road trip planner trippy

How to Use Trippy to Plan Your Road Trip

1. starting city and destination, 2. number of days from point a to point b and suggested stops, 3. pets or no pets, 4. rv or not rv.

• Tennessee Fairgrounds
• Nashville RV Resort
• Two Rivers Campgrounds
• KOA Campground Nashville

5. Places to stay

6. suggested restaurants, 7. things to do at the destination, 8. at a glance.

• Scenic Drives
• Road Trip Planner

Road Trip Planning Made Easy

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

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

Unlimited stops.

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

Smart Scheduling

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

Set Vehicle Type

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

Divide Trips Into Days

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

Route Preferences

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

Use Any Device

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

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

Manage Your Budget

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

Gas Calculator

See the estimated fuel cost for your vehicle type.

EV Charging

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

Export Options

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

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

Is This Really Free?

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

Why Do I Need An Account?

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

Do I Need to Download An App or Install Software?

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

More Resources

Documentation, myscenicdrives.com, how it works.

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• Mobile Apps

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

Download these before you hit the highway.

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

Carmen Martínez Torrón/Getty Images

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

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

Roadtrippers

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

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

Google Maps

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

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

Google Maps is free and available on iOS and Android .

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

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

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

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

Roadside America

Barry Winiker/Getty Images

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

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

iExit Interstate Exit Guide

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

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

HotelTonight

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

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

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

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

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

Patchareeporn Sakoolchai/Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 Awesome Road Trip Planners for Your Next Adventure

Getting ready for a road trip? Map out your perfect trip with one of these eight road trip planners for all seasons.

Some people enjoy just jumping in the car and going where the road takes them. But others like to plan their road trip ahead of time. See your route, get directions, and add unique or fun stops along the way.

If you are a planner getting ready for a road trip, long or short, these websites can help you map it all out perfectly.

1. Furkot Road Trip Planner

For a full-featured planning tool, Furkot Road Trip Planner is a terrific site. You can get started quickly by entering just small amount of details like your starting and ending points and whether or not it is a one-way trip.

You can optionally configure details such as start and end dates, how long you want your days to be, your method of travel, and lodging requirements. You will then see your route on the map and can add many items to your trip.

Add hotels, eating spots, or activities along the way. And, most locations conveniently link to booking and reservation sites.

The Furkot Trip Planner gives you full details including directions, distance, driving hours per day, and you can choose when you want to obtain fuel. Everything you add is plotted on the map, plus you can export your itinerary in several different formats or share it with others.

2. Roadtrippers

Another excellent planning site is Roadtrippers. Add your starting and ending points to begin and optionally include hotels, activities, and even offbeat attractions from the main page. You will then see the map of your route, where you can explore by adding more stops.

Each stop you add produces an additional layer. So, you can see the locations both on the map and the different layers to click on for further details.

Along with the common options like places to eat, stay, and have fun, you can include shopping, nightlife, and camping spots. Select the locations to get more details and see where to make your reservations.

Roadtrippers provides extra information along with its directions like the number of miles and handy fuel estimates if you enter your vehicle type. Create multiple trips, share them when planning a vacation with friends , and check out helpful trip guides.

You can also sync your trip with the mobile apps for Android and iOS .

3. MyScenicDrives

MyScenicDrives is an easy-to-use road trip planner with basic features in addition to its scenic drive offerings. Like the others, you begin with a start and an end point. If you have a specific stop you want to make along the way, you can enter it by name or address. This is handy if you know a certain place you want to visit.

If you are not quite sure where you want to stop and would like to explore options, just click a spot on the map along your route. This will open a small menu where you can select places of interest, hotels, campgrounds, and towns.

The map will update once you make your choice and pop open a sidebar with details of the locations in that category.

MyScenicDrives trip planner also includes a convenient to-do list. If you need to remember something specific for your trip, or a spot that is not necessarily a location to stop at, this is useful. Then, get your directions, optimize stops for time or distance, print, or share your trip.

You can export all the information to a GPS device or use the turn-by-turn directions even without a device.

4. MapQuest

You may only think about using MapQuest when you need directions. But it works very well as a road trip planner too! When you hit the site, try the Directions option rather than the Route Planner.

The Route Planner is helpful for optimizing your trip when you have more than a few stops, whereas the Directions option lets you add hotels, food, and shopping locations to your trip. Once you enter your starting and ending points, you will receive immediate details like distance, time, and estimated fuel cost. Then, just add stops by using the buttons at the top.

