vacation road trip planner

A travel planner for everyone

Organize flights & hotels and map your trips in a free travel app designed for vacation planning & road trips, powered by ai and google maps..

vacation road trip planner

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

Get inspired from guides around the world — with expert tips and recommendations from the Wanderlog community. See all Wanderlog travel guides.

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.

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

myscenicdrives.com: Find your next Scenic Drive

  • 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.

myscenicdrives.com BBB Business Review

Plan your trips like a pro .

VagabondBase is the the all-in-one platform for road trip planning, trusted by thousands of travelers. Itinerary builder, route optimization, 3D maps, packing checklists, travel expenses tracker and more.

Plan every inch or your next trip.  Get started for free.

The smart way to plan your trips.

Get rid of messy spreadsheets and random notes for organizing your trips.

  • No credit card required
  • Free plan available
  • Cancel anytime

Screenshot of VagabondBase, the best trip planner for road trips and vacations.

All-in-one platform for trip planning.

Itinerary builder..

Plan every inch of your travel itinerary.

Beautiful maps.

Explore the itinerary with beautiful maps.

Itinerary optimization.

Plan your route with automated waypoints optimization.

Baggage checklists.

Create and manage packing checklists.

Real-time collaboration.

Collaborate in real-time with your friends.

Money tracker for travelers.

Keep track of all your travel expenses.

Travel documents manager.

Store all your travel documents in one place – photos, QR codes, PDFs.

Link organizer

Simplify your journey's planning by gathering all your important links in a single place.

Connected with travel apps you already love.

  • Google Maps

Build your trip itinerary.

Plan every detail of your trip, explore with ease, and make memories that last a lifetime.

Screenshot of VagabondBase, the best trip planner for road trips and vacations.

Track your trip expenses.

Plan, track, and manage your expenses with ease, so you can enjoy your travels without financial stress.

Screenshot of VagabondBase, the best trip planner for road trips and vacations.

Optimize your trip routes.

Stop guessing the optimal route. Calculate the best route with our automated waypoints optimization.

Screenshot of VagabondBase, the best trip planner for road trips and vacations.

Roadtrippers - Trip Planner 4+

Planner, map, & travel guides, roadtrippers.

  • #182 in Travel
  • 4.6 • 59.7K Ratings
  • Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description.

DISCOVER THE OPEN ROAD AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS WITH EASE Roadtrippers, the #1 road trip planning app, now includes the patent-pending AI-powered trip wizard: Roadtrippers Autopilot™. Whether you’re RVing on your annual campground trip, or planning a weekend trip at a boutique hotel, Roadtrippers Autopilot™ uses the knowledge of over 38 million trips to help get you there. And, with the newly added features from Campendium, Roadtrippers will be your go-to app for planning epic road trips and finding the perfect camping spots. ENHANCED CAMPING AND RV FEATURES ∙ Campground Reviews and Insights: Dive into over 150,000 campground reviews, offering perspectives for RVers and campers alike. Discover the best spots, from swanky RV parks to serene, free remote destinations. ∙ Comprehensive Map Overlays: Find the perfect campgrounds with ease using overlays for public land, cell coverage, and wildfire smoke, ensuring you’re always informed and prepared. ∙ Advanced Filtering Options: Tailor your search with new filtering capabilities, including cell service and elevation, to find your ideal campsite every time. EXPLORE AND PLAN WITH EASE ∙ Epic Routes and Places: Uncover millions of unique places, from quirky roadside attractions to breathtaking national parks. Get inspired by pre-made trip guides for once-in-a-lifetime routes. ∙ Customizable Planning: Start with up to three stops or upgrade to add up to 150 stops per trip with our Premium membership. Enjoy RV-friendly GPS navigation, offline maps, trip collaboration, and more. ∙ Seamless Syncing and Navigation: Your saved trips and favorite places sync across devices. Hit the road with confidence using CarPlay for easy navigation. JOIN THE ROADTRIPPERS COMMUNITY Merging the spirit of Campendium with Roadtrippers, we invite you to embark on road trips and camping adventures that you’ll cherish forever. Whether you’re mapping out a weekend getaway or a cross-country journey, Roadtrippers is here to guide you every mile and every campsite along the way. Download Roadtrippers today and transform your travel dreams into reality. Your next epic adventure awaits! Terms of use: https://roadtrippers.com/tos Privacy policy: https://roadtrippers.com/privacy-policy

Version 5.9.7

Roadtrippers is excited to introduce their brand-new, AI-powered trip planning tool: Roadtrippers Autopilot™, just in time for all your summer road tripping plans! Whether you’re RVing on your annual campground trip, or planning a weekend trip at a boutique hotel, Roadtrippers Autopilot™ uses the knowledge of over 38 million trips to help get you there. Get started with a free trial, or sign in with your Premium account, and check out Autopilot today! Happy travels :)

Ratings and Reviews

59.7K Ratings

Love RoadTrippers App!

Love Roadtrippers; was introduced to RoadTrippers at the start of our FullTime RV life and toured the US, driving 13,000 miles from east coast all the way to Pacific NW! I used RT with every stop, read all reviews and looked at all photos, used Waze mapping THROUGH ROADTRIPPERS and loved how organized it kept me! I still look at it almost daily even though we have slowed down with our travels. I like that it routes us, gives accurate drive times, kept us from low bridges, shares links for reservations! I love the RoadTrippers app! You'll see distance and approximate time of arrival, features of our stops and an overall map view, which I love! RoadTrippers made a software change about a year ago that altered the way I used the app. They now allow you to put in a date, but it reroutes you. I do NOT WANT MY ROUTE altered so adding the date messed up my map. I am creating a coffee table book of our adventures and like to have the date included in this app for reference, but I have to put it in the notes section because I do not want my map rerouted for shortest distances. Sometimes we had to go places to meet up with family and therefore our map may not have been the shortest route.

Developer Response ,

Hi there, thank you for leaving a review! We're so happy to hear that our app was a part of your international tour! :) We hope you have some more adventures planned for the year. Safe travels!

Good app, not great

This is a really good app. Definitely recommend it. Mostly an easy way to put a trip together, plan stops, construct a map. I would give it 5 stars except for a few very frustrating things that drag this app down. And could easily be fixed. I do understand that maybe it’s user error, but … When you are on a trip, you open the trip and it goes to your current location in Map View. However, when you open the List View for that trip, why doesn’t it go to your current location instead of starting from day one and you have to scroll all the way down until you find what you’re looking for. The way dates are managed is a complete nightmare. Changing the dates of an entire trip is such a hassle. And you cannot plan a trip without dates as once you add your first date, the app puts every single waypoint on a separate date!! Who thought that was a good idea?! You can add things that are not on the map already, but you can only add an address, you cannot label the address as to what it is. There are a lot of things that are not included on the map that I would like to add to my trips. And label with a name. This app is not a standalone app. You need other sources to complete the picture. Especially because there is a blue line indicating your route that completely covers up the highway numbers. Highway numbers are essential to trip planning. Also, can you update the gas pricing? It’s no where near accurate. And organize the trips into past and upcoming/future?
We appreciate your detailed feedback, and appreciate that you think it's a really good app - even if you only gave us 3 stars. We understand the frustration with current location display and the challenges with managing trip dates and have documented that feedback. The route line issue you are reporting has been fixed - so please do make sure you are using the most recent version of Roadtrippers if you're still experiencing this! We're constantly working to enhance user experiences and will share your insights with our team.

Never have I ever...

