So, let’s talk about the navigation apps we use on a road trip. The advent of smartphones has made traveling significantly easier than in the past, but finding the right app to suit your needs is a bit of a pain.
The first major app you will need to get running is a navigation app. For many folks, this boils down to one of three choices, depending on the phone you use: Apple Maps, Google Maps and Waze.
For our trip to Savannah, I made a point to use all three at various points during the drive and there are good and bad points to all of them.
(Disclaimer: When we link to places you can buy our stuff or places we stayed, we are using special codes which earn us commissions on the sales at no additional cost to you. Please see our Review Policy for more information.)
Apple Maps
For those without an iPhone, you can skip this section. Apple Maps is exclusive to Apple products. When it first launched, critics maligned Apple Maps for inaccuracies and being less complete than Google Maps and rightfully so. It was an OK product at the time, but Google Maps was much better.
Now, Apple Maps is, in most categories, the equal of Google Maps. In using Apple Maps, I found it to be easier to get navigation started than Google Maps. I found the interface to be the most easily read of all three of the choices, especially the arrival information at the bottom.
The most recent update changed the main directions at the top to white lettering on a black background, making for a much-improved experience over the previous black lettering on a white background.
Another new feature is remembering where you parked your car. That’s a handy feature in big parking lots.
From a pedestrian point of view, Apple Maps has always done a good job in my opinion. We have only had difficulty a couple of times using Apple Maps for walking directions, mainly back in 2013 when we were walking through Rome.
Apple has also been slowly adding more cities to its mass transit directions. When we were on the outskirts of Boston this past summer, we got an alert that Boston mass transit information had been downloaded to Apple Maps. I wouldn’t say it is as good as Google Maps in this regard, but it is certainly getting better.
Other Benefits of Apple Maps
Apple Maps has two major points going for it: Siri integration and the Apple Watch.
I can say “I need directions home,” and Apple Maps just pops up and is ready to go. That’s convenient. Another major convenience, if you have an Apple Watch, is walking directions with turn notifications coming in on your watch. Not having to glance at your phone every time you need to make a turn is a huge thing when traversing a city you don’t know.
Google Maps
Google Maps is the gold standard of navigation apps and has been for quite some time. Google Maps has been around, has fixed its problems, and is a very stable platform for any mode of navigation. While I rarely use Google Maps, I will always keep it on my phone because it is solid and reliable.
The newest Google Maps app has lane assist, a feature found in dedicated GPS units. Lane assist is very nice and does work well, especially the voice prompts. While the interface is not as easy to read as the Apple Maps interface (the white on green just isn’t quite as readable), it does show the lanes you should use up at the top.
Honestly, Google Maps might be my go-to navigation app anytime I drive through a major city. Having lane assist will make merging with the trailer much, much easier.
Another nice feature of Google Maps is highlighting the turns on the map. That does make it easier to figure out what you need to do, assuming the map is spot on to reality. Even Google Maps falls short in that department occasionally.
Google Maps also does a good job of adjusting the zoom of the map to frame what I need to see. This is one area Google Maps’ interface does beat out Apple’s.
Google Maps’ and Apple Maps’ Major Flaw
One major flaw of both Apple Maps and Google Maps is the inability to just drive with it, without turning on navigation to a destination. Neither mapping system will give you the same view of driving without actively navigating.
Why would I want that? Sometimes, I know where I am going and how to get there, but I want to get the additional information (cross streets, traffic information) provided by my navigation app. There is only one contender that allows that and that’s Waze.
Waze
Waze is my absolute favorite navigation app. Seriously, I love Waze for a road trip. Most of the time, Waze will give me great directions, actively avoiding traffic. Sometimes, Waze will take me some very weird routes, which will only save a minute or two but, still, Waze values my time.
Let’s talk about traffic. Waze not only gets its information from traffic systems, it also gets it from other Waze users on the road with you, which makes for a far more comprehensive approach to dealing with traffic. Waze is constantly reevaluating your arrival time and looking for other options.
For example, there was significant traffic in a couple of spots in downtown Atlanta on our way home from our latest trip to Savannah. Waze routed us away from I-75 on to I-675, on to I-285, back on to I-75, on to Langford Parkway and then on to I-285 again… All to avoid a 30-minute delay. It worked, as we barely slowed down going around Atlanta.
What makes Waze awesome is its ability to leverage other drivers to provide real-time updates on road conditions. There’s a piece of tire on the highway? Another Wazer spots it and throws up an alert. As you approach, you get an alert there is an object in the road… Or a speed trap… or a vehicle stopped on the shoulder…. and that is Waze’s flaw.
