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You'll never travel without our trip planner again

Travel planning at its best. build, organize, and map your custom itineraries in a free travel app designed for vacations & road trips, powered by our trip planner ai.

Your itinerary and your map in one view

No more switching between different apps, tabs, and tools to keep track of your travel plans.

What travelers are raving about

Features to replace all your other tools, add places from guides with 1 click, collaborate with friends in real time, import flight and hotel reservations, expense tracking and splitting, checklists for anything, get personalized suggestions, plan like a pro.

Unlock premium features like offline access, unlimited attachments, flight deals, export to Google maps, and much more

Offline access

Unlimited attachments, optimize your route.

4.9 on App Store, 4.7 on Google Play

Discover your next favorite destination

Have tips of your own? Write a guide to share with other travelers like you!

Ready to plan your trip in half the time?

For every kind of trip and every destination, the best road trip planner, the best vacation planner, the best group itinerary planner.

• Trip Planner

Trip Planner | Travel Itinerary Planner | Plan a Trip

Are you looking for an itinerary planner to plan your next trip? We know creating a customized travel itinerary manually is an overwhelming task. You have to put a lot of time into selecting destinations, booking hotels, flights, and comparing prices. On top of that calculating budgets & booking hotels and flights is another challenge that makes itinerary planning tough.

But what if all of this is done within a few minutes for you? Yes with TripHobo trip planner you can do this smartly. We have observed that many travelers end up spending more time in researching information than enjoying the actual trip. Not only first-time travelers but also experienced travelers struggle in creating perfect travel plans.

Even though it is a tedious task to create a customized itinerary, everyone agrees on the importance of itinerary for an enjoyable holiday. So Triphobo came up with this easy to use automatic itinerary planner.

How Trip Planner Works / Steps to Plan a Trip

Do you want to create your travel itinerary quickly & easily? Are you ready to use this tool now? TripHobo's trip planner plays a major role to ease the itinerary creation process and helps you overcome the pain in the trip planning .  Follow these 4 simple steps to plan a trip & let us know your experience.

1) Choose Your Destination & Dates when you want to travel

Visual algorithmic trip planner lets you choose destinations you want to travel to. You have the freedom to choose the real dates from the calendar. After selecting travel dates, planner runs algorithms to optimize a trip. It starts suggesting activities, sightseeing spots, tours and transport options with the details. For every attraction, it suggests open/close timings, time to spend, and nearby restaurants.

You can drag & drop activities and complete your itinerary within a matter of minutes. You can book yourself a nice vacation once you are sure of all the details, making you plan your trip very easily.

2) Refer to User Created Itineraries

If you have a lot of travel ideas but confused about where to start? Don't worry. Thousands of other people have visited the same destination before and created itineraries with us. Choose from a pool of more than 1 million user-generated itineraries around the globe. You can view other travelers’ itineraries for any location and duration to inspire yourself and then customize them to suit your own preferences.

3) Book Hotels and Flights

TripHobo always tries to offer the best from the travel industry to our valued planners. It has formed alliances with Expedia , Skyscanner, Zomato and Booking.com. Its ratings and reviews come courtesy of TripAdvisor whereas Google (as well as other partners) powers its location data.

TripHobo aims to cater to travelers at every stage of the travel planning process. It provides one platform to create personalized itineraries and hassle-free bookings .

4) Get Ready with a Perfect Itinerary

Once you’ve created your customized itinerary, you can print it. Save your plan for future reference or share it with your friends. When you’re ready, you can finalize and have a perfect travel itinerary ready.

Why Is TripHobo a Smart Trip planner?

There are few things included in the Triphobo planner algorithm & app which builds itinerary within minutes.

• A free virtual map-based trip planner with a smart algorithm
• International trip planner with about 1,50,000 popular destinations
• The largest repository of user-generated itineraries
• Hassle-free booking options for hotels, tours & flights
• Provides local transit options like metro, rail, bus, and car
• Calculates an estimated budget
• Provides options to save, print and share itinerary
• Strategic Partnerships with leading travel companies

TripHobo: Around the Web

• Trip of Your Own
• Traveling made easier with TripHobo
• Making The Southeast Asian Travel Connection
• Ex-HCL employee’s led ‘TripHobo’ is on a mission to become a global brand – a goto place for travel planning!
• Interview: Praveen Kumar, Founder & CEO of TripHobo
• TripHobo inks partnership with Zomato
• How a trip planning startup can succeed
• Karthik Ramachandram Co-Founder COO, TripHobo - Phocuswright Conference

Here's what travelers have to say about our travel planner

• Excellent 238

Great and genuinely wonderful website that makes a proper vacation plan simple, like it should. All reviews are 5 stars. The only suggestion I have to enhance this fantastic website is to include a mobile application. Even paying for a version without ads wouldn't bother me.