Never have I ever felt it necessary to review an app, be it good or bad. However, this app is so incredible that I felt obligated to tell everyone. I've told all my friends to download it and I'm telling all you strangers to download it. It's SOOOO helpful. I did a road trip from CT to TN to TX to Nola to NC back to CT.. and I used it everyday for the entire trip. It offers so many things to do... everything from museums to abandoned houses that make for fun photo ops. If you're someone trying to take funny pictures of random side of the road things this is your app. The only thing I wish is that there was a way to like mark things off the list that you've completed. BUT.... it really added to the fun of the trip and the ease of the trip. Everything I needed was in this one app. It is trustworthy and never steered me wrong. Pun intended.... you can trust the "navigation" button and whatever address is provided. Just be sure to read the reviews of each location before going there. Just because it's on the app doesn't mean it's everything you're thinking it'll be, so read the reviews. If you're going on a road trip.. USE THIS APP. It will really add to your trip. Thank you for existing.

Subscriptions

App privacy.

The developer, Roadtrippers , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

  • Contact Info
  • User Content
  • Identifiers
  • Diagnostics

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

  • Roadtrippers Basic - Annual $35.99
  • Roadtrippers Premium - Annual $59.99
  • Roadtrippers Pro - Annual $49.99
  • Developer Website
  • App Support
  • Privacy Policy

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Trippy

"Trippy is the best road trip planner"

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

  • 15 minutes ago someone asked : about Sequoia National Park       " Sequoia national Park "
  • 20 minutes ago someone asked : about Space Needle       " hotels near the space needle "
  • 25 minutes ago someone asked : about Alamosa and Edwards       " alamosa to edwards "
  • 1 hour ago someone asked : about Quebec and Jackman       " Quebec airport to Jackman maine "
  • 1 hour ago someone asked : about Myrtle Beach       " MYRTLE BEACH "
  • 1 hour ago someone asked : about Fenton and St. Louis (Michigan)       " Halfway point from Fenton Michigan and St. Louis Michigan "
  • 1 hour ago someone asked : about San Diego and San Jose       " San Diego to San Jose "
  • 1 hour ago someone asked : about St. Louis and Winter Park       " Stl to winter park co "
  • 3 hours ago someone asked : about Albuquerque and Dover (Delaware)       " Itinerary for travel "
  • 13 hours ago someone asked : about Savannah and Saint Pete Beach       " Best way to get there "
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vacation road trip planner

Hit the road with TripIt

From car rental pickup to driving directions, TripIt can make sense of all your travel plans and create a single itinerary for every road trip.

vacation road trip planner

You handle the booking, we'll take it from there

Plans are accessible on all devices

Adds travel plans from your Gmail, Outlook or Yahoo inbox

Plans are always available, even offline

Find the latest guidelines, restrictions, and requirements for your destinations

Upload PDFs, photos, and other documents to keep your travel plans all in one place

vacation road trip planner

Get where you need to be, effortlessly and safely

Plots out your entire trip on a map

Pulls up driving directions between two points

Locates the closest restaurants, cafes, parking and more to where you’re staying

Shows safety scores for the areas you’re visiting with COVID-19 data included

Quickly get your upcoming travel plans without taking your eyes off the road

More from our blog

vacation road trip planner

Download the TripIt app

The world’s highest-rated travel-organizing app has plenty of free features to make road trips easier. Whether you want your plans in your hand or you need your hands free, TripIt is available anywhere you need it.

road trip planner

Miss the turns on your terms.

Use real dates, find interesting places, book hotels with ease.

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Dates, distances and directions

Always wanted to travel across US but were not sure if you have enough time for that? Did you ever try to figure out how long it takes to drive from Yosemite to Yellowstone or from Lisbon to Rome?

Start clicking on the map. Choose your destination and have Furkot calculate how much time you need to get there. Set daily limits on the travel time so none of your sightseeing has to be done under moonlight — unless, of course, that's what you want.

Don't worry about putting stops in order. Furkot attempts to plan a route for your trip in the most efficient way. If you don't want efficient, you can drag your stops around or even reverse your itinerary .

Tell us how long you want to drive every day, and we will show you where to stop for the night Furkot suggests overnight stops along the route based on your schedule and preferences.

Furkot can help you with all your travel plans: a day trip, a weekend getaway, or a continent-crossing road trip. And driving is not the only option . You can also schedule motorcycle rides, biking excursions and walking tours with Furkot.

Read more …

Trip map

It's not just about driving

It's also about all the things you do on the way. Leave your car parked for a couple of hours and hike one of the trails from the vast Everytrail collection.

Need some hints? Make sure to check interesting places described on Wikipedia . They are one click away from ending up on your road trip stop list.

If your car resembles ours you can't drive on water, but Furkot will route you to the closest dry land point for those spots that do require a boat ride. You can drive and dive with Furkot.

Are you after fresh powder? Or maybe shredding corduroy is your thing? Trees or bowls? Skis or snowboard? Regardless of the answer, you can use Furkot to find ski resorts — courtesy of Liftopia .

You can even plan meal stops and add gas stations to your itinerary. Not to mention biking paths, museums, monuments, climbing routes , national parks, scenic views — add as many as you want. Furkot will keep you on track. You just need to show up.

Attractions search

Campgrounds? Motels? Hotels? Staying with friends?

Whatever your lodging preference is — hotel, campground, apartment — Furkot will show you scores of accommodations on the map and will help you find the perfect place for every night of your trip.

Furkot makes it easy to decide which hotels offer the best combination of cost, amenities and convenient location. Whenever available, Furkot displays exactly what you are going to pay (including taxes and service fees). You are in charge of what they charge.

When you are ready to book, Furkot will take you directly to your favorite booking site and pre-fill the check-in and check-out dates so that you don't have to worry about reserving that hard found lodging on the wrong night.

Booking all hotels for your trip can be a daunting experience: multiple cities, multiple booking sites and many dates and details to mistype? Let Furkot help with that. We will take you through the whole process page by page and hotel by hotel. All you need to do is to keep pressing Next until you are Done .

Lodging search

This website receives commission when a visitor makes a reservation or a purchase after clicking on the link to: Amazon, Best Western, Booking.com, Choice Hotels International, Expedia, Good Sam Club, Hotels.com, InterContinental Hotels Group, liftopia, Lonely Planet, Marriott International, onX Offroad, Orbitz, Passport America, Rentalcars.com,

This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com .

This website uses the list of ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada from pure-gas.org licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported with the explicit permission of the rights holder.

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Plan epic road trips

Plan multi-stop routes.

Easily plan your trip itinerary on an interactive map and see distances and driving times

Find places along the route

Find attractions, restaurants or accomodation along your driving route

Find inspiration

Explore our growing collections of ready-made road trip routes.

Share your itinerary

Invite family and friends to plan your route together. Or share your trip itinerary as a neat document

Example route collections

Discover Inspiring Routes

Explore our curated selection of epic road trips for every taste. Get inspired and use our guides as templates for your own planning.

Roadie App Screenshots

Plan Your Road Trip

Build the perfect trip itinerary and pin as many locations on the map as you like. You’ll see distances connecting the waypoints and know the driving times between multiple stops. Search points of interest like attractions, trails, or national parks. Choose if you’re traveling by car or RV to optimize your route accordingly.

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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

vacation road trip planner

  • University of Ontario
  • George Brown College
  • Payment Services

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.

The Ultimate Map App for Planning Your Route: Roadtrippers

Access to free and convenient travel guides.

