What are your “go to” travel apps/websites

[Yoheadden]

I know there are a lot of Road Warriors on here that take extended driving trips in either their RVs or POVs. I was wondering what apps or websites do you find essential for either planning the trip/route or while you are on the road.

The DW and I, along with my DMIL, (yes, you read that correctly) are taking a road trip from CT to Asheville, NC to Pigeon Forge, TN to KY, on up to PA and finally back to CT. Mostly a quick trip to visit family, but taking advantage of seeing some sights along the way. We are leaving around 12/28 and returning around 1/4. I know, a lot of mileage for a short time period, but this is why I want to have a set plan of what we need/want to do each day. I will be somewhat flexible, as I know he weather, especially in the mountains, will be a big factor.

I currently use the Waze app and I find Trip Advisor useful for ideas.
What do you use ?

 

[OldShooter]

AirBnB for lodging, usually Yelp for restaurants though TripAdvisor is getting better. We will often buy state guidebooks and DW/Navigator will identify places of interest and read the info aloud, then we decide. We never have a fixed plan for somewhere we have never been. For that reason, too, we try to book AirBnBs with generous cancellation policies. It's a worst case for us if we have to stay in an anonymous pile of identical boxes aka motel/hotel.

 

[MBAustin]

I use RVTripWizard (also part of the Social Knowledge Community) and really like it, but it is geared more to those doing RV/camping trips.

 

[Ronstar]

I use TripAdvisor, Google maps/my maps, paper maps, and sometimes airbnb. On road trips, I space out overnight stays at 8-10 hr intervals where the combined driving/ attractions are 8-10 hrs.

 

[Luvtoride]

I use TripIt for all confirmations and putting together an itinerary for my trips. I use the free version which is fine for my purposes.

Any suggestions for European trip planning? I do use trip advisor for specific recommendations of hotels, restaurants and activities but I’m looking for something a bit more specific to planning a trip through Italy for next year.

Thanks.

 

[PatSea]

We have found iExit app to be very useful when driving I75 Ohio to Florida.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

The function I employ a lot of in Google Maps is setting pins to provide a quick visual of points of interest in the area. Some of the pins also allow you to save notes so you can remember why you pinned it in the first place. For example, I may pin an eatery I'm interested in going to and add notes about how I found out about it and what dishes the place is know for.

I like using wikitravel.org to get basics about a city: how to get to the core from the airport, local transportation options, neighbourhood info, etc. People do load info about sights/attractions, places to eat, where to stay, etc but I don't find it a strong point compared to other websites. It's also better for larger towns/cities versus really small towns.

 

[Markola]

Google Flights. I haven’t seen a better flight comparison site.

 

[OldShooter]

... Any suggestions for European trip planning? I do use trip advisor for specific recommendations of hotels, restaurants and activities but I’m looking for something a bit more specific to planning a trip through Italy for next year. ...

We probably have thirty of the "Eyewitness" travel guides. When we're going to a new country the first thing we do is to see if there is an Eyewitness guide.

These are the books we use in researching and planning. They include everything from a brief country history to detailed cutaway drawings of historical buildings. All in color. At the back they offer lists of hotels and restaurants but books like Lonely Planet, Rick Steeves, ettc. do a better job of that. What the eyewitness books do is to prepare you for the trip, not provide detailed guiding.

Italy: https://www.amazon.com/DK-Eyewitness-Italy-Travel-Guide/dp/0241509785 Use the "look inside" feature to see what you're getting.

OP: There is an Eyewitness USA book, but I have never looked at it. My guess is that your itinerary is much smaller than what they try to cover, but you might want to take a look: https://www.amazon.com/DK-Eyewitness-USA-Travel-Guide/dp/0241408636