This blog post was updated on January 29, 2024.
While Thanksgiving week might be one of the busiest times of the year to fly, not all travelers are taking to the air to get home for the holidays. Some are driving their own cars or renting one to get to Thanksgiving dinner on time.
But we all know how the roads can be during the holidays. It might be good to have a little inside info on how to avoid traffic, where the best rest stops are, and where to stop for food and gas along the way.
Thankfully, we live in an age where there’s an app for nearly everything we might want to do, and car travel is certainly no exception. Whether you’re driving you own car or picking up a rental, here are some extremely useful apps too help you make your Thanksgiving travel as safe, fun, and enjoyable as it can possibly be.
Roadtrippers
If you’re taking a road trip this holiday season, then one app you’ll definitely want to check out is Roadtrippers. Roadtrippers, as the name implies, is all about creating routes and itineraries for road trips. You can use the app to plan future trips, or look for more information during a trip that you’re already on.
With Roadtrippers, you enter your departure date and location and your arrival info and the app will create a map for you. The map is marked with accommodations, attractions, and special sights to check out along the way. You can also dig down deeper into a location and look for additional services, like restaurants, camping sites, and even places to go shopping.
GasBuddy
We all know how gas prices can fluctuate, sometimes at stations that are across the street from each other. We also know that gas prices have a tendency to spike at certain time of the year. GasBuddy is an app that can help you find the best gas prices around, no matter where you are in the country. You can also sign up for Pay with GasBuddy to save even more. With Pay with Gas Buddy, you’ll receive a prepaid gas card good at many of the gas stations across the country. You might save as much as 25 cents a gallon.
You can also earn gas credits by purchasing through GasBuddy’s online portal, which depending on the gas company can be 3% or more. Or you might opt to sign up for GasBuddy’s Shop Your Way service. With Shop Your Way, instead of saving money at the pump, you’ll earn points towards gift cards for airline and hotel purchases.
Roadside America
Some people when they travel by car can’t wait to visit the “World’s Largest Ball of Twine” or the “Largest Rocking Chair in the United States” If you’re one of these whimsical folks, you need Roadside America. The app allows you to purchase different packages of attractions based on where you are heading. The app will tell you where the wackiest and weirdest attractions on the roads that you’re planning to take, including rare oddities, strange museums, bizarre statues, and fascinating natural wonders. Roadside America also helps you keep track of the attractions you’ve been to,
Waze
If you are hitting the road for your Thanksgiving travels, you’ll want to know what lies on the road up ahead. Waze is one of the world’s largest social-based traffic apps. While it helps you navigate, it also aims to point you on the best route to outsmart traffic. The app will alert you before you approach accidents, police, road hazards, and traffic jams. You merely need to type in your destination and just drive with the app open.
Waze also features a component where you can find the best gas prices along your route. As Waze is community-driven, you can also contribute tips to other drivers on detours you encounter on the road. Waze is available on Apple and Google devices.
iExit
Another invaluable tool for road trips is iExit, which helps travelers identify which gas stations, restaurants, rest areas, and hotels are available at each highway exit along your trip. Once you select your choice on the app, iExit will provide you with a choice of getting driving directions or to call ahead if you have any questions.
You’ll no longer have to rely on those tall signs with gas and hotel logos you see off the highway, or those billboards with too many restaurant options to read quickly as you’re whizzing by. The iExit app allows you to search areas that are up to 100 exits away, and allows you to plan ahead by searching for exit info in another state.
Hotel Tonight
If you’re a frequent flyer, you probably know that finding cheap last minute flights can be a great way to save a little dough. But that’s for flights. What about hotels? Well, it turns out there’s an app for finding cheap last minute hotels as well and it’s called HotelTonight. This app helps travelers find inexpensive same-day hotel bookings, offering rooms and suites that would otherwise go empty for the night. And the prices are usually at a considerable discount from the typical cost for these rooms.
HotelTonight also offers deals for weekend getaways, and travelers do have the option to books rooms weeks in advance. However, the app is most useful for same-day reservations, and the savings are often substantial. Which is great for road trips where you may not necessarily know where you’ll be stopping for the night.
Do you have any favorite apps that you rely on for road trips? Let us know in the comments below!
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