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Finding Your Way With Free Route Planners

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Planning your journey can be a daunting task, especially when you have multiple stops to make or want to find the most efficient route. Luckily, there are several free route planner tools available that can help streamline your travel experience. These tools offer a range of features, from real-time traffic updates to customized route options, all designed to optimize your journey. In this article, we will explore the top free route planner tools and provide you with valuable insights to make an informed decision.

Why Use a Free Route Planner?

Comparing the top free route planner tools, factors to consider when choosing a route planner.

A route planner can be a game-changer when it comes to travel, whether you are an individual planning a road trip or a business optimizing your fleet's routes. Here are some key benefits of using a route planner:

• Time Savings: A route planner can save you precious time by calculating the most efficient route within seconds. Instead of spending hours planning, you can focus on enjoying your journey or completing more deliveries or service calls in a day.
• Fuel Cost Reduction: By providing the most efficient route, a route planner helps you avoid unnecessary detours, ultimately minimizing fuel consumption. This not only saves you money but also reduces the environmental impact of your travel.
• Stress Reduction: Navigating unfamiliar areas or dealing with unexpected traffic can be stressful. A route planner can provide real-time traffic updates and offer alternative routes, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable journey.

Now, let's dive into the top free route planner tools available and explore their unique features.

When it comes to free route planner tools, there are several options available, each with its own set of features and capabilities. Here is a comparison of the top three free route planner tools:

Google Maps

Google Maps is a popular choice for route planning due to its user-friendly interface and comprehensive mapping data. It offers real-time traffic updates, turn-by-turn directions, and the ability to save customized routes. However, Google Maps does not offer advanced features such as multi-stop optimization or route customization for businesses.

RoadWarrior

RoadWarrior is a powerful route planner tool specifically designed for businesses. It offers features such as multi-stop optimization, route customization, and integration with other business tools. While it does have a paid version, the free version of RoadWarrior provides most of the essential features required for efficient route planning. It allows you to put in up to eight stops, making it suitable for small businesses or individuals.

If you find yourself needing to make more than eight stops often, RoadWarrior Flex is available. It allows users to put in 200 stops per route and 500 daily optimized stops. RoadWarrior also offers a free trial, so you can try it out without any risks. (Full disclosure: MapQuest's parent company System1 also owns RoadWarrior.)

Get a free 7-day trial of RoadWarrior here

Waze is a community-based navigation app that also provides basic route optimization features. It takes into account real-time traffic data to suggest the most efficient routes. While it may not offer advanced optimization algorithms like RoadWarrior, it is a popular choice among drivers for its crowd-sourced road information and real-time alerts.

Now that we've explored the top free route planner tools, let's discuss the factors to consider when choosing a route planner.

Choosing the right route planner tool can make a significant difference in your travel experience. Here are some key factors to consider:

User-Friendly Interface

A route planner should have an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, allowing users to quickly input destinations and generate optimized routes. Look for tools that offer a clean and visually appealing interface, making it effortless to navigate and plan your journey.

Customization Options

Customization is essential when it comes to route planning. Look for a route planner that allows you to customize routes based on your specific preferences. For example, you might want to avoid tolls or highways. The ability to personalize your routes ensures that the planner fits your unique needs.

Integration with Other Tools

If you use other business tools such as CRM or dispatch software, consider a route planner that offers integration. Integration streamlines your workflow by connecting different platforms and automating tasks. Look for tools that offer seamless integration, making it easier to manage your routes alongside other business operations.

Real-Time Traffic Updates

To avoid congestion and delays, a route planner should provide real-time traffic updates. Look for tools that take into account live traffic data and offer alternative routes when necessary. Real-time traffic updates are particularly crucial for individuals or businesses that frequently travel in busy areas.

Mobile App Availability

If you frequently plan routes on the go, a route planner with a mobile app can be a game-changer. Look for tools that offer a mobile app compatible with your device's operating system. A mobile app allows you to plan routes and access real-time updates wherever you are, ensuring convenience and flexibility.

Now that you are equipped with the knowledge of what factors to consider when choosing a route planner, it's time to make an informed decision and start optimizing your journey.

Using a free route planner tool can significantly enhance your travel experience by saving time, reducing fuel costs, and minimizing stress. Whether you are an individual looking for the most efficient route to your destination or a business seeking to optimize your fleet's routes, there is a free route planner tool available to suit your needs. Consider factors such as user-friendly interface, customization options, integration with other tools, real-time traffic updates, and mobile app availability. Explore the top free options such as Google Maps, RoadWarrior, and Waze, and start optimizing your journey today. Let technology be your guide and enjoy the benefits of efficient route planning!

Remember, the key to a successful journey is a well-planned route!

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You can get directions for driving, public transport, walking, ride sharing, cycling, flights or motorcycling on Google Maps. If there are multiple routes, the best route to your destination is blue, all other routes are grey. Some directions in Google Maps are in development and may have limited availability. 

Important: Stay alert when you use directions on Google Maps. Always be aware of your surroundings to ensure the safety of yourself and others. When in doubt, follow actual traffic regulations and confirm signage from the road or path that you’re on.

• On your computer, open Google Maps .

• Click points on the map, type an address or add a place name.
• Choose your mode of transportation.

Tip: To choose another route in any transportation mode, select it on the map. Each route shows the estimated travel time on the map.

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You can get directions for different modes of transportation in Google Maps. Learn about the differences in features and availability between each mode:

• If you want to change a driving route, click and hold a spot on the route and drag it to a new spot on the map.

• Not all cities have public transport directions in Google Maps. Before you can get public transport directions, your local transport operator needs to add their route info to Google Maps.

• If you want directions in an area with ride or taxi services, you can compare ride services with public transport and walking directions. Find out how to request a ride .

• Directions to multiple destinations, or waypoints, aren’t available for public transport or flight searches.
• Learn more about how to search for flights .

• Learn how to get directions for motorcycles .

Add multiple destinations

You can get directions to multiple destinations for all modes of transportation except public transport or flight.

• Add a starting point and a destination.

• You can add up to nine stops.
• Click on a route to get the directions.

Tip : You can search for places along your route.

To change the order of your stops: 

• Find the destination that you want to move. 
• Drag the destination.

Preview directions in Street View

• On your computer, under the route you want, click Details.

• Point to a step in the directions. If Street View is available, you get a preview photo.
• To get Street View for other steps in the route, in the bottom-left box, click Previous step or Next step.

Customise your route

• Choose Options .
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• After you get your directions, click Leave now .
• To change your travel dates or times, select Depart at or Arrive by .

When you enter a destination in Google Maps, we show you how to get there using different travel modes, like driving, cycling or walking. 

Sometimes, the transport options that we show you are ranked according to a combination of objective factors designed to help you find relevant and useful information. These factors can include duration, distance, price, your mode preference or the relevance of a mode to your query. Generally, the most important factors are your mode preference, trip durations and sometimes price.

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Hitting a UK road / French route / German stra ß e?

Wherever the stra ß e takes you, we’ve got you covered .

You’ve got your route covered .

Now, what about your vehicle?

Route? Check .

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If you’ve got a journey ahead, whether it’s small or large, the Green Flag Route Planner can help you get there with minimal fuss.

The route planner isn’t limited to the UK. You can get accurate directions across Europe. Remember that European breakdown is worth considering if you’re heading to the continent, because repairs and getting back can be costly and ruin your trip.

Once you enter your start point and destination the route finder will map out the best routes for your journey, giving you an estimation of time and an accurate mileage count. It’s easy to add waypoints, so if you know you need to take a detour en route then you don’t need to workout separate journeys.

The route planner will give you a list of directions to your destination, and each individual direction has its own mileage, helping you to keep on track and stay clear of wrong turnings.

Before you head out make sure you’re covered with breakdown cover so you can get back on the road if anything should happen on the way.

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With our trip planner, your journey will be seamlessly organised, allowing you to maximize your precious time on the road and create unforgettable memories at every step.

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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.

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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 .

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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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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.

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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.

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

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See the estimated fuel cost for your vehicle type.

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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.

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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.

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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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No app or software is needed. myscenicdrives.com works in any browser. Simply go to myscenicdrives.com

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How to Use Google Maps to Plan Your Next Road Trip (Step-By-Step Tutorial With Examples)

Post summary: A comprehensive guide on how to use Google Maps to plan a road trip itinerary  and why Google Maps is the best tool/app for planning a trip. Includes a road trip planning tutorial!

Author’s Note: This post was originally published in 2020 and was updated in April 2023 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

So, you want to plan a road trip. But, where do you start? Better yet: How do you start?

I’m often asked about my trip planning process. Where to go, what to do, and how exactly to fit everything into a cohesive itinerary that, well, makes sense .

Planning a road trip can be hard. But, with the right tools and resources, it doesn’t have to be. I’ve already put together a list of my most trusted travel booking resources , and the best apps for road trips , but now I want to talk about one of my favorite road trip planning tools: Google Maps.

