Is RoadTrippers the ultimate travel companion? We break down its best features, pros and cons, why you'll love (or hate) it, FAQs, and top alternatives!
"I do a lot of road trips, and this app is great for planning. It will arrange stops in a logical way, but it will also allow me to move them if desired. I love the feature that lets you see the stops on a map, so I can see if a stop is too far of my desired trip route. The app can also give great suggestions for whatever your favorite thing to see on your travels is. I wish it included more hiking trailheads, but I can typically get somewhat close to where I want to go."
"I used to love Roadtrippers. Planned some of my best trips with it's help. Went to download it again for another trip coming up and it's completely changed. The awesome feature of being able to explore the area around you is now useless. They try to plan it for you and it isn't at all what you would want. AI can be a great companion, unfortunately for Roadtrippers, it ruined a really great thing. So disappointed."
Roadtrippers' newest feature, Autopilot, uses artificial intelligence and data from over 38 million planned trips to create personalized itineraries. By answering a few questions about your preferences, budget, vehicle type, and interests, the AI generates custom route suggestions with stops tailored to your travel style. This patent-pending technology factors in accommodations, dining preferences, activities, and budget levels to create unique adventures.
Autopilot is exclusively available to Premium members and represents a significant advancement in automated trip planning.
The platform excels at uncovering hidden gems, quirky roadside attractions, and off-the-beaten-path destinations that you won't find on traditional navigation apps. Roadtrippers maintains a database of millions of points of interest across the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with detailed information including photos, reviews, hours of operation, and user ratings.
The app categorizes attractions by type (outdoor recreation, dining, lodging, entertainment, historic sites) and allows you to filter by distance from your route to discover nearby gems.
After acquiring Campendium, Roadtrippers has become a powerhouse for RV travelers. The platform offers RV-friendly GPS navigation that accounts for your vehicle's height, weight, length, and propane restrictions to suggest safe routes avoiding low bridges, narrow roads, and restricted areas.
Enhanced camping features include access to over 150,000 campground reviews, comprehensive map overlays showing public lands, cell coverage, and wildfire smoke, plus advanced filtering by elevation and cellular service quality.
Multiple users can simultaneously edit and contribute to the same trip itinerary, making it perfect for group road trips where everyone wants input on destinations and stops. Collaborators can add suggestions, vote on activities, and help build the perfect group adventure.
The sharing features extend beyond planning, allowing you to share completed trips as inspiration for other travelers or keep family updated on your progress.
Roadtrippers accommodates everything from short day trips to epic cross-country adventures. The free version allows up to 7 stops, Basic membership supports up to 20 stops, Pro handles up to 50 stops, and Premium enables massive 150-stop road trips perfect for extended journeys or comprehensive regional exploration.
Each stop can include detailed notes, photos, and timing information to create comprehensive travel guides.
Premium and Pro members can download offline maps for specific regions, ensuring access to your route and destination information even in areas with poor cellular coverage. This feature is essential for remote road trips and camping adventures where internet connectivity is unreliable.
The app also provides in-app navigation with turn-by-turn directions, though many users prefer to export routes to Google Maps for primary navigation.
Roadtrippers automatically calculates estimated fuel costs based on your vehicle type, route, and current gas prices. The budgeting tools help you understand the financial impact of route changes and plan accordingly for long trips.
The system shows cost breakdowns by segment and provides transparency into total trip expenses before you hit the road.
The platform features handcrafted travel guides created by travel experts and community members, covering popular routes like national park loops, historic trails, and scenic byways. These guides provide inspiration and starting points that you can customize to match your interests and timeline.
Users can also create and share their own guides, contributing to the community knowledge base.
Premium members access multiple map overlays including live traffic conditions, cellular coverage maps, public land boundaries (BLM, National Forest, National Parks), and wildfire smoke tracking. These overlays help you make informed decisions about routes and stops.
The filtering system allows you to search for specific types of destinations, facilities, or amenities along your route.
Roadtrippers allows you to export your complete trip as a PDF guide for offline reference or create GPX files for use with other GPS devices. You can also generate shareable links to let family and friends follow your planned route.
The export features make it easy to have backup navigation options and physical references during your travels.