If you select hotels, you will not only see them plotted on the map, but room rates and if they are sold out. MapQuest can help you find cheap gas as well. The gas option also displays prices for each station, which is super convenient.

You can click the More button to see a list of locations like hospitals, ATM machines, pharmacies, and post offices on your route. Most options you pick will offer the address, additional details, and a link to the website.

When you finish, just save, share, or print your trip plan.

5. Rand McNally TripMaker

Another site known for its maps that offers a road trip planner is Rand McNally. Like MapQuest, when you enter your starting and ending points, you will immediately see miles, time, and an estimated fuel cost along with the directions.

If you have a specific stop to make, you can add it to the route by entering its address. If not, click on Things to Do from the left-hand menu and then mark places you want to stop.

Everything from rest areas to amusement parks to small-town gems are at your fingertips. If you see one you like, click it for more information or to add it to your trip plan. You can also choose the number of miles off your route you are willing to stop.

You can add notes if needed and rearrange your stops with a drag and drop action. When your trip plan is complete, you can send it directly to GPS if you own a Rand McNally unit. Or you can simply print or email it.

6. Wanderlog

Wanderlog is a trip planner that works great for planning road trips as well as vacations. Sign up on the site and click on Plan new trip to create your trip. Enter your destination and dates and select Start Planning .

Wanderlog lets you invite your friends to join your road trip and set the visibility as public. You can search for places to add to your road trip. Alternatively, it displays suggestions for places to visit near your destination.

Wanderlog also lets you create an itinerary, allowing you to plan each day of your trip. It has an option for adding notes, so you can create a to-do or packing list. Besides its website, you can try the Wanderlog mobile app.

Specific Travel Types

If your next road trip is specifically for camping, or you want to bring your family pet, then check out these sites. The sites below are tailored for these types of travel, and you might find them to be ideal for planning your trip.

7. Free Campsites

On the Free Campsites website, you can select Trip Planner from the top of the main page and you're on your way. Enter your start and end spots and you will see campsites plotted on the map.

You will also get driving directions, details on the campgrounds, and can add stops along your route.

8. GoPetFriendly

If you are traveling with Fluffy or Rover, plan your adventure with the GoPetFriendly's Road Trip Planner.

After entering your starting and ending points, add stops, plan breaks, and choose route options. The tool shows time and distance of your trip, besides allowing you to share and save your trips.

Carry These Special Road Trip Tools, Too

For extra help preparing for your road trip, these tools come in handy. From apps for solo travelers to eating recommendations to fuel stops, they might just be the little bonuses you need to pack for your adventure.

• Apps and Safety Tips -- DefensiveDriving.com Road Trip Planner
• Cool Places to Eat -- Roadfood
• Fuel Stops and a Cost Calculator -- GasBuddy and GasBuddy Trip Cost Calculator
• Food and Fuel Stops by Exit and Time -- Stop By Stop

Where Is Your Next Road Trip Taking You?

Whether you are traveling alone or taking your family along, road trips can be a ton of fun and less expensive than a plane ticket. You can check out neat locations along the way, see parts of your country you never have, and experience a different geographical culture.

And if you're not sure where you want to take a road trip, you can try travel apps that help you find interesting and unique tourist spots.

Trippy - Travel App 12+

Plan your road trips with ease, willington joseph lnu, designed for ipad.

• #149 in Travel
• 2.3 • 3 Ratings

Screenshots

Description.

Plan trips with ease! What is Trippy? Trippy is a travel planning app that can help make future trips more enjoyable. Just press the add button at the top right-hand corner of the screen to start planning your trip. Trippy is especially great for planning road trips because all the places are organized by city, so you can keep all the places in a city on the same list. How does it work? Trippy uses Yelp to get all of the place information. At this moment, the app requires an internet connection to access all the details of the places; However, in future updates, you will be able to access saved information offline. Is my data safe? Absolutely! All the information is stored on your iPhone or iPad. In the future, cloud storage will be implemented securely. Does it have a widget? Unfortunately, not yet, definitely in the future!

Version 1.7

Made map a 3D globe

Ratings and Reviews

Just a big globe.

