Waze recently added Planned Drives to Android Auto, which lets you save a route ahead of time, get a departure alert based on live traffic, and drive it later without any planning during the trip. It is the small feature that turns an app for the commute into an app that respects a road trip. That framing exposes the gap in every other navigation app: real trip planning is not the same job as turn-by-turn.
We reviewed seven Android apps that treat the whole trip as a first-class object: multi-day multi-stop routes, food and lodging along the way, fuel budgeting, offline maps for cell dead zones, and export to whatever navigation you actually drive with.
What matters in a road-trip planning app
- Multi-stop routes without hacks. Some apps cap you at 10 stops or dump them if you close the tab.
- Point-of-interest search that is not just food. Trailheads, viewpoints, quirky roadside places, overnight spots.
- Time budget, not just distance. Trips are hours, not miles. The app should estimate arrival at each stop.
- Offline maps for the day of the drive. Cell service breaks in national parks, tunnels, and mountain passes.
- Handoff to Android Auto or a car head unit. Planning happens on the couch; driving happens in the car.
- Fuel and lodging pricing that is current. Old data is worse than no data on a trip.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roadtrippers | Discovering roadside stops on scenic routes | 7 stops max on free | Plus around $30/yr | 4.4 |
| Waze | Live traffic and Planned Drives on the actual day | Full | Free | 4.6 |
| Wanderlog | Group trip planning with a shared itinerary | Unlimited free stops | Pro around $30/yr | 4.7 |
| Furkot | The most flexible desktop-first planner with mobile handoff | Unlimited on free | Optional donation | 4.6 |
| Google Maps | Offline maps and everyday navigation | Full | Free | 4.0 |
| GasBuddy | Fuel price optimization along the route | Full with ads | Free | 4.6 |
| iOverlander | Overlanders’ database of overnight spots and services | Full | Free | 4.7 |
The apps
1. Roadtrippers — Best for discovering roadside stops
Roadtrippers is the app that takes “we want to drive Route 66” and turns it into a plottable line with pit stops. Its POI database is heavy on the odd stuff: giant ball of twine, old drive-in theaters, hot springs a half-mile off the highway. Route drafts save to your account and export to Google Maps or Waze.
Where it falls short: The free tier caps at 7 stops per trip, and their subscription upsell is aggressive. Data on some POIs is a decade old.
Pricing:
- Free: 7 stops per trip, browser and mobile
- Paid: Plus around $30 per year unlocks unlimited stops and offline mode
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The best pick for a slow, scenic trip where the stops matter more than the destination.
2. Waze — Best for the day of the drive
Waze does not plan the trip, it drives it. Planned Drives lets you save a route ahead of time and pings you when to leave to arrive on time. On Android Auto the Planned Drives list surfaces the route so you never re-search the destination. Live traffic and the community-driven reports still win on the highway.
Where it falls short: No multi-stop planning that survives an app close. Trip legs must be re-entered on the day.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app
- Paid: None
Platforms: Android, iOS, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: Plan the trip somewhere else, drive it in Waze.
3. Wanderlog — Best for group trip planning
Wanderlog is the trip planner most useful with two or more people. A shared itinerary edits in real time, reservations attach to specific days, and everyone’s phone shows the same map. The free tier does not cap stops, which is unusual in this category.
Where it falls short: Optimised more for city hops than 3,000-mile road runs. POI data is thinner than Roadtrippers’s on scenic Americana.
Pricing:
- Free: Unlimited free itineraries
- Paid: Pro around $30 per year for offline access, itinerary export, and mileage tracker
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: Best when the trip has four passengers, three drivers, and a shared expense sheet.
4. Furkot — Best power-user planner
Furkot is the desktop trip planner that thinks in constraints: hours per day, fuel budget, elevation, ferry schedules. It draws a route, drops overnight suggestions where the daily driving budget ends, and hands the plan to the phone for turn-by-turn. Nothing else in the category has this level of route logic.
Where it falls short: The mobile app is more of a viewer than a planner. Real editing happens on the web.
Pricing:
- Free: Unlimited on the web planner
- Paid: Optional donation
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The right pick for a long or complicated trip where you actually want to plan hours per day.
5. Google Maps — Best offline maps and everyday navigation
Google Maps is not a trip planner, but its offline map download by region and the timeline feature turn it into a reliable base layer. Save the whole trip corridor for offline, then plan stops in another app that exports to Google Maps.
Where it falls short: Multi-stop planning caps at 10 waypoints and stops resetting when the app is closed. No time budgeting per day.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app
- Paid: None
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: The map layer everything else exports to. Keep it installed and download offline regions before you leave.
6. GasBuddy — Best fuel price tool for long drives
GasBuddy tracks price at every station on the route and highlights the ones that beat the current average. On a 2,000 mile trip, the difference between a random 76 and a Costco 30 minutes off the highway can be $60 per fill-up. GasBuddy’s route search finds those without off-route sightseeing.
Where it falls short: Ads on the free tier are heavy. The premium fuel card upsell is not compelling for occasional drivers.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app with ads
- Paid: None; Pay app is a payment card, not a subscription
Platforms: Android, iOS, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: Install for any trip over one tank of gas. The savings pay for the phone’s data.
7. iOverlander — Best for van, camper, and rough overnight
iOverlander is a community-maintained database of dispersed campsites, rest areas that allow overnight parking, water sources, dump stations, and mechanics that work on adventure rigs. If the trip is not motel-to-motel, this app is the most important one on the phone.
Where it falls short: UI is dated. Data quality varies by region; North America and Europe are strong, some Latin America corridors are thin.
Pricing:
- Free: Full app
- Paid: None (donations)
Platforms: Android, iOS
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: Essential if the trip involves sleeping in the vehicle, off-road, or in national forests.
How to pick the right one
- If the trip is about the stops: Roadtrippers.
- If you already planned the trip somewhere else and want the drive itself to be smart: Waze.
- If it is a group trip with shared logistics: Wanderlog.
- If you want to plan by hours-per-day, not just distance: Furkot.
- If you need offline maps for cell dead zones: Google Maps as the base layer.
- If fuel prices matter and the trip is long: GasBuddy.
- If you are sleeping in the vehicle: iOverlander.
Most road trippers end up with three apps, not one: a planner, Google Maps for offline, and Waze for the actual drive.
FAQ
Can I use Planned Drives without Android Auto? Yes. Planned Drives works on the phone screen with the same departure alert and traffic-adjusted timing. Android Auto surfaces the list on the head unit but does not enable the feature.
How many stops can Google Maps handle in one route? Ten waypoints including start and end. Anything more needs a real trip planner that exports the legs.
Which of these apps work offline? Google Maps has region-download offline maps. Roadtrippers Plus adds offline. Furkot’s routes cache to the phone. Wanderlog Pro caches itineraries. Waze needs data for live traffic, but it will still route once the drive has begun.
Is Roadtrippers Plus worth $30 per year? If the trip involves more than seven stops or you drive one big trip per year in cell dead zones, yes. For a single long trip you can also do the planning on the web free trial and export before the trip.
How do these apps handle electric vehicles? GasBuddy is fuel-only. Roadtrippers Plus and Wanderlog Pro flag EV chargers. For EV-first planning, the specialist tools (A Better Route Planner, Chargemap) still win.