The platform provides live traffic updates and can suggest alternate routes or detours when road conditions change. While driving, you can check traffic conditions before making stops to avoid delays.
The system automatically recalculates optimal routes when you add, remove, or reorder stops, ensuring efficient travel paths.
Discover amazing roadside attractions, local diners, and unique stops you'd never find on regular navigation apps—all automatically suggested along your route.
With RV-specific routing, 150,000+ campground reviews, and specialized overlays for public lands and cell coverage, it's built for outdoor enthusiasts.
Answer a few questions and let Autopilot create a complete itinerary based on insights from 38 million previous trips—like having a personal travel expert.
Plan epic road trips with friends and family where everyone can contribute ideas, vote on stops, and build the perfect group adventure together.
Download maps and access your entire itinerary without internet, essential for remote adventures and areas with poor cellular coverage.
The free version only allows 7 stops per trip, making it practically useless for anything beyond the shortest day trips—you'll likely need to upgrade immediately.
No monthly options available, and many users complain about unexpected auto-renewals. You must remember to cancel manually or face another year charge.
Primarily focused on the US and Canada with limited coverage for Australia and New Zealand. International travelers outside these regions will find little value.
While it offers in-app navigation, most users still prefer Google Maps or Waze for actual turn-by-turn directions—making it more of a planning tool than navigation solution.
Some users report outdated information about restaurants, attractions, or businesses that have closed or relocated, potentially leading to disappointing detours.
Roadtrippers is a specialized road trip planning platform that excels at discovering interesting stops and attractions along driving routes throughout the United States and Canada. Rather than simply getting you from point A to point B, it focuses on making the journey itself an adventure by suggesting hidden gems, quirky roadside attractions, and worthwhile detours you might otherwise miss.
The platform's greatest strengths lie in its comprehensive database of points of interest, strong RV and camping features (enhanced by the Campendium acquisition), and collaborative planning tools that make group trips more manageable. The new AI-powered Autopilot feature represents a significant leap forward in automated trip planning, using insights from millions of previous trips to create personalized itineraries. For RV travelers and camping enthusiasts, the specialized routing and extensive campground integration make it particularly valuable.
However, Roadtrippers has significant drawbacks that limit its appeal. The free version is so restricted (only 7 stops) that it's essentially a demo, forcing most users into paid subscriptions. The annual-only billing with automatic renewal has frustrated many users who forget to cancel. Additionally, while the platform excels at discovery and planning, its navigation features lag behind dedicated GPS apps, meaning many users still need separate navigation solutions.
Still, for travelers who love discovering unique stops and hidden gems along their route—especially RV travelers and camping enthusiasts in North America—Roadtrippers offers an unmatched combination of discovery tools, community insights, and specialized features that can transform ordinary drives into memorable adventures. The investment in a paid subscription often pays for itself through discovering experiences you would have otherwise missed.
Roadtrippers offers a very limited free version with 7 stops. Paid options include Basic ($35.99/year) for 20 stops, Pro ($49.99/year) for 50 stops, and Premium ($59.99/year) for 150 stops plus all features like AI Autopilot and offline maps. Only annual billing is available with automatic renewal.
Yes, Roadtrippers includes in-app navigation with turn-by-turn directions, but most users report it's not as reliable as dedicated GPS apps like Google Maps or Waze. The platform is primarily designed for trip planning and discovery rather than primary navigation, and many users export their routes to Google Maps for actual driving directions.
Roadtrippers primarily covers the United States and Canada with comprehensive data and features. It has limited coverage in Australia and New Zealand, but the vast majority of attractions, reviews, and features are focused on North America. International travelers elsewhere will find minimal value.
Regular GPS apps like Google Maps focus on getting you from point A to B efficiently. Roadtrippers is designed to make the journey interesting by suggesting attractions, restaurants, scenic routes, and hidden gems along your path. It's more of a discovery and planning tool that helps you find worthwhile stops you'd never know existed.
The free version is extremely limited with only 7 stops allowed per trip, making it more of a preview than a functional tool. Most users find they need to upgrade almost immediately for any real road trip planning. However, it's worth trying to see if you like the interface and discovery features before committing to a paid subscription.