Google Maps is like a trip planning goldmine, and it’s always my very first step in organizing my itinerary whenever I take a trip.

Google Maps is one of the best tools for planning a cohesive and successful road trip, because it allows you to create a highly customizable, visual representation of your trip  (shoutout to all my fellow visual learners out there). And its FREE!

Basically, if you’re planning a road trip, knowing how to customize Google Maps is going to make your life so much easier.

So if you’re wondering how to get started, then you’ve come to the right place. I’m breaking the entire process down into an easy to follow step-by-step tutorial on exactly how to use Google MyMaps to plan your next road trip. So, lets get started!

GOOGLE MAPS TRAVEL PLANNING OVERVIEW

Here’s exactly what we cover in this guide:

• Create a new Google Map for your trip.
• Add location pins to your map
• Customize and color code your location pins.
• Create Google Map layers to plan your day-to-day itinerary.
• Add driving directions to your map.
• Download your custom Google Map to your phone.
• Share your map with friends.
• Calculate gas milage for your road trip.

Scroll down for a super detailed step-by-step guide to planning your own travel itinerary for free using Google Maps or skip ahead with the table of contents.

Table of Contents

Need some road trip inspiration? Visit my most popular travel guides:

Las Vegas to Sedona Road Trip (3 Jam-Packed Itineraries to See it All in Less Time)

5-Day British Columbia Road Trip Itinerary

1-Day Yoho National Park Road Trip Itinerary

The Perfect 2-week Costa Rica Itinerary

. Don’t forget to grab my FREE Travel Expense Planner Download below to help you plan your next trip . Use it to easily and automatically calculate how much money you’ll spend on gas, flights, accommodation, food + more

WHY GOOGLE MAPS IS THE BEST TRAVEL PLANNING TOOL FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP

Google Maps is the best tool for planning your next trip , whether you’re just using it for adventure inspiration, to share ideas with your friends, or creating a detailed step-by-step road trip itinerary. Here’s why!

IT CREATES A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF YOUR ROAD TRIP

If you’re a visual learner, Google Maps is going to be your best friend. But even if you’re not a visual learning, using Google Maps to plan your trip is still going to be incredibly helpful.

Planning your trip with Google Maps is the fastest way to familiarize yourself with the layout of an area. It allows you to wrap your head around how large an area is and where everything is in relation to each other, which, in my opinion, is the best way to start planning any trip.

Here’s an example of the Google Map I created for our 4-day road trip in Iceland.

Click here to access the interactive map.

GOOGLE MY MAPS HELPS YOU FIGURE OUT WHERE TO SPEND YOUR TIME

Have you ever had a list of places you wanted to see, only to find out that they’re super far away from each other?

Pinning your locations to your custom Google Map will show you where your stops are. This will help you figure out where to spend your time and plan accordingly.

Are your pins clustered in one place? If so, then you might want to allocate more time to that area. Or maybe your pins are spread out all over the map? If this is the case, then it might be best to prepare yourself for a lot of driving or focus on a smaller area instead.

YOUR GOOGLE MAP IS HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE

Whether you’re touring NYC, road tripping cross country, or backpacking to Beaver Falls in the Grand Canyon , you can create a highly customizable Google Map to help plan your adventure.

Handy features like customizable locations, adding multiple stops, pinning by GPS coordinates, organizing by categories, and overlaying direction layers, all make it incredibly easy to customize your Google Map to plan your travel itinerary.

Need to remember entrance fees, operating hours, or best places to see? You can even add notes to your location pins so you don’t forget important details!

IT HELPS YOU NAVIGATE AND PLAN YOUR ROUTE

Quickly learn how to navigate between stops by adding directions between multiple locations to your map.

This is an incredibly useful tool for figuring out the best routes to take, roads to avoid, and to plan for drive time. You can even choose between walking, biking, or public transportation directions. This is especially helpful for choosing the best entrance to Yellowstone National Park , taking the scenic route on an Ecuador road trip , or mapping out the best Hudson Valley wineries .

IT’S EASY TO COLLABORATE AND SHARE YOUR TRIP

Traveling with friends? Google Maps makes it super easy to collaborate by allowing you to share your map with your travel partners. You can even give them editing access so that everyone can add their must-do’s to the map.

YOUR MAP IS EASY TO SHARE BETWEEN DEVICES

You’ll have to create your Google Map on desktop. But, luckily, you can seamlessly share your custom map straight to your iPhone or Android using the Google Maps App!

Sharing your custom map to your phone makes it super convenient to access your itinerary on the go. You can even set up your map for offline use if you’re traveling without cell phone service.

HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM MAP IN GOOGLE MAPS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

1. create a new google map, login to google drive on your desktop.

Before you start planning your road trip using Google Maps, make sure you’re signed into your Google Drive.

• Visit www.google.com/maps from your desktop and log in .
• If you don’t have a Google Drive account, create one now.

CREATE A NEW GOOGLE MAP

To create a new map, select “Saved” in the sidebar on the left > “Maps”.  You can also click on the menu (the three lines) in the upper left corner > “Saved” > “Maps”.

For now, your list is probably empty. But as you create more maps, this is where they’ll be stored.

Begin creating your first custom map by selecting “CREATE MAP”

This opens a new blank map. Start by giving your map a title and a description.

Once you’ve named your map, you’re ready to start pinning stops! Keep reading to learn about adding and customizing location pins.

2. ADD LOCATIONS TO YOUR GOOGLE MAP

This is where you start adding the places you want to go!

HOW TO ADD LOCATION PINS

Add multiple stops to your Google map by pinning their locations.  There are a few different ways to add location pins to your Google Map :

• Add a pin using coordinates if you can’t find the exact location in the search bar drop down list. You may have to use this method for extremely specific or remote locations, such as a backcountry campsite or an unmarked trailhead. Simply type the location’s latitude and longitude coordinates into the search bar. .
•  To pin a general area, click on the “Add Marker” button below the map search bar . You’ll be able to drop a blank pin by clicking anywhere on the map. A box will appear asking you to add a title and description

NOTE: You’re allowed to pin 10 location pins per layer. Continue reading to learn how to use layers to add more than 10 location pins to your map.

3. CUSTOMIZING LOCATION PINS

Once you save your pins to the map, they’ll be blue by default. However,  you can customize a pin by changing the color, icon style, description, and title . You can even add pictures or videos if you’re feeling extra fancy.

To change the color and style , begin by clicking on your location pin (either in the list to the left or directly on the map) > “Style” (the little paint can) in the lower right hand corner of the text box. Click “More Icons” to view more options.

To change the location title , click”Edit” (the pencil icon) in the text box. You can also add notes in the “Notes” box. Use the notes box to add more details about finding trail heads, hiking logistics, packing reminders etc. I also like to use it to keep track of specific places to see within a general location, such as a National Park.

To add media (i.e. photos or videos) , click “Add Image or Video” (the camera icon) in the text box. I found this especially helpful on my first Iceland road trip to remember which waterfall was which, since they all sound the same (if you’ve been there, you know what I mean!). You can also add your own photos and videos if you want to create a map to share with others.

To delete a pin , click on it and then click on the trash can icon. .

. 4. CREATING MAP LAYERS TO PLAN YOUR TRIP IN GOOGLE MAPS

What are google map layers.

Google Map layers are a really useful tool for organizing your road trip itinerary. But,  what exactly is a layer? A layer in Google Maps is, by definition, a way to contain arbitrary geospatial data.

Okay, English please ?

In other words, each layer can be used to display different types of information on your map. You can dedicate different layers to different types of places like restaurants, cafe’s, hotels, hiking trails, etc. Or you can dedicate layers to different days of your trip. Or you can stick to one layer. Its up to you.

Here’s an example of how I broke up my Iceland itinerary, using a different layer for each day of our road trip: 

HOW TO ADD LAYERS

When you create your map, you’re automatically using one layer (“Untitled Layer”). This is the layer that your location pins are added to by default, unless you add additional layers. You can add up to 10 location pins per layer, and 10 layers per map.

To add a new layer to your Google Map , simply click “Add Layer”. This creates a new “Untitled Layer”, which you can rename accordingly. To rename layers, click on the title name or click the 3 dots next to the title > “Rename Layer”.

To move a pin between layers , click on the location pin in the list, then drag and drop it into the desired layer.

Choose which layers to display by turning individual layers “on” and “off”. You can do this by checking/unchecking the box next to the layer’s name.

To delete a layer , click the 3 dots next to the layer’s title > “Delete this layer” > “Delete”.

. TIPS FOR USING LAYERS TO PLAN YOUR ITINERARY IN GOOGLE MAPS

When planning my road trip itineraries, I usually give each day its own layer (unless the trip is longer than 10 days, in which case then I’ll combine days or make another map). Then I color code all of my pins by day.