Waze’s Major Flaws
Waze is both busy and noisy. You will get a lot of alerts, particularly in urban areas. Some of them will be valuable. Others will not. If you are cruising in the left lane, most vehicles stopped on the shoulder will be scenery, not a hazard. For the guy towing a camper, they could be a hazard if they are not over far enough. You have to decide which alerts are valuable to you at which time.
Waze’s interface is also pretty cluttered, both with alerts and other information. The white on black for directions is clear, but the blue on black is harder to read and the bottom ETA area is much harder to read than either Google Maps or Apple Maps.
One thing I really like and miss when I am using another navigation app is the speedometer. Waze will tell you how fast you are going based upon GPS. It will also tell you, provided there is data on it, the local speed limit. I have found this feature pretty handy and about 95% accurate.
Reporting and Voice Recognition
Since Waze relies on users reporting hazards, etc., it has a set up for reporting something you see. While the interface is as good as it could be, it does take your eyes off the road to make a report… unless you use the voice command feature. A three-finger tap on the screen will, most of the time, bring up a voice prompt and allow you to report a hazard without taking your eyes off the road. This works most (75%) of the time, but there are times Waze does a poor job at voice recognition.
Waze does allow you to turn on the interface without starting navigation, which is very handy if you know where you are going but want traffic and hazard updates along the way.
Waze is only for driving, so it does not support walking or mass transit directions. Google owns it and its mapping is spot on.
CoPilot – An RV-Friendly Option
One thing none of the above app do is provide directions specifically for large trucks or RVs. The big thing we worry about when using a navigation program is being routed into a low-clearance or an area where RVs are not allowed. On the road trip we took over the summer, it only happened twice. Once as a road that did not allow RVs, which we knew about in advance. Once was a road in Maryland which had too low a clearance ahead sign. I spotted the sign before we went more than a few feet on to the road.
CoPilot does make an app which included areas where RVs are not allowed or low clearance areas. While the basic app is free, voice navigation costs $9.99 per year. The good news is you can download the maps for use offline. The interface, however, is akin to Google Maps before it offered fluid navigation.
The Bottom Line
All three map programs are worth having on your phone if you have an iPhone, and all three are free. I also suggest getting the appropriate CoPilot app if you have an RV. If you are a full-timer, paying for the app might be worth it to you.
Travel Resources
We use Skyscanner to find deals on flights. Skyscanner has a great interface and compares tons of airlines for the best pricing and routing. That said, it does not always have every airline and some airlines will have better deals on their website. Still, Skyscanner is a great place to start.
Click here to search for a flight.
We typically stay at Hilton properties, so we use the Hilton website. You can find good Hilton Honors discounts or AAA discounts for a hotel there. We make great use of our free night certificates from our Hilton Honors American Express.
Click here to book a Hilton property.
If there are no Hilton properties available, we use TripAdvisor to read reviews and book the hotel. We find we can get the best price that way.
Click here to search for a hotel.
We use Vrbo for the times when we have rented a cabin for a weekend getaway, like this cabin in Townsend, TN, or needed to rent a house for a large family vacation. We had a great experience with them in terms of refunding deposits when COVID hit and will continue to use them.
Click here to search for a vacation rental.
As a general rule, we book with Hertz for rental cars. We have had nothing but good experiences with them. Plus, we really like unlimited mileage and not worrying about crossing state lines. We have even rented from Hertz overseas in both Slovenia and Croatia.
Click here to book a rental car.
We have found some amazing prices booking a cruise through Cruise Direct. We have saved a lot of money on our cruises compared to what we found elsewhere, making a last-minute Bahamas cruise even cheaper.
Click here to book a cruise.
We highly recommend Outdoorsy for RV rentals. We rented a camper van for a week to visit Rocky Mountain National Park for the elk rut and Custer State Park for the Buffalo Round-Up and had a blast. The program was easy to use and we really enjoyed the freedom of having a camper van for that trip.
Click here to rent an RV.
We don’t often book tours. Typically, we like to do stuff on our own. That said, there are some experiences you just can’t have any other way. So, when we do want to book a tour, we always check Viatour first.
Click here to book a tour.
We make extensive use of both Good Sam and AAA on the road. Good Sam is normally regarded as a discount card for RVers at campgrounds and Camping World but anyone can use the 5 cents off a gallon at the pump at both Pilot and Flying J.
Click here to get a Good Sam membership.
We have had AAA as long as we have been married and it has more than paid for itself in discounts at hotels, aside from the peace of mind of having roadside assistance. Add in paper maps and the ability to get an international driver’s license and it is more than worth it for any traveler out there.
Click here to get a AAA membership.
