority of travelers. Along with a browser version, Tripadvisor has a convenient app that can help with everything from booking accommodation to discovering places to visit. 

Tripadvisor is free to use and has information for almost every city across the globe. Tripadvisor will offer an overview of the city you search for, along with hotel, restaurant, and activity recommendations. Best of all, all suggestions include reviews from travelers who have visited. 

Tripadvisor Features 

Things to Do  

Tripadvisor suggests a range of places to visit and activities to try in the destination you’re visiting. Along with searching the “Things to Do” section, you can search for specific landmarks and attractions to get more information on them. Whichever way you search, you’ll also have access to reviews from travelers who have visited the landmark or attraction or tried the activity.  

Restaurants 

You can also access restaurant suggestions for the destinations you’re heading to. Again, reviews from those who have dined at each establishment are available. You can also select categories, such as types of cuisine, to narrow down your search. Many restaurants offer the option to reserve via Tripadvisor too. 

Hotels 

Looking for a place to stay? Tripadvisor has you covered! Simply input the dates you need accommodation for, number of guests, and other filters like budget, if applicable, to view hotel results. You can then go straight to the hotel website from Tripadvisor or view deals from hotel booking sites like Hotels.com. 

Itinerary Maps and Lists

When you find activities you want to try, landmarks you intend to visit, and restaurants you wish to dine at, you can add them to a map and list. By adding these things to a map, you can easily see where everything you want to do is located, and develop day-by-day plans. Unfortunately, you can’t create an actual day-to-day itinerary via Tripadvisor. 

Who Is Tripadvisor For? 

This app is great for learning more about attractions, landmarks, restaurants, and accommodation via reviews. If you like to hear opinions from real travelers before committing to plans, you’ll appreciate Tripadvisor. It also has amazing discovery features, making Tripadvisor ideal for travelers that are looking for suggestions on things to do in the locations they’re visiting. 

Who Is Tripadvisor Not For? 

Tripadvisor isn’t ideal for planning day-to-day itineraries. While you can create maps and lists of all the places you want to go, these can’t be separated into individual days. That can be frustrating for travelers, especially if going on a multi-day or week trip. 

Using Tripadvisor to access reviews and combining this research with a full travel itinerary planner, like Wanderlog , is recommended.  

Other Itinerary Planning Apps to Consider 

While we rank the above five as the best travel planner apps on the market, the following eight apps are worth checking out too!

GEOVEA allows you to plan trips, store details like flight and accommodation info, and search for activity suggestions. This travel planning software also has budgeting features. You can estimate the cost of the activities included in the itinerary to see the overall cost of your trip. 

While you can use the company’s website on your phone, there isn’t an app. The standard version of the software is free but comes with limitations. To have full access to the app, you must purchase a subscription which starts at $29.99/year.  

Hipherd is one of the best free travel planner apps for those looking for a place to store travel inspiration. It allows you to save a range of travel content that you find across the web, such as travel articles, videos, and other information on destinations you want to visit.  

As with Pinterest, you can create “boards” to organize content by destination or other categories. You can view the collections of other users too. You can also create maps that show all the attractions you want to visit. Best of all, Hipherd costs nothing to use. 

Inspirock is a free travel itinerary planning  software that creates day-to-day itineraries for you based on data you input. Once a list of suggested places to visit has been generated, you can edit the itinerary to remove and add activities. You can also access accommodation suggestions, car and flight deals, and booking links. 

Learn more about this travel planner by taking a look at our Inspirock review ! 

Jubel is one of the great itinerary planning apps for those that are looking to discover new destinations. You start by answering a questionnaire to highlight travel likes, dislikes, and other preferences. A customized itinerary for a surprise destination is then created for you. This service does come at a cost, with Jubel users needing a trip budget of at least $1,500 for a solo-traveler trip or $1,100/per traveler for multi-person trips. 

Pilot 

Pilot is one of the free travel planner apps that’s perfect for travelers wanting to create itineraries as a group. You can add travel information, like flight bookings, to your online account, along with adding the activities you’ll do each day to an itinerary. It’s also easy to collaborate on one trip itinerary as a group. As mentioned, Pilot is free to use, but there is not a mobile app, so you must use the software in-browser. 