For example, all of my stops (i.e. location pins) on day 1 (layer 1) would be orange, all of my stops on day 2 (layer 2) would be red, and all of my stops on day 3 (layer 3) would be blue. Organizing pins and layers this way makes it a lot easier to visualize your day-to-day itinerary on the map.

That’s just what works for me, so obviously you don’t have to do it that way. You can organize your pins and layers in any way that makes sense to you.

WHEN TO MAKE SEPARATE MAPS 

Personally, I prefer to make a single map for my road trip itineraries whenever possible. But that won’t work for everything or for everyone.

Sometimes maps can get confusing if you have a lot of stops to make. Other times you’ll find that you need more than 10 layers or directions between more locations than Google Maps allows.

To solve these problems, you may opt to create several maps. Perhaps you’ll find it easier to create a separate map for each day of your road trip, or create one map dedicated just to a certain type of location or activity.

For example, we created two separate maps for our road trip through New Zealand. One map for the North Island and one map for the South Island.

5. ADDING DIRECTIONS TO YOUR GOOGLE MAP

. What good would a Google Maps itinerary be if you couldn’t get driving directions?

To add driving directions to your Google Map , click on “Add Directions” (the arrow icon) under the search bar. A new layer will appear (you cannot add directions without it adding a new layer).

Click on “Add Directions” simply by clicking on a pinned location on the map. It will populate in point “A” . Click on a second location on the map, which will populate in point “B” . The route will show up as a blue line on the map.

The original directions will only give you the option to add points “A” and “B”. To add more destinations, click on “Add destinations”. You can add up to 10 destinations.

NOTE:  This may seem obvious, but I’ll say it anyway: When you connect locations, make sure to do it in the order that makes sense. Don’t just add directions between two random locations. Make sure to do it in order!

To choose between driving, walking, or bicycle directions , click on the Directions button in the layer (the blue car icon). Then click on the appropriate mode of transportation.

VIEW STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS

To view step-by-step directions, click the three dots to the right of the little of the directions layer > click “Step-by-step directions”.

ADJUSTING YOUR ROUTE

Google maps will automatically calculate the shortest route between locations. But you can easily change the route if you prefer to take a different one (i.e. to take the more scenic route, avoid tolls/highways, etc.).

To adjust the route between two points , hover your cursor anywhere along the blue line. Your cursor will change from a hand to an arrow over a white dot. A dialogue box will say “Drag to change route”. Click and drag the white dot to the desired road or highway on the map.

. 6. HOW TO ACCESS CUSTOM GOOGLE MAPS ON YOUR PHONE 

. There are two ways to access your custom Google Maps on your phone.  You can  (1) reference your map through the Google Maps app  or (2) export the entire map for offline access using Maps.me . Which method you use depends on your personal preference.

Steps are the same for iPhone and Android.

1. To view your maps in the Google Maps app:

• You will need to download Google Maps, if you haven’t done it already
• Sign into the same Google Drive account you used to create the map
• Click on the search bar > “…More” > scroll to the right and click “Maps”
• Select your custom map

How to view your custom Google Map on your phone using the Google Maps app .

Essential tips for using the Google Maps app:

• Accessing step-by-step directions:  When you open your map in the Google Maps app, your directions layer will be visible, but you won’t be able to click on it and get the step-by-step directions. . Instead, navigate to the individual location pins on the map. Click the pin and the directions instruction will populate in the search bar. Click on the search bar and then hit “Search”. This will exit your custom map and open up the regular Google Maps navigation screen. .
• Accessing your map offline:  You can’t. There is currently no way to access your custom map offline in the Google Maps app. Which is obviously not ideal if you’re traveling without cell phone service or wifi. . You can download an area for use offline by clicking on your photo (the circle in the upper right corner) > “Offline maps” > “select your own map”. However, when you do this, the map will be blank and you’ll have to repin/save all of your pins. You can repin/save locations by searching for the location > “save” > and then either add to an existing list or create a new list.

2. To export your custom map to Maps.me:

This method is quite a workaround, but (unlike the Google Maps app) it allows you to access your custom map offline without having to repin anything.

On your desktop: 

• Open your map on desktop
• Click the 3 dots next to the map title > select “Export to KML” > check the box next to “Export to .KML file instead of .KMZ”.
• Make this file accessible through your phone by uploading it to Dropbox, Google Drive, email, or any other file sharing app.

On your phone:

• Download the Maps.me app
• Search for the city, state, or country your map is based in and then download
• Go to your photo sharing app and open your .KML file with Maps.me
• You’ll be directed to your custom map in Maps.me

Tips for using Maps.me

If you download your map in Maps.me, you’ll be able to use it offline. However, the major drawback is that you will only be able to access step-by-step directions from your current location. So, even though your directions layers will populate on your map, you’ll only be able to view the drive times and not the actual directions, unless one of those points is your current location.

That being said, I am not a Maps.me expert.  So, if you have an update or workaround for this issue, please reach out and let me know :)

7. CREATE A SHARED GOOGLE MAP

You might want to share your map if you’re planning a trip with someone else, collaborating on an itinerary, or sharing your map on a website.

To share your Google Map , open the map > click “share” in the gray bar above the layers. Make sure the slider for “Anyone with this link can view” is set to blue. Then copy the link and send it to friends!

To embed your map on a website , check that your sharing sliders are set to “Anyone with this link can view” and “Let others search for and find this map on the internet”. Next, click the menu (the three dots) next to the map title > then click “Embed on my site”. Copy the HTML and paste it in the source code for your page.

8. BONUS: CALCULATE GAS MILEAGE

. Download my customizable Travel Expense Planner below for free . Use it to easily and automatically calculate how much money you’ll spend on gas, using your custom Google Map!

And there you have it! All the tips, tricks, and general instructions on how to use Google Maps as a road trip planning tool . As always, if you have any questions or have anything to add, leave a comment below. I love to hear from you!

Happy adventuring!

Did you find this Google Maps road trip planning tutorial helpful? Don’t forget to pin it for later!

Hi, I’m Jackie! I’m a travel photographer and content creator based near the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. I’m also a millennial who works full-time, yet I still find ways to travel frequently without breaking the bank, because traveling is what makes me feel most alive. Now I help fellow travelers who also work 9-5 and are looking for ways to travel more with limited PTO.

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27 comments.

[…] Krawiecki, J. (n.d.). How To Plan Your Road Trip With Google Maps. The Adventure Atlas. Retrieved from How To Plan Your Road Trip With Google Maps (Tutorial With Examples) | The Adventures Atlas  […]

[…] that an SUV or an RV is better suited for the whole family. Once you’ve secured your vehicle, map out your route, research the stops that you want to make, and make a list of the things that you’ll need to […]

[…] You won’t have service once you get there though, so I suggest downloading offline Google Maps of the area before you go. To learn how to download offline Google Maps, visit my blog post on How To Plan Your Road Trip Using Google Maps […]

[…] How to Plan Your Road Trip Using Google Maps […]

[…] How to Plan Your Trip Using Google Maps […]

All I needed when I googled “how to plan a trip in google maps” was to be pointed in the right direction of where to look for the feature. This went WAY beyond what I could have ever asked for and helped SO MUCH! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hi Nicole – I’m SO glad to hear you found this post helpful!

[…] How to plan a road trip using Google Maps […]

Hello Jackie, and thanks for the very informative article! It was well written and I used Google Maps on my last trip to the Baja in Mexico. One other tool I used was the free trip planner from Geovea https://geovea.com/trip_plan/new_trip to create and share my trip, and estimate my trip budget. You can also take your itinerary with you on your phone for navigation. I really appreciate all of the great travel guides and already planning my next trip :-)

Thank you for sharing all of this valuable information! I see how to view the turn-by-turn directions, but is there a way to start the route so you can follow it while driving? Thanks!!

[…] How to Plan Your Road Trip using Google Maps […]

This literally just changed my life! Thank you for sharing how to use google maps to plan a road trip. I will use this all the time now!

Hey there – so happy to hear you found this post useful!

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said no driving directions from point a to point b, so i couldn’t get started. E.G. Badland SD to Mt Rushmore to Custer Nat. Park, I need a little more direction, i’m not to good with comp. thanks

Hey Billy – Sometimes Google Maps won’t recognize directions to very general areas because it wants you to use something more specific. This most often happens with National Parks and wilderness areas. In those cases, Google Maps will generally present you with a list of specific locations you can choose from, such as the park’s ranger stations, visitors centers, etc. However, in your situation, I was able to pull up directions using “Badlands National Park”, “Mount Rushmore National Memorial”, and “Custer National Forest”. Hope that helps!