Every traveller should use this!

So much easier & more helpful than a travel agency, given lots of fantastic ideas, and was extremely helpful for planning the trip. Would strongly advise my family and friends to use this!

Great tool for trip planning. Impportantly it's free and automatically tailors travel plans to your preferences and is completely customisable. The integration with skyscanner and booking.com, and other OTA like priceline and expedia makes it very easy to plan the whole trip along with the bookings in one place.

Plan Your Perfect Trip!

Planapple helps you create , organize , access and share all your vacation plans, what's planapple (watch this short video & see).

How Planapple Simplifies Travel Planning

Organize ideas.

Collect your vacation ideas in an online trip notebook, and keep everything organized in one place.

That's where Planapple comes in. A web travel binder of sorts, Planapple helps you collect your ideas, possibilities, and plans — and saves them all in one place, organized and manageable.

Planapple even creates a custom map tailored to your plans, so you can actually see which hotel is closest to your daily destinations!

Plan Together

Discuss and decide your ideal itinerary with your tripmates.

Planapple eliminates the communication challenges and email negotiations, making group planning far simpler.

And, as your burgeoning itinerary comes together, it's all captured in your Planapple binder for you and your tripmates to see, so no one misses out on one juicy detail.

Carry Your Plans

Carry your plans on your mobile device —  or access them anywhere.

Planapple's mobile app puts your plans right in your pocket. Access your entire trip: itinerary, bookmarks, addresses, phone numbers, emails, even discussions with your co-travelers. (And Planapple can download it all to your phone before you go, avoiding scary international data charges.)

And, if you're a paper person, you can print your plans just as easily and take them anywhere you go. We get it.

Share With Friends

Create recommendations to share on Pinterest and Facebook.

Planapple makes it easy to share what you did, where you went, and what you liked (or didn't!). Offer up your entire itinerary or just a few highlights — either way your friends will marvel at your travel-planning prowess. After all, what good is finding something wonderful if you can't scream it from the tippy top of the World Wide Web?

For family vacations, holidays abroad, or group trips of any sort… from a weekend getaway to an adventure across countries and continents… it's easy to plan your perfect trip with Planapple.

Ready to get going?

What is planapple.

• KAYAK for Business NEW

• Expedia.com
• Booking.com
• Tripavisor.com
• Trivago.com
• Aviasales.com
• Rentalcars.com
• Ticketmaster.com
• Raileurope.com
• BikesBooking.com
• Track Travel Expenses
• 8 /26 Checklist

Creating a trip has never been easier! Tripety is a travel planning platform that makes your trips convenient and hassle-free. Simply enter your travel details and places to visit into our  itinerary planner  to get a clear overview of your journey. Organize each day, use checklists to ensure nothing is forgotten, and keep essential documents all in one place. Also, you can manage and track your spending during your travel. Check out the itinerary maker to see how simple it is!

Want to coordinate travel plans with family, friends, or colleagues? Invite your friends or trip companions to Tripety for an easy way to discuss the details of your journey. Generate ideas or arrangements, track your spending, and use our group travel itinerary planner to explore new places together.

Is the process of planning your favorite part of the trip? Are you a detailed-oriented person who wants to use the  best business travel planner  or organize your family vacation tour? Then Tripety, an online trip management platform, is perfect for you! Dream, organize, share, manage your business and personal trips within our easy-to-use,  intuitive travel itinerary manager as your planner . It will keep all the needed information in one place and track everything, as it’s a flight tracker, road trip planner both in one.

Tripety helps manage and keep track of your finances before and during your journey. Monitor spending with the help of our convenient budget tool. See and manage your expenses ‘as you go’ to stay on top of your budget.

Planning a trip or vacation shouldn’t be tiresome and complicated. Easy to use, an intuitive and neat Travel Planning Platform that we created is for travelers like YOU! Tripety helps you compile, organize, and share your travel arrangements. Keep an eye on your travel budget while on vacation or business trip. We are trying to make your world a bit more colorful and a lot more relaxed. Tripety, add travel to your life!

Planning a trip can become quite challenging, especially when you have to go over many big and small details. The last thing you want is to run into problems while you’re away. This is why you must always plan all the details of your trip beforehand.

