This summer is the opportune time to go on a road trip with friends. If you are a college student, you are away from classes until August and have a couple of weeks to spare. With 20 percent of all Americans going on a road trip last year, you will most likely be in good company this year. While road trips can be fun and exciting, they aren’t for everyone and can be a bit nerve-racking for the antsy. But today, we will go over 10 must have road trip apps that will ensure that your next road trip is fun and goes smoothly.
Google Maps
Google Maps is a must for any individual with a car, feet, or a metro/bus ticket. The traffic, route changes, offline maps mode, and more makes Google Maps a great alternative to that of Apple Maps. Google Maps used to come with iPhones out of the box, however due to contract changes, Maps and YouTube are both only available by download. Thankfully, this wonderful map software is free from the App Store.
Yelp
Yelp is helpful for any individual either in a new city or wanting to find a new place to eat or enjoy themselves in their own city. While Yelp does excel with restaurant reviews and information, you can also use Yelp to find the nearest gas station, reviews on nearby pit stops, and more. With the Bookmarks feature, you can mark your favorite restaurants you enjoyed while on the road. Yelp is a must for finding new sights and eats on the road.
Hotel Tonight
Whether your drive is becoming too long for you to stay awake or you have a change of accommodation plans, there are times when we will need to find a hotel on short notice. This is the situation when you can find yourself landing some of the best deals. With Hotel Tonight, you can simply search the city and after 9:00AM, hotel deals for only that specific day are made public and ready for you to reserve. A lot of individuals can find deals of upwards of 40 percent off.
Gas Buddy
When you are on the road for a long period of time, you will find that you’ll need to get gas. That is just a given. However, what doesn’t have to be a given is paying out of your nose for it. With Gas Buddy, you can shop around for the best gas prices without having to waste more gas looking around in the process. You are able to mark the type of gas you use and sort the list based on distance, price, and more. Gas Buddy continually updates, ensuring you don’t experience sticker shock!
Roadtrippers
As the saying goes, sometimes the fun can be found in the journey rather than getting to the destination. Roadtrippers is the application that exemplifies this saying. Instead of helping you find sights to see and activities to do at your destination city, Roadtrippers outlines great places to go, eat, and rest while on the road. Places you mark to visit, on your route, are all viewable on the Roadtrippers website.
BestParking
When traveling to your vacation spot by car, you’ll also have to make use of this transportation while exploring the city as well. When in an unfamiliar city, one of the biggest plagues that hit drivers is the parking situation. Once you find a perfectly legal parking spot, you have to make sure it fits your car well without having to drive away with scratches and dints. This is all if you don’t have to pay out of the nose for that spot. BestParking is the app that works to alleve you of your parking woes.
TripIt Travel Planner
The TripIt Travel Planner is essential for any individual travelling by plane, car, or rail. The TripIt planner allows you to outline your day-to-day activities you’ll partake in once you arrive to your destination, from start to finish. The destinations you visit all come with directions and weather information. You can even keep friends and family updated with the sharing features found with the TripIt planner.
Uber
While you may find yourself driving to your destination, you may find that driving around the city can be a bit of an overkill after driving so many hours to get there. You may also find yourself enjoying a night of partying and don’t have a designated driver to get you to your hotel that night. This is where Uber comes in. Available in multiple large and mid-sized cities, Uber ensures you get from point A to point B at a lower cost than your cab (TAXI or UBERx). If you want to arrive in style, Black Car or SUV might be your transportation of choice. Uber brings the convenience of a personal driver to anyone.
Spotify
A silent car ride isn’t a good part of a road trip. Many times, the radio simply isn’t planning the tunes you want to enjoy. While you can utilize iTunes, others in the car might want to enjoy something new. This is where Spotify comes in. With Spotify, recommendations are given based on preferences. You are able to listen to favorites while also enjoying new songs that fit the style and genre you like. This prevents having to constantly skip songs when your eyes should be on the road.
iExit Interstate Guide
Interstate signs telling you the nearest restaurant or bathroom can be great, but they aren’t always 100 percent helpful. Say you are hungry and see a sign for an okay restaurant nearby. You get off the exit, eat, and get back on the road to only find that your favourite restaurant was only a couple of more exits ahead. iExit Interstate Guide prevents this from happening by giving you a full list of nearby restaurants, gas, ATMs for tolls, and pit stops. This gives you the power to choose ahead of time, ensuring your road trip runs smoothly.
If you are traveling by car this summer, these ten applications can make sure you are having the time of your life. Let us know in the comments below where you’re headed this summer and which application you feel will best get you there.
Featured photo credit: BBC via ichef.bbci.co.uk