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[…] essential than you assume to sleep, bathe and plan for slower days. An excellent rule of thumb is to plan in rest time each three days. That means, you possibly can push your self however stop exhaustion in your […]

I’ve been a user of paper maps, since before the Internet, or color TV for that matter. For an up coming trip, basically Texas to FL, and back, I decided to make better use of Google Maps. A google search brought me to this page. Super helpful, and the pins per layer note answered a long standing confusion of mine. Thank you. I do have one question. Is there a way to to add waypoints based on distance or travel time? For example, this is going to be a two day trip. I want to find the halfway point (easily)? Or in the case of a longer trip, I want to drive X miles or Y hours? I know I can trial and error it, but what if I want the half-way point? What’s the easiest way to find it? Or where will I be in 8 hours of driving? Thank so much! Cheers, Eric

Hey Eric – thanks so much for your comment! Unfortunately, I don’t know of an easy way to calculate your half way point or location after x amount of hours. I typically eyeball it, which might be the only way to find your answer

Thanks very much, it is really helpful

This was most helpful for creating a personal map. I tried it and created a practice map on my laptop; named it and accessed it exactly like your instructions indicate. The part that has me puzzled is the accessing it from your phone. I have used Google maps on my phone for a long time and believe I am signed in using the same account. The Google Maps app on the phone identifies me (the right end if the search bar has my initial and shows the account when tapped.) When I tap the search bar I get to the … More but that is it. All I then see is the opportunity to set my Home and Work Locations but no listing of My Maps.

On the laptop going to the Menu (bars at left side of Search) allows access to Lists, Labeled, Visited, and Maps. (Maps is the one, as you indicate, to get to your personal Maps.) On my phone the only thing that seems to be available is the Labeled option. What am I missing to get to the Maps? I feel like there must be a switch somewhere to have the Maps come through … but I can’t seem to find it! Hoping you or someone can point me in the right direction. Thank you.

Without creating a custom map, is there a way to display a route in Google Maps and show attractions at the same time?

You’ve written a terrific guide and I’m learning a lot more about Google maps. Is there some way to print this guide or download a printable copy? Thanks.

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Ultimate Road Trip Planner: Travel Checklist for a Long Car Journey

Posted on Last updated: May 25, 2020

Nick and I made an epic road trip from Perth to Darwin in Australia. While the scenery along the coast was incredible and we did some amazing things, we had quite a bit of car trouble which was a bit of a spoiler of the trip!

Besides everything breaking down, from the lights to the entire clutch, we also weren’t sure if the tires (and the rest of the car) were good enough to take us on the rugged part between Broome and Darwin, so we decided to skip it. Unfortunately, this was the part of the trip we had looked forward to most, but our car just wasn’t in the right shape to take us here.

In this road trip planner, I’d love to share some of the tips we gathered after making our own long car journey, so the next time you go on a road trip (wherever in the world you are planning road trips doesn’t really matter) you’re a bit better prepared than we were and hopefully can enjoy the journey a bit more as well!

You can read more about our  South England road trip here.

Let’s get right into it!

Ultimate Road Trip Planner: Road Trip Checklist

Planning a Road Trip: Before You Leave

Every great trip starts with a bit of planning. So before you leave on a long car journey, have a think about the following:

1. Pick the Right Travel Company

I like to start this road trip planner with one of the most important things of making sure your journey will be successful: pick your travel company carefully! Driving with friends or people from the hostel can be fun for a couple of hours, but if you are close together for three weeks, do you still feel the same?

Driving alone can have its benefits, but remember that if you get in any (car) trouble, there is nobody there to help you out. If you can find anyone to tag along with you, you’ll be a bit safer and have probably more fun on the long stretches of asphalt as well :)

I have road tripped with my boyfriend as well as my entire family and I can only say that I found it important to have a bit of space (three people on the back seat is just too much for long drives) and to make sure that you don’t get into things that clearly annoy your travel companions. If you follow there simple rules to start with, you’re already well on your way to a great road trip!

When driving together, you can also split up the time each person has to drive… and see even more!

2. Set up a Loose Itinerary

When you start your road trip, you are probably on some sort of a time schedule, but having some room to breathe in your itinerary is really important, we’ve learned from our own trip. We (ok, me mostly) had planned way to much places to stop at and things to see and do, that sometimes we felt a bit rushed along the way.

We really wanted to see the Pinnacle Desert in West-Australia

3. Decide on your Navigation Techniques

4. Plan where to Stay for the Night

During your road trip, you have a couple of options where to spend the night. You can choose to stay in hotels, motels or hostels along the way, where you park the car and sleep in a proper room (sometimes with breakfast included), but if you’re more on a budget perhaps camping or sleeping in the back of the car can be an option.

For our trip, we chose to sleep in the back of the car. First of all, because the tent that was included when we bought the car turned out to be way too small for us (as in feet and head sticking out from both sides) and because we wanted to be able to sleep at basic (cheap) spots close to nature.

Our Palace… Ok, Cabin… Ok, Sleeping-Container.

How to Prepare Car for Road Trip?

Making sure your car is in good condition before you set out on a road trip is very important. While it’s usually not necessary to know how to fix the entire engine (unless perhaps you’re driving the Mongol- or Dakar Rally), knowing some of the basic features of your car will really help you out on the road, so do some research on that for your road trip planning. Preparing car for road trips is essential!

5. Know how to Check Basic Car Features

Besides knowing all the buttons on the dashboard, make sure you know how to check if your indicators, interior lights and headlights work (and how to change the light bulbs in them), also check the horn, your windscreen wipers (add fluids if needed), your brakes, transmission fluid, antifreeze and oil (and know how to top this up).

Check any manuals to know what gas/diesel you need and check how the heater and possibly air-conditioning works. Getting your car ready for road trips also means getting ready to learn a bit about the car yourself!

And then the clutch fell out from under our car… not really something we could fix ourselves :(

6. Make sure your Tires are in Good Shape

Your tires are one (well, four. well actually five, also counting your spare…) of the most important parts of your car. So when planning a road trip, make sure they are in good shape to start with. The tire pressure should match the specs in your owner’s manual. And if your tread is low, it’s time to buy new tires. Too much air in your tires can be just as bad as too little, so have that checked as well.

Another thing that you have to pay attention to in most countries, is the changing between summer- and winter tires. Winter tires offer you more grip to the roads in Winter conditions like snow and ice, but in general during low temperatures. When you hit the brakes on a snowy stretch of road at 50km/h, it will take 30 meters to stop using Winter tires, but over 60 meters with Summer tires! This could be a matter of life and death, really!

In many European countries, the use of Winter tires are obligatory (for example in Germany, you will definitely get fined if you don’t have them), but the rules vary in each country, so don’t take a risk and check it out!

The advice is to change tires around the 7 Degrees (Celsius) mark. So when it’s colder, change to Winter tires and when it’s warmer, change back to Summer Tires. As the weather is currently getting warmer, this is the time to change to Summer tires!

In this video you can watch a mechanic explain to you how to change your tires. Doesn’t actually look to hard, but of course you can have someone do this for you.

Driving on the beach? Need your 4WD? Learn about how to deflate your tires so you don’t get stuck! Here is a short video showing you what can happen and a blog on 4WD-ing  in Australia.

7. Pack First Aid Kit, Tool-Box and Emergency Numbers

Also make sure you have roadside recovery included in your car insurance policy. Things will go wrong right when you don’t expect them and in that case it’s better to have them to rely on, even when you rent a car! Get some good travel insurance , so you’re covered for help.

Have a printed road trip list (in case your phone battery dies) of emergency numbers from both the local emergency services as for either your car rental company or the road side assistance.

A Road Trip requires quite a bit of planning, but once you’ve got your basics covered, it’s time to enjoy the ride!

What to Pack for a Road Trip Checklist

Now that you’ve prepped your car, the next thing on your road trip planner is to load it up with other road trip supplies you might need for your trip, so get out that packing for a road trip checklist! To figure out what to bring on a road trip can be hard and you can be inclined to just fill up every space just because you don’t have to carry it. Just remember though, that the lighter the car, the more efficient you drive, so don’t overpack!

8. Gear & Clothing

To help you with your road trip planning, I’ve created a short packing list with all of the basic items to take with you on a car journey. It’s definitely not complete as everyone has a different travel style, but if I missed any essentials, let me know!

Road Trip Packing List:

Here is the complete list with road trip  necessities. Anything to add to this road trip check list? Let us know!

ROAD TRIP CHECKLIST FOR CAR

Still wondering how to pack for a road trip? My tip is to get some handy storage boxes to keep all your gear and clothing in, so that you don’t spend hours upside-down in the booth of your car trying to get something from the bottom of your bag.

Good sunglasses can make all the difference!

9. Food & Drinks

Thinking about what food and drinks to add to your road trip necessities list is also very important, because you don’t always have access to a supermarket while on the road. Especially once you hit the smaller towns, you can find that most items will become a lot more expensive as well.

