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Road trip guideBuild a road trip with useful stops
A long drive is a chain of decisions: where to refuel or charge, where to rest, which viewpoint is worth the extra twenty minutes and what happens when the signal fades on a single-track road. This guide compares driving apps by how well they support those decisions.
Start with the constraints
Before opening any app, write down three numbers: how many hours you are willing to drive each day, how far your vehicle travels between fuel or charging stops in real conditions, and how many places you genuinely want to stop. Those numbers shape the route more than any algorithm. A day on the North Coast 500 around Applecross, a stretch of Route 66 through New Mexico or the Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne can all look short on screen and take far longer once single-track roads, slow traffic and photo stops are included.
Driving apps are tuned for the fastest sensible route. That is useful for getting between regions, but road trips often reward the slower option. Look for apps that let you set preferences such as avoiding motorways or tolls, and be ready to drag the route onto the road you actually want.
Driving platforms side by side
| Platform | Extra stops | Offline driving | Avoid options | Plan on desktop | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | Several stops per route | Yes, in downloaded areas | Tolls, motorways, ferries | Yes, send to phone; My Maps for planning | Offline areas need periodic updates |
| Apple Maps | Several stops (iOS 16+) | Yes (iOS 17+) | Tolls, motorways | Mac app; web view limited | No native Android app |
| Waze | One stop | No | Tolls, motorways, ferries, unpaved | Plan a drive on the web | Needs data at all times |
| HERE WeGo | Basic | Yes, country downloads | Tolls, motorways, ferries | Web planner | Thinner place data in rural areas |
Decisions the tools support
Manageable stops
Google and Apple Maps handle a day’s worth of stops. For a whole week, build the itinerary in Google My Maps or a spreadsheet, then load one day at a time.
DocumentedFuel and charging
Most driving apps show fuel stations along the route. Electric vehicle drivers often pair them with A Better Routeplanner or, in the UK, Zap-Map for charger availability and planned charging stops.
DocumentedRest that is planned
The Highway Code suggests a break of at least 15 minutes every two hours. Add rest stops as waypoints so the arrival time reflects them.
Documented guidanceOffline checks before departure
Download each day’s corridor
Save an area wider than the road itself, including the nearest town with a garage and a pharmacy.
Test a reroute offline
With mobile data off, plan a route between two towns in the saved area. If it will not calculate, switch app or adjust the download.
Note the last fuel before remote stretches
In the far north-west of Scotland or the Australian outback, stations can be far apart and close early. Save them as favourites.
Keep a printed day sheet
A single page with road numbers, stops and accommodation phone numbers rescues a day when a phone overheats or dies.
Travel time you can trust
App arrival times assume continuous driving at typical speeds. On scenic routes, that rarely holds. Caravans, campervans and towing all reduce average speed, and most apps cannot set vehicle size, so a narrow mountain road may be suggested even when it is a poor choice for a large van. Some dedicated truck and caravan apps support vehicle dimensions; mainstream driving apps generally do not.
Share your progress deliberately. Apple’s Share ETA and Waze’s share-drive feature end when the trip finishes. Google Maps location sharing can run for a fixed time; choose that rather than “until you turn this off”.
Our planning estimate
On scenic touring days we add 30–40% to the app’s quoted drive time to cover stops, slow sections and the detours that make the trip worthwhile.
Estimate
Our practical pick
For most road trips, Google Maps for the daily drive plus a downloaded offline area covers the basics. Choose Apple Maps if everyone travelling uses iPhones and values privacy. Keep HERE WeGo or Organic Maps as an offline fallback abroad. Use Waze for traffic-heavy legs where you will have signal.