Thankfully, now you can use Tripety, a travel planner and itinerary maker, to plan each and every detail of your trip. From budgeting to group collaboration, we ensure that you have a smooth planning process. We also have an online road trip planner that’s sure to give you the hassle-free trip of your dreams.

• --> Trip Wallet Manage Your Travel Expenses
• Your Notifications
• Dream Inspiration for Your Next Travel Experience
• Plan Create & Manage Your Trip Plan and Budget for It
• Travel Find Your Past and Upcoming Trips View and Share Travel Itineraries with Fellow Travelers
• Blog Explore Our Travel Blogs or Create Your Own

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A Travel Expert’s Favorite Free Travel Planning Tools

I haven’t traveled far from home over the last several months, but I’m always on the lookout for not only where I might go in the future. The anticipation of travel can be half the fun of a trip, right?

Best Free Travel Planning Sites

Here are a number of free travel planning sites that can help you save time and find inspiration.

WithinHours

Where do you start to search for somewhere new and interesting to explore that’s only a few hours drive from your hometown?

WithinHours lets you search in any direction based on travel time or driving distance to find places to go and things to do.

I chose a travel time of 4.5 hours from my home (about 240 miles) in Florida. Here are the results I got:

• Saint Marys
• Amelia Island
• Fernandina Beach
• Port Saint Joe
• Saint George Island
• Wakulla Springs
• Tallahassee Museum
• Florida State Capitol

When you click on a destination on the WithinHours site, you’ll land at Trippy , another community-based trip planning tool for road tripping. Here you’ll find answers to your travel questions.

Destination results include recommended things to do, popular attractions, recommended dining spots, insider tips to links to area hotels and more.

You can also explore travel ideas and itineraries with Trippy on Facebook .

Trips To Discover

Another fun site for inspiration and/or just dreaming is Trips To Discover . Lots of gorgeous captioned photos and lists including:

• Top 14 Walkable Cities
• Top Tallest Hotels
• Top Springs in Florida
• Top Lake Houses in Vermont
• Top Coolest Treehouses in Bali
• Top Quirkiest Airbnb’s in Europe
• Top Romantic Retreats in Tennessee
• Top Airbnb Wedding Venues in the US

Plus there are destination ideas and guides sorted by categories such as “Budget,” “Bucket” and “Adventure.”

Click on a list to find trip tips and links to suggested accommodations.

I’m recommending this travel planning site just because of my recent discovery! I’ve added a new Bucket List spot (for me, at least) to one of Europe’s best-kept secrets that promises jaw-dropping mountains, crowd-free beaches, tiny villages with stone cottages to rent, castles and local delicacies. No, not telling.

Google Flights

At Google.com/Flights , type in your departure city but leave the “Where to?” box blank and hit SEARCH. A map pops up to show you the price of airfare from your departure city to several cities across the United States. And if you take your cursor and move (or minimize) the map, you’ll see airfares for destinations all over the world.

This is a great way to find cheap airfare as well as new destinations for a vacation! Craig of Team Clark details other Google trip planning tips here .

Kayak Stays

If you’re like me, you have multiple tabs open when searching for hotels and private rentals. Once I have enough ideas, I begin the process of elimination.

What drives most of us in choosing a particular accommodation is cost. But one of the most frustrating parts of the booking process is finding out all of the extras that are not shown upfront and may not appear until you get to the final booking page. These might include taxes, fees, host fees, cleaning fees, resort fees and more.

But Kayak Stays posts the complete cost of a stay. To view the inclusive cost, enter your destination and dates. Click beneath the blue price graph and choose “Total stay + taxes & fees.”

Here’s an example of why we need this pricing option for transparency:

I searched for a four-night Florida beach stay and found what looked to be a nicely located condo at a great rate of $99 a night. I clicked to book directly on Vrbo.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner) where the total price for four nights showed up as $615: an average of $153.75 a night. But once I tried to complete the reservation with payment, the price jumped to $681, or $170 a night, a far cry from the $99 that originally caught my eye.

But right from Step 1, Kayak showed me upfront that my condo stay would be $681.

If you’ve ever wanted to search online on how to get from A to B — conveniently — from any two points on the globe, let Rome2Rio be your guide. Let’s say you want to travel from London to Chester (near Liverpool). This site lists several different routes in the results.

Here’s what it showed me for my London-to-Chester search.

