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15 Best Road Trip Apps To Help You Plan The Perfect Adventure

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Embrace the open road armed with the best road trip apps at your fingertips! This article demystifies road trip planning by revealing an array of apps from some of my favorite travel companies, specifically designed for your journey’s every need.

Discover apps for planning a road trip that will guide you to your destination and help uncover charming accommodations, engaging activities, and cost-saving gas options along the way. With these road trip planning apps, you’ll transform from a novice explorer into a seasoned traveler, making your adventure enjoyable and stress-free.

You might also like my free road trip planning spreadsheet located on my plan a road trip page. Head over there first if you want to get access to it. Let’s get started!

Affiliate Disclosure: Thank you for supporting The Road Trip Expert. When you purchase through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Please see our advertising disclosure for more details.

Waze

waze app

Waze is a navigation app owned by Google which provides driving directions. I think it’s superior to Google Maps and AA route planner for several reasons.

I found it often suggests a shorter time to the destination and the estimated time is very accurate for a navigation app. It’s great for planning a road trip with multiple stops.

Key Features

  • Speed tracker which alerts you if you are speeding (very helpful abroad)
  • Alerts for incidents and new suggested routes. From experience, it seems better than google maps.
  • Alerts about speed and traffic cameras. This is very helpful when on unfamiliar roads.
  • Finds cheap fuel prices
  • A nice visual experience and easy-to-follow directions

Waze is free and is available on iOS and Android.

Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers app

The Roadtrippers trip planner has fantastic functionality that considers the route you are taking and allows you to search for things to do and places to stay along your route.

I like to use Waze for the actual navigation and Roadtrippers for finding things to do on the way. I think it’s great if you are traveling between two large cities. If you want to break it up with a stopover you can find attractions along the way!

In my experience, this is one of your options for finding things to do along your route.

Key Features

  • Plan and share itineraries with others
  • Browse free travel guides and save itineraries
  • Search millions of places along your route

The premium version of the app is available on iOS and Android for the price of $29.99/year while I’m updating this article.

iExit

iExit app

As any road tripper will know, frequent breaks are a must on long journeys. If you’ve read my guide on how to stay awake while driving, you’ll know I suggest lengthy high-quality breaks.

The iExit app helps locate the best places to stop by using your location on the highway.  If you are considering taking a break a passenger can look at what service stations are coming up so you can stop at the best one for you.

Key Features

  • Detailed summaries of the location of and facilities available at the next stops on your route
  • Access to Gas prices
  • Only works for major US highways

Here are the links if you want to download iExit on iOS or Android.

Citymapper

Citymapper app

Trying to navigate your way around a big city?

Citymapper is fantastic.

It has everything you need to manage your transit around those overwhelming cosmopolitan hubs. You can compare the route time for different transport options and it even estimates the calories you would burn by walking!

Key Features

  • Real-time departures, line status, and disruption alerts
  • Compare all your options including trains, buses, uber, scooters, cycles, and more.
  • Transport maps
  • Find the right train carriage and station exit.
  • Follow your progress and get real-time alerts.

Check out Citymapper on iOS or Android.

Google Maps

Google Maps app

When it comes to driving in the city, I’ve found Google Maps is a little more accurate than Waze. In terms of getting across town using public transport, Google Maps is also a viable alternative to Citymapper. If I’m walking to my destination, I also like to use Google Maps to navigate, as it has such an extensive set of locations I can enter.

Key Features

  • Very accurate mapping with way pointing
  • Downloadable offline maps
  • Location sharing
  • Ability to search for attractions in the area.

Google Maps is free on iOS and Android

Air BnB

Airbnb app

When on a road trip you have the flexibility to stay outside of the city and drive in to visit attractions. Air BnB is fantastic for finding cheaper accommodation outside of a city with free parking.

You can save a lot of money with this strategy and either drive or use public transport to get to the center of a city. You may also find yourself in some unique accommodations, I stayed on an orange farm outside of Seville recently!

Key Features

  • View a variety of accommodation types with local hosts
  • Great review system and referral scheme.
  • Message directly with the host.
  • Different travel experiences through interesting accommodation types and locations.
  • Good chance to get free parking

Get the Airbnb app on iOS or Android.

HostelWorld

Hostelworld app

If you are looking to stay in the center of a city but on a budget, Hostelworld is my favorite app for booking a bed in a shared dormitory. They have a great review feature and I’ve found the app to work perfectly.

From my experience hostel quality can vary significantly so my key advice is to read the reviews before booking. I also advise checking out one of the parking apps before booking to ensure there is a good-priced car park nearby. This is important for finding cheap parking and one of the best ways to save money on a road trip.

I have made the mistake before of booking a great value hostel only to find that I spent a lot on parking. You can also message the hostels and potentially get a recommendation on where to park.

Key Features

  • Great review system and a large number of options.
  • Transparent pricing and flexible booking options.
  • Create a profile for fast booking and payments.

Here are the links for iOS and Android Download.

Booking.com

Booking.com app

If you are looking for a private room instead of a budget option like a hostel, there are several apps you can use to search the market. I’ve used Booking.com several times with generally positive experience. My only reservation is ensuring you check all fees before booking in case there has been a cleaning fee added.

Here are the links for iOS and Android Download.

Hotels.com

Hotels.com app

Like booking.com you can use this app to search the hotel market. I always like to search multiple apps when I’m looking for a hotel or private room to ensure I get the best deal available at the time.