None of the features previewed are available in any kind of menus-if it’s there I can’t find it-you can enter a trip with dates-not maps appear, no yelp reviews -just the globe-very disappointed-doesn’t matter if it has features if they’re not accessible

Developer Response ,

I’m sorry you had issues with navigating the app, there is a plus icon in the top right of the screen which you can use to add a city you’d like to travel. Once that is completed, you should see a pin on the globe on the city you created your trip on. You can tap on this pin to bring you to the next menue. Deeply apologize for the confusion

App Privacy

The developer, Willington Joseph LNU , 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 Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

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

Information

• App Support
• Privacy Policy

Family Sharing

Up to six family members can use this app with family sharing enabled., more by this developer.

Instant Trivia - Quiz Game

Quick Edit - Background Remove

UCSC Facilities

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The 10 Best Road Trip Planner Apps for 2024

Save time, money, and energy with these apps so you can focus on the fun instead

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• George Brown College
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We love road trips! Planning them can be fun but, let's be honest, also stressful. The right road trip planner apps can take some of that stress away by helping you plan, organize, and manage travel before and during your trip. We've researched and tested these apps to help give you peace of mind so that you can spend more time enjoying your trip.

The Ultimate Map App for Planning Your Route: Roadtrippers

Access to free and convenient travel guides.

Share-ability so friends can join in on the planning process and suggest places to visit.

The app can use up the battery life of your device quickly. Take a car USB charger with you.

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

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

Download For:

Automate Your Trip Planning and Organization: Google Travel

Automatic trip organization via Gmail integration. 

Offline access so you can see your trip information even when you don't have an internet connection.

Limitations with customizing some day trips exactly the way you want.

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

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

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

A fast, easy-to-use booking feature.

For every 10 nights you book through Hotels.com, you get one night free, provided it's the average daily rate of those 10 nights.

No option to easily cancel if you change your mind.

Whether your road trip itinerary changed, or you haven't decided on a place to stay yet, Hotels.com can help you find a place and book it when you're on the go, even when it's super last-minute. You can sort and filter hotels, see the amenities they have to offer, compare prices, and catch a glimpse of how many rooms are available.

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

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

Lots of great filter options and suggestions.

Access to gorgeous, high-quality images of menu items and informative reviews from other users.

Reported problems and inconveniences with their built-in reward system.

Searching for specific restaurants is more difficult than simply looking at what's around in the area.

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

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

Navigate Like a Local: Waze

Hands-free navigation with voice commands.

Alerts-only mode for road hazards and police.

Share up-to-date ETA with friends.

Spotify and Apple Music widgets get in the way.

Cluttered maps can be confusing.

Higher battery usage than Google Maps.

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

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

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

Access to detailed summaries of what's at the next exit (including gas prices at nearby gas stations).

Search for the next 100 exits from your location.

The app can only be used on major U.S. exit-based highways.

No offline access, so you'll use your data plan while you're on the road.

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

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

Find the Cheapest Fuel Nearby: GasBuddy

An in-app gas payment feature.

Opportunity to save 10 cents per gallon on your first fill-up and five cents per gallon on every fill-up after.

The app can take up a lot of data and battery life as it runs in the background.

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

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

Download For :

Never Forget an Item: PackPoint Premium Packing List

Access to a built-in library of items to pack with the ability to add or remove items as needed. 

An elegant, intuitive app interface.

Can't input multiple destinations for a single trip.

Not a free app.

PackPoint helps you make sure you have everything you need based on where you're going and what you're doing. In addition, the app takes into consideration the length of your trip and the expected weather conditions. Perhaps best of all, this app turns a mundane chore into something that's actually quite fun.

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

ParkMe is the only app that also includes street parking and parking meter rates where available, in addition to parking lots.

Real-time updates on available parking spots.

Rates and hours may be inaccurate in some areas.

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

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

Automate Your Itinerary: TripIt

Automatically creates itineraries from your inbox.

Widget displays trip details on your home screen.

Annoying amount of alerts by default.

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

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

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

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

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The BEST travel planner apps summarized (2021)

August 18, 2020 6 min read

If your trip planning process still consists of opening up a million tabs on your browser and documenting everything in Google Sheets or Google Docs – there’s an easier way!

Yes, there are tons of travel planner apps for planning your trips and building itineraries out there, but there are almost as many different types of travelers. We recognize that different apps work better for different planning styles. To help you navigate this crush of apps, we went out and tested all of the top-rated iOS and Android trip planning apps that help you build itineraries and discovered which ones work best for each type of traveler.

We did the work so you don’t have to!