RECOMMENDED OPTION: Take the train from London Euston to Crewe and then take the train from Crewe to Chester $92-$323, 2h 20m

CHEAPEST OPTIONS: Take the night bus from London Victoria Coach Station to Chester National Express $13-$17, 5h 50m Take the bus from London Finchley Road to Chester Bus Interchange $21-$31, 5h 58m

FLIGHTS: Fly from London Heathrow to Manchester (1h) then the train from Manchester Airport to Chester (1h 20m) $106-$309

SELF-DRIVE: Approximate fuel cost: $ varies

On the site, you can click on your preferred option to book transportation directly through the provider.

Travelers also have the option to book trains, buses, ferries and car ferries almost anywhere in the world. Here are the results of my search for a ferry from Bodrum, Turkey to Kos, Greece:

The ferry journey time between Bodrum and Kos is around 30 min and covers a distance of around 12 miles. The fastest ferry normally takes 30 min. Services are operated by Dodecanese Flying Dolphins, Ye?il Marmaris Lines, Bodrum Ferryboat and others. Cheapest price: $45. Carbon emissions: 0 kg CO2

Rome2Rio also details up-to-date Covid-19 requirements and restrictions for both your start and end destinations.

Seat61 focuses almost exclusively on train-based travel within and between the UK, Europe, Asia, Africa, Indonesia, South America and other nations.

The site says it “aims to inspire people to do something more rewarding with their travel opportunities than schlepping to an airport, getting on a soulless airliner and missing all the world has to offer.”

Here’s how site founder Mark Smith describes the Caledonian Sleeper : “It’s the most civilized, romantic, time-effective & environmentally-friendly way between central London and the heart of Scotland, for a weekend in the Highlands.”

The page also describes in detail the train amenities, accommodations features, station updates, timetables, direct links to book, video clips and more.

FlightsFrom

Who doesn’t prefer a nonstop flight to a connecting flight?

FlightsFrom details all routes and scheduled flights from every airport! Explore the destination opportunities with nonstop flight service from a specific airport, city or by airline.

Did you know that you can choose from 210 nonstop destinations from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International?

This site is a particularly useful scorecard as airlines have recently been adding and or removing flight routes at breakneck speed due to customer demand (or lack thereof).

I didn’t know that my hometown airport, for instance, now has 36 nonstop routes. The last time I recall checking that number was 19!

Once you’ve planned out your journey, TripIt keeps all components of your planned trip in one place.

You can create a custom itinerary with your flights, hotel confirmations, car rentals, day tours and restaurant reservations. You can accessTripIt on the go, export to your calendar, or share trip details with your travel mates and family.

Final Thought

If you’re not ready to travel due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, your budget or any other reason, just the thought of planning a trip may improve your mood. Science suggests that just thinking about or planning a trip can give your brain a boost. Luckily, these free tools can help! And daydreaming costs $0.

More Travel Tips From Clark.com:

• A Retired Travel Agent’s Secrets for Getting the Best Travel Deals
• Follow Clark Howard’s #1 Rule to Travel Cheap
• How To Plan a Trip: Clark’s Best Travel Tips To Save Money

• 9-night Prague, Vienna & Budapest escape with flights & train from $1,345
• 6-night London & Paris escape by train with air from $1,494
• Prime members: Sling-Bag crossbody bag for $10
• 8-night Spain escape with airfare & hotels from $1,509

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Join more than 330,000 people who get our must-have money tips every day

Watch / Listen

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Need money help? Call us for free advice . You can also email us .

• 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.

• © Roadtrippers
• © Mapbox
• © OpenStreetMap
• Improve this map

Download Pebblar APP Now

Collaborative map-based itinerary planner

From idea mapping to detailed itinerary planning, have everything on one map. collaborate with your trip buddies in real time.

Build your list of cities

Save ideas under each city

Create daily itinerary

Road-trip mapping

The easiest way to map and track your next road-trip with unlimited stops; travel distances automatically calculated and fully integrated mobile apps for on-the-road access

European holidays

From putting together your list of cities and travel ideas to creating a detailed itinerary; from pre-trip planning to on-trip access – all done in one place

Professional quality PDF

Professional quality PDF (with your own logo) or access via our iOS / Andriod apps

Saving travel ideas

One centralised place to store all your travel ideas even if you don't have a clear travel date

Other cool features

Real-time collaboration and team coordination

Access anywhere with our fully integrated mobile apps

Automatic travel time and distance display

Integrated with 3 leading navigation apps: Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps, as well as Ford vehicle integration

As featured in

Testimonials

“You seriously cannot find a more effective travel planning tool than Pebblar. Gone are the days of screenshots of maps and messy collages of travel notes on maps. Forget about typing up collective itineraries on word, Pebblar is the exciting new tool for effective multi-destination travel planning. It syncs all the useful information internet has to offer perfectly into an easy simple to use App. Brilliant.”

