free travel apps for road trips

5 Free Travel Apps for Road Trips


Summer will soon be upon us and that means it’s time for a road trip! Where are you headed? I know we have a few trips planned and can’t wait to hit the open road! But first, we like to make sure we are prepared digitally with free travel apps.

free travel apps for road trips

Free Travel Apps

Prepped and ready with our Samsung Galaxy Note 4, we try to plan as much as possible digitally because we always have our phones handy.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 - Verizon Wireless

Keeping everything in one place simply makes sense… and keeps us organized. Therefore, one way we are able to maintain a system is through the use of travel apps. There are many available to serve various purposes on the open road, so we will simply take a look at our top 5 free travel apps:

Google Maps

Yes, this is native to your Android phone, but it is such a powerhouse when it comes to navigation. Fully integrated with Google, you can search for nearby restaurants, hotels, gas stations and more with ease through Google Maps. It can give you turn-by-turn directions and even alert you of upcoming traffic hazards and a street view of your destination. It’s on your phone already so why not use it!

Waze

I am not going to lie. Waze is one of my favorite apps. You can easily look at the various routes you are planning on taking and get a real understanding of the traffic flow. As a crowd-sourced traffic app, other drivers can alert you to accidents, weather conditions and hazards on the road. Plus, you can help other drivers by submitting any incidents you see along the way. Not to mention, Waze can also offer guided navigation based on reported traffic conditions.

HotelTonight

Sometimes jumping in the car and hitting the open road means you are just ready to drive and explore. If that is the case, don’t stress over a place to sleep. Download HotelTonight. It allows you to book hotels on a short notice, starting from tonight up to seven days in advance. Plus, they are able to offer great prices in “just 3 taps and a swipe.” They “believe in planning less and living more” and this on-the-go app definitely lets you do that with ease!

GasBuddy

One of the biggest expenses on your road trip (next to hotels) is typically gas. But, with GasBuddy, you can search for the best prices in your area when you need it. Or,the app can help you plan ahead based on station availability on your route. Oh, you can even have a chance at winning prizes simply by reporting gas prices as you see them and helping out other drivers.

Hyper Timelapse

If you’re on Android, you may have been looking for a great hyperlapse option. Hyper Timelapse makes it easy to create a time lapse of your captured videos. Per their instructions, “Just push record button to record the video, and then speed it up using customizable frame rate up to 8X as per your preference.” It is a fabulously fun way to capture the landscape as you travel and turn it into a video for sharing with family and friends. (For example, this is a hyperlapse video Colby made when we went to serve the homeless this past weekend).

Technology not only keeps us connected, but it is a great tool for traveling. Using the apps above, in addition to others you may enjoy, you just need to throw a bag in your car and start driving. You can find restaurants and attractions, book last-minute hotels, and map out routes once you are on the road.