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

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:

Automate Your Trip Planning and Organization: Google Travel

Automatic trip organization via Gmail integration. 

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Lots of great filter options and suggestions.

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

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.

Navigate Like a Local: Waze

Hands-free navigation with voice commands.

Alerts-only mode for road hazards and police.

Share up-to-date ETA with friends.

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 .

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

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.

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.

Find the Cheapest Fuel Nearby: GasBuddy

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.

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 :

Never Forget an Item: PackPoint Premium Packing List

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Automate Your Itinerary: TripIt

Automatically creates itineraries from your inbox.

Widget displays trip details on your home screen.

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.

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

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.

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The Best Road Trip Apps That Help You Find Cheap Gas, Avoid Traffic, and More

Download these before you hit the highway.

Elizabeth Rhodes is a special projects editor at Travel + Leisure , covering everything from luxury hotels to theme parks to must-pack travel products. Originally from South Carolina, Elizabeth moved to New York City from London, where she started her career as a travel blogger and writer.

vacation road trip planner

Carmen Martínez Torrón/Getty Images

Technology has revolutionized the way we travel in countless ways. Paper maps and GPS navigation systems have been replaced by Google and Apple Maps, old-school CDs by music streaming services, and guidebooks by apps that can notify road-trippers of roadside attractions in real time. One thing is certain: the smartphone has made road trips infinitely easier and, arguably, cheaper.

Whether you need a digital road trip planner to map out your next journey or something to help you avoid traffic jams, here are 11 of the best road trip apps to download ahead of your next adventure.

Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers is one of the most practical and popular road trip planning apps out there. Maybe you want to see national parks or the quirkiest roadside attractions. Perhaps you want to stop for the night at an iconic or underrated hotel. You can plan your stops right in the app, adding up to three waypoints for free or 150 with a Roadtrippers Premium account. There are also Basic and Pro memberships that allot you 20 and 50 waypoints per trip, respectively. The higher-tier memberships allow you to collaborate with friends and family and use navigation. The app features lodging, sights, outdoorsy destinations, restaurants, activities, shopping, fuel, and more all around the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

The app is free, but you have to upgrade to a membership plan to enjoy all the bells and whistles. The Basic plan costs $40 a year, the Pro plan $50 a year, and the Premium $60 a year. It's available on iOS and Android .

Google Maps

Every road-tripper needs a trusty navigation app in their arsenal, and Google Maps is consistently one of the most — if not the most — downloaded in the U.S. every year. Its dominance can be attributed to how comprehensive its data is, which allows it to generate the very best directions based on distance, road conditions, and traffic patterns.

Google Maps gives you route options and provides accurate estimates of how long it takes to get from A to B. Plus, you can plot several waypoints along your route — be it a mid-morning coffee stop or a hotel for overnighting (you can see reviews right in the app).

Google Maps is free and available on iOS and Android .

Waze is another one of the top navigation apps. With real-time updates that help you avoid traffic jams, construction, and more, it will have you navigating new cities and unfamiliar streets like a seasoned local. It's perhaps a little more proactive than Google Maps in changing up a route when problems arise, and that means Waze users should prepare for their drive to be a little unpredictable.

No one wants to spend hours sitting in traffic instead of exploring, so the fact that Waze collects data from other drivers to streamline the driving experience is a huge help. The app is free and available on iOS and Android .

Paying for fuel can eat up a good chunk of your road trip budget, but GasBuddy can save you a few bucks. The app crowdsources up-to-date fuel prices for more than 150,000 gas stations around the U.S. and Canada. The app also tells you how recent the submission is so you know whether it's outdated.

GasBuddy is not just helpful for finding cheap gas but also for finding gas stations in general (and parking), which can be difficult in foreign territory. The app is free and can be downloaded on iOS and Android . While using it, be a good road-tripper and submit gas prices you see as you travel.

Roadside America

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The offbeat and kitschy roadside attractions you can find throughout the U.S. are often some of the most delightful parts of a road trip. The Roadside America app helps you find the most unique attractions worth stopping for, like the large sculpture of a cartoon mouse holding a cheese platter in Plain, Wisconsin — where else? — or the decidedly odd larger-than-life-sized three-way electrical plug that rests on a lawn in Philadelphia. The app features museums, murals, tours, quirky restaurants, and photo ops.

Roadside America costs $3 to download, which gets you access to one region in the app. You can purchase more regions for $2 or get access to all of the U.S. and Canada for an extra $7. The app is available only on iOS .

iExit Interstate Exit Guide

Knowing where to stop for road trip snacks, a drive-through latte, or a public restroom can be challenging with all the exit signs whizzing by at 70 mph, but iExit Interstate Exit Guide takes the guesswork out of it. The app will list which exits are coming up on your route, what's there, and what they offer — including food, lodging, fuel, and even hospitals. It pulls fuel prices from OPIS (the Oil Price Information Service) and displays Yelp reviews for businesses.

The app is free to download. Find it on both iOS and Android .

HotelTonight

Even if you've planned out all your stops ahead of time, you might find that you need to pull over for a night unexpectedly. Driving is tiring, and unplanned naps can be life-saving. HotelTonight can help you find accommodations in a pinch. The app offers day-of deals on unsold rooms, and the user-friendly interface means you can book a discounted room in minutes. There are well over 1,000 properties to choose from in cities all over the world, from Mexico City to Jakarta (in case you happen to take your road-tripping global).

It's free to download and available on iOS and Android .

If staying in a tucked-away A-frame cabin, a yurt, or a private guest house in someone's garden is more your travel style than bouncing between hotels, then Airbnb is the ticket. On the Airbnb app, you can search properties (millions in the U.S. alone) on a map and read reviews before you book, which you can do in advance or at the last minute.

The app features not just vacation homes but also activities, so if you're keen to experience a city like a local you can do so via a pottery class or a guided walking tour, for example.

The Airbnb app is free. You can download it on iOS or Android .

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Travelers who dream of camping out under the stars should download The Dyrt , a free app that helps you find tent, RV, and cabin sites across the U.S. One of the top camping apps on iOS and Android , it has more than a million registered users who submit reviews, pictures, and tips. On The Dyrt, you get real intel on campsites and a built-in community that makes camping on a road trip especially fun and safe. You can even book some of the campsites right on app.

The app is free, but there's a premium version for $36 a year that allows you to plan trips and search campsites while offline — convenient for remote regions.

What is a road trip without a perfect playlist? Whether you're keen to create a soundtrack of nostalgic singalongs, modern pop songs, or music inspired by your destination, you'll find even the most obscure tunes on Spotify , a catalog of more than 100 million tracks. When you tire of Taylor Swift, you can turn to podcasts or an audiobook to keep you company. Road trips are a great opportunity to delve into a docuseries like "Serial," an all-time favorite.

Spotify is free to download and listen to, but the ad breaks are annoying and streaming can chew through your phone data. A better option is to purchase a premium membership for $11 a month. It's ad-free and you can download music to listen to offline. The Spotify app is available on iOS and Android .

Electric vehicles are increasingly commonplace and great for more environmentally friendly road-tripping. The problem is often finding charging stations, as most EVs can go 100 to 300 miles before they need to be plugged in. PlugShare lists 700,000 charging stations across North America, Europe, and beyond. Users share their reviews of the stations, helping to guide EV drivers to the best, fastest, and most reliable charging spots.

PlugShare is free and available to download on iOS and Android .

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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.

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Attention road trippers! These apps play vacation planner, make life on the road a dream

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For many people, the classic American road trip is a rite of passage.