So if you’re asking me what to plan for a road trip, I’d say: make sure to 1) always carry enough water 2) bring enough snacks (because I personally snack a LOT – or I will get grumpy) and 3) think about how you’re going to cook for all your meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).

Along the way, see if you can stop at any farmers markets. It’s a great place to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables and it’s a great way to meet the local people, taste typical delicacies and relax from the long drive!

Road Trip checklist for couples: make stops for a romantic lunch or dinner, such as this one we had on the beach!

What to do on a Road Trip?

Let’s move on to the next phase of your road trip planner: the actual driving! Because isn’t that the best part? If you are thinking you might get bored on the trip, here are some suggestions on how to spend your time:

10. Music, Fun & Games

Music is the one thing everyone probably enjoys on a good road trip. It’s the songs you hear on the local radio or keep on hearing from your music player that will remind you of all the good times when you get back home.

You can either put together a road trip music list before you leave, or be surprised by the music specific to the area you’re in. But radio’s don’t always work everywhere, so make sure to have some backup songs on your checklist for long road trip and Sing Along!

Here is my own Road Trip Playlist for you to listen to:

Having a break to 1) surf and 2) check out this Emu on the road! Oh the freedom of a road trip!

11. Photo-Spots & Stopovers

Ah, now we get to the good stuff! Of course one of the best ways to take a road trip is to stop often to take pictures, get active or do some serious sightseeing. Before you leave, you can plan some of the interesting places to stop along the way, but keep looking out of the window for roadside signs to help you make some spontaneous stops as well!

You can stop at bigger cities, small towns or even just a viewing area or service station. As long as you take some time to stretch your legs and breathe in some fresh air! If you travel with kids or pets, these stops are essential for keeping the spirit high as well.

With a National Park Pass you can not only enjoy some time in nature, but also use their restrooms (at the visitors center) and go for a picnic, which is a lot better than most of the road-side service stations or greasy fast food joints!

Sometimes you meet a horse wandering around. So of course I had to stop and stroke it! Can I keep him? ahh? ahh?

12. Taking a Break

Another one of the more important road trip tips: Have a break when you need one! There is no use pushing on to that next stop when you’re tired, as you can only endanger yourself (and others!) when you’re not sharp enough to handle quickly. Make sure you have a road trip planner with stops planned in.

Professional truck drivers aren’t supposed to drive more than 11 hours in a 14-hour workday, but you should probably take a break at least every 2-3 hours or so. Stay hydrated and have enough foods to keep feeling well. A stop doesn’t have to be long, but at least 15-20 minutes every couple of hours can make all the difference.

Same goes for when it gets to dark to drive, or as we had on our trip: when the weather suddenly turns bad! We almost got stuck on a deserted sandy road that suddenly got washed away by a huge rain storm! We saw it coming, but pushed on while we had better stopped driving when we still had the chance. Lesson learned.

How to Save Money on a Road Trip?

Finally in this road trip planner, some more road trip ideas (that you will love, because they are tips to save money!) If you pay a little bit more attention to the way you drive, you can really save quite a bit:

• Follow the speed limit. There is a reason governments lower speed limits when there is a gas crisis , by driving slower, you can boost your mileage.
• Avoid abrupt stopping and starting. When you accelerate from a standstill, you use extra fuel. Take notice of the timing of the red lights, so that you reach them slowly and can even see them turn green again without coming to a full stop.
• If your car has a cruise control, use it when the conditions allow it.
• Don’t overfill your gas tank and make sure to close the cap well. I read that every year, 147 million gallons of fuel vaporizes from tanks in the U.S. alone!
• When it’s cooler outside, it will increase your car’s power and mileage. So leave early in the morning or late in the evening, especially in summer. As air conditioners are quite efficient these days, you can turn them on and cause less drag on the engine than driving with the windows open as well.

Plan your Road Trip with these Expert Tips

• Planning on a Road Trip in the UK? My friends Peter & Kash went on an epic journey and have some great tips for you!
• If there is anyone that can tell you about road tripping with a family, it’s Caz & Craig from ytravelblog , who set out to explore their home country Australia by car.
• Planning an road trip USA? Make sure to check out Amanda’s blog for all nessesary do’s & don’ts or read Tonya’s blog for the best Road Side Attractions you can see during your road trip America.
• A Great list of Free Road Trip Apps on Mashable .

Ok, so this was not the ultimate road trip car in the end, even though he looked so good!

Love cars? Check out these articles we wrote for you car-lovers out there:

• The Panini Collection Of Unique Cars In Italy You Need To See
• Outstanding Enzo Ferrari Museum Modena , Italy – Step in the World of Car Perfection!
• Tested: This is the Ultimate Supercar Driving Experience in Italy!
• Lamborghini Museum Italy : This Exclusive Factory Tour is the Best!

Looking for more backpack reviews? Make sure to check out our following posts:

• Is This The Best Carry On Luggage I’ve Found?
• Fjällräven Kånken Backpack Review
• Flowfold Denizen Limited Tote Backpack Review
• Arcido Faroe Backpack Review
• Backpack Review Quechua Forclaz
• This Innovative Carry On Backpack Was Made To Spark Joy!
• Ultimate Carry-On Bag by Standard Luggage – Version 2.0

Also make sure to read:

• How to Use the Clever Konmari Folding Method for Travel
• 5 Unique Gift Ideas for Someone Going Travelling You Need to Know About
• Best Glamping & Camping Tips and Tricks : How To Make the Most out of your Holiday

I hope that all of these tips help you by planning a road trip yourself and that you now know what to take on a road trip! When you make sure you cover the basics and think about your health, safetly ánd entertainment, I’m sure you will have a great time on the road!  Have you ever made – or are you planning a road trip?  Where to? We ‘d love to hear it!

Disclaimer: This article about what to bring on a long road trip includes some affiliate links. We get a small commission when you purchase any products through these links at no extra cost to you!.

Tuesday 15th of June 2021

This is an amazing article with lot of information. Nice to read and know about new tips on road trip. a planned road trip is always good. thanks for sharing such an article which helped me a lot. Looking forward for more like this one.

Jade Robson

Wednesday 21st of April 2021

This is amazing. I’ve been planning a western Aus trip (I’m living in Melbourne at the moment) and I might follow this guide exactly! And throw in Karijini NP as well. Enjoyed reading the article above, really explains everything in detail, the article is very interesting and effective. Thank you and good luck with the upcoming articles. Thanks so much!

Thursday 13th of June 2019

In summer, make sure that the AC in your car is working!

Tuesday 29th of January 2019

Thanks for sharing this information with us. If there is anyone that can tell you about road tripping with a family, it’s Caz & Craig from travel blog, who set out to explore their home country Australia by car.

Kanika Bakshi

Monday 5th of November 2018

Love it! Thank you for a great round up of what to do with the road trip – And some of those landscapes are beautiful!while traveling via road, its always fun things to carry with the roads might trouble you but if you have a former guide or pre-plan you might go easy thanks for the share.

Estimate Your Car Journey

Estimating your car journey is crucial for several reasons, ensuring a smooth and stress-free travel experience:

• Accurate estimation helps you plan your departure and arrival times, allowing you to allocate sufficient time for breaks, meals, and potential delays due to traffic or weather conditions​
• By estimating the total distance and understanding your car’s fuel consumption , you can plan refueling stops efficiently, avoiding the risk of running out of fuel in remote areas​.
• Knowing the distance and fuel requirements helps you budget for your trip, considering not just fuel but also tolls, accommodation, and food expenses along the way​.
• Estimation allows you to plan rest stops, reducing the risk of driver fatigue, which is a significant factor in road accidents. It also helps in anticipating hazardous road conditions and planning routes accordingly​.
• Estimating your journey enables you to choose the most efficient or scenic routes, depending on your preferences. It also helps in identifying potential points of interest and amenities along the way​.
• With a clear estimation, you can prepare for emergencies by packing necessary supplies, such as food, water, and a first aid kit, ensuring you’re ready for any unforeseen circumstances​.

By carefully estimating your car journey, you ensure a well-organized trip, optimizing time and resources while enhancing overall safety and comfort.

Some Recommended Articles For You

• Best Comfortable Car For Long Distance Driving
• How To Travel Long Distance With An Electric Car
• 5 Most Common Distracted Driving Habits: You should avoid
• When You Can Travel With A Newborn By Car
• How To Travel With A Cat By Car

Best road trip planner apps: 5 apps to map out your adventure

How to plan your roadtrip with apps in the driver's seat

Regardless of your destination, planning your trip is an integral part of the adventure. Otherwise, you’ll spend way more than you need to and, chances are, you won’t get to see everything on your wishlist. 

We live in a golden age of technology that we often take for granted. But, in all the time we spend playing our ‘Spin Addicts’ and our ‘Cat Quests’, very rarely do we think about the utility that our smart devices can provide on the open road. 