Portico 

Portico is another recommended app for planning itineraries, organizing travel information, and searching for activity suggestions. Travel confirmation emails (transport bookings, accommodation reservations, etc.) can be added manually or simply email them to Portico to add to your account. You can also search for travel inspiration in-app and add places you want to visit to itineraries and lists. Portico is free and can be used in-browser or via an iOS app. 

Tripscout 

Tripscout is one of the best travel planner apps for trip inspiration and high-quality travel content. You can search an array of content in-app to learn about new destinations and attractions. If you discover things you’d like to do and places you’d like to go, you can add them to lists, itineraries, and maps to begin planning your next adventure! Tripscout is also always free to use. 

Tripsy 

Tripsy is another organization-focused itinerary planning app. This app stores travel information, such as flight confirmations and other transport info, restaurant reservations, and the like.  You can also get notifications, for example relating to your flight status, and can easily share your itinerary with friends and family. 

You can integrate your plans with third-party maps and calendars and can email confirmations as well as adding them manually. Tripsy has a free and paid-for Pro version that offers additional benefits, including unlimited itineraries. 

The Best Travel Apps for Flights and Hotels

Need transport or accommodation deals? These four travel planner apps are here to help! 

Snaptravel 

Snaptravel offers amazing deals on flights and hotels. Simply enter your travel dates and destination(s), and a selection of customized offers will be served to you. Customers benefit from rate and fare reductions of 30-50%, and Snaptravel is free to use. 

Discover more about saving on hotels and flights with this app by reading our Snaptravel review . 

Scott’s Cheap Flights 

Scott’s Cheap Flights provides users with incredible flight deals out of their local airport. You’ll receive deal emails each day with fare reductions of up 90% off applied. Scott’s Cheap Flights offers a free version and paid-for options, which allow you to receive business and first-class deals and add multiple departure airports. 

Read our Scott’s Cheap Flights review to learn more about this company! 

Dollar Flight Club 

Dollar Flight Club is another company offering steep discounts on flights. Enter your departure airport at sign-up and you’ll be emailed daily with great deals to an array of destinations. There is a free version, but this only offers access to 20% of deals. For the best results, upgrade to Premium ($69/year) or Premium Plus ($99/year.) Users can expect to save 60-90% on flights, however, you don’t have the option to get deals for specific destinations.  

Want to find out more? Read our Dollar Flight Club review . 

RometoRio 

Rome to Rio offers an array of transport options that work with your trip and are bookable through the app. This free app can show you flights, car rentals, buses, and trains that will allow you to get from point to point on your itinerary. While Rome2Rio isn’t a deal-based app, you can also benefit from cheaper transport rates when using the app. You can also find accommodation and activity suggestions via Rome2Rio, but cannot create itineraries.

Not sure which of these travel planner apps to choose? Give Wanderlog a try ! It costs nothing to do so, and we guarantee that you’ll love it.

The 8 Best Travel Budgeting Tools of 2024

You will never travel without this app again

Track My Journey - Travel Log 4+

Track, save, recall adventures, chathura lakmal.

• 4.6 • 691 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description.

