15 Apps for the Best Road Trip of Your Life

  • Looking for a navigation app that offers multiple routes, real-time traffic updates, notifications about speed traps, and the ability to compare gas prices? Well, here ya go. Waze is community-based, which means it’s updated by drivers just like you, getting real about what’s happening on the road. And it’s available for iPhone, Android, or Windows phones. It also won the 2013 Webby award for the “Best Connected Product.” But, it’s really about those speed-trap notifications. Thanks, other drivers!
    1/15

    Waze

    Looking for a navigation app that offers multiple routes, real-time traffic updates, notifications about speed traps, and the ability to compare gas prices? Well, here ya go. Waze is community-based, which means it’s updated by drivers just like you, getting real about what’s happening on the road. And it’s available for iPhone, Android, or Windows phones. It also won the 2013 Webby award for the “Best Connected Product.” But, it’s really about those speed-trap notifications. Thanks, other drivers!
  • This is the perfect guide for planning day trips in unfamiliar territory. Find parks, bars, shops, and landmarks along your route without worrying about detours and excessive aimless wandering. (Though, if you ask us, wandering on the aforementioned route sounds perfect).
    2/15

    Along The Way

    This is the perfect guide for planning day trips in unfamiliar territory. Find parks, bars, shops, and landmarks along your route without worrying about detours and excessive aimless wandering. (Though, if you ask us, wandering on the aforementioned route sounds perfect).
  • Hotel Tonight is an awesome, multi-platform app for when you’re in need of a last-minute place to crash. Book rooms at luxury or budget spots in minutes with access to 24/7 customer support. And, if you have an Android, you can Buy With Google to get $25 off your first booking. Never sleep in the backseat of your car again.
    3/15

    Hotel Tonight

    Hotel Tonight is an awesome, multi-platform app for when you’re in need of a last-minute place to crash. Book rooms at luxury or budget spots in minutes with access to 24/7 customer support. And, if you have an Android, you can Buy With Google to get $25 off your first booking. Never sleep in the backseat of your car again.
  • Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • While the Priceline app doesn’t offer reward incentives, it does offer access to more than 200,000 hotels and a “name your price” feature made famous on its website. Same-day reservations are a breeze, and the search filters incredibly specific.
    4/15

    Priceline

    While the Priceline app doesn’t offer reward incentives, it does offer access to more than 200,000 hotels and a “name your price” feature made famous on its website. Same-day reservations are a breeze, and the search filters incredibly specific.
  • Feeling limited by Pandora’s stations? Songza allows you to search for music based on genre, artist, mood, activity, or decade. The playlists are insanely specific — think “driving in the left lane” and “shopping at a vintage store” — so whether you’re on the road to reunite with an old flame, start a new life chapter, or kick off the vacation of a lifetime, your soundtrack will be right here.
    5/15

    Songza

    Feeling limited by Pandora’s stations? Songza allows you to search for music based on genre, artist, mood, activity, or decade. The playlists are insanely specific — think “driving in the left lane” and “shopping at a vintage store” — so whether you’re on the road to reunite with an old flame, start a new life chapter, or kick off the vacation of a lifetime, your soundtrack will be right here.
  • If you’re not into real, physical scrapbooks, then Animoto is your new favorite memory-maker. Turn your phone’s photo album into a high quality video — complete with music and effects — that you can shamelessly show off keep for years to come.
    6/15

    Animoto

    If you’re not into real, physical scrapbooks, then Animoto is your new favorite memory-maker. Turn your phone’s photo album into a high quality video — complete with music and effects — that you can shamelessly show off keep for years to come.
  • Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • Glympse is essentially the map equivalent of a status update, so it’s a bona-fide way to reassure your parents that you’re alive, well, and en route to your final destination. Touching base daily might be the difference between freedom and “you will go on NO SUCH TRIP.”
    7/15

    Glympse

    Glympse is essentially the map equivalent of a status update, so it’s a bona-fide way to reassure your parents that you’re alive, well, and en route to your final destination. Touching base daily might be the difference between freedom and “you will go on NO SUCH TRIP.”
  • GasBuddy is another community app where everyone has the same goal: Find the cheapest gas possible. Users update gas prices in real time, so that you can use your GPS to find the tankful that’s friendliest to your budget. And, for every gas price you report, you’ll earn points toward a prize giveaway. Cha-ching!
    8/15

