The United States is undergoing a road trip revolution for the second summer in a row. According to some estimates, 9 out of 10 Americans have traveled at least once since March 2020.
Creating a road trip itinerary is straightforward thanks to the internet, smart devices, and other readily available resources. You certainly know where to go for directions, last-minute hotel reservations, local cuisine finds treks and campgrounds. Even the most jam-packed family trip, though, leaves a lot of time unaccounted for.
There’s an app out there that can add something unexpected to your vehicle trip, whether you’re driving alone or in a caravan, going out for the day, or being nomadic. All you have to do is know where to look.
HearHere
This app is your audio tour to the world’s museums. Whether you’re stopping to explore or just driving by, HearHere has thousands of short stories connected to specific locations around the United States. Each video lasts only a few minutes, making them ideal bite-sized learning opportunities while you travel through towns and cities.
You may also choose certain categories to learn more about, such as music, natural wonders, history, and more, using the app. HearHere can give you notifications when you’re within range of something fascinating to hear about, and with location services switched on, HearHere can send you alerts when you’re within range of something interesting to hear about. Because the radius is so vast, you should be able to visit most of the area’s unique stories even if you’re just stopping through for the night.
HearHere is a free app for iOS users. After your first five stories, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium subscription for $35.99 a year to get unlimited listening.
America’s Backroads
This road-trip app’s Holy Grail has all the qualities you’d expect from a guide of the country’s oldest and most diverse sites. Unlike other apps that direct you to major tourist attractions, Roadside America understands that if you’re driving 400 miles in one day, you might as well stop and see a niche collector’s basement-turned-museum, a small-town prison with a spooky past, or the world’s largest pocketknife/gavel/frying pan/ping pong paddle. (Of the app’s attraction-tagging themes, the one with the most submissions is simply “Big.”) Reading about suggested stops is made more enjoyable by detailed descriptions and evaluations, which may be done from the comfort of one’s own home.
Enter your driving route ahead of time, and Roadside America will generate a list (along with a map view) of every interesting stop you’ll pass. Filters enable you to narrow down results, even more, depending on the app’s editors’ evaluations and the maximum number of miles you’re prepared to go for each stop.
Just make sure to check an attraction’s website for hours before going. Due to COVID-19, some people’s schedules have changed, and the changes may not be displayed in the app.
Roadside America is a $2.99 iOS and iPadOS game that features your pick of one of seven US areas. Additional areas may be purchased individually for $1.99 or in a package for $6.99.
Drive. fm
Many trivia applications allow you to play with your pals, but this one is for lone travelers.
Playing Drive. fm’s trivia games are like dialing into a radio program or playing trivia at your local pub since they’re all hands-free and voice-activated. When you begin a game, you are matched with a registered friend or a random opponent (but not in real-time) to maintain a sense of competitiveness while accumulating points.
If you travel through a tunnel when your answer timer is running out, the app will not punish you; instead, it will repeat the question if it doesn’t pick up your voice. The games work just like any other music service in the background, so if you rely on your phone for navigation, Drive. fm won’t get in the way.
Sadly, even though the Drive. fm app is still being updated with general changes and the primary trivia game contains over 480 episodes, the creators haven’t published new chapters in over a year, and it’s unclear whether they ever will. Still, the app’s unique voice-responsive design is a lot more entertaining than yelling the answers to a podcast’s trivia questions into the ether, and you’d have to travel a lot further than any single person should to get through the whole back catalog.
Drive. fm may be downloaded for free on iOS and Android. Unlimited memberships start at $0.99 per month and cost $49.99 per year.
PoopMap
Look, this software caters to a specific demographic, and you are either a part of it or not. This software allows you to drop a marker on a map every time you drop anything else in a new spot, which is ideal for individuals who want to memorialize their journeys in unexpected ways. Returning to your map may be a fun way to recall where you’ve been—and to double-check that everything is still in working condition after days of eating nothing but fast food on the side of the highway.
The app is more of an ersatz trip diary than anything else, thanks to an optional comments section and a grading scale for each entry. You may see notes and reviews written by other recent poopers around the country, including the occasional review of a toilet in your neighborhood if you enable public viewing on your profile. You may also connect with pals and form “leagues” with your traveling partners to see who has left their mark at more locations along the route.
PoopMap is available on iOS and Android for free.
AmpMe
AmpMe is the solution when your speakers run out of energy and your vehicle radio stops working. The software uses Bluetooth to connect phones and laptops, allowing you to listen to precisely synchronized music from any number of compatible devices.
To stream music from SoundCloud, Spotify, Deezer, YouTube, or your device’s music collection, create an in-app “party.” Connect with friends by inviting them to join from a pre-approved friends list, or by opening the party to local Bluetooth devices for a quicker procedure. You’ll just be able to play music, unfortunately. If you want to listen to the latest true-crime podcast with your pals while driving, you’ll find that several services, like Spotify, prohibit this audio format.
At the bottom of the app’s main page, there’s even a gallery of worldwide parties, allowing you to listen in with folks all over the world (maybe on their road journeys) at any time.
AmpMe is available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac for a free 3-day trial. After that, you’ll have to pay a $9.99 weekly charge.