As such, we’ve gone out of our way to do the thinking for you.

That’s right, to help you out with your next big outing we’ve assimilated five of the best road trip planner apps for your lengthy expedition below. Above all else, we imagine you’ll be enticed by the fact that they’re all free to download, even if you may or may not be tempted later on to shell out some cash for a monthly subscription fee. (You’ll know what we mean when you see it.)

1. Roadtrippers 

As its name and slogan suggests, this is the only map built for travelers. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of hyperbole, but this app will help you find virtually everything you could ever need along the way. 

Open Roadtrippers and you’ll find millions of locations, including local diners and roadside attractions that, admittedly, Google Maps is prone to miss. Then, once you’ve outlined your road trip plan, you can share it with your travel buddies so that they can make suggestions. 

Download it now on iOS | Download it now on Android

2. Waze 

Like Roadtrippers, Waze hones in on social interaction, but it does so by letting the community decide which routes are the best to take. Users can report nearby collisions, police radar and traffic jams so that you can safely avoid those routes in favor of arriving on time. What’s more, you’ll find the cheapest gas prices around, as gathered by the community. Regardless of whether you set out to save time or money, Waze is the best way to do both.

3. GasBuddy 

Unlike our previous mentions which can potentially save time or money, GasBuddy promises a specific amount of money you’ll save by using it.

Similar to Waze, GasBuddy is a community-driven platform that helps you locate the most affordable gas prices around so that you never have to pay full price for fossil fuels again. The difference is that, with this app, you can subscribe to GasBuddy Pay for additional savings of 15 cents per gallon on your first fill-up and 5 cents per gallon on every fill-up after that. 

Download it now on iOS | Download it now on Android  

4. Hotel Tonight 

We’ve all been in that position. The one where we get too tired to continue driving and we need to find a hotel quickly and cheaply, else suffer the wrath of sleepy driving with the windows rolled down and the music turned all the way up. (Pro tip: don't do that, ever. It's super dangerous.) 

But if that sounds like a horror story that you’ve experienced before, Hotel Tonight is the app for you. Specializing in last-minute hotel deals, Hotel Tonight makes it possible to book a room in three easy taps and one seamless swipe. 

5. Spotify  

Close your eyes. Now imagine you can listen to any song you want, including but not limited to “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers. Now open them. 

Though it seems jokingly obvious now, Spotify would have been a dream come true in the days when top 40 radio hits triumphed over all else. Finally, you don’t have to listen to the same handful of songs on repeat. 

Instead, you can hand-pick your own playlists, choosing between over 30 million songs in the Spotify catalog. Of course, if Spotify isn't your music scene, both Apple Music and Google's own Play Music streaming service are also good travel companions.

  TechRadar’s The Road to the Show 2018 sees our intrepid writers braving a cross-country trip across the US, using the best gadgets to bring you their daily travel blog and offering the best tips for a tech-based roadtrip. The journey is brought to you in association with ZTE and the ZTE Axon M, with car transportation provided by Genesis.  

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My itinerary

This is a free demo version of our mapping software.

Create an account to save your current itinerary and get access to all our features.

Otherwise your data will be automatically deleted after one week.

• Your current location

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Your route preferences.

Electric Vehicle Trip Planner

Easily find all the EV charging stations available along your route in North America.

To learn more about the different types of charging stations and how to charge before planning your trip, check out our guide on   ”How To Charge Your Electric Car With Charging Stations ” .

How To Use The EV Trip Planner?

To access the trip planner from the ChargeHub website, click on “Map”, in the top left corner of the navigation bar.

Once you are on the map page, you can open the trip planner panel by clicking the “Trip Planner” tab on the left side of the charging stations map page.

To enable the planner, click on the “OFF/ON” button so that it is "ON" . Note that at this point, you will have the option to select the unit of measurement by clicking on "KM" .

Once enabled the Trip Planner right sidebar will be displayed.

Enter Your Trip Details

Enter a “ Starting Point” and “ Destination” in the trip planner. It will suggest options based on what you input. Select the option you want, as shown in the following screenshot.

Now you have the option to choose how far away from your route you want the charging stations to be. Then click on "Find Routes". 

After clicking on “Find Routes” you will be asked to choose which route you prefer from the proposed routes as seen below, on the right panel of the Trip Planner :

Once you select a route, click on "Start Planning My Trip" and start adding charging stations to your itinerary, as explained in the following section "Add Charging Stops to your Itinerary".

Add Charging Stops to your Itinerary

At this point, you can add charging stations to your trip by zooming in on the map and clicking on map markers.

If you are planning to use the ChargeHub App to activate the station and pay , please make sure to select charging stations that have a golden thunderbolt in the center, as seen in the image below.

Only the charging stations that have a golden thunderbolt in the center are compatible with ChargeHub’s wallet app. You can pay for your charging sessions , across all available networks, at these charging stations, from within the app.

Once you have selected a charging station, all the information regarding the station will be displayed, on the right side of the screen.

Based on your EV and charging preferences, you can decide if the charging station meets your needs. If it does, add it to your trip by clicking "Add to trip".

NOTE: If you click on “See Complete Details” you will exit the trip planner and it will reset. In this case, you will need to start the whole Trip Planner process again from step one.

Once the charging station has been selected, it will be added to your trip as shown below.

If you need to add more charging stations, select and add as many as you need, by following the same process.

Save And Share Your EV Trip

Once you have finalized your itinerary you can: 

• Save your trip in your account for future reference
• Access your saved trips.

NOTE: To save and load a trip, you must be logged in to your  ChargeHub account.

Check out our other guides and resources on home charging

• A Beginner’s Guide to Electric Cars
• How to choose your charging station
• Top 9 most popular charging stations in 2024
• Incentives available in Canada for EV chargers
• Find the best EVSE solution according to your EV or PHEV

Browse the chargers on the ChargeHub Store

Find Public Charging Stations Near You

Suno - Make Music 4+

The official music app by suno.

• #32 in Music
• 4.4 • 113 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

iPhone Screenshots

Description.

Make and explore music with Suno. Whether you're a shower singer or a charting artist, we break barriers between you and the song you dream of making. No instrument needed, just imagination. — Begin your musical journey with 50 free credits per day on the Basic Plan, or select from the following subscription options to make more music: • 1 month Pro Plan - $10/month, billed monthly • 1 month Premier Plan - $30/month, billed monthly • 1 year Pro Plan - $96/year (20% off monthly), billed annually • 1 year Premier Plan - $289/year (20% off monthly), billed annually • Your subscription will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase and will automatically renew (at the duration selected) unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. • Your current subscription may not be canceled during the active subscription period; however, you can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your Apple Account Settings after purchase. — TERMS & CONDITIONS • Apple’s Standard End-User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Our Privacy Policy: https://suno.com/privacy • Our Terms of Service: https://suno.com/terms

Version 1.0.5

bug fixes and performance improvements

Ratings and Reviews

113 Ratings

Amazing tool, but app isn’t great

Let me start off by saying this tool is absolutely amazing for what it is and does. I used to be a professional musician, but had to set aside that lifestyle after having kids. After discovering Suno it opened up a whole world of possibilities and I have been able to begin composing music for the first time in a decade. I have written several songs utilizing Suno to write scratch tracks, and I’m highly impressed with the technology. However… the app isn’t great. Every time I use it, my phone ends up overheating. It also seems to struggle to load songs and song artwork. I’ve also had issues with the generator understanding the simple prompts I would feed it. Until those issues are fixed, particularly the overheating problem, I’ll be sticking to the website.

Amazing gift of music

Although neither musically adept nor tech-savvy, I'm loving this extraordinary app, which helps me create songs in seconds that fully capture--in wondrous lyrics, rich voices, and exquisite instrumentation--anything I might wish to express. Yesterday I tried creating music on the app for the first time, hoping to come up with a song that conveyed how much I miss a good friend living far away who I don't get to see very often. The song produced for me by Suno in less than a minute bordered on the miraculous--perfectly expressing my feelings through soulful instrumentation, a lovely female singing voice, and brilliant poetic lyrics. Shared with my friend, she too was deeply moved. I can already see how this ability to make beautiful music very quickly will become extremely addictive. I'm resolved to limit myself to creating no more than ten new songs per day--a lovely new ritual while enjoying my morning coffee. This morning, the new songs created included an r&b rendition of the mixed blessings of aging; an ode to walks in Central Park; and a mellow chastisement of a friend who's become too much of a recluse of late. Mind-blowing compositions each time! And so much fun!!

Bravo! Finally.

