Despite the pandemic, live events are back, and so are the travel challenges. Air travel right now is a mess with more cancellations and delays than ever, so I’ve found myself driving 4+ hours to and from engagements rather than mess with flights.

My 8-year-old bright orange Prius (we call it the Nerd Mobile) has less than 50K miles on it, so obviously road trips are not my thing.

Apparently highway exits are not my thing either because I can’t even estimate the amount of time I have spent trying to find a gas station or restaurant on my travels. I get off the highway at the only exit without services, or I miss the signs, or the restaurant is closed, or it’s on the wrong side of the road or I can’t turn around or or or…

Don’t do what I do. Use these awesome road trip apps to help save time, money and hassle.

Best Highway Exit Helper: iExit

The other day an attendee shared his favorite travel tool, and I slapped my forehead because I had forgotten about it. Download iExit for a detailed and up-to-date guide to every exit on major highways around the country. You’ll discover restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and other resources you may need on the go. The app and site will also show you real-time gas prices around you to save you time and money.

Bonus Road Trip Tool: Roadtrippers

Roadtrippers (click here for more road trip apps) lets you make your plan to get from A to B, whether you want the most direct route to save money or the drive that brings you past the best taco stands in Southern California. You can use the app or the site to plot start and end points, then have fun with all the possibilities in between. Share your trips with friends to make sure everyone sees what she wants to see.

A side note about Roadtrippers… it’s addictive. When I wrote The Big Book of Apps in 2017, I played around with the site. Before I knew it, I was planning a vacation and a drive from San Diego to Portland. Poof! Two hours disappeared. I’m afraid to go there again.