The 48 states on the continental U.S. are home to rolling hills, mountains, rivers, oceans and countless other attractions. And thanks to modern technology, planning the perfect road trip is easier than ever.

Just juice up your phone, make sure your car is ready to roll , grab your go-to road snacks, and let your smartphone do the hard work.  

Apps, like Roadtrippers or InRoute, can do most of the route planning for you.

Begin by inputting your starting and ending point, then let it suggest fun places to check out, whether you're taking the direct route via the highways or the winding roads less traveled.

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Watch this video to learn more about some of the apps you need for your next road trip.   

Roadtrip essentials

A good road trip needs these three things: Good snacks, an excellent playlist, and plenty of gas. 

If you’re driving through an unfamiliar area, fill up your gas tank sooner rather than later to reduce the risk of getting stranded on empty.

Check out these apps to keep your car juiced up along the route: 

  • Gas Buddy  

Gas Buddy helps you find gas stations near you and tells you how much the gas costs. 

Prices are put in by other users, so there is a chance prices may have changed by the time you arrive. If that happens, you can report the price change in the app. 

PlugShare helps you locate EV charging stations that are compatible with a variety of electric vehicles. 

And just in case you need it, because you almost certainly will, Toilet Finder can help you find a nearby facility to take a comfort break.

The app also tells you if the toilet can be used without charge and if it's wheelchair accessible. 

Taking a road trip with a pet

If your copilot has fur and paws, BringFido will help you find dog-friendly places to stay, eat, visit, and more. 

It even includes reviews from other users to help you make the best decision for you and your pet. 

On the road again

By the way, before you hit play and take the wide-open road, download your car insurance app on your phone.

Hopefully, you won’t need it, but it can make it much easier to file a claim or call for roadside assistance. 

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7 Free Travel Planning AI and ChatGPT Apps to Get an Instant Itinerary

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  • PLAN by ixigo
  • Trip Planner AI
  • Vacay Chatbot
  • Layla, Wonderplan, and PLAN by ixigo are AI travel planning apps with customizable itineraries.
  • iplan.ai offers detailed itineraries for popular tourist cities based on interests and budget.
  • Curiosio plans road trips on all continents, while Trip Planner AI helps with activity selection and cost estimation.

You can tell a travel agent your preferred dates, the place you want to visit, and your budget, and expect a full itinerary of what to do there based on your preferences. But can AI do the same job?

These free travel planning apps use AI and machine-learning tools like ChatGPT to prepare an itinerary for you in a few seconds, and we took them for a spin.

Layla describes itself as an AI trip planner, meaning you can use it to decide your vacation destination, create itineraries, and find suitable hotels and flights.

If you are uncertain about your destination or would like suggestions, you can ask Layla for advice regarding your trip. Otherwise, enter your destination and ask Layla to create your itinerary. Within a few seconds, you'll get a detailed plan for your trip.

As Layla is a chatbot, you can enter a prompt to ask it to change your itinerary. For instance, ask it to focus more on outdoor activities or include local restaurants. If you're unsatisfied with the activities planned on any particular day, you can give instructions and ask Layla to regenerate that part only.

Once you've perfected your itinerary, you can share it with your friends via a URL or add it to your bucket list.

2. Wonderplan

Wonderplan is a wonderful AI tool for planning your trip. To create your itinerary, Wonderplan first asks you to enter your destination country and city, your budget, the number of days you'll be staying, and your interests.

It then creates a travel plan within a few minutes, displaying various places to visit, their descriptions, and the time usually spent at each location. Although Wonderplan doesn't show the trip map, it does provide a link to Google Maps for each place.

It also displays different types of accommodation available (like Airbnb, hotel, or hostel) and their respective costs. Similarly, there are details about transportation, food, and activities. This way, you can estimate the potential cost of your trip.

In addition to your itinerary, Wonderplan also shows essential information about the country you're visiting. These include the currency conversion rate, electricity plug type, languages spoken, weather, and popular conveyances.

3. PLAN by ixigo

PLAN by ixigo starts by asking you about your dream destination. Then, it provides an option to describe the type of experience you want to have. This is just like a ChatGPT prompt, so you can enter anything you wish.

For example, you can specify the duration of your stay, your interests, the kinds of activities you're looking for, whether you have a family with you, and so on.

But if you can't think of any prompts, PLAN by ixigo provides a few trip ideas, so you can always select those. PLAN by ixigo then shows a day-wise plan, showing what you can do in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

However, if the suggested itinerary doesn't sound appealing, you can again enter a prompt to edit it.

4. iplan.ai

While iplan.ai doesn't mention which AI or machine-learning algorithm it uses, the results are fantastic enough to gloss over that. The app works beautifully on phones to give you a full itinerary for any one city at a time, depending on how many days you have there.

The app first asks you to name the destination city. As far as we checked, iplan.ai works best for popular tourist cities, not offbeat or obscure travel. Next, note how many days you will be there, and then choose your free time each day—a cool step to ensure a better itinerary if you already have some plans, but not a whole days worth.

Tell iplan.ai if you're traveling solo, as a couple, with family, or with friends, and then choose your interest among topics like history, art and culture, nature, entertainment, shopping, food, sports, relaxing, etc. Finally, choose between an economy, normal, or luxury budget.

After a few minutes, iplan.ai gives you a day-wise itinerary for your trip. It's plotted on a map so you can see all the locations, and each point of interest has a brief description along with estimated travel time.

The app has both free and paid plans. With a paid account, you can share the trip plan with your friends and access it offline. Another limitation of iplan.ai is that you can't get an itinerary for a multi-city trip. For now, you'll need to make a plan for each city you're visiting, one at a time.

Download: iplan.ai for Android | iOS (Free, Paid)

5. Curiosio

The easiest last-minute travel plan is to get into a car and drive. Curiosio specializes in helping you plan an itinerary for a road trip to several major countries on all continents. It doesn't cover every single place, but the existing collection is impressive enough.

Curiosio uses its own AI engine, Ingeenee, which is trained on several crowdsourced travel-based resources, such as Wikivoyage, Wikipedia, Wikidata, Freebase, DBpedia, GeoNames, OSMNames, and OpenStreetMap. Through this dataset, it can chart an itinerary that meets your requirements across various parameters.

You can set options for a round trip or a one-way trip with starting and finishing points. If there are any places you want to visit on the way, add them in. Then set the number of travelers, dates of the journey, what vehicle you're using, total budget, and whether you want to visit places that spark curiosity or are obscure. The AI will usually give you multiple plans and routes for these options.

The itinerary includes a map of your route and a day-wise breakdown of where you'll be going and what you'll be seeing. Each point of interest is clickable to find more information about it. There are easy ways to share your itinerary with co-travelers, print it out, or even export it to Google Maps. Curiosio is one of the best road trip planners for your next adventure .

6. Trip Planner AI

Trip Planner AI plans a perfect trip to your dream destination. Begin creating your itinerary by entering the city you wish to visit and traveling dates. You can add multiple destinations here.

Then, select the kinds of activities you prefer, the number of people, and whether you're traveling with friends or family. Trip Planner AI asks you about your dietary preferences and budget.

As an optional step, you can specify the place where you'll be staying so that it creates an itinerary accordingly. If you haven't decided on your lodging yet, you can explore hotels suggested by Trip Planner AI.