Key Features

  • Fast, easy, and convenient
  • Good rewards system

Here are the links for iOS and Android Download.

Trip Advisor

Tripadvisor app

When I am looking for a place to eat my go-to app is Trip Advisor. It’s got great functionality for finding and choosing a restaurant based on the type of cuisine and your budget. From my experience, it’s got the most extensive amount of customer reviews which is very important when it comes to selecting a dining experience! It also has a built-in navigation feature to get you there.

Key Features

  • Easy-to-use search and filtering system
  • Extensive reviews from other travelers.
  • Look at hotels, attractions, restaurants, holiday rentals, and flights.

Here are the links for iOS and Android Download.

Parking can be a significant cost over the duration. That’s why I often recommend staying or parking outside of the city center and then traveling in via public transport or just parking for the day and then returning out of the city to your accommodation.

Before I book accommodation, I always look at parking charges. Here are two apps you can use to compare prices and then navigate to the chosen spot!

Parkopedia

Parkopedia app

This app works great, and I have always found the prices to be accurate. You can put in many filters to search for the specific type of parking you want.

If you put in the dates and times you are visiting it will calculate prices based on the duration of your stay which is very helpful. You can also then open navigation in Waze and head straight there.

Key Features

  • Advanced filters and pricing are based on the duration of your stay.
  • Map view layout with pricing flags.
  • Photos of the car park entrance so you know what it looks like
  • Book spaces in-app.

You can download Parkopedia on iOS and Android.

Park Me Parking

Parkme parking app

This is another parking comparison database allowing you to search for parking based on your requirements.

As with Parkopedia, you can also book parking directly through the app which is helpful. Price comparison can really help you to save money over the duration of a long trip.

Key Features

  • Real-time updates on parking spaces
  • Book spaces in-app.

Check it out on iOS and Android.

Gas Buddy

Fuel costs can really add up over a long road trip. My key tips for saving money on gas during your road trip are to avoid filling up on motorways and always fill the tank if you find cheaply priced fuel.

If you are moving over borders like in Europe, you can find big differences in fuel prices. GasBuddy is an app allowing you to find the cheapest gas rates. For Europe, I used Waze as it has price-checking functionality too.

Key Features

  • Good rewards systems to save money on fuel
  • In-app payment feature.
  • For the USA

Get the app on iOS and Android prior to departing on your road trip.

Venmo

Venmo, owned by PayPal, is a great app for quick transfers of money between road trip companions.

When I have been on a road trip with friends it’s been helpful to be able to split bills or expenses quickly. We use Monzo, which is UK-based, but there are multiple different apps worldwide to choose from including Squares Cash App.

Key Features

  • Make payments, money transfers, and purchases
  • Link bank accounts and debit cards
  • Sync with Facebook and phone contacts
  • Request money and share payments with friends.

XE Currency Converter

XE app

This is an easy-to-use currency converter app. I like to have it installed so I can quickly convert foreign currency into my own when I am checking prices for something.

It’s a great tool when traveling. It is also very useful if you are considering changing currency at a store. You can check to see what percentage fee they are charging based on how much you are changing and what amount of local currency they are offering you in return.

Key Features

  • View a currency conversion into multiple currencies at once, a customizable list
  • Monitor the markets with charts and price alerts
  • Compare a conversion rate you received against the global mid-market rate. Great for checking the commission percentage at a currency exchange shop where you are exchanging into the local currency

Get the app free on iOS and Android.

Having road trip planner apps for packing can take the stress out of getting ready to hit the road. Here’s our favorite recommended app.

Packpoint

Packpoint app

This app is simply fantastic for creating a road trip packing list! The relatively boring job of packing can be made simple. You input where you are going, for how long, and what you plan to do. The app then generates a packing list based on those assumptions and the weather.

Key Features

  • Input your planned activities to generate an appropriate packing list.
  • Upgrade to customize the activity lists.
  • Tick items off as you pack them.

Download Packpoint on iOS and Android.

We’ve covered road trip entertainment extensively on this site. Feel free to explore and see the other articles we’ve written to ensure you never get bored on the road. From low-tech to mobile-based entertainment we’ve got you covered.

Spotify

A music app is an absolute must for any road trip. I like Spotify as the playlists are great (Check out the road trip ones) but you can, of course, choose one of their competitors such as apple music.

I also like to download podcasts and audiobooks to give alternatives to normal music listening.

Key Features

  • Ready-made playlists for every occasion
  • Download playlists for offline use
  • Huge selection of audio offerings
  • Free account available if you listen to ads

Download Spotify on iOS and Android.

Audible

If you are interested in listening to podcasts and audiobooks whilst on your road trip then click the link below for a free trial of Audible Plus.

Audible Plus Free Trial

Now It’s Your Turn

Which road trip planner apps will you download to help you on your next trip?

Or do you have any other road trip planner apps you like to use?

Either way, leave a comment below and let us know!

Disclosure: Some or all of the links in this article may be affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase, but this is at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Road Trip Expert.

Image of Iain The Founder Of The Road Trip Expert

Iain Salter

Founder & Editor of The Road Trip Expert

Iain founded The Road Trip Expert in 2019 and continues to manage the website to this day. The inspiration to start the blog came during an extensive road trip around Europe with two friends that spanned several months and involved over 25,000km of driving. He first developed a passion for backpacking in 2014 and has had the pleasure of exploring over 60 countries.

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