    GasBuddy

    GasBuddy is another community app where everyone has the same goal: Find the cheapest gas possible. Users update gas prices in real time, so that you can use your GPS to find the tankful that’s friendliest to your budget. And, for every gas price you report, you’ll earn points toward a prize giveaway. Cha-ching!
  • Not a music person? (Who are you?) No problem. Audible offers more than 150,000 audiobooks on iPhones and Androids, so you can finally catch up on those New York Times bestsellers and beach reads that your friends have been raving about for month.
    9/15

    Audible

    Not a music person? (Who are you?) No problem. Audible offers more than 150,000 audiobooks on iPhones and Androids, so you can finally catch up on those New York Times bestsellers and beach reads that your friends have been raving about for month.
  • Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • While Road Trippers doesn’t offer lane instructions or real-time user updates, it does allow you to navigate your trip while accessing guides, maintaining a blog, and saving places you want to visit or have gone already. There’s also space for you to leave notes for future visitors, in case you find anything spectacular.
    10/15

    Road Trippers

    While Road Trippers doesn’t offer lane instructions or real-time user updates, it does allow you to navigate your trip while accessing guides, maintaining a blog, and saving places you want to visit or have gone already. There’s also space for you to leave notes for future visitors, in case you find anything spectacular.
  • Findery adds some personality to your list of must-see destinations. Read and leave traveler’s notes about local secrets, best eats, or particularly weird experiences in places around the world.
    11/15

    Findery

    Findery adds some personality to your list of must-see destinations. Read and leave traveler’s notes about local secrets, best eats, or particularly weird experiences in places around the world.
  • This is the ultimate bathroom app, with thousands of locations across the country so you can plan your pit stops with ease. “Sit” locations are cleaner, while “squats” leave something to be desired, but you gotta go when you gotta go, and the app is free for all smartphones.
    12/15

    SitOrSquat

    This is the ultimate bathroom app, with thousands of locations across the country so you can plan your pit stops with ease. “Sit” locations are cleaner, while “squats” leave something to be desired, but you gotta go when you gotta go, and the app is free for all smartphones.
  • Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

    Yahoo News is better in the app

    Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • Do you love the Food Network? Of course you do. This app will lead you to restaurants that have been featured on The Food Network’s most popular shows — think Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives; Man v. Food; No Reservations. You can search by show or location, get notifications when you’re close to a restaurant that’s been featured, and even plan a trip completely based on food (which sounds a lot like how we already plan our trips).
    13/15

    TVFoodMaps

    Do you love the Food Network? Of course you do. This app will lead you to restaurants that have been featured on The Food Network’s most popular shows — think Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives; Man v. Food; No Reservations. You can search by show or location, get notifications when you’re close to a restaurant that’s been featured, and even plan a trip completely based on food (which sounds a lot like how we already plan our trips).
  • An obvious choice, but not for the reasons you may think. In addition to its seemingly limitless music selection and “subscribe to playlist” feature for friends, Spotify’s offline streaming function means that endless access to thousands of albums and artists is available regardless of your location or data situation.
    14/15

    Spotify

    An obvious choice, but not for the reasons you may think. In addition to its seemingly limitless music selection and “subscribe to playlist” feature for friends, Spotify’s offline streaming function means that endless access to thousands of albums and artists is available regardless of your location or data situation.
  • An oldie, but a goodie. Google Maps is a navigation triple threat: It’s totally free, easy to use, and it offers turn-by-turn navigation for those panicked “WHICH LANE SHOULD I BE IN?!” moments. It also works for bike routes and public transportation when you feel like saving gas money and exploring unfamiliar cities and towns.
    15/15