Finally, Trip Planner AI generates a detailed itinerary, a map, and basic information about the city you're visiting. For each destination, it provides the details of the place, expected traveling time, and cost. Though it provides a complete plan for your trip, you can manually add or remove activities from your itinerary. You can also invite your friends to edit the itinerary and download it as a PDF.

7. Vacay Chatbot

Vacay Chatbot is not a dedicated itinerary maker but an AI chatbot that acts like your travel advisor. So, you can ask it to give travel recommendations, compare different destinations, and, of course, create an itinerary. If you've previously used AI chatbots like ChatGPT, you'll find this trip planner easy to use.

Just enter a prompt specifying your destination and trip details and ask Vacay Chatbot to create an itinerary. You can include details like your trip duration, budget, preferences, number of travelers, etc. The more details you provide, the better your itinerary will be.

One of the downsides of using Vacay Chatbot is that it doesn't provide a map for your trip. However, you can use these apps to plot your itinerary on a map .

All these travel planning AI apps urge you not to use the itinerary as-is and only treat it as a template or guide to begin planning your trip. This is because they currently have several limitations, like databases that aren't recently updated or require specific prompts from the user.

A real human travel agent will still give you a more customized itinerary, but it will cost you a few bucks. If you want a free base guide, more basic travel planning apps are a good starting point.

7 Free Travel Planning AI and ChatGPT Apps to Get an Instant Itinerary

Planning a road trip? Stop at one of these 18 uniquely Arizona roadside attractions

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While the nearest rest stop or fast-food chain restaurant may be the most convenient place for tired travelers searching for a reprieve from the open road, it would be remiss of road trippers to ignore the unusual roadside attractions scattered along the Arizona highways.

If life-sized cartoon characters near the Grand Canyon or exotic animals on the way to Tucson sound like better pit stops than the local gas station, you're in luck when driving in Arizona.

Here are some of the most notable Arizona roadside attractions you can check out the next time you cross the Grand Canyon state.

Bedrock City at Raptor Ranch

As if Fred Flintstone's prehistoric town had always been set in Arizona, visiting Bedrock City at Raptor Ranch will make baby boomers (and anyone else who watched reruns of the popular '60s cartoon) nostalgic for their childhood. Colorful statues of familiar characters and the iconic brontosaurus slide have been essential roadside attractions off State Route 64 in Valle.

Details: 332 S. State Route 64, Valle. 928-635-3072. www.raptor-ranch.com .

Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park

Less of a roadside attraction and more of a cool fun fact you can share, the Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park recognizes the only place in the U.S. where the borders of four states meet. After visiting, you can finally join many Southwestern residents in saying you have been in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all at the same time.

Details: 597 NM-597, Teec Nos Pos. 928-206-2540.  www.navajonationparks.org.

Meteor Crater

Over 50,000 years ago, an iron-nickel meteorite approximately 150 feet wide collided with what is now northern Arizona. According to the site's website, the impact hit the Earth with a force 150 times greater than an atomic bomb. The crater this meteor left is now the best-preserved meteorite site on Earth and a historic landmark to visit if you are driving near Flagstaff.

Details: Interstate 40, Exit 233, Winslow. 928-289-5898. www.meteorcrater.com .

Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch

If you are heading south near Picacho Peak, it is hard to miss the billboards advertising Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. Seemingly the only place you can find stingrays, donkeys, deer, parrots and dozens of ostriches in the middle of nowhere, this roadside attraction is a great spot for adults and children to make memories.

Details: 17599 E Peak Lane, Picacho. 520-466-3658.  www.roostercogburn.com .

Take the scenic route: This stunning Arizona roadway was ranked most scenic drive in the US. See why

Standin' on the Corner Park

You don't have to be an Eagles groupie to be familiar with the nod to this Arizona town in one of their most popular songs, "Take it Easy." "Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona ..." is a line memorialized by Winslow residents at Standin' on the Corner Park. A bronze statue of a young musician is a salute to the troubadours who put Winslow on the classic rock map.

Details: Corner of Kinsley Avenue and Second Street in Winslow. 928-289-2434.  www.visitwinslow.com .

Without spoiling the enigma that can be uncovered in Benson, The Thing is a worthy roadside attraction to consider as you head down the I-10. The various billboards that line the highway are hard to miss as you get closer to the "Mystery of the Desert." Located next to a Dairy Queen and a Shell gas station, you can take care of your hunger, gas tank and curiosity at the same time.

Details: 2631 N. Johnson Road, Benson. 520-586-2581. www.bowlinsthething.com .

Arizona's 'world's largest' roadside wonders

According to a map created by  blog.batchgeo.com , more than 195 roadside attractions in the U.S. consider themselves the “world’s largest” something. These are Arizona's "world's largest" wonders and where they are located.

  • World's Largest Cow Skull, Amado.
  • World's Largest Petrified Tree, Holbrook.
  • World's Largest Map of Old Route 66, Meteor City.
  • World's Largest Kokopelli, Camp Verde.
  • World's Largest Kachina, Carefree.

Find out more: Arizona is home to 5 of the 'World's Largest' things — do you know what they are?

Giganticus Headicus

Art is completely subjective. To Kingman residents, Giganticus Headicus is one of the most iconic art pieces off Route 66. Created by local artist Gregg Arnold, the tiki-style head is 14 feet tall and bright green. If taking a picture isn't enough, you can further memorialize your time with the head with a miniature from the local gift shop.

Details: 9855 AZ-66, Kingman. www.antaersvisitorcenter.com .

Wigwam Village Motel

Need a place to stay overnight? Have you considered a wigwam? This quaint village off Mother Road may be just the eccentric place to spend a night while traveling through the state. Constructed in the 1950s, a night in a wigwam will make you forget why you would want to sleep anywhere else.

Details: 811 W. Hopi Drive, Holbrook. 928-524-3048. sleepinawigwam.com .

Lumberjack muffler man

A familiar face to Northern Arizona University students, the 25-foot-tall muffler man resembles the school's mascot, Louie the Lumberjack. Before being moved outside of the Skydome, the lumberjack was located outside the Lumberjack Cafe and appeared in the background of the 1969 movie "Easy Rider."

Details: 1701 S. San Francisco St., Flagstaff.

Rainbow Rock Shop Dinosaurs

If you're in search of more prehistoric creatures to gape at, stop at the Rainbow Rock Shop as you drive along Route 66. Fans of geodes and other pretty rocks will be able to admire the variety of concrete dinosaurs while searching for their next gem.

Details: 101 Navajo Blvd., Holbrook.

Located near the Mexico border, Dateland is a necessary stop on Interstate 8. A major producer of the Medjool dates, the dry heat provides the perfect climate for cultivating the fruit. Dates are fiber-rich, sweet as candy and contain more potassium than a banana. Try Dateland's world-famous date shake when you visit.

Details: 1737 Ave. 64 E., Dateland. 928-454-2772. www.dateland.com .

London Bridge

You don't need to travel across the world to experience a little European history. As a result of a strange series of events, the London Bridge , which once crossed the River Thames, was broken down and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City by Robert P. McCulloch. This British import attracts tens of thousands of travelers every year.

Details: 1340 McCulloch Blvd. N., Lake Havasu City. 928-453-3444. www.golakehavasu.com .

Take a break from speeding down the highway by cruising through the ponderosa pine forest. An attraction you don't need to get out of your car to enjoy, Bearizona has over three miles of road surrounded by picturesque nature and North American animals. If your legs need a break from sitting in a cramped car, the park also has a 20-acre walk-through area.

Details: 1500 E Route 66, Williams. 928-635-2289. www.bearizona.com .

