Road trips are lots of fun. Your bags are packed, and you’re ready to go. Whether you’re on your way to visit friends and family, or vacationing at a hotel or spa resort, don’t forget your Android smartphone or tablet. There’s lots of fun to be had on road trips and technology can certainly assist in making your road trips much more enjoyable. Here are 10 top road trip apps to help you along the way.
#10 – GasBuddy
GasBuddy is one of the most popular road trip apps currently available on the market. It was created by GasBuddy.com and is ideal for travel & local purposes. GasBuddy is rated M for mature (17+) and is geared towards helping drivers find the most cost-effective gas stations on their cross-country excursions. According to app creators, you can save up to $340 per year by using the GasBuddy app.
The way it works is pretty simple: you simply access the nearest gas stations to you with the best prices and GasBuddy always gets you the best deal. It also tells you which gas stations are out of gas, since there is a large community of people feeding the system with information. GasBuddy has a 4.6/5 rating from 739,615 reviewers, and it has been installed between 10 million and 50 million times.
#9 – RoadTrippers – Trip Planner
RoadTrippers – Trip Planner by RoadTrippers is a travel & local-style app rated E for everyone. It has a user score of 3.6/5 from 3,255 reviewers, and it is designed especially for travellers. You can easily plot out your road trip with friends and family and find many exciting places along the way. This app is great for picking out hotels, motels, restaurants, parks, places of interest, monuments, diners, unique attractions and more. The entire road trip can be planned from the app, and you can share details of your trip with friends, family and fellow road trippers. The content you save instantly syncs across all connected devices. It should be noted that this app is only applicable to US travellers.
#8 – Android Auto
Android Auto – Maps, Media, Messaging & Voice by Google LLC is rated T for teen, and applicable to travellers everywhere. Since it is a Google app, it links all Google-related accounts through your Android, making it much easier for you to manage your online communications, directions, music and other streaming content direct from your Android device. It is a pocket rocket for Android users. It has a 4.1/5 rating from 142,332 reviewers, and all vehicles support this.
To access all the features of this powerful app, Android 5.0+ is needed as well as active data connections. Among the many things that you can do with the app are route planning via Google Maps, calling via Google Assistant, radio, and music, text messaging and more. The latest version of Android Auto is compatible with all vehicles, direct from telephone screens. It can be accessed by simply saying two words – OK GOOGLE.
#7 – Safe Driving App: Drivemode
Drivemode, Inc made a great automobile app. Safe Driving App: Drivemode makes it much easier for you to use your smartphone while you’re driving. Since so many accidents take place through smartphone usage on the road, Drivemode aims to cut down on any mishaps by enabling voice commands and upsizing buttons to make it easy for you to connect. Some of the many fantastic features available through this app include text auto-replies with text messaging, do not disturb for voice calls and texts, Bluetooth pairing, driving history records, and other personalized recommendations. The app’s voice to text has been deemed better than Google, and some 22,034 reviewers have given this road trip app a 4.5/5 rating.
#6 – Yelp
Yelp: Food, Shopping, Services by Yelp Inc. is rated T for teen. This exciting travel-friendly app features 135 million reviews of businesses and restaurants around the world. It is ideal for assisting travellers with virtually anything they need on their travels. New York style pizzerias, Mediterranean cuisine, plumbers, hairdressing salons, martial arts classes, tour companies, guesthouses, and so much more. You can shop till you drop with all the attractions featured on the Yelp app. It’s got a great 4.3/5 rating from 371,941 reviewers and best of all, it’s free to install.
#5 – Netflix
The Netflix app by Netflix Inc. is rated T for teen. This app is highly regarded by the Google Play Store and has won the Editor’s Choice award for best app. Netflix is a TV and movie streaming service, which allows users to enjoy uninterrupted multimedia content on the go for a low monthly premium. Users have access to unlimited television shows for a low monthly price, and thousands of titles are regularly added to the database. Of course, the Netflix app is only recommended for use by passengers in the vehicle – not the driver.
#4 – Movies by Flixster
Movies by Flixster, With Rotten Tomatoes is a great movie app. It has a rating of 4.6/5 from 652,252 reviewers, and it’s easy to find tickets to all your favourite shows wherever you are going. Some of the best features of this app include the following: You can see box office selections and the best flicks, buy movie tickets online direct from your smartphone, courtesy of Fandango. Plus, you also get to check out all the amenities available at theatres you’re interested in going to.
#3 – Fun Toy Crush Game
Toy Crush by Ilyon is a puzzle-style game rated E for everyone. This is great entertainment for passengers on a road trip. It’s also great for the driver at rest stops, restaurants, and once you’ve reached your final destination. So, what’s it all about? This puzzle game is designed to hold your attention while you’re advancing through multiple levels of play. It’s packed with lots of fun, and has loads of features for you to enjoy.
When you match 5/6 cubes, you get awarded a rocket, and when you match 7/8 cubes, you get a bomb. 9 cubes reward you with a colour wheel. Each of these features helps to clear levels and advance to higher stages of the game. It is incredibly entertaining, and designed to keep your mind ticking over as you solve increasingly difficult levels of play. This fun toy blast game is a great app to load up on your device. For road trips, there’s nothing better. It’s totally entertaining for passenger players.
#2 – Expedia Hotels, Flights & Cars
Expedia has created a fantastic travel app which everyone can use. It provides tremendous cost savings on flights, accommodation and travel-related services. With a rating of 4.1/5 from 113,235 reviewers, it’s definitely a great travel companion. Among the many benefits you get to enjoy with this app are tremendous savings on bundle deals, up to 40% savings with mobile-exclusive hotel deals, cost-effective flights, car rental reservations, rewards for booking via mobile, easy access to upcoming trips, alerts, and so much more. This is a powerful app to have with you wherever you go.
#1 – Skyscanner
Skyscanner by Skyscanner Ltd is another award-winning app and an Editor’s Choice selection at the Google Play Store. It’s a great way to find cost-effective flights, and travel ideas on the fly. You can easily search for things like car rentals and hotels, via customized preferences. Users will be able to compare flight prices instantly, make bookings with no extra costs, and receive notifications of any modifications to flights. Plus, you can stay abreast of the latest travel deals that are currently available. Since this is an aggregator-style app, you can easily compare accommodations at hotels, motels, guest lodges, apartments and more.