Our approach to finding the best trip planners for each type of traveler included:

• Looking at the top 30 apps that show up for “trip planner” in both the iOS and Android app stores
• Downloading the ones that appeared to have an itinerary builder feature and a user rating of over 4 stars (i.e., removed niche apps focused on flights, lodging, etc.)
• Testing out each app by creating our own itineraries
• Documenting strengths & weaknesses of each app and grouped ones most similar to each other
• Verifying our findings with app store reviews from other users

Whether you’re looking for trip inspiration for your next vacation with friends, or you’ve planned your next family vacation and just need somewhere to store your reservations – find the trip planning app for you below!

Summary of our favorite travel apps if you…

• …love ideating and collaborating on plans : Wanderlog (over Funliday, Tripn, Pebblar, Mapify, TripHugger)
• …rely on reviews and research : Tripadvisor (over TripScout, Culture Trip, Guides by Lonely Planet)
• …just want to a no-frills place to organize details : TripIt (over Tripsy, CheckMyTrip)
• …need road trip-specific recommendations : Roadtrippers (over inRoute, Road Trip Planner, Fotospot)

For the dreamer and collaborative planner: Wanderlog

Who would we be if we didn’t believe in our own app? Wanderlog is the best place to build, organize, and map your itinerary with friends and family. 

• Don’t know where to start? Sort through hundreds of guides from the web or curated by other Wanderlog users and add places you like to your plan. Also share your plan with friends to collaborate!
• Still in the brainstorm phase? Create different categories (e.g., restaurants, museums) and as you add places, the app pulls up key context info like photos, a brief description, and ratings (from Tripadvisor, Yelp, Google, and more).
• Ready to plan by day? Organize ideas into itineraries, complete with scheduled activities and estimated transportation time between places. 
• Ready to travel? Export your places to Google Maps and get going!

You can see the map along with your plans on both the website and the app, so you can easily reorganize places to minimize travel time and maximize fun! Sections are color coded so you can quickly see which places are tied to which sections on the map. Best part is that it syncs in real-time making it easy to collaborate with others… and unlike Roadtrippers and TripIt (mentioned later), it’s completely free!

If you’re looking for a pre-made template to fill in, this may not be the app for you. Instead, it is an incredibly flexible and comprehensive planner. You can make itineraries down to the hour, or just use it as a long list of places to visit, making it great for international excursions and domestic road trips. Get creative and start planning!

We chose Wanderlog over:

• Funliday – can ‘discover’ places and collaborate with others on itineraries, but it only provides guides written by Funliday or other users and the search feature was slow 
• Pebblar – it also uses a map for planning, but it costs $10 per itinerary or $10 / month for unlimited itineraries
• Tripn – a simple easy-to-use itinerary builder that views everything on a map (Apple Maps), but lacks: guides for inspiration, routing capabilities, collaboration abilities, and ability to use on Android or desktop (iOS only)
• Mapify – while it also helps with discovering attractions and making an itinerary, you can’t see your itinerary on a map to see how it all ties together.
• TripHugger – more geared like a social network; great for group trip planning, including a chat feature, but you can’t use it to navigate or export your places and it’s not available on desktop

For the planner who lives off reviews: Tripadvisor

There’s no doubt that Tripadvisor is one of the top sources for reading travelers’ reviews. But, did you know that you can also use it to plan trips? As you go through different guides and lists, you can save places and tag them to a specific trip. When you’re ready to organize your activities, you can sort all the saved places into different days. You can even book activities directly from the platform. One of the most convenient features is that you can save items offline, so you can reference them regardless of your internet connection abroad. 

While Tripadvisor is great for ideas and saving favorite places, its map is tougher to use. For instance, you can see all the places saved on a map, but you can’t distinguish which places are tied to which days – everything is displayed at once. You also can’t use it to navigate from one place to another – there’s no map routing or ability to export places to other mapping apps.

We chose Tripadvisor over:

• TripScout – while it has interesting and curated content, its planning capabilities are narrow (e.g., if you want to plan by day, you have to specify dates) and the app is only available on iOS (no desktop access & sorry Android users!)
• Culture Trip – another great resource for guides and booking experiences (e.g., tours, etc.), but while you can bookmark restaurants or things to do, you can’t build an itinerary or reorder activities at all
• Guides by Lonely Planet – excellent resource for curated guides all around the world with handy features like visualizing everything on a map and accessing info offline, but access will cost you $5 / month or $40 / year, and you are still limited to just bookmarking places instead of building out full itineraries

For the no frills planner: TripIt

Chances are, if you’ve googled ‘trip planner,’ you’ve come across TripIt. It’s a no frills trip planner that organizes flights, car details, and reservations. You’ll need to have a good idea of what you want to do before using the app. If you’re looking for inspiration and a fun user experience, this is the wrong place. It doesn’t look up places or pull up information for you. But if you know where you want to be and when, you can organize all of your logistics in one place.