"Throughout my day, I am constantly fantasizing about travel in my head. Whether for an upcoming or far-future trip, I use Pebblar to keep track of the cities I want to visit, sites I want to see, restaurants I want to try; and to plan the possible path between location. Pebblar is amazing for helping me organize my ideas in easy, virtual form." Chloe Skye

"The Google Maps integration is excellent and we can easily print off a whole itinerary before we leave, or use the app when we get there to help us get around and have a smooth journey. I would recommend Pebblar to anyone planning an upcoming trip." Rufus Holmes

The road trip planner for multi-day adventures

Plan better road trips in minutes. Build an itinerary for the perfect adventure. 1000+ trips created!

Plan anywhere in the world

• Global directions, works in every country
• Supports ferry travel
• Trips are private by default
• Calculate in miles or kilometres
• Update plans wherever you are
• Never run out of time again on a trip

Wish all your road trips were in one place? Now they can be.

• Copy famous road trips to your account
• Add any Google Maps location to your trip
• Click to create new map locations
• Add up to 200 stops per trip
• Recommended campsites Coming soon

2. Optimise

Never run out of time and never miss a stop.

• Organise your stops into days
• Calculate driving distances
• Calculate driving times
• Calculate trip costs
• Download trips as PDFs

Best trip ever? Share your experience!

• Share via direct link or social media
• Embed trips on your website
• Upload your own photos
• Add notes and share your advice
• Trip and stop reviews Coming soon

Rated 4.8 /5 based on 39 reviews

Mark Roberts

Fantastic website to both preplan and update your trip as you go. Easy to add stops, change the order, add brief notes of what you've seen and even a photo. Also great to share with others so that they can see your progress as you go, even if they don't have an account. If you ever have any issues...

David Griffith

I use to plan all my Motorhome and Motorcycle trips, producing an itinerary for both. It's great that Wilder Trips will do it for me, the support has been there when I have reached out. I am looking forward to using the software as it develops.

Cathie Jasper

I have found Wilder Trips invaluable in planning 2 road trips with our motorhome, one to Belguim/ Holland and one to Northern Spain. I like the interface and ease of use, planning a trip and seeing distances etc is so easy and the visual map is such a boon. The pin drop is also helpful for indicatin...

Robyn Townsend (She Her)

I used Wilder Trips Road Trip Planner to organise our dream campervan holiday in New Zealand, and it was an absolute game-changer. The interface is user-friendly and highly intuitive, allowing us to customise our route, choose stop offs, and plan our daily activities effortlessly. I really love the...

John vanDieken

This is different. The ability to thoroughly plan and add notes into a trip make it extremely handy for any travel. User friendly, quick and easy to start and edit any trip plan. This has huge potential for commercial and business use as well as simple holiday planning. I’m loving it and looking for...

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Free trip itineraries every month.

• Plan a Road Trip
• Plan a Flight
• Find an Airport
• Where to Stay
• All Questions

"Trippy is the best road trip planner"

Get advice from real travelers who have done the same trip:, recent questions.

• 10 minutes ago someone asked : about Alexandria (Virginia) and Reston       " Alexandria VA to Reston VA "
• 20 minutes ago someone asked : about Portland (Maine) and Quebec City       " Fly from Portland, Maine to Quebec city Canada "
• 20 minutes ago someone asked : about Shreveport and Tampa       " shreveport to tampa "
• 25 minutes ago someone asked : about Hoquiam and Ventura       " drive from hoquiam washington to ventura ca "
• 30 minutes ago someone asked : about Atlanta and Coco Beach       " How long does it take to drive from Atlanta to Coco Beach? "
• 30 minutes ago someone asked : about Eugene and Yellowstone National Park       " Drive from Eugene to Yellowstone National Park? "
• 45 minutes ago someone asked : about Cork and Dublin       " Half way between cork and dublin "
• 45 minutes ago someone asked : about Yellowstone National Park       " yellowstone "
• 50 minutes ago someone asked : about New Orleans       " new orleans "
• 50 minutes ago someone asked : about Reading (Pennsylvania) and Savannah       " best way to travel reading pa to savannah ga "
• 1 hour ago someone asked : about Delhi       " Raipur to Delhi drive "
• 1 hour ago someone asked : about Seattle and Toronto       " Seattle to Toronto "
• 16 hours ago someone asked : about Houston and Sugar Land       " The midway point between the two cities "
• yesterday someone asked : about Colorado Springs and Jacksonville       " I would like to drive to Jacksonville in 200 approximately 20 miles segment "