How to plan your summer travel as a family caregiver

by Victoria Sanchez

7News Health and Wellness Reporter Victoria Sanchez spoke with AARP's Amy Goyer to talk about how family caregivers can travel safely over the summer. (7News)

ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — It's the first official day of summer and for many, the season is a time to travel, relax and take a break from the day-to-day grind.

For family caregivers, taking a trip is often out of the question. In a new report from AARP, half of caregivers are staying home and avoiding travel.

“A lot of it has to do with planning ahead and knowing your loved one’s capabilities," said Amy Goyer, AARP family and caregiving expert.

One in five Americans, about 53 million people , are family caregivers according to the CDC. The unpaid occupation can lead to physical, emotional and financial strain.

Taking a trip to see friends or just a change of scenery can improve both the caregiver and care recipients' emotional health.

“What happens is, in our head, we just think of the whole jumble of everything, and you just think, ‘I can’t do that.’ But if you break it down, day by day, every piece of the travel and you do the planning, it feels much less daunting. You know, don’t try to do this by yourself. Get another family member to travel with you, get even a paid caregiver," explained Goyer.

She said traveling with a loved one who needs extra care can mean additional costs in the form of extra days needed to drive long distances or maybe booking a hotel room instead of staying with family. See if relatives can pitch in so everyone can enjoy a nice break.

For more tips, click here .

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By The Canadian Press on June 25, 2024 Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

How to stay on budget this summer, wherever your vacation plans take you

Planning a staycation, a camping trip or an international getaway this summer? These tips will help ensure you don’t break the bank.

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If daydreams about the cottage, beach or pool are making it harder to focus on Zoom meetings these days, you’re not alone.

Summer is peak travel season for Canadians, with July the most popular time for a getaway, according to a recent Deloitte poll.

But if budget worries are casting a cloud over your vacation fantasies, experts say it’s possible to ease that anxiety. Whether you’re adventuring close to home or taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip, here are some tips to ensure summer fun doesn’t break the bank.

How to save on a staycation

Staycations allow you to eliminate some of the biggest expenses associated with travel, such as airfare and hotel stays. But unless you plan to spend the entire time reading on the deck, you’ll want a budget that allows for fun outings.

Paul Seipp, BMO’s regional president for the prairies central region, encourages exploring local attractions and experiences, keeping a special lookout for ones that don’t cost anything. Festivals, fireworks, outdoor events and parades can be a great way to make a staycation feel special.

When you do hit up a pricier local attraction, be conscious of discount days and special offers. Many museums, for example, offer cheap entry on a certain day of the week or after a certain time of day.

“One of the worst things that can happen is that September hangover when the summer bills come in, so (even for a staycation), stay on track by setting up a separate vacation account or having some savings put aside,” said Seipp.

While picnics or packing your own lunch are always budget-friendly options, Seipp said staycationers who want to dine at restaurants should consider happy hours, “kids eat free” days, and other strategic ways to save money.

How to save on a camping trip

Camping can be significantly cheaper than staying in a hotel if you already own the gear, but if you don’t, sleeping outdoors can be pricey. Experts recommend checking second-hand shops, Facebook Marketplace, and even garage sales for lightly used camping equipment. 

“Used camping gear can be quite efficient and quite good and save you a few dollars,” said Kristine D’Arbelles, senior director of public affairs for the Canadian Automobile Association, which counts trip-booking, travel advice and roadside assistance among its services.

While it’s good advice to plan camping meals carefully so you’re not making unexpected purchases at an overpriced campground store, D’Arbelles said a lesser-known way to save money is simply to pack efficiently.

“The heavier your vehicle is, the more gas you’re going to use,” she said. “So think about what you need to be packing in your vehicle. Even removing external racks that you don’t need will decrease some of your drag and ultimately help you save on gas .”

Some campgrounds may offer discounts for mid-week stays. If you plan to camp multiple times throughout the summer, investing in a national or provincial park pass can also pay off.

How to save on a road trip

Gas is typically one of the biggest expenses on a road trip, so check out different driving routes and itineraries to determine which cities or regions you can get to without blowing your budget.

It’s also smart to be strategic about where you’ll stop for gas. Seipp recommends taking advantage of loyalty programs or memberships, as well as checking out mobile gas apps that offer to find the best prices in your area or along your route.

“(It) can make a huge difference, especially if it’s a big car and you’re traveling a long distance,” Seipp said.

It’s better to pre-book accommodations for road trips than to assume you’ll just find a hotel when you get tired. Not only is pre-booking generally cheaper, taking time to research hotels can help you save money in other ways. Booking a room with a kitchenette, for example, can keep you from having to eat all your meals at restaurants, D’Arbelles said.

How to save on an international getaway

If this is the summer you’re jetting off to Europe or some other dream location, it may be time to cash in all those saved-up credit card or airline rewards points . Doing so can help save on travel and accommodations, leaving more of your budget for splurging on dining, events or shopping. 

“Redeeming points is a key area where folks can ultimately reduce their costs,” Seipp said. “Especially for those once-every-three-years, once-every-five-years type of big trips.”

When travelling internationally, check your credit card policy to ensure you don’t get stung by foreign transaction fees , and purchase a local SIM card or use Wi-Fi to avoid cellphone roaming charges.

International travellers have a huge range of accommodation options, from budget hotels to luxury resorts to vacation rentals via platforms like Airbnb. Consider factors like proximity to attractions and whether there’s a complimentary breakfast in addition to the upfront price of the room, Seipp said.

Finally, when it comes to international trips, D’Arbelles said she strongly recommends purchasing travel insurance . Weather or flight-related delays are not just minor inconveniences, they can add hundreds or thousands of dollars to the cost of a vacation in the form of unexpected food and lodging expenses.

It’s a little counterintuitive because people think they’re just spending the money instead on travel insurance, D’Arbelles said, but “given the uncertainty of travel today, it’s a really, really good idea.”

Read more about travel :

  • How to take a gap year trip without breaking the bank
  • How to save money on a Disney Cruise
  • Travel hacks to help you save money on your next trip
  • “Yes, concerts are experiences—and I’m spending my money on them!”

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  • Best overall
  • Best for cruises
  • Best for reputation
  • Best for preexisting conditions
  • Best for digital nomads
  • Best low-cost
  • Best for road trips
  • How we reviewed travel insurance companies

Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Travel Insurance in June 2024

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate insurance products to write unbiased product reviews.

Traveling is an adventure, a leap into the unknown, a story waiting to unfold. But every story needs a safety net, and that's where travel insurance comes in. In this guide to the best travel insurance, we'll embark on a journey to help you better understand travel insurance and uncover the benefits that make it an indispensable companion for any traveler.

Best Travel Insurance Companies of 2024 Summary

  • Best Overall: Nationwide Travel Insurance
  • Runner-Up: AXA Assistance USA
  • Best for Cruises: Travel Guard
  • Best Reputation:  C&F Travel Insured
  • Best for Pre-existing Conditions:   Tin Leg Travel Insurance
  • Best for Digital Nomads:   WorldTrips Travel Insurance
  • Best Low-Cost Option:   Trawick International Travel Insurance
  • Best for Road Trips: Travelex Travel Insurance

Top Travel Insurance Companies Comparison

The best travel insurance companies offer comprehensive coverage options for a wide range of people and needs. For this guide, we looked at coverage options, customizability, and the best companies for specific situations, such as pre-existing conditions.

Here are Business Insider's picks for the best travel insurance companies in 2024. 