If you need to stay up-to-date on any travel changes, there’s also TripIt Pro for ~$50 / year, which gives you alerts and notifications during your travels, which is especially helpful for air travel.

Note: Recently, the website performance has been slow and the app has been crashing. However, TripIt does have tens of millions of users for a reason, so even with the recent bugs, which will hopefully be fixed soon, we had to include it in this list! Wanderlog (mentioned above) also lets you store your hotel and flight reservations, so if you’re not looking to use some of TripIt’s more advanced features, it could save you juggling an extra app.

We chose TripIt over:

• Tripsy – although we like this UI better and it’s easier to pull up places, it still doesn’t display any context info and it’s only available on iOS (no desktop access & sorry Android users!); has lots of potential though!
• CheckMyTrip – while still very useful for organizing activities and getting flight alerts, there’s no accompanying map view, making it difficult to visualize and navigate on your trip

For the road trip planner who needs breaks: Roadtrippers

Road trips are on the rise, especially in the United States, as we figure out how to safely navigate these COVID times. If you have to get somewhere and anticipate a long trip ahead, Roadtrippers will help you route and find relevant points of interest along the way. 

It’s easy to use – type in where you’re coming from and going, and indicate what you’re looking for in between (attractions, gas, food, etc.). Roadtrippers will recommend different places that fit your bill and you can add stops along the way. The catch? If you want to add more than 5 stops in between, you’ll have to pay $30 / year. If you’re heavy into saving places, you may want to still stick to Google Maps or Wanderlog (mentioned above).

Don’t need to go anywhere but looking for a fun weekend drive? You can also use Roadtrippers to look at guides and ideas for nearby road trip routes.

We chose Roadtrippers over:

• inRoute Route Planner – more complicated user interface and no desktop version; has features that are best for drivers in non-traditional vehicles (e.g., motorcycles), like weather alerts and elevation info; also $30 / year to create routes with more than 5 waypoints in between a route
• Road Trip Planner & Road Trip Planner Viewer – while the functionality seems to be there, it has 2 different apps (need to pay $4.99 for Road Trip Planner and then can view plans on the Viewer); it’s only available on iOS and mapping is solely based on Apple Maps (not Google Maps)
• Fotospot Road Trip – great for finding cool photo-worthy spots nearby or along your route, but doesn’t have any itinerary building capabilities

What else didn’t make the list

• Rome2rio : Great for providing transportation options between places and activity recommendations, but doesn’t have features to build and save an itinerary
• Trip Plans : You can’t use this to build your own plans – it’s just an app to view plans created by your travel agent
• Welcome – AI itineraries : We love the idea of automating suggested itineraries for those who don’t want to plan, but we tested it out for a few cities we were familiar with and didn’t agree with the itineraries provided – maybe it just needs some more time to finetune its recommendations!

Think an app deserves to be on this list? Email me at [email protected] .

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Ultimate Road Trip Planner Guide: How to Plan a Road Trip

Are you planning to take road trip? Road trip planning is a fun process but can be tedious too, especially with international road trips. Having taken multiple road trips in various countries & continents over the last five years, I have gradually become comfortable in quickly making road trip plans including booking rental cars and planning cross-country journeys from airport to airport. I am sharing some of my top tips for how to plan a road trip, which I hope will inspire you and set you off for planning some dream road trips. Here is my ultimate road trip planner guide with printable checklists. Let us ace this “Art of Road Trip Planning” , hit the road and continue exploring!

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there

The Art of Road Trip Planning

Road trip planner guide, 1. pick a road trip travel group, 2. pick a road trip destination & duration, 3. agree on budget, 4. identify top stops with high level route- (research), 5. plan a route using google maps, 6. book a rental car, 7. book accommodation, 8. car safety, 9. road trip entertainment, 10. navigation gear & apps, 12. road trip packing, 13. road trip food, 14. connectivity, 15. travel finance, how to plan a road trip without a full plan, road trip guide: a few more tips, road trip planner: final thoughts, pin this road trip planner for your adventures.