The Suno AI music generator app is an impressive first release, offering a sleek, streamlined experience compared to its web counterpart. The app's standout feature is its beautiful typography, which enhances the overall aesthetic appeal. The user interface is less cluttered than the web version, making it easier to navigate and use. The quality of songs it generates never ceases to amaze me. While the menu options are sparse, this simplicity contributes to the app's clean look and feel. However, some users might find themselves wishing for more advanced options. There are opportunities for UI improvements, particularly in addressing minor spacing and placement issues. These don't significantly detract from the user experience but refining them would elevate the app further. The app's design and branding are particularly noteworthy, creating a visually pleasing environment for music creation. Overall, Suno AI's mobile app demonstrates a commitment to good design principles, prioritizing user experience and visual appeal. For a first release, it's a solid choice for those looking to generate AI music on the go, especially if you appreciate a well-designed, minimalist interface. With some UI refinements in future updates, this app has the potential to become even more impressive.

App Privacy

The developer, Suno, Inc. , 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 Linked to You

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

• Contact Info
• User Content
• Search History
• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

• Diagnostics

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

Information

• Pro Plan $10.00
• Premier Plan $30.00
• Pro Plan $96.00
• Premier Plan $289.00
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The Supreme Court Is Not Done Remaking America

Some of the rulings that came before the justices’ decision on presidential immunity could prove to have just as big an impact..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

When the Supreme Court wrapped up its term last week, much of the focus was on the ruling that gave Donald Trump sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution. But as my colleague Adam Liptak explains, a set of rulings that generated far less attention could have just as big an impact on American government and society.

It’s Monday, July 8.

Adam, welcome back. It hasn’t been very long, but we want to talk to you about the rest of the Supreme Court’s decisions that happened over the past few weeks, the rest meaning the non-Trump decisions. There were a lot of other cases, many of which we covered on the show over the past year, but we haven’t yet talked about where the justices landed as they issued their rulings on these cases over the past few weeks. So I wonder if you can walk us through some of the bigger decisions and what, taken as a whole, this entire term really means. So where should we start?

Well, this term had so many major cases, Michael, on so many important issues touching all aspects of American politics and society, that it’s a little hard to know where to start. But I think one way to think about the term is to ask, how much is this a 6-3 court? There are six conservatives in the majority, the three liberal justices in dissent. Are we going to get that kind of classic lineup time after time after time?

And one way to start answering that question is to look at two areas which are kind of part of the court’s greatest hits, areas where they’ve done a lot of work in the last few terms — guns and abortion.

OK, let’s start with guns.

The court had two big guns cases. One of them involved the Second Amendment and broke 8 to 1 against Second Amendment rights. Only Justice Clarence Thomas, the most avid supporter of gun rights, was in dissent. So let me tell you just a little bit about this case.

There’s a federal law that says people subject to domestic violence restraining orders, it’s a crime for them to have guns. A guy named Zackey Rahimi was subject to such a domestic violence restraining order, but he goes to court and says, this law violates my Second Amendment rights. The Second Amendment protects me and allows me to have a gun even if I’m in this status.

And that goes to the Supreme Court. And the way the Supreme Court analyzes this question is it looks to a test that it established only a couple of years ago, in 2022, which said you judge the constitutionality of gun control laws using history. You kind of go back in time and you see whether the community and the founding era disarmed people in the same way that the current law disarms people.

And you might think that actually, back in the 1700s, there were no such things as domestic violence restraining orders. So you might think that the answer is, this contemporary law is unconstitutional. But Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for an eight-justice majority, says, no, that’s not quite right. We’re going to kind of roll back the specificity of the test and look at very general principles. Can you disarm dangerous people back then? And if you can do that, then you can disarm Rahimi, even under this law that the founding generation could not have contemplated.

That’s really interesting. So the court, its conservative majority especially, seems to be saying that our last big decision made it too hard to regulate guns. We need to fix that. So we’re going to search really hard for a way to make sure that somebody with a restraining order for domestic abuse can’t legally have a gun.

Right. On the other hand, there was a second guns case, not involving the Second Amendment, but posing an important issue. The question in the case was whether the Trump administration was allowed to enact a gun control regulation in 2017 after the Las Vegas shooting in which, at an outdoor music festival, a gunman killed 58 people, wounded 500 more.

And the Trump administration, prompted by this massacre, they issue a regulation that tries to outlaw bump stocks. What are bump stocks? They’re devices that turn semi-automatic weapons into weapons that can fire at rates approaching a machine gun. And drawing on the authority of a 1934 law which bans, for the most part, civilian ownership of machine guns, it said bump stocks are basically the same thing, and we will, by regulation, outlaw them.

And the question for the court was, did the 1934 law authorize that? And here — and this is a typical split on this kind of stuff — the majority, the conservative majority, takes a textualist approach. It bears down on the particular words of the statute. And Justice Thomas looks at the words that Congress said a machine gun is one where a single function of the trigger causes all of these bullets to fly. And a bump stock, he said, is not precisely that. Therefore, we’re going to strike down this regulation.

So how do you reconcile these two divergent gun rulings, one where the court works really hard to allow for gun restrictions in the case of domestic abusers, and another where they seem to have no compunction about allowing for a bump stock that I think most of us, practically speaking, understand as making a semiautomatic weapon automatic in the real world?

I think the court draws a real distinction between two kinds of cases. One is about interpreting the Constitution, interpreting the Second Amendment. And in that area, it is plowing new ground. It has issued maybe four major Second Amendment cases, and it’s trying to figure out how that works and what the limits are. And the Rahimi case shows you that they’re still finding their way. They’re trying to find the right balance in that constitutional realm where they are the last word.

The bump stocks case doesn’t involve the Constitution. It involves an interpretation of a statute enacted by Congress. And the majority, in those kinds of cases, tends to read statutes narrowly. And they would say that that’s acceptable because unlike in a constitutional case, if it’s about a congressional statute, Congress can go back and fix it. Congress can say whatever it likes.

Justice Samuel Alito said, in the bump stocks case, this massacre was terrible, and it’s a pity Congress didn’t act. But if Congress doesn’t act, a regulator can’t step in and do what Congress didn’t do.

That’s interesting, because it suggests a surprising level of open-mindedness among even the court’s most conservative justices to an interpretation of the Constitution that may allow for a greater level of gun regulation than perhaps we think of them as being interested in.

Yeah. When we’re talking about the Constitution, they do seem more open to regulating guns than you might have thought.

OK. You also mentioned, Adam, abortion. Let’s talk about those decisions from this court.

So the Court, in 2022, as everyone knows, overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. But in two cases this term, they effectively enhanced the availability of abortion.

One of them involves emergency rooms. There’s a federal statute that says that emergency rooms that receive federal money have to treat patients and give them stabilizing care if they arrive in the emergency room. That seems to conflict with a strict Idaho law that prohibits abortions except to save the life of the mother.

The court agrees to hear the case, it hears arguments, and then it dismisses the case. It dismisses it as improvidently granted, which is judicial speak for “never mind.” But it’s very tentative. The court merely dismissed the case. It said it was too early to hear it. They’re going to look at it later. So it’s a very tentative sliver of a victory for abortion rights.

But nonetheless, the effect of this is to suspend the Idaho law, at least to the extent it conflicts with the federal law. And it lets emergency abortions continue. Women in Idaho have more access to emergency abortions as a consequence of this decision than if the court had gone the other way.

And of course, the other abortion case centered on the abortion pill, mifepristone.

Right. And that pill is used in a majority of abortions. And the availability of that pill is crucial to what remains of abortion rights in the United States. Lower courts had said that the Food and Drug Administration exceeded its authority in approving these abortion pills. And the case comes to the Supreme Court.

And here, again, they rule in favor of abortion rights. They maintain the availability of these pills, but they do so, again, in a kind of technical way that does not assure that the pills will forever remain available. What the court says, merely — and unanimously — is that the particular plaintiffs who challenged the law, doctors and medical groups who oppose abortion, didn’t have standing, hadn’t suffered the sort of direct injury, that gave them the right to sue.

And it got rid of the case on standing grounds. But that’s not a permanent decision. Other people, other groups can sue, have sued. And the court didn’t decide whether the FDA approval was proper or not, only that the lawsuit couldn’t go forward. And here, too, this case is a victory for abortion rights, but maybe an ephemeral one, and may well return to the court, which has not given an indication of how it will turn out if they actually address the merits.

Got it. So this is a court, the one you’re describing in these rulings, acting with some nuance and some restraint?

Yeah, this picture is complicated.

This is not the court that we’re used to thinking about. There are a lot of crosscurrents. There are a lot of surprises. And that was true, in those cases, on big issues, on guns and abortion. But in another set of cases, the court moved aggressively to the right and really took on the very power and structure of the federal government.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We’ll be right back.

So Adam, tell us about these cases where the court was less nuanced, less, perhaps, judicious, and really tried to move aggressively to the right and take on the power of government?

So it’s been a long-term goal of the conservative legal movement to weaken the power of regulators, of taking on what they call the administrative state. And this term, the court really vindicated that decades-old project primarily by overruling the foundational precedent in this area, a precedent that gave expert agencies the power to interpret federal laws and enact regulations to protect consumers, investors, all manner of people.

