Family Travel Must Haves: #4 "Appy" to See You!

Back in 2000 I took a long cross country trip. I thought at that time that I was on the edge of technology, I had a laptop with a GPS adaptor, a Palm VII with wireless Internet, my 12 CD changer in back of my car, and my Motorola flip phone. But having to use a laptop to get GPS is not exactly convenient or easy to use, Palm VII's only had coverage around larger cities, a 12 CD changer can only play 12 CD's and you have to carry your CD's with you and have to change them out in the cassette, and the Motorola flip phone was only a phone. 

8 years later I would get an iPod Touch, which absolutely blew me away with it capabilities. Hot on its heels I bought my first iPhone a year later. I wish I had an iPhone nine years earlier on that trip. GPS, Internet, telephone, 1000's of songs, and  hundreds of other benefits including apps. When I got my first iPhone four years ago the only Route 66 based apps out there where picture and game apps, now there are real Route 66 apps out there, and lots of others worth mentioning. 

Lets start with the Route 66 apps. Yes they do exist and there not bad.

 

Road Trip 66 is a great app for showing you what's along the way. It also gives you a pretty decent road map, which you can pinpoint yourself on. It doesn't exactly have a GPS feature to help you navigate the route, but it still is worth having

The Route 66 Mobile Guide can help you find features along the route. It's a great planning tool to find sites, restaurants, and lodging along the way on a state by state basis. 

Roadtrippers is not specifically a Route 66 app, but does have Route 66 sites on it. This app also connects into social websites like Facebook allowing you to share your travels with friends. 

Other Apps for Family Travel 

Sit or Squat is a great app for finding bathrooms in a hurry. Not only can you find bathrooms but some of them are rated for cleanliness, plus you can rate bathrooms as well for other families to know about.

Yelp is a must have for any traveler, or just to have around your own hometown. It can help you find just about anything near you. 

Other worthwhile apps:

Best Western and most other chain motels have apps including Holiday Inn, Choice Motels, Marriott and others. These can help you find motels and reserve them on the go.

Gas Buddy is a great app at home or on the road. Find gas stations or compare prices to get the best per gallon price.

Trapster is a great road trip app, it lets you know about speed traps, traffic accidents, and construction along your way. 

•One app I mentioned in a previous post was the Pet Friendly app. Check out my posting "Family Travel Must Haves: #3 Traveling with Families Best Friend", to find out about this app.