    Google Maps

    An oldie, but a goodie. Google Maps is a navigation triple threat: It’s totally free, easy to use, and it offers turn-by-turn navigation for those panicked “WHICH LANE SHOULD I BE IN?!” moments. It also works for bike routes and public transportation when you feel like saving gas money and exploring unfamiliar cities and towns.
Looking for a navigation app that offers multiple routes, real-time traffic updates, notifications about speed traps, and the ability to compare gas prices? Well, here ya go. Waze is community-based, which means it’s updated by drivers just like you, getting real about what’s happening on the road. And it’s available for iPhone, Android, or Windows phones. It also won the 2013 Webby award for the “Best Connected Product.” But, it’s really about those speed-trap notifications. Thanks, other drivers!
This is the perfect guide for planning day trips in unfamiliar territory. Find parks, bars, shops, and landmarks along your route without worrying about detours and excessive aimless wandering. (Though, if you ask us, wandering on the aforementioned route sounds perfect).
Hotel Tonight is an awesome, multi-platform app for when you’re in need of a last-minute place to crash. Book rooms at luxury or budget spots in minutes with access to 24/7 customer support. And, if you have an Android, you can Buy With Google to get $25 off your first booking. Never sleep in the backseat of your car again.
While the Priceline app doesn’t offer reward incentives, it does offer access to more than 200,000 hotels and a “name your price” feature made famous on its website. Same-day reservations are a breeze, and the search filters incredibly specific.
Feeling limited by Pandora’s stations? Songza allows you to search for music based on genre, artist, mood, activity, or decade. The playlists are insanely specific — think “driving in the left lane” and “shopping at a vintage store” — so whether you’re on the road to reunite with an old flame, start a new life chapter, or kick off the vacation of a lifetime, your soundtrack will be right here.
If you’re not into real, physical scrapbooks, then Animoto is your new favorite memory-maker. Turn your phone’s photo album into a high quality video — complete with music and effects — that you can shamelessly show off keep for years to come.
Glympse is essentially the map equivalent of a status update, so it’s a bona-fide way to reassure your parents that you’re alive, well, and en route to your final destination. Touching base daily might be the difference between freedom and “you will go on NO SUCH TRIP.”
GasBuddy is another community app where everyone has the same goal: Find the cheapest gas possible. Users update gas prices in real time, so that you can use your GPS to find the tankful that’s friendliest to your budget. And, for every gas price you report, you’ll earn points toward a prize giveaway. Cha-ching!
Not a music person? (Who are you?) No problem. Audible offers more than 150,000 audiobooks on iPhones and Androids, so you can finally catch up on those New York Times bestsellers and beach reads that your friends have been raving about for month.
While Road Trippers doesn’t offer lane instructions or real-time user updates, it does allow you to navigate your trip while accessing guides, maintaining a blog, and saving places you want to visit or have gone already. There’s also space for you to leave notes for future visitors, in case you find anything spectacular.
Findery adds some personality to your list of must-see destinations. Read and leave traveler’s notes about local secrets, best eats, or particularly weird experiences in places around the world.
This is the ultimate bathroom app, with thousands of locations across the country so you can plan your pit stops with ease. “Sit” locations are cleaner, while “squats” leave something to be desired, but you gotta go when you gotta go, and the app is free for all smartphones.
Do you love the Food Network? Of course you do. This app will lead you to restaurants that have been featured on The Food Network’s most popular shows — think Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives; Man v. Food; No Reservations. You can search by show or location, get notifications when you’re close to a restaurant that’s been featured, and even plan a trip completely based on food (which sounds a lot like how we already plan our trips).
An obvious choice, but not for the reasons you may think. In addition to its seemingly limitless music selection and “subscribe to playlist” feature for friends, Spotify’s offline streaming function means that endless access to thousands of albums and artists is available regardless of your location or data situation.
An oldie, but a goodie. Google Maps is a navigation triple threat: It’s totally free, easy to use, and it offers turn-by-turn navigation for those panicked “WHICH LANE SHOULD I BE IN?!” moments. It also works for bike routes and public transportation when you feel like saving gas money and exploring unfamiliar cities and towns.

By Julie Bogen

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: We’re in the final throes of the pre-holiday travel season, and everyone is scrambling to squeeze in those last-minute adventures by hopping in the car. But, while we’re all about spontaneity, it doesn’t hurt to have some precautions in place before hitting the open road.

So, we found the 15 best apps to bring your travels into the digital age — from got-your-back navigation tools to the best bathroom-pit-stop finders. Ahead, everything you need for the seamless getaway you’ve always wanted.

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