Seamlessly track your journeys with precise GPS accuracy, real-time tracking, and secure cloud storage. Perfect for driving, jogging, hiking, trekking, and more. Top Navigation App 2024 Featured in: - Australia - United States - United Kingdom - Ireland - New Zealand "Track My Journey" - Save, Share, Relive! Effortlessly capture and cherish your journeys with real-time tracking, cloud storage, and an array of features.  Click 'Start' and 'Stop' to record trips, share locations, tag snaps, and enjoy secure, automated data backup. It's a perfect app for passionate travelers, trackers, drivers, and even parents who want to keep track of their daily activities and journeys. Enhance your experience, download now! - Take snaps and auto-attach to locations. - 100% secured with cloud storage. - Real-time tracking and cloud storage features. - Automatically track and plot your journey. - Add photos to save your favorite moments. - Share your journey live or keep it private. - Retrace your steps and view travel stats. In Track My Journey, we prioritize the utmost security for your data. Your trips and information are exclusively stored on your personal device, ensuring a secure and private environment. Unlike many other apps, we do not automatically save your data on external servers. When you opt to leverage our features, such as journey sharing, live tracking, and cloud storage for enhanced protection (especially in the event of app deletion), your data is securely stored in Google Cloud Storage, a trusted and protected environment. Your privacy and data security are paramount to us, and we are committed to providing you with a safe and reliable experience. Say hello! We're committed to making "Track My Journey" better for you.  Email us for support or just to say hello. Don't forget to rate us on the app store if you enjoy the app. Privacy Policy: https://ceylonlabs.com/trackmyjourney/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://ceylonlabs.com/trackmyjourney/terms-and-conditions.html

Version 4.0.8

In this release, we've fixed the issue with sharing trips for users who use the 12-hour format, as well as the problem where the trip name was appearing empty after being uploaded to cloud storage.

Ratings and Reviews

691 Ratings

No cell service needed use App

I bought this app because it is one of the only apps that uses internal phone GPS to track your location; even when you are miles from cell service. Fantastic little app.

Developer Response ,

Thank you very much for your review. Stay tuned for the upcoming major release with new features.

Not all functionality works

I used this for a work project - the MSP worked great, but the photos - not so much. None of the share options work ... update to Gallery? Where are they supposed to go? Nothing has shown up in my photos (iPhone). Share URL? The recipient gets a link but only to the map with none of the photos attached. Export GPX file? To where? I’ve not been able to find anything resembling a GPX file on my phone. I need to be able to download the photos ... and I need the photos to show up with the link. Create functionality to be able to see the map and images on the web and this would be much better. Oh - and being able to tag or write a photo description would be helpful too. Thanks for listening.

Hi, When you export images it should in the Photos App. if you select export GPX file you can select Email or other sharing option. and you will get GPX file to your email address. we are not saving GPX file in the device. and will note down this function and will enable in the next release " Create functionality to be able to see the map and images on the web and this would be much better." Thank you

Almost a perfect five stars!!!

Developers one thing you need to do. I route a near 10 hour trip with multiple turns and u-turns. Sometimes I overlap a previous turn and can’t see which way I went because of the line being blue. I’m not sure how this can be fixes but if it is I would give you all five stars. Like sometimes you can’t tell when to make a right turn because to lines overlap or left turn.

Thank you very much for your feedback. I think reducing the opacity of the blue line will help on that. will test that out and update in next release.

App Privacy

The developer, Chathura Lakmal , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

• Identifiers
• Diagnostics

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Contact Info
• User Content

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish

• Simple Offline Plan - Lifetime $5.99
• Cloud Subscription - Monthly $9.99
• Cloud Subscription - Yearly $59.99
• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

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Copyright © 2024 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

22 best road trip apps that are essential downloads

Travel Travel Inspiration Road Trips Best Road Trip Apps

Road trips are the best. Driving down never ending roads without having to follow any deadlines or set path is incredibly liberating. Multiple unplanned stops, literally taking the road unknown, and just generally being free are just some of the delights you can expect on a road trip. But all this freedom and joy come with a certain amount of uncertainty as well.

When you’re on a road trip, there are unforeseen issues you might face on the road like being lost, not having anything to do, absence of gas stations, and more. Equipping yourself with the best road trip planner apps is a great way to alleviate some of the anxiety associated with being on the road. To help make the process easier for you, we have curated a list of the best road trip planner apps for 2021.

1 Roadtrippers

Paid version.

Plan the perfect road trip or find an undiscovered gem nearby with Roadtrippers. The app lists countless places including local eateries and offbeat roadside attractions, must-visit tourist spots in the area, national parks, and even hotels. Need inspiration for your road trip? Choose from fantastic premade trip guides of once-in-a-lifetime routes. Roadtrippers is a free of cost route planner you can use to find the best places to visit and make your road trip truly memorable. You can also upgrade to the paid version, Roadtrippers Plus, which gives you up to 150 waypoints per trip along with a host of other features including exclusive deals, offline maps, collaborating with friends, and custom map styles.

