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

By
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Elise Moreau
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Ontario
  • George Brown College
Elise Moreau is a writer that has covered social media, texting, messaging, and streaming for Lifewire. Her work has appeared on Techvibes, SlashGear, Lifehack and others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on January 19, 2024
Reviewed by
Christine Baker
Reviewed by Christine Baker
Christine Baker is a marketing consultant with experience working for a variety of clients. Her expertise includes social media, web development, and graphic design.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

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.

01
of 10

The Ultimate Map App for Planning Your Route: Roadtrippers

The Roadtrippers app for Android.
What We Like

  • Access to free and convenient travel guides.

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

What We Don't Like

  • 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:

02
of 10

Automate Your Trip Planning and Organization: Google Travel

The Google Trips app for Android.
What We Like

  • Automatic trip organization via Gmail integration. 

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

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

03
of 10

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

The Hotels.com app for Android.
What We Like

  • 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.

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

04
of 10

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

The OpenTable app for Android.
What We Like

  • Lots of great filter options and suggestions.

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

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

05
of 10
Waze mobile app

Waze
What We Like

  • Hands-free navigation with voice commands.

  • Alerts-only mode for road hazards and police.

  • Share up-to-date ETA with friends.

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

06
of 10

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

The i-Exit app for Android.
What We Like

  • 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.

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

07
of 10

Find the Cheapest Fuel Nearby: GasBuddy

The GasBuddy app for Android.
What We Like

  • 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.

What We Don't Like

  • 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:

08
of 10

Never Forget an Item: PackPoint Premium Packing List

The PackPoint app for Android.
What We Like

  • 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.

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

09
of 10

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

The ParkMe app for Android.
What We Like

  • 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.

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

10
of 10

Automate Your Itinerary: TripIt

TripIt mobile app
TripIt
What We Like

  • Automatically creates itineraries from your inbox.

  • Widget displays trip details on your home screen.

What We Don't Like

  • 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.

Download For:

FAQ
  • What tech do I need when I travel?

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

  • Does Google Maps have a road trip planner?

    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.

Was this page helpful?