Planning a road trip takes a lot more effort than the usual travel planning especially if you are travelling internationally. It requires careful planning around whom to travel with, budget limits, where to stay and all the attention to drive and handle the car . If you are going for a city break, you can pretty much get away with a list of top landmarks, booking a hotel in the city and even taking organized tours. This might not work for road trip planning when you also need to plan the best scenic routes, and drive that extra mile in unknown or less travelled roads. Hence, the first thing you need for a road trip planning is the inspiration and the wanderlust to fuel your heart to take the extra effort and get planning.

Road Trips and Me: My first international road trip was in 2015, mostly planned by a friend, which got me addicted to exploring the most scenic and remote areas. Years later, I am more than happy to call the road my home during vacations these days – I just love being on the road . This has also prepared me to plan a road trip very quickly – I am happily planning road trips during in my free time these days. I have a bucket list of road trips that I wish to cover around the world, and that is my biggest personal passion project to keep me going in the world.

This is my ultimate road trip planner guide to help you get started and prepare for your own road trips. This is a step by step guide that I will continue to improve as I take more journeys. I recommend approaching all the road trip planning in two main phases below.

• Road Trip Planner Phase 1: The first phase is to decide the destination or country you want to explore, find a group to travel with and booking a car, accommodation etc. This step involves lots of researching and it is the most trickiest.
• Road Trip Planner Phase 2: Second phase is to plan and prepare for the journey itself. This step involves practical steps during the trip.

I will first go through detailed items for each phases and in the end, I will also cover some top tricks to keep in mind for road trips in general.

How to Plan a Road Trip: Phase – 1

Your road trip planning starts with finding a group of friends to go on the road with. You might have to consider the fact that you need to be with folks who are like-minded with similar interests as well as who can match your budget and lifestyle to a good extent as you have to stick with them for multiple days. What I have personally noticed is that unlike an easy city break, road trips usually need adventure minded folks who are willing to compromise schedules, love spontaneity and can be patient and deal with uncertainties.

READ: 3 Days Road Trip in Tromso in Winter

I personally don’t like planning too much and want to have flexibility, so much so I have even cancelled pre-paid accommodations to extend a day in a place I fell in love with during the journey. Some others like to stick to a schedule. So picking the right folks or at least agreeing to the style is a must for your road trip planning. Again, it is hard to find matches for all angles, but make sure you are at least with folks who are happy to adjust with what happens on the road, are flexible and have some adventurous or risk taking spirit.

The destination and major routes to cover can be picked based on seasonal experiences like crossing some of the fun outdoor activities in winter , epic landscapes and scenic drives , crossing a bucket list activity item or even finding some cheap flights. I usually have a country, national park or scenic route in mind and start to check when are cheapest flights to places nearby and plan routes around the airports. You also need to pick a destination that your friend group would love to go to.

READ: Winter Bucket List for Travellers

I usually share some of the trips I have in mind with my friends or note a destination or experience they mentioned they would like to do and consult them as I start planning. Having friends like that helps, but these days there are also many travel communities where you can find travel buddies.

It is important to understand the budget limits of everyone first hand to make sure that everything you book- car, accommodation etc. fits the budget of all. Note that main expenses include calculating accommodation cost and food per day, total miles to be driven and gas costs, car insurance costs, finding tolls along the route, national park entrance costs at the minimum. Once you have a rough idea of the budget needed in the place, you can try to negotiate amongst the group for where to cut costs.

READ: Dog Sledding in Tromso, Norway

I usually plan the road trips for my friend groups, so this is what I generally do – I research the costs for these top things on an average in the destination and then consult the group before finalization.

Top Ti p: Divide the top stops/cities identified into two categories- must-sees/dos and optional ones. This will help manage expectations of all.

READ: 2 Weeks Scotland Road Trip Itinerary

Must-Sees: Must-sees or dos by your fellow travellers is non-negotiable and has to be covered. You have to hit this list 100% to make sure you are all happy with this trip and return back as friends 😉 I am exaggerating, but note that for many of us we get limited holidays in the year and we do want to get the most out of a costly holiday, and don’t want to have regrets.

Now that you know all the top stops you would like to cover, use google maps to plan the route. Use the directions panel, add stops and examine the route the app suggests. Then comes the most important thing to do to make your trip worthwhile, for each route suggested, look for detours from the highways that can be done by adding a little more time, but goes along scenic landscapes- lakes, water, beaches, forest, you name it.