2 Google Maps

Arguably the most popular navigation app in the world, Google Maps makes traveling to new places much, much easier. Both web-based and app service, Google Map provides comprehensive information pertaining to geographical regions and sites across the globe. Along with traditional road maps, the app also provides aerial and satellite views of countless places. With Google Maps, drivers, bikers, walkers, and users of public transportation can find the most optimal route between one specific location to another, with the option of adding more stops. You can also search for the closest restaurants, hotels, parking, and other road trip essentials using Google Maps.

Heading to a place with spotty internet connectivity? Maps.Me is what you need. The app offers quick, in-depth, and completely offline maps with turn-by-turn navigation. Maps.Me is used by over 140 million travelers around the world and helps you save precious travel time with exceptional navigation. You can also make your travels more interesting by utilizing the app’s fantastic readymade travel guides. These guides have been curated with assistance from some of the best travel content creators in the world for countless global destinations. Some of the features that make Maps.Me great include offline search, GPS navigation, and optimized maps that effectively save memory space.

Last-minute travel can be hard to pull off, especially if you’re venturing into the unknown. With Headout, an on-demand mobile marketplace, you can find and book the most amazing tours, activities, events and local experiences in town available for the next 24 hours at great prices. With a single tap, you can explore a host of activities that have been designed to meet the needs of not only last-minute travellers but locals as well. Some of the experiences you can book using Headout include Helicopter tours, Broadway tickets, Hot air balloon rides, Dream World Cruise tickets, Skip the line tickets to the Eiffel, Universal Studio tickets, and countless other remarkable experiences that’ll make your trip memorable.

With over 60 million downloads, GasBuddy is officially the largest community-based fuel app in the world. The app helps drivers save on fuel cost using information provided by a large base of users. With GasBuddy, you can locate the cheapest fuel amongst different types, find petrol stations based on distance and price, and help others find cheap fuel by reporting fuel prices based on your experience. Every time you report fuel prices, you'll earn points and achievements. You can also receive automatic notifications when a new recall is issued by adding your vehicle to GasBuddy. Make your road trips hassle-free by never having to worry about fuel with GasBuddy.

Ultimate Bucketlist Road Trips In The World

Drivvo can be best described as a finance manager for your vehicles including car, motorcycle, bus or truck for both personal or professional use. The app helps you manage fuel, refuelling, expenses and revenues, and maintenance. You can also use the app to manage registration, financing, and fines. With Drivvo, you can easily manage multiple vehicles and calculate gas consumption. The app also offers in-depth fuel efficiency reports sorted by fuel and gas stations, helping you identify which option is best for your vehicle.

7 PackPoint

Packing right is often a requisite for a relaxed road trip. With PackPoint, a free travel packing list organizer and packing planner, you can do just that. Designed for travelers who like to travel smart, the app helps them organize what they need to pack based on length of travel, expected weather at the destination, and activities planned for the trip. After your packing list is built, the app will save it for you and you can share it with family and friends to help them pack better. Details you need to input for the best results include destination city, departure date, and the number of nights you'll be staying there.

8 Flush - Toilet Finder

Finding a working toilet is often a challenge during road trips. With Flush, it doesn't have to be. This fast and simple toilet finder features a classy interface with charming animations and user interface designed for ease of use. Flush boasts a database of thousands of public toilets that is stored on your phone for easy, offline access. Just search for a location on the map and the app will display the closest public toilets to you. To find directions, simply tap on the map to get directions provided by Google Maps. If you need to find a toilet urgently, just tap the directions button and you'll receive directions to the nearest toilet.

9 Hotel Tonight

Find fantastic deals on hotels for the night or the next one using HotelTonight! The app lists hotels that offer discounts on their empty rooms and you get all the benefits. Finding the best rate hotel is no longer a seemingly endless task. A couple of taps and swipes and you’re done! Hotel Tonight offers a truly diverse collection of hotels including the top-rated luxury hotel to charming and unique boutiques. Book a hotel using Hotel Tonight and you’re assured of the best rates and an even better selection of hotels to choose from.

