Are you looking to make your vacation more memorable and exciting? Are you taking a road trip but have no idea where to stay or what to do along the way?

Through this article you’ll learn about the latest apps for your smartphone that can help you with everything from discovering new places to avoiding traffic tickets. These apps are here to make your trip easier and more fun.

1. Documenting Your Travels

The Traveler is a virtual scrapbook that lets you document, store, and organize information about your trip. After you take a photo or video, The Traveler can add it to a corresponding location on the map. The app Postagram, like The Traveler, can help you document but it can also allow you to share your trip with friends and family. With this app you can make your own custom postcard with pictures and messages of your choosing and send it whoever you want for 99 cents ($1.99 if it’s being sent outside the US).

2. Exploring New Places

Roadtrippers is a perfect app for those who are looking to explore the unknown. It finds obscure locations like small businesses and less known attractions. You’ll have a real adventure with Roadtrippers. Feildtrip is another great app for the curious traveler. Unlike Roadtrippers, it will alert you about points of interest as you’re driving near them. It can customize your recommendation through a thumbs up and thumbs down rating system. The locations listed on Feildtrip are less ambiguous then those on Roadtrippers but it a great app for those who are more impulsive.

While you’re exploring the open road, why not explore the universe itself? Google Sky Map easily locates and identifies planets, stars, constellation, and other celestial objects. It is amazingly easy to use. Simply point your phone into the sky and it’ll give you a detailed map on all the stars that can and can’t be seen in that direction. Perfect for camping and star gazing. It’s important to note that unlike Roadtrippers or Feildtrip, this app will not help you locate anything on earth.

3. Finding Places to Stay

With the Hotels.com app you can easily locate and book hotels in a matter of a few finger taps. It will show you hotels near you that are available, and with the “call” button feature you can get assistants or book a reservation with a real live person at Hotels.com.

Hotels By Me is a better option for those who need a hotel quickly. With this app you’ll have access to real-time availability and prices on hotels. Best part about this app is all the hotel reviews are from TripAdvisor, so you’ll know if the hotel’s “luxurious suites” are really disgusting, cramped, germ farms. The main difference between Hotels.com and Hotels By Me is that you can’t reserve rooms through Hotels By Me. Either way, both apps are handy to have during travel.

4. Navigation

Waze is an amazing app that can help you avoid driving tickets or even accidents. Through Waze, users will be able to see speed traps, traffic jams, and road hazards. It can also show you cars that have stopped in the middle or shoulder of the road. This app is perfect for winter travel because it can alert you of any approaching snowstorms. In addition, you can send a link to your host who can monitor your location and estimated arrival time on a map. 

Waze is the better option if you want to know about obstacles in the road but Road Ninja can help those who are on a tight budget. Road Ninja provides users with restaurant, gas stations, and points of interest on your journey. This app will show users real time gas prices, special offers, and coupons available at each location. If you don’t own one or are traveling by rental car, both Waze and Road Ninja make for excellent GPS substitutes. 

5. Finding Food

With Yelp you can easily find a location that’s suited for you. For example: if you’re looking for a cheap Chinese food restaurant near you, all you have to do is enter “Chinese food” in the search bar and mark off how far you’re willing to travel and your price range, and presto! It’ll provide you with all restaurants that meet your needs. It’ll also give you customer reviews and ratings on everything from the food itself to the restaurant’s service. So you can rest assured that you’ll find the best place for your money on Yelp.