And the court overruled that decision called Chevron. It was as important as the court, two years ago, overruling the right to abortion, one year ago, overruling affirmative action in higher education. This decision will reshape the way the federal government does its work.

Right. And Adam, as I recall, because we did a whole episode about this with you, Chevron created a framework whereby if a law has any ambiguity about how it’s supposed to play out, that the experts within the federal government, within the EPA or the FDA, you name the agency, that we collectively defer to them and their wisdom, and that that becomes the basis for how these laws get interpreted and carried out.

That’s right. And if you think about it, Michael, Congress can’t anticipate every circumstance. Congress will, on purpose sometimes, and inevitably at other times, leave gaps in the law. And those gaps need to be filled by someone. And the choice that the Chevron decision made was to say, we’re going to let the expert regulator fill in those gaps. If there are ambiguities in statutes, the reasonable interpretation of the regulator will get deference from courts.

Experts, not judges, will decide this matter, is what Chevron said 40 years ago. And it’s really hard to overstate the consequences of overruling Chevron. It will open countless, countless regulations to judicial challenge. It may actually kind of swamp the courts. The courts have relied very heavily on Chevron to make difficult decisions about complicated stuff, questions about the environment, and food safety, and drugs, and securities, questions that really often require quite technical expertise.

So what was the court’s rationale for changing that Chevron framework that’s been in place for so long?

What the six-justice majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts says is that Chevron was a wrong turn from the outset, that unelected bureaucrats should not be empowered to say what the law means, that that’s the job of judges. So it moves from the expert agency to federal judges the determination of all sorts of important issues. And it probably has the effect of deregulating much of American society.

I mean, in the old world, the regulator had a thumb on the scale. The regulator’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute was the one that counted. And now, the judge will have a fresh look at it. That doesn’t mean that, in every case, the challenger wins, and in every case, the regulator loses. But it shifts the balance and it makes challenges more likely to succeed.

Where else did we see this instinct by the court to challenge the government’s authority in this term?

So right after the court overturns Chevron, it issues a second decision that really amplifies the power of that decision, because it says that challenges can be brought not only in the usual six-year statute of limitations from when a regulation is issued, but six years from when it first affects a company.

And bear with me, because that’s a big difference. If I start a company tomorrow, I have six years to sue over a regulation that affects it, even though that regulation may have been in place for 30 years. So it restarts the clock on challenges, and that one-two punch, both of them decided by 6-3 majorities, go even further in reshaping the ability of the federal government to regulate.

I just want to be sure I understand something. So in the past, let’s say the Clean Water Act was passed in the 1970s. Under the old statute of limitations, a company could sue and say that regulation is a problem for six years. But you’re saying a new company formed right now could go back and sue over something in a 30 - or 40-year-old law and how it’s being interpreted. In other words, this ruling means there really isn’t a statute of limitations on challenging these regulations any longer.

That’s right. And it’s not as though you can’t form a company just for the purpose of litigation. I mean, it completely opens up the ability of industries, trade groups just to set up a trivial nothing company that will then be said to be affected by the regulation and then can sue from now until the end of time.

And the liberal justices sure understood what was happening here, that this one-two punch, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in dissent, was a catastrophe for regulators. She wrote, “At the end of a momentous term, this much is clear — that tsunami of lawsuits against agencies that the court’s holdings in this case have authorized has the potential to devastate the functioning of the federal government.”

It’s a pretty searing warning.

Yeah. I mean, talking about regulations and administrative law might put some people to sleep, but this is a really big deal, Michael. And as if those two cases were not a substantial enough attack on the federal government’s regulatory authority, the court also issues a third 6-3 decision undoing one of the main ways that regulators file enforcement actions against people who they say have violated the law.

They don’t always go to court. Sometimes, they go to administrative tribunals within the agency. The court says, no, that’s no good. Only courts can adjudicate these matters. So it’s just another instance of the court being consistently hostile to the administrative state.

Adam, all three of these decisions might sound pretty dangerous if you have a lot of confidence in the federal government and in the judgments of regulators and bureaucrats to interpret things. But if you’re one of the many Americans who doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in the federal government, I have to imagine all of these rulings might seem pretty constructive.

That’s an excellent point. Lots of people are skeptical of regulators, are skeptical of what they would call the deep state, of unelected bureaucrats, of even the idea of expertise. And so for those people, this is a step in the right direction. It’s taking power away from bureaucrats and handing it to what we would hope are independent, fair-minded judges.

What does seem clear, Adam, is that even though this episode was supposed to be about the rest of the Supreme Court’s rulings this year, the less sexy-sounding decisions than Trump and immunity and how much power and protection all future presidents have, the rulings that you’re describing around the government’s administrative power, they seem like they’re going to have the greatest long-term impact on how our government functions, and in a sense, what our society looks like.

Well, the biggest case of the term is obviously the Trump immunity case. That’s a decision for the ages. But close behind these decisions, reshaping the administrative state and vindicating a long-held goal of the conservative legal movement going back to the Reagan administration, that the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group, has been pushing for decades, and really unraveling a conception of what the federal government does that’s been in place since the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal.

So as much as we’ve been talking about other cases where the court was tentative, surprising, nuanced in the biggest cases of the term, all delivered by six to three votes, all controlled by the conservative supermajority, the court was not nuanced. It was straightforward, and it reshaped American government.

In the end, a hard right court is going to, no matter how much it might deviate, operate like a hard right court.

Yes, Michael. It’s possible to look at the balance of the decisions and draw all kinds of complicated conclusions about the court. But when you look at the biggest cases, the picture you see is a conservative court moving the law to the right.

Well, Adam, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thank you, Michael.

Here’s what else you need to know today. “The Times” reports that four senior Democratic house members have told colleagues that President Biden must step aside as the party’s nominee over fears that he is no longer capable of winning. They include the top Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Veterans Affairs Committee.

Those top Democrats joined five rank and file House Democrats who have publicly called for Biden to step down. The latest of those was representative Angie Craig of Minnesota, who represents a swing district in the state. In a statement, Craig said that after watching Biden in the first debate, quote, “I do not believe that the president can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump.” Senate Democrats remain largely quiet on the question of Biden’s future.

Now, you probably heard, I had a little debate last week. I can’t say it was my best performance.

In several appearances over the weekend, Biden acknowledged the growing skepticism of his candidacy —

Well, ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation. What’s Joe going to do?

— but emphatically rejected the calls to step aside.

Well, let me say this clearly as I can. I’m staying in the race.

And in a surprise electoral upset, France’s political left was projected to win the largest number of seats in the National Assembly after the latest round of voting. The anti-immigrant far right had been expected to make history by winning the most seats, but a last-minute scramble by left wing parties averted that result.

Today’s episode was produced by Rikki Novetsky, Shannon Lin, and Rob Szypko. It was edited by Devon Taylor and Lisa Chow. Contains original music by Dan Powell and Sophia Lanman, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

• July 9, 2024   •   27:33 The Era of Killer Robots Is Here
• July 8, 2024   •   26:17 The Supreme Court Is Not Done Remaking America
• July 5, 2024   •   26:50 How Bad Is Drinking for You, Really?
• July 4, 2024   •   26:12 Biden’s Slipping Support
• July 3, 2024   •   32:01 The American Journalist on Trial in Russia
• July 2, 2024   •   27:55 Trump Wins Broad Immunity
• July 1, 2024   •   33:39 Will Biden Withdraw?
• June 28, 2024   •   36:42 A Brutal Debate for Biden
• June 27, 2024   •   27:49 The Doping Scandal Rocking the Upcoming Olympics
• June 26, 2024   •   23:27 France’s Far Right at the Gates of Power
• June 25, 2024   •   31:26 The Plan to Defeat Critics of Israel in Congress
• June 24, 2024   •   28:44 The Army of Poets and Students Fighting a Forgotten War

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Adam Liptak

Produced by Rikki Novetsky ,  Shannon M. Lin and Rob Szypko

Edited by Devon Taylor and Lisa Chow

Original music by Dan Powell and Sophia Lanman

Engineered by Chris Wood

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When the Supreme Court wrapped up its term last week, much of the focus was on the ruling that gave former President Donald J. Trump sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution. But another set of rulings that generated less attention could have just as big an impact on American government and society.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains.

On today’s episode

Adam Liptak , who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments.

Background reading

In a volatile term, a fractured Supreme Court remade America .

Here’s a guide to the major Supreme Court decisions in 2024 .

In video: How a fractured Supreme Court ruled this term .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam and Nick Pitman.

Adam Liptak covers the Supreme Court and writes Sidebar, a column on legal developments. A graduate of Yale Law School, he practiced law for 14 years before joining The Times in 2002. More about Adam Liptak

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