$35.99/year

Ever wondered what an app that helps you camp better looks like? Introducing Dyrt, officially the number 1 camping app of 2021! The app boasts a rich database of over 1 million campsites, tips and reviews submitted by campers like you. Use Dyrt to find the perfect RV, van, cabin and tent spot in the US. The app offers campers free access to all campsite listings in the US including national parks, state parks, county parks, and more. You can also sign up for the Pro version which makes camping easier with trip planner, free camping maps, offline access, and many discounts.

Road trips and highways kinda go together and navigating the latter can be challenging if you’re not familiar with the route. iExit makes driving on highways easier by informing users what's at upcoming exits when you're on the highway. The app uses your device’s exact location to identify your spot in the highway and then displays all upcoming exits in real time. You can also make use of the powerful iExit search which shows the next 100 exits for businesses including KOA Campgrounds, Starbucks, and Cracker Barrel, amenities such as Truck Parking, WiFi, and Playground, hotel deals, and much more.

12 ParkMe Parking

ParkMe is an award-winning app that lets you find and book the closest and cheapest parking around. Use ParkMe to save money and time and guarantee a parking spot. The app even displays the estimated parking cost you’ll have to pay before you park on a particular spot. Since there are multiple parking spots to choose from, you can compare the different options and find the cheapest one. In many cities, ParkMe also displays real-time parking availability and lets you reserve a parking spot at certain lots and garages. Use the app to avoid spending hours finding the right parking spot and make your road trip experience even more pleasant.

13 Gaia GPS

$39.99/year.

Gaia can be best described as GPS for the woods. Make your treks and backpacking trip safes with Gaia GPS. Use the app to join thousands of backpackers, offroaders, hunters, mountain bikers, firefighters, guides, and other outdoor adventurers who use Gaia GPS for work and play. Gaia allows you to hike, hunt, and off-road with optimized topo maps and outdoor navigation tools. The app offers modern maps that are beautiful and easy-to-read along with a host of classic and historic print maps. Use the app to find the best hiking trails, parks, natural places, and addresses, and make your hiking and backpacking trip more memorable.

14 TollGuru

TollGuru has been designed to help you save money by calculating the cheapest routes all across West Malaysia. All you need to do is enter your destination and we’ll find the total toll fares on your route. Some features that make TollGuru a must-have if you’re planning a road trip in Malaysia include display of multiple routes, toll locations on map, breakdown of toll rates by different vehicle classes. Other features of the app include estimated petrol cost for the route, quick and easy search with address auto complete suggestion, and open communication with the app development team by sending them a report of incorrect toll information.

15 Highway Weather App

Being aware of the general weather when planning a road trip is always recommended. Highway Weather App offers weather forecasts for your entire road trip starting from the time of your arrival. The app also features weather alerts, radar, traffic cameras, and plans for rests. The app has been designed to ensure your safety whether you’re on a family vacation or heading to a motorcycle rally. Instead of searching for weather forecasts for each city you’re travelling to, get all the information you need all at the same time, in an easy to understand fashion using Highway Weather App.

A recurring worry when embarking on a road trip is leaving your home unprotected. With Blink’s affordable smart home security cameras and systems, you can monitor your home directly using your smartphone. The app offers multi-system support and a simple setup process, ensuring you can control multiple Blink cameras with a simple app. The Blink Home Monitor app allows you to check in on what’s happening at home at any time from anywhere. The app helps you see your home in HD on your smartphone, ensuring you can see and protect your space even when you’re thousands of miles away.

Staying connected is often a challenge when you’re on a road trip to a location with a spotty internet connection. Use Skyroam to connect around the world with the portable global WiFi hotspot and power bank. Enjoy secure, unlimited connectivity when you’re out and about without having to swap your SIM or pay exorbitant roaming charges. SkyRoam’s Solis app allows you to manage your hotspot account, check data usage, and the status of your connection. You can also enjoy access to advanced features including smart troubleshooting, detailed product information, and the ability to get online faster.