Best Overall Travel Insurance

Nationwide travel insurance.

Nationwide is of the largest players in the travel insurance space, offering nearly endless options for any customer on the travel spectrum, including annual travel insurance plans which can offer frequent travelers the flexibility to "set it and forget it" on their travel insurance coverage.

Nationwide Essential also offers some of the most affordable policies in the market compared to similar plans from competitors, which makes it a great pick for just about anyone. Buyers can discuss bundling options as Nationwide also sells homeowners, auto, pet, and other insurance products. Its travel insurance quoting is just as easy as it has been with other Nationwide insurance products.

Read our Nationwide Travel Insurance review .

Best Travel Insurance Runner-Up

Axa assistance usa.

AXA offers consumers a great option for no-stress travel insurance: low-priced plans, generous coverage limits on key categories including primary insurance on lost luggage, and up to 150% reimbursement for qualifying trip cancellations.

While add-ons are limited and rental car coverage is not included by default on cheaper plans, AXA is a perfect fit for travelers who don't plan to drive (or who already hold a travel credit card with rental car coverage), and don't need any additional bells and whistles.

Read our AXA Assistance USA Travel Insurance review .

Best Travel Insurance for Cruises

Travel guard.

AIG is well-known insurance provider, and a great fit for travelers who want to ensure that they can get their money back in the event of canceled or interrupted travel plans.

While the company's policies can be pricey compared to its competitors, the high medical and evacuation limits make AIG a solid choice for older travelers who value peace of mind and simplicity over highly customizable plans that may be bolstered with medical upgrades.

Read our AIG Travel Guard review .

Best Travel Insurance for Reputation

C&f travel insured.

While every travel insurance company has negative reviews about its claims process, C&F Travel Insured 's claims process has a consistent stream of positive reviews. One customer wrote that C&F processed a claim within 48 hours. Additionally, C&F regularly responds to customer reviews within one business week, making reviews a consistent way to reach the company.

Additionally, in C&F's fine print, it mentions that any claims that take more than 30 days to pay out will begin to accrue interest at 9% APY.

C&F's reputation isn't the only thing to speak highly of. It offers an array of add-ons uncommon in the travel insurance industry, such as Interruption for Any Reason insurance and CFAR coverage for annual plans. C&F also offers discounts for children on its Protector Edge plan and free coverage on its Protector plan.  

Read our C&F Travel Insured review . 

Best Travel Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions

Tin leg travel insurance.

Tin Leg is a great fit for travelers with medical issues in particular. Seven of Tin Leg's eight travel plans include coverage for pre-existing conditions as long as you purchase your policy within 15 days of your initial trip payment.

Thanks to coverage for pre-existing medical conditions as well as for potential COVID-19 infection while traveling, this company offers some of the best financial investment options for travelers who are or will be exposed to higher health risks and issues.

Read our Tin Leg Travel Insurance review .

Best Travel Insurance for Digital Nomads

Worldtrips travel insurance.

WorldTrips has affordable premiums, highly customizable add-ons, and generous coverage for core categories of travel insurance. All this makes it a great option for digital nomads, students studying abroad and backpackers.

However, travelers should keep in mind that plans are not particularly flexible, and coverage amounts are limited unless you plan ahead to pay for the areas and amounts that you need.

Read our WorldTrips Travel Insurance review .

Best Travel Insurance for Affordability

Trawick international travel insurance.

Trawick is another insurance provider with robust medical travel insurance that can help higher-risk and anxious travelers find peace of mind while on the road. This company offers one of the most generous medical evacuation policies in the market, although travelers will need to remember to add on rental car coverage if they need it.

Read our Trawick Travel Insurance review .

Best Travel Insurance for Road Trips

Travelex travel insurance.

Travelex offers three plans:

  • Travel Basic
  • Travel Select
  • Travel America

The Travelex America plan is meant for trips limited to the U.S., but it has the highest coverage limits in many areas compared to its other programs. If you're flying somewhere, the lost baggage limits are higher. Its natural strengths shine for road trippers, though. Travelex America adds coverage for roadside service and rental car coverage for unexpected accidents. It also covers pets should you be involved in an accident while on the road.

While your standard auto insurance does extend to car rentals within the U.S. for a limited time, any accident would affect future rates. Travelex would eliminate the risk of reporting to your auto insurance provider for minor incidents within its purview.

Read our Travelex Travel Insurance review .

Introduction to Travel Insurance

Why travel insurance is a must-have.

The unpredictable nature of traveling – from flight cancellations to medical emergencies – can turn your dream vacation into a nightmare. Travel insurance acts as a personal safeguard, ensuring that unexpected events don't drain your wallet or ruin your trip.

Understanding Different Types of Travel Insurance

Not all travel insurance policies are created equal. From single-trip travel insurance policies to annual travel insurance plans , from minimal coverage to comprehensive protection, understanding the spectrum of options is your first step in finding the right fit for your journey.

Key Features to Look for in Travel Insurance Coverage

Travel insurance for medical emergencies.

Imagine falling ill in a foreign country; daunting, right? A robust travel insurance plan ensures you don't have to worry about how much emergency medical care while traveling will cost, even in the most remote corners of the globe. This coverage will often come in tandem with emergency medical evacuation coverage.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Benefits

Life is full of surprises, some less pleasant than others. Trip cancellation and interruption coverage ensures that you're not left out of pocket if unforeseen circumstances force you to cancel or cut your trip short. You may also look for cancel for any reason and interruption for any reason options, which will reimburse you for a percentage of your nonrefundable fees, but expands the covered reasons you can cancel a trip. You can find our guide on the best CFAR travel insurance companies here.

Coverage for Personal Belongings and Baggage Loss

Losing your belongings is more than an inconvenience; it's losing a piece of your world. Insurance that covers personal belongings and baggage loss ensures that you're compensated for your loss, helping you to rebound and continue your adventure.

Support and Assistance Services

In times of trouble, having a lifeline can make all the difference. Look for insurance that offers 24/7 support and assistance services, giving you peace of mind that help is just a phone call away. Also, check websites that field customer reviews like Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau, and InsureMyTrip , to see how well a company responds to customer requests.

Choosing the Best Travel Insurance

Reputation and reliability of the travel insurance provider.

A provider's reputation is not just about being well-known; it's about reliability, customer satisfaction, and the ability to deliver on promises. Researching and choosing a reputable provider is a cornerstone in ensuring your safety and satisfaction.

Understanding the Policy's Fine Print

The devil is in the details, and understanding the fine print of what your travel insurance policy covers is crucial. Be aware of coverage limits, exclusions, and the process for filing a claim to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Customer Reviews and Feedback

In the age of information, customer reviews and feedback are goldmines of insight. Learn from the experiences of others to gauge the reliability and customer service of the insurance provider you're considering. While the ratings are important, you should also look at whether or not a company responds to customer complaints.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Travel Insurance

Knowing your policy inside out.

Familiarize yourself with every aspect of your policy – what it covers, what it doesn't, how to file a claim, and who to contact in an emergency. Being informed means being prepared. 

Steps to Take When a Problem Arises

If you face an issue during your travels, knowing the immediate steps to take can make all the difference. Keep important contacts and your policy details handy, and remember, your insurance provider is there to assist you.

How to Pick the Best Travel Insurance Company for You

There isn't a one-size-fits-all policy that works perfectly for every traveler. Young, healthy solo travelers can opt for much cheaper plans that offer bare-bones coverage, while families juggling complex itineraries will do best by investing in a robust policy that can help defray any costs associated with lost baggage, delayed transportation or other trip-impeding obstacles.