READ: Best Scenic Drives in the UK

As a landscape and nature lover, I normally study water bodies and green areas on the map and google a bit about villages and towns you see in the detours. You can do the same for pretty much anything like art galleries, restaurants, parks etc. For example, I learned about the Lochs in Scotland this way, otherwise I would have no idea. This map research will help find the less travelled but most scenic routes to take, which has always worked for me and brings lot of exciting destinations and adventures to the ultimate road trip itinerary.

Top Tip: Always try to take the scenic route when you can, only take highways when your goal is to quickly reach the next destination. Again, research about the road conditions and safety a bit too. I am leaving the common sense part as an exercise for the reader 😉

Once you have a rough plan of the route and know the time needed to cover your itinerary, it is time to find a car. Booking a rental car is an expensive ordeal, which definitely needs similar research as booking a flight.

Some things to note when booking a rental car are:

• With some extra money you can usually pick up and drop your car in different destinations. I normally do this unless I can plan an itinerary round trip taking loop routes. This is quite handy to cover as far as I could from where we started and not repeat the same route. Balance the budget and see what is best for you.
• Find good car insurance deals, and check with the companies directly if they have a deal they offer. I usually don’t go for a single approach as which deal or company is the best varies per location and circumstances.

Finding accommodations on a road trip can be tricky especially if you are traveling remotely. Note that some travel booking sites are popular in certain regions for accommodations and one size fits for all does not work for every country either. Some places are very safe and some are not, doing some proper research on places to stay is a must before you rely on same travel booking website. In developed countries, I usually try to stay with locals and explore more and in under-developed or not-so-tourist friendly places, I recommend sticking to popular hotel or accommodation provider chains. Researching the destination is a must to avoid complications.

READ: Fall Foliage Road Trip in Vermont

How to Plan a Road Trip: Phase – 2

Safety on the road should be the first priority for road tripping. Remember to learn the driving rules of your destination and even watch some YouTube videos, before your departure. Make sure that you always have plenty of fuel/gas during the drive, avoiding filling up gas at the last minute, just in case the fuel station you were banking on is closed for some reason. Another important thing is to check the route conditions when you drive and making sure your tires are ready for it, especially in extreme climate like heavy winter. You should also be aware of what to check in the car before and after the road trip .

Another thing to note is to check the emergency contact numbers along the route and keep them written in a book as well as in your phone and make sure you know how to contact highway assistance in the region you are going to be traveling, if you’re renting a car this may or may not be included. Carrying at least an extra tire or a breakdown kit is a must and the relevant car repair tools if possible.

READ: How to Check Your Car Before and After a Road Trip

A big portion of road trip includes the time spent in the car, which can also be made super fun to create memories. Listening to your favourite music or podcast can cheer up the road trip vibe, including singing along with friends. There are also multiple games that can be played in the car. Make sure that you have sorted out a playlist for your trip, and even consult your group to mix everyone’s choices if possible.

Nowadays, playlists are mostly in smart phones, but make sure you carry the songs downloaded to reduce the usage of the data or to not be dependent on internet availability. Also make sure to carry the relevant cables and electronics needed to connect the phone to any car, especially if you are not sure which car will you get from the rental. Summary is, make sure you can play music and have entertainment options within the car. Driving can become monotonous and boring as every route you take wont be scenic either 😉

Navigation is an important item for a road trip and it is must preparation for road trip planning. Make sure that you have a navigation device with you if possible, and don’t totally rely on a single smart phone just in case your phone was lost or the battery died. I usually carry an extra phone with me which I leave in the car. Even if you are using phone, remember to download the maps offline to not be dependent on internet availability. Also carry, printed maps of the place if possible and even buy guide books if you are travelling in remote areas.

Some of the top smart phone applications include:

• Google Maps
• Waze  – This application can be relied more for up to-date traffic enforcement and speed limit alerts.
• Citymapper   – Best to route within a city
• iExit  – Find the best rest-stops on your route
• Viamichelin  – Includes toll prices in a route, helpful to be aware of cost along a route
• Outdoorsy – Motorhome rental app (US).
• DYRT – Find camping sites (US)
• Parking apps (RingGo, PayByPhone, Parkopedia) (UK) – Attempt to make finding and paying for parking easier.
• Toilet apps (Toilet Finder, Where is Public Toilet) (UK) – When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go.

Documents: Driving license, passport, visa and other relevant documents.

Navigation: All items like navigation gear, maps, and guide books as mentioned above.

Itinerary: Printed list of itinerary and bookings.