Wander With Alex

Hit the Road with Ease: 10 Helpful Road Trip Planning Apps

Posted: August 6, 2023 | Last updated: August 6, 2023

Road trips are “in” this year. Whether you need a travel packing list, the cheapest gas price, or a toilet finder, there’s “an app for that!” Using a road trip planner app is a convenient way to store all your essential travel plans all in one place. Below we’ll explore ten useful apps that can help you stay organized, budget, and find your way around.

1. Roadtrippers (Route Planning)

Roadtrippers is a robust road trip planner app with many useful features. Not only can you plan out your entire trip, but you can also use the app to navigate. The app allows you to mark your planned stops easily and suggests things for you to do along the way. You can estimate how much you’ll spend on gas, book hotels and tours, and get traffic updates. Roadtrippers Plus has even more features, allowing you to create itineraries and download pre-made trip guides.

2. PackPoint (Packing List)

A road trip packing list can help you keep track of your belongings before, during, and after travel. It’s the best way to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything essential. But rather than keep track of a paper checklist, why not use an app? PackPoint is a travel packing list app that allows you to create custom packing lists for free. You can categorize your list and even see what the weather is like at your destination. The premium version also allows you to link to your TripIt itinerary! 

3. TripIt (Itineraries)

TripIt is a mobile itinerary app that allows you to compile your road trip or travel plans all in one place. You can send your travel confirmation emails to the app, add things like photos and PDFs, email your itinerary to someone else, and even sync your trip to your calendar. TripIt Pro has additional features such as trip reminders, a rewards program tracker, “go now” reminders, and a host of flight-related tools. If you love itineraries, you’ll love this road trip planner app!

4. Waze (Traffic & Directions)

Waze is a GPS navigation and live traffic app that helps you get where you need to go. Not only does it help you get to your destination, but it allows users to input information such as road hazards, construction sites, and police sightings.

Another popular feature of the app is its rerouting tool. When the app notices traffic back up ahead, it will notify you of the situation and offer alternative routes. Waze has also added features such as a speedometer, a gas finder, a parking garage/lot finder, and it will even sync with your music and podcast apps.

5. Google Maps (Destination Finder)

Suppose you’re directionally changed, like me. Using Google Maps to get around a new city is a game changer. The app isn’t just for driving navigation and can be used when getting around on foot or by bike. And if your location history has been enabled, the app will even give you destination recommendations based on places you’ve previously visited. In addition, Google Maps will let you share your location and download maps offline if you know you’ll have spotty service.

6. GasBuddy (Best Gas Prices)

GasBuddy is a fuel savings app that uses your location to help you locate cheap gas. You can also sign up for a free Pay with GasBuddy card to save even more at the pump. Here’s how it works.

Once you receive the card in the mail, you will connect it to your bank account. Next, you’ll use the app to unlock deals. Then, when you are ready to fill up, you use your GasBuddy card instead of your debit card. When you do this, you’ll receive up to 25 cents off per gallon, and if you upgrade to their premium account, you can get up to 40 cents off per gallon. The GasBuddy card works at 95% of gas stations in the U.S.

Additionally, if you want to save even more on gas, you can participate in their Shop Your Way program. Use the app to shop for their retailers, and they will apply more gas discounts to your card.

7. Flush (Toilet Finder)

The Flush restroom finder app is genius! All you have to do is open the app, and it will display public restroom options near you. The app also tells you if the bathroom is handicap accessible, if there is a fee, and even lets you know if a key is required. And this app isn’t just for those in the U.S.; it helps you find toilets worldwide!

8. Trabee Pocket (Budget Tracker)

The Trabee Pocket app was designed specifically for tracking your spending while traveling. The app allows you to enter pre-trip costs, add on-the-go costs, categorize your purchases, and show you how much you’ve spent via a pie graph. And if you don’t want to hold on to your paper receipt, you can take photos and upload them to the app.

When your road trip is over, you can export your expense detail to a PDF or even a CSV file that you can open in Microsoft Excel. This simple-to-use expense tracker is great for budget-conscious road-trippers looking to watch their spending!