18 Sygic Travel Maps Offline

Discover things to do no matter where you go, plan comprehensive trip itineraries, and make your trip more memorable with in-depth travel guides, all using Sygic Travel Maps Offline. This definitive all-in-one app is built for every kind of traveler and allows users to create a day-to-day itinerary for their trip with a hassle-free trip planner. Use the app for approximate travel times and walking distances to plan your trip better. You can even invite your friends to collaborate on your trips. Get Sygic Travel Premium to use the app even when you’re not connected to the internet, including unlimited offline maps download.

Featuring over 100 million reviews on businesses worldwide, Yelp is amongst the most popular crowd-sourced business reviews apps. Whether you are looking for a coffee shop near you or a salon that’s open at the moment, Yelp is your local guide to finding just the best place to eat, drink, shop, and everything in between. Use the app to search for the closest and best-rated restaurants, shops, and services. You can refine the search by filtering results by rating, neighborhood, price, distance, and what’s open now. Make use of the millions of reviews written by expert locals to find the best recommendation for your needs.

A trip planner that enables users to craft a master travel itinerary and provide them with online and mobile access, TripIt is another addition to the list of the best trip planner apps for 2021. When you book a flight, hotel, car or other reservation, just forward it to [email protected] and the app will instantly add it to your master itinerary. Sync travel plans to your calendar or share them with anyone you choose using TripIt. You can also stay aware of the evolving travel landscape with guidelines, restrictions and requirements that can be viewed via the trip itinerary screen in the app.

21 Route4Me Route Planner

Use the Route4Me route planner to plan unlimited routes and add unlimited addresses per route. One of the most downloaded, multi stop route planner apps in the world, Route4Me offers a host of benefits designed for your convenience. The app is used by countless businesses including those in different industries such as service and delivery planning, grocery delivery, package delivery and more. Route4Me is used both by travellers and professionals for the wide range of features and customizations it offers.

Use Komoot to transform your next ride, hike, or trek into an adventure. Use the community recommendations and knowledge to get inspired for your trip and bring your plans to fruition with the easy-to-use route planner. The app offers the perfect route depending on your chosen sport. For instance, you’ll get only smooth asphalt tracks for road bikes, peaceful cycling paths for natural trails, and singletracks for your mountain bikes. Plan your trip down to the last detail thanks to easy availability of useful information like surface, difficulty, distance and elevation profile.

Lakshmi Menon

Born to parents bit by the wander bug, Lakshmi calls her love for travel "hereditary and habitual". Perpetually ensconced with a book in her hand and a mug of coffee in the other, she has been to over 15 countries in her 23 years of existence and is currently saving miles and money for her solo trip to Iceland. Always hustling towards the least trodden path, she has encountered some wonderful people during her escapades and if you ever meet her, she won't stop gushing about them.

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25 Travel Apps That'll Help You Save Money

And, they're all free!

Planning a vacation gives you something to look forward to in the coming year. Whether it's an official family holiday , road trip , solo wellness retreat , or a last-minute long-weekend getaway with the girls , there's so many great places to visit. There are also dozens of awesome travel apps that'll help you not only channel wanderlust into an experience you'll never forget, but also, save you money. First, you'll need to figure out where to go. Will you stay within the 50 states , or head somewhere internationally? (Hint: Scrolling Instagram travel accounts is a fun way to research). Once you've picked a destination and stocked up on travel dresses, there's still plenty to organize before the fun begins. That road trip itinerary isn't going to map itself. And what times are your connecting flights, again? Then there's managing the hotel or AirBNB reservation, and figuring out how to stay on budget when you're taking your kids out to eat every night. That's where free travel apps like TripIt, Kayak, and Hopper come in handy. With the help of the best travel apps, you'll actually enjoy the buildup to your next adventure. Or, at the very least, you'll be able to find cheap flights to get you there.