Road Safety: Essential car repair tools, emergency kit and first aid kits.

Money: Carry some local currency.

Personal items: Clothes and comfort items for the car, especially if you have a back pain etc.

Electronics Gear: Carry all the photography gear including cables and other car accessories.

Food: Carry water, snacks and even a cooler for storing food.

Carrying some food with you is important during a road trip, especially when travelling to remote areas. You can’t always rely on restaurants and supermarkets being present along your route. Hit a super market whenever you find one and carry some snacks, fruits and easy to eat meals in emergency along with you. Remember to hydrate yourself regularly while being on the road, and keep multiple water bottles with you. One of my favourite food hacks for road trips is to carry Huel with me when I travel and with their latest hot and savoury line, it is also worth carrying a flask and boiled water as it can be made in 2 minutes which makes a perfect ready to eat meal. Energy bars, chocolates, crisps and juices are all good options to enjoy that long drive. I find it hard to reserve restaurants during a road trip due to the time commitment issues, but it is always good to note some restaurant options along the way. I usually check which are the main towns that have restaurant options and align the meal time to one of those to make sure there are options. Carrying breakfast items usually help to avoid time spent in the morning. Cooking is an option if you have such facilitates in your accommodation, all you need is a supermarket and there won’t be schedule issues. I try to have a balance of options during the trip- some days cooking, some days restaurants etc.

The world revolves around the internet nowadays and having cellular connectivity is important not just for data but also to communicate during emergencies. It is important to check whether your phone connection works in the country you are visiting and what limitations exist in terms of international calls etc. In the UK, I use Three mobile network which provides roaming free in 72 countries and is a life saver. There are other providers who will also provide good deals for roaming. Just make sure you have checked this before you leave, especially heading internationally.

Travel banking is tricky sometimes depending on where you are visiting. Travel credit cards are plenty available and Visa/Master card should work internationally. But the major headache is in identifying the best options for saving a huge amount of currency exchange fee etc. Based in the UK, I use Starling bank which also allows currency conversion with very minimal exchange charges. WISE is a popular option these days and they also provide Master cards. I’ve never used travel specific cards, but there are plenty credit card options especially in America for good travel deals and points.

• Leave Some Free Days : As road trips lead to many spontaneous and unexpected experience encounters, it is hard to really follow a schedule. I have sometimes returned without covering 25% of my planned itinerary, especially on a long road trip across countries. The trick is to add some free days and even to delay booking accommodations in some places to buy you the ability to be more flexible. Not only that, a break between long drives is good to re-energize if it is a multi-week road trip.
• Ask Locals : Do say hello to the locals whenever possible, and ask their recommendations. I usually do this in souvenir shops where I spend quite a lot of time. I adore such local craft shops and bring back lot of goodies to decorate my home.
• Hidden Gems for Photography: In a souvenir shop, I usually take a good look at the post cards on sale. I do collect post cards, but the display is the best route to finding epic photo opportunities and scenic places in the destinations. I have found a few places and clicked some top shots in a destination using this technique. As always I wish I had more time 😉
• Get on the road early and stick to daylight hours : If the route is scenic, do make sure you see them in the daylight. Getting on the road early is a myth in my case as I can’t open my eyes before 9, but you know don’t learn that from me. I have missed many epic routes being late on my trip. For early birds, you will rock it!
• Exercise or rest breaks : Take regular rest breaks to walk a bit or stretch to avoid long drive fatigue.
• Let your bank know you are travelling : Some banks block your card with suspicious activity if they suddenly see money being spent from an unusual location. Best way to prevent this hassle is to call your bank and let them know where you are going.

Travel planning is an art, you can create your own itinerary that matches your interests and set out on a journey to interesting places that await epic experiences and discoveries. There is a lot to explore out there and by taking road trips you increase the chances of unique and special views of the world very often. Go Road Trip! Though a tedious process to plan, road trips are usually worth it and hope this road trip planner helps you get started.

Enjoy Your Next Road Trip!

Jumana is a travel writer and technologist living in the United Kingdom, born and brought up in India. While she is busy with her full time job as a computer technologist, she is an active explorer during her spare time. She has been exploring states of India since she was 15 and then around the world since she moved to the west in her 20s. Her favourite travel style is “On the Road” and she has perfected the art of road trip planning, covering multiple famous and undiscovered routes around Europe, UK and USA. She is on a mission to road trip the planet and learn more about the cultures around the world.

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