5 Must-Have Traveling Apps For A Stress-Free Road Trip
There's nothing quite like hitting the open road in your RV or personal vehicle for a fun drive to a far destination. However, planning a road trip, whether you're looking to drive a hundred miles or across the country, can be a stressful experience. Luckily for you, though, having constant access to your phone gives you around-the-clock access to all types of traveling information, like weather along your route and which interstate exits have gas stations. You can even find local landmarks if you want to be a bit more spontaneous.
There are many traveling apps to help you navigate the trip planning process. However, there are a few specific ones that could come in handy both during the planning and the drive. Based on high ratings and personal experience, here are five must-have traveling apps to download to your phone for your next road trip. Each of these apps is available for IOS and Android devices. The methodology we used to select these apps will be explained in more detail at the bottom of the article.
iExit
It can be frustrating trying to zoom in on a GPS map to figure out where the next exit is or which gas stations have fast food attached to them. With a 4.8 out of five-star rating and a personal favorite, iExit solves that problem by giving you exit information. It does only work in the United States on limited-access highways, though—mainly interstates.
When you start the app, it uses your location services to figure out where you are and what direction you are moving, giving you a list of each exit coming up on your trek. For example, if you're on I-70 Eastbound in Kansas at mile marker 110, you'll get a list of every exit after marker 110 and what services that exit provides. You'll see gas stations with current prices, food options, lodging, shopping, and much more. Additionally, iExit will tell you if there are rest stops between those exits. Basically, if there's an option to legally get off the interstate, iExit will show it.
The Outbound
Maybe on your drive, you want to stop somewhere scenic for lunch or find the closest RV park to spend the night. You can find all of that in one app called The Outbound. It has a 4.7 out of five rating, with many raving reviews about several of the app's features. On the home tab, you can scroll down and find categorized selections from "Top Adventures Nearby" to "Best Waterfall Hikes." To see everything at once, the Explore tab has a map option. This is where you can filter everything and even find lodging from RV parks to Bed & Breakfasts.
It's an extremely diverse app for all types of travelers. If you're a hiker, you can find all types of trails and even view the elevation gains to see if it's the right hike for you. The app will also let you download the map of the hike for offline navigation. However, that does require you to pay for a subscription, which is $29.99 per year or $4.99 per month.
Coverage?
At home, you'd prefer to pick the best cell service for coverage in your area, but when you're traveling, you won't know if you'll have service on the road or at your destination. Using Coverage? will give you that information, so if you need to prepare for no service or bring a signal booster for a stronger signal, you can. For the United States, you'll have access to coverage for the top three carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. If needed, the app also has coverage for some Canadian carriers such as Bell, Rogers, and Telus.
The app comes with a 4.4 out of five stars and does have a one-time fee of $4.99. However, from personal use, we've learned the coverage is accurate. It's fairly straightforward to use. Simply toggle on the carrier you want to see coverage of, and at the bottom of the screen, click on one or all of the maps. You have the options of Roam, LTE, and 5G. After your selections, the map will show where the provider has service, and you can either click on the pin icon to search for a specific place or use the arrow for your exact location.
State Lines
Traveling long distances in the United States can tend to mean that you're going to cross state lines. When you do, though, there's a chance that the state laws have changed due to each state having its own regulations. The State Lines app is a one-stop traveler's guide to each state law and is incredibly easy to browse through, which is why it's received a 4.1 out of five rating. The app requires a one-time payment of $4.99, but the information is always updated to stay accurate with state law changes.
All you have to do to use the app is click on the state, and all the information is organized for you on separate pages. There's a shopping page that has information on different taxes and whether there is a single-use bag ban or not. There's also a convenient RVing page with all the rules that RV travelers need to follow for the state, like rest area overnight rules and the max towing speed. You'll also find some other pages with interesting information, like safety laws and specific bans.
Drive Weather
Unless it looks like clear skies for the whole drive, trying to figure out the weather before leaving for a road trip can be incredibly stressful, especially if you know a storm is going to appear at some point or wind speeds may pick up. However, Drive Weather does all the work for you. It has a 4.6 out of five rating from many impressed reviewers — one even calls it the best multi-state travel app ever.
All you have to do is input the directions of your trip into the app like you would a GPS, and it will highlight the route with little icons that indicate the weather in that area based on when you will be expected to drive through. It will show everything from rain and snow to fog and smoke and will update as the weather changes. Additionally, if you're towing and know you'll be driving slower, you can adjust the speed factor in the app to match yours.
The app is free to use and provides a two-day forecast. If you want a more detailed forecast, though, you can pay for the Pro version. It comes with a seven-day forecast, wind speed and direction indicator, and the ability to add stops to your route. The subscription prices are $17.99 per year or $5.99 per month.
How we chose these traveling apps
These apps were chosen based primarily on extensive personal experience. However, reviews from other users were also taken into consideration to make sure each app was considered a valuable asset for different types of travel. For example, some apps chosen provide more than one service, so you can get multiple uses out of it. Each app received at least a 4.1 out of five stars from users, and though some of them do require payment to use, depending on your travel needs and frequency, it may be worth it. We do recommend you do extra research on these apps before installing them on your phone and paying for a subscription.