Best for Finding Cheap Flights: Hopper

One of the best travel apps for flights, Hopper analyzes billions of airfare and hotel prices a day—as well as its vast archive of historical data—to tell you whether to wait or book your trip.

Here’s how it works: Type in your destination and a color-coded calendar will show you the cheapest (and most expensive) dates to fly. Hopper will then recommend whether you should go ahead and buy now, or hold off until the rates get better.

If it tells you to stay tuned, you can set up a price watch and put your phone away. When the fare has dropped to its lowest point and it’s time for you to swipe, Hopper will send you a notification.

Download Now

Best Travel Planner App: TripIt

TripIt organizes all of your itineraries in one place. Available for both iPhone and Android , users simply forward confirmation emails to [email protected], and the app will create you a *free* master doc for each trip. You can access the itinerary anywhere, even without an internet connection.

Their premium service, TripIt Pro ($49/year) boosts your organizing power with additional features. These include real-time flight alerts, refund notifications, and the ability to track reward points and miles as well as a currency converter, a list of socket and plug requirements, and tipping advice for 180 countries.

Best for Road Trips: Roadtrippers

You have a considerable amount of flexibility on a road trip , but planning them requires effort. Try Roadtrippers the next time you're inspired to grab a car and go. The app allows you to map your route with up to 7 waypoints free of charge. After that, there's an option to upgrade to Roadtrippers Plus.

Along your route, the app will recommend local food options , roadside attractions, scenic stops and more. They even have pre-made guides for popular road trips.

Best for Finding Unexpected Destinations: Skyscanner

Skyscanner's "everywhere" feature allows you to look for surprising destinations simply by sorting by your budget and your travel timeframe. For example, you may think Europe will be out of your price-range, but this feature could make the trip possible. Like Hopper and Kayak, it also helps you find the best airfare rates by alerting you when prices dip.

Best Travel Weather App for Road Trips: Drive Weather

The last thing you want is to get caught in a nasty, vision-obscuring storm when you're on a long stretch of highway with your family or friends. DriveWeather was designed to help road travelers avoid the worst weather conditions. The app lets you track your best (read: sunniest) departure time, providing radar views and routes from one point to another—with rain, freezing rain, ice, and snow icons that let you know when there's slippery roads ahead.

The free version offers 2 days of forecasts, city-to-city routing, and a 900-mile trip limit; the ad-free $9.99 a year version offers 7 days of forecasts, wind direction info, specific address-to-address routing, and no cap on trip length.

Best Last-Minute Hotel Deals: HotelTonight

Booked that spontaneous flight, and now you're trying to figure out where you're going to sleep at night? In the middle of a road adventure and need to find lodging ASAP? Don't panic, there's an app for that. HotelTonight finds last-minute deals on hotels near your location, ranging from "basic" to "luxe" options, including unique boutique hotels.

The app allows you to filter for location, dates, the number of guests, pet-friendly options, and amenities like a gym.

Best for Navigating Traffic: Waze

Waze makes it easy for you to avoid congestion, blocked roads, police, accidents or other hazards that might increase your driving time—because starting off vacation by sitting in traffic is a major mood killer.

The app has a speedometer to help you make sure you're staying within the speed limit, and it updates your arrival time based on live traffic data.

Best for Filtering Airlines and Hotels: Kayak

The beauty of KAYAK is that it aggregates the best fares from most airlines, allowing you to filter flight options based on your airline preference and departure times, while easily changing dates and destinations. You can also find deals on car rentals and hotels.

Once you've booked, the app, available on iOS and Google Play, keeps your plans organized and updates you on flight status, airport terminals, and security wait times.

Best for Non-Hotel Lodgers: Airbnb

Whether you're looking to rent a room, a house, or an entire hacienda, you can search for accommodations in your desired location. The app (free on Google Play and iTunes) lets you filter through photos and reviews, as well as sort by amenities—like a pool or washing machine. Plus, a local host can provide insight about great dining spots.

Best for Preventing Jet Lag: Timeshifter

If you have an international trip in the works and you're hoping to fend off jet lag, give Timeshifter a try. The app was developed by scientists who used sleep and circadian neuroscience to help inform the personalized jet lag plans they craft for you. According to the app's website , even astronauts and elite athletes have used it to arrive at their destinations in tip-top shape.