9. HotelTonight (Last-Minute Stays)

If you’re looking for last-minute hotel deals, HotelTonight is your app. Perfect for road trips, this app is ideal for those who decide, unplanned, that they want to stay the night in town before moving on to their next destination. So how does it work?

HotelTonight partners with hotels to help them fill up their unreserved rooms. In return, they can offer deep discounts to get those rooms filled. And although the app advertises last-minute accommodations, you can also book stays up to 100 days in advance. Be careful, though! Because these are great deals, you likely won’t get a refund for a cancellation or the ability to request a different type of room.

10. Guide Along (Audio Tours)

Guide Along , formerly known as GyPsy Guide, is a GPS-narrated audio tour app that will give you information about your current location. While driving or walking, the app will suggest local tips and tell you about all the things there are to do and see around you. It’s a personal tour guide at your fingertips! The app lets you download and play tours offline if you know you’ll have bad cell service in an area.

Final Thoughts

There are tons of road trip planner apps, so be sure to research and find the apps that best fit your needs. It’s always a good idea to test out your apps before your trip so you’re not fumbling around while driving. Enjoy your vacation, and be safe out there!

This article originally appeared on Wander With Alex . Photo Credit: [@scanrail/DepositPhotos]

More Articles From Wander With Alex

• How to Spot Vacation Rental Scams and How to Avoid Them
• Vacation Vibes: 13 Travel Tips for a Relaxing and Stress-Free Trip

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Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

How to Plan a Trip: A Month-by-Month Guide

Trip planning can be a daunting task. Flights, insurance, gear, itineraries, accommodation, and so much more all need to be considered and sorted out before you go.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed , especially when you haven’t done something like this before.

After over close to twenty years of traveling the world, I’ve planned countless trips and vacations for myself, friends, and family, even group tours. In the beginning, it was trial by fire. I learned a lot of lessons the hard way . However, that helped me develop an efficient checklist that ensures I don’t miss anything important during the trip-planning process.

One big question I get asked a lot is when to start planning. To answer that question, this post breaks the planning process down into month-by-month steps so you can plan your next trip with ease.

Here’s how to plan a trip:

Table of Contents

12 Months Out: Decide on Your Destination(s)

12 months out: start collecting points & miles, 8 months out: visa requirements, passports, and vaccines, 4-6 months out: book your flight, 3-4 months out: book your accommodation, 2 months out: plan your activities, 1 month out: get travel insurance, 7 days out: pack.

If you already have a dream destination in mind, great! If not, here are some posts to help you get started:

• 11 Cheap Places to Visit on the US Dollar
• 10 Places to Travel on a Budget
• The Best Tropical Islands in the World
• My Favorite Cities in the World
• My 31 Favorite Places to Visit in the USA

But, this far out, the real thing you want to do is start saving money and figuring out your costs. Accommodation and flights are the obvious ones, but how much do restaurants, attractions, and other activities cost? Knowing these costs will allow you accurately estimate how much money you’ll need. Here is how to research costs:

• Buy a guidebook
• Check out my free travel guides (we break down all costs for each destination)
• Skim the cost of living on Numbeo.com
• Google prices for major activities you want to do, such as scuba diving, winery tours, etc. ( Get Your Guide is a good place to start)
• Use Skyscanner or Google Flights for flight prices and sign up for alerts to get emails if the price changes
• Use Discover Cars to price out (and book) a rental car if you need one
• Use Booking.com and Hostelworld to research accommodation costs

That may seem like a lot but you just want to get a general idea of how much you need to save. You can head to this page to see all my articles on how to save money for your trip .

These days, most cards have welcome offers of 60,000-80,000 points (some can be as high as 100,000) when you meet their minimum spending requirement (generally $2,000-5,000 USD within a 3–6-month time frame). That’s enough miles for a free round-trip economy flight to Europe from the East Coast of North America.

For more information on this subject, check out these posts:

• Points & Miles 101: A Beginner’s Guide
• How to Pick the Best Travel Credit Card
• My Favorite Travel Credit Cards
• How to Earn Points by Paying Your Rent
• The Ultimate Guide to Points & Miles
• How to Collect Points & Miles in Canada

In addition, get a fee-free ATM card. I use Charles Schwab, but there are lots of other banks that don’t charge ATM fees (don’t forget to check your local banks and credit unions too). Here’s how you can avoid bank fees while traveling .