That being said, you can't go wrong with a travel insurance provider that boasts a reputable history and offers a wide range of customizable plans. In some cases, you may be comparing plans that are only a few dollars' apart from each other. In such situations, you should generally opt for the insurance company that offers the strongest customer service. It's also worth considering whether or not the travel insurance provider has been reviewed by other travelers with similar itineraries to your own. 

An insurance aggregator like InsureMyTrip or Squaremouth is one of the best tools for searching travel insurance policies. Once you input the specifics of your travel itinerary, you'll be able to see hundreds of search results to compare the ones that catch your eye. If the options are too overwhelming, use the filters to the left of your search page to eliminate as many irrelevant plans as possible.

How We Reviewed the Best Travel Insurance Companies

To come up with our list of the best travel insurance companies, we evaluated each insurer based on the following factors:

Guide Methodology: What We Considered

Policy Types

Travel insurance is essential, but often underused partly because people aren't getting what they want. Business Insider's 2023 travel study showed 10.65% of travelers surveyed bought cancel for any reason insurance. Cost may be a factor, but in many cases, the coverage is more affordable than you might think. Regardless, companies must offer a diverse range of coverage options. We award five stars to companies offering all standard coverages and additional options like pet and sports equipment protection.

Our 2023 travel study indicated the majority of purchases were made through the travel provider (ex: flight protection insurance when you're purchasing your airline tickets). While these may be sufficient for some customers, we look for companies offering a more comprehensive range of services.

According to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, the average cost of travel insurance will be between 4% and 8% of total travel expenses. Anything beyond that price point should include additional benefits beyond the standard inclusions, such as CFAR protection or upgraded medical coverage. Anything below that 4% threshold may leave you lacking important or sufficient coverage in an emergency.

Convenience and Flexibility

Whether you're an infrequent traveler or a suitcase warrior, a good travel insurance company should have you covered. In many cases, you might not even have to talk to a person in order to purchase your policy.

Many people think of travel insurance in context with specific trips, but most of these top contenders sell both single-trip and multi-trip policies, also known as annual travel insurance. Some companies also offer plans specifically designed for cruisers, students abroad, and business travelers. (Read our guide to the best cruise travel insurance companies for more details.) Finally, all of these providers offer multiple options for getting the specific areas and amounts of coverage that you want.

Claims Handling

Most travelers never have a large claim. Premiums are low, and it provides peace of mind for the just in case situations. So they leave reviews based on their reduced stress levels. But what happens if you lose your luggage or have to stay a few extra days due to an unexpected accident? Will your insurance carrier cover your claim without all the hassle? We check real customer reviews to sort this out for you.

Ease of Use and Support

When purchasing, during your trip, and throughout the claims process, you may need extra support. Does the company have a 24/7 help line? Does it have an online or mobile system allowing you to self-manage? Essentially, what are the options when you need help? We look at the big picture to evaluate the average customer experience with each company.

You can read our full insurance rating methodology for even more details.

Best Travel Insurance FAQs

There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for every traveler. Determine the benefits that are most important to you, like baggage delay coverage, medical coverage, and trip delay coverage, then look for a company with solid customer ratings, especially when it comes to processing claims.

Travel insurance will pay out if you experience a covered event, such as a travel delay or delayed or lost baggage. If you're looking to get travel insurance for a specific reason, such as needing to potentially cancel your trip due to work reasons, make sure your policy will cover you in that situation before purchasing it. You should also check customer reviews to see other travelers' claims experiences, as it varies wildly from company to company.

The average cost of travel insurance is 4% to 8% of your total trip cost, so it could vary widely depending on where you're traveling and the length of your trip. Your age, the number of people in your group, and other factors can also influence how much you'll pay.

Most comprehensive travel insurance policies include travel medical coverage that can come in handy if an emergency occurs and you need medical evacuation. Some travel insurance plans offer more specialized coverage for travelers with pre-existing conditions , so shop around if medical coverage is a top priority for you. 

$100,000 should be a sufficient medical coverage limit for travel insurance. If you're planning on doing extreme sports or anything particularly risky on your trip, you may want to increase your coverage level. A high medical coverage limit is especially useful when you're purchasing cruise travel insurance, since medical evacuations are more involved at sea.

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Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards .

Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

**Enrollment required.

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    GasBuddy. Paying for fuel can eat up a good chunk of your road trip budget, but GasBuddy can save you a few bucks. The app crowdsources up-to-date fuel prices for more than 150,000 gas stations ...

  19. AI road trip planner and itinerary planner

    Plan your journey with our state-of-the-art trip planner! Map your route, your waypoints and stop over times. Work out your travel times, calculate your arrival time and even see if you're going to arrive before sunset with enough time to set up camp or get in some exploring before dark. organised, allowing you to maximize your precious time ...

  20. Travel Planner and Itinerary Maker

    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.

  21. RV Trip Planner

    RV Trip Planner - AI-powered trip planning for RVers. Keep exploring with the Roadtrippers mobile apps. Anything you plan or save automagically syncs with the apps, ready for you when you hit the road! Download from Apple App Store Download from Google Play Store. Powered by AI and what we've learned from 38 million trips, Roadtrippers ...

  22. TripTik Travel Planner

    Work with a AAA travel agent or use online trip planning tools to find cheap hotels, book flights, reserve rental cars and even find the best motel along your road trip. Use your AAA membership to get hotel discounts, air discounts and car rental discounts. Also, check out the best AAA Diamond rated hotels and restaurants.

  23. Need a road trip planner? These apps can help make an ideal vacation

    For many people, the classic American road trip is a rite of passage. The 48 states on the continental U.S. are home to rolling hills, mountains, rivers, oceans and countless other attractions.

  24. Trip Planner

    Our Trip Planner features tools and information designed to help you have the best road trip - every time. When planning your next adventure you can make use of: Point-to-point trip planning Research and add Good Sam Campgrounds to your route

  25. 7 Free Travel Planning AI and ChatGPT Apps to Get an Instant ...

    Layla, Wonderplan, and PLAN by ixigo are AI travel planning apps with customizable itineraries. iplan.ai offers detailed itineraries for popular tourist cities based on interests and budget ...

  26. 18 uniquely AZ roadside attractions for your summer road trip

    Details: 332 S. State Route 64, Valle. 928-635-3072.www.raptor-ranch.com.. Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park. Less of a roadside attraction and more of a cool fun fact you can share, the ...

  27. How to plan your summer travel as a family caregiver

    ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — It's the first official day of summer and for many, the season is a time to travel, relax and take a break from the day-to-day grind. For family caregivers, taking a ...

  28. Iowa Department of Transportation: Several roads in Northwest Iowa are

    SIOUX CITY, Iowa - June 22, 2024 - If you are planning a trip in northwest Iowa this weekend you need to be aware of several road closures that may slow down your trip. Between the evening of June 20 and morning of June 22, portions of northwest Iowa received significant rain, resulting in flooding along various primary highways. There are currently widespread flash flooding and river ...

  29. How to stay on budget this summer, wherever your vacation ...

    Gas is typically one of the biggest expenses on a road trip, so check out different driving routes and itineraries to determine which cities or regions you can get to without blowing your budget.

  30. Best Travel Insurance of June 2024

    Best Travel Insurance for Road Trips Travelex Travel Insurance. Travelex Travel Insurance ... Optional CFAR insurance available with the Travel Select plan; Trip delay insurance starting at $500 ...