The first "jet lag plan" is free, so try it out on your next adventure across the world.

Best for Connecting With Locals: Meetup

One way to fully immerse yourself in your travel destination is to meet and talk with locals. Meetup can help you connect with people who are interested in the same things as you, even while on vacation. Whether it's cooking, tech, sports, music, or photography, the app will help you make new friends all over the world.

Best Voice Controlled App: Hound From SoundHound

Free on iOS devices and Android, Hound from SoundHound is a voice assistant app that you can chat with like you would a travel agent. For instance, say, "Okay, Hound. Show me hotels in Chicago for this weekend that cost less than $300 and are pet-friendly.”

Best App for International Travel: Rome2rio

With data from over 160 countries, Rome2rio is one of the best international travel apps. Simply enter any address, landmark, or city as your destination and the app displays info about accommodations and things to do.

Free on iOs and Android, Rome2rio also shows you how to get around, and compares costs, if, for example, you're debating flying from Florence to Rome versus taking the train.

Best for Frequent Flier Travel: App In The Air

This one's been placed on Apple’s coveted “Best App” list because it not only keeps track of itineraries, boarding passes, and frequent-flier programs, but it also tracks boarding and landing times, along with current waits for check-in, security and customs. Through augmented reality, it even helps you figure out if your carry-on is the right fit for your next flight.

For the best place to grab airport coffee, or where you can get a mimosa before 7 a.m. in a specific terminal, the app also pulls tips from fellow travelers. And, if you're the competitive type, you can keep "score" of all of the places you've been on the worldwide leaderboard.

The app is free on iOS and Google Play but also offers a paid upgraded version.

Best for Finding Recommendations: TripAdvisor

For the unacquainted, TripAdvisor has over 700 million reviews of 8 million destinations to peruse before booking your hotel, dinner reservation, or even planning a day at the museum. Free on both iOS and Google Play, the comprehensive app is available in 28 languages.

You can also follow friends and travel experts for advice that matches your interests, view travel videos, read articles for inspo— and write your own reviews, if you're so inclined.

Best for Budgeting: Trabee Pocket

Perfect for the business traveler who needs to track spending and receipts—or anyone who likes to stay on top of budgets—this app also boasts a helpful exchange rate calculator. It's free on iOS and Android with option to upgrade.

Best for Remembering Items: PackPoint

"Never Forget Your ______ Again!" is the slogan for PackPoint , which helps you build a packing list based on your trip. Input the dates, location, the type of travel, and the activities you plan on doing, and the app will conveniently generate a list of items you should bring. It even checks the weather to make sure you bring an umbrella or a heavier jacket depending on your destination.

Best for Refueling On Road Trips: GasBuddy

Despite the cost-saving benefits of a road trip, gas money can really start to add up if you're driving for days. Enter GasBuddy , which helps you find the best gas prices near you. With at 4.7/5 rating and over 300,000 reviews on Apple, the app has helpful features like a gas price map, outage tracker during natural disasters, a trip cost calculator, and useful search filters like brand, price location, available restrooms, and more.

Bonus, you can save 5¢/gal on every gallon if you use the app's free "Pay with GasBuddy" card.

Best For Nature Lovers: AllTrails

If you're like Oprah and think "hiking is so fun," you need to download this app. AllTrails is for nature lovers, hiking enthusiasts, and even those who just want to fit in a cardio workout while on vacation. The app has over 100,000 curated trails—which all but guarantee you'll find one near you—and lets you create and share custom maps with friends.

Best For Bathroom Breaks: Flush

When you gotta go, you gotta go, but finding a public toilet when you're traveling can be quite the task. The Flush Toilet Finder saves you time and helps you avoid an accident with the over 190,000 public bathrooms in its database. Flush will tell you which ones are free, accessible for the disabled, or require a key—and users can even rate and report a toilet.

The Flush app is available for free on iOS and Google Play.

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