While you likely won’t need a visa to your desired destination, you should still check to make sure. If you’re a US citizen, use the State Department’s search tool to learn about your destination’s entry requirements. (Canadians can use this search tool .)

Additionally, make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months after your trip ends. Many countries require this for entry. Passport application and renewal wait times can be long (the standard is 6-8 weeks in the US), so do this as soon as possible.

Also, research if you need any vaccines for your trip as many countries require vaccines to enter (and I don’t mean COVID). You can learn more about country requirements and recommendations at the CDC’s website . They can help you find a clinic near you as well (if you’re in the US).

Here are two articles on how to score a cheap flight:

• How to Always Find Cheap Flights
• 5 Steps to Booking a Cheap Flight

If you’ve signed up for a travel credit card and received your sign-up bonus, use your miles to book your flight and/or hotel. The further out you book, the more availability there will be. Use tools like Point.me and Awayz to help you find the best redemptions on your points (for flights and hotels, respectively).

But even if you aren’t using miles or didn’t find a cheap flight deal, there are still many ways to avoid being the person on the flight who paid the most for their ticket. My two favorite sites for finding cheap airfare are Skyscanner and Google Flights .  

Here are my go-to sites when it comes to finding the best deals on accommodation:

• Hostelworld – Hostelworld has the largest selection of hostels and is my go-to site for finding affordable hostels.
• Booking.com – Booking.com is the best overall platform for finding budget hotels and guesthouses.
• Agoda – Agoda has the best results if you’re heading to Asia (though it sometimes has good US deals too).

I recommend checking the cancelation policy of wherever you book. I like having the flexibility to cancel if something comes up.

If you’re on a tight budget or you want to connect with more locals during your travels, consider joining platforms like Couchsurfing or BeWelcome . These communities allow travelers to stay with residents for free as a sort of cultural exchange.

Long-term travelers can also try housesitting or WWOOFing as well, as they both offer free accommodation (in exchange for pet sitting or farm work, respectively).

Now it’s time for the fun part of travel planning! That means reading books about your destination, learning general travel tips, connecting with online communities, and pre-booking any necessary activities.

Pre-booking ensures you don’t miss out on things that you really want to do on your trip. If you’re going to a popular destination, tours and activities fill up quickly, and if you’re going to a smaller place, activities or tours might only run on certain days and have limited availability.

Either way, Get Your Guide the best place to search for and pre-book activities, tours, and tickets. Local tour operators and attractions can list their offerings on this online marketplace, so you can find tons of stuff here, from food tours to museum tickets with skip-the-line entry.

Get travel insurance . That way, these purchases are protected should something happen that makes you cancel your trip.

A lot of people think, “I’m healthy. I don’t need travel insurance.” But travel insurance is much more than just medical protection. It covers you when your camera breaks, your flight is canceled, a family member dies and you have to come home, or something gets stolen. (That’s why you’ll also want to familiarize yourself with any common travel scams to look out for, as well as how to conduct yourself in order to blend in to avoid looking like a target for petty theft.)

Yes, it’s an added expense. But it’s always better to be safe than sorry. I never leave home without it, because I’ve seen firsthand just what can happen on the road.

I never thought I would pop my eardrum while I was scuba diving in Thailand, break my camera in Italy, or get knifed in Colombia.

Unfortunately, bad things can happen when you’re traveling. True, these events are few and far between. But they can cost tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re not prepared to pay out of pocket, buy travel insurance.

Here are some posts on travel insurance to get you started:

• How to Buy Travel Insurance
• The 5 Best Travel Insurance Companies
• The Best Travel Insurance for Seniors

I never leave home without travel insurance. You shouldn’t either.

I travel with a 45L REI bag and then a smaller day bag. Here’s my suggested packing list to help you take just the right amount of stuff and avoid overpacking ( here’s a list for female travelers ).

Additionally, bring any prescriptions you need for the duration of your trip. Try not to rely on filling those abroad (though bring a prescription and doctor’s note just in case).

With everything taken care of, it’s time to go on your trip and have fun! Make a list of last-minute items you need to pack the day of (your toothbrush, glasses, phone charger, etc.) and check in online beforehand (you can do so 24 hours in advance). (If you’ve got lounge access through a premium travel rewards card , you might find yourself looking forward to getting to the airport early.)

If you’re feeling nervous, don’t worry. That’s perfectly normal. Feeling anxious or unsure is something every traveler experiences. But you’ve made it this far. Trust your planning and follow your instincts. You’re about to have the trip of a lifetime.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for everyone)
• Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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