3 apps for planning outdoor travel

There are a million and a half travel apps out there, and they are all great. I am going to introduce you to three of my favorite.

In the early stages of travel plans with a group three things are key; itinerary, budget and communication. Lucky for you I have a suggestion for each. However, it is important to keep in mind that different people have different preferences. If you find that these applications aren't working for you, don't use them. None the less I hope it will point you in the right direction.

My favorite itinerary app: https://roadtrippers.com

Roadtrippers is awesome because it tells you how many miles are between your destinations and how long it will take you to get there. During my outdoor travels with the Roaming Roadies we visit several locations in one trip. This app helps me decide how long we will stay at each location. Usually if we have a really long car ride I will give us a few days rest at the same campsite.

My favorite budget app: https://www.google.com/sheets/about/

Google spreadsheets are awesome because they do the math for you. I use a template like this and input my information as I purchase and reserve. Above is an in progress budget for my Roaming Roadies trip to Alberta, Canada in June. As you can see I still have a lot to plan and purchase. I also input the links to campsites that I am interested in. I leave the final link in the budget once I have reserved the site. That way I can access information later on if need be.

My favorite communication app: https://groupme.com/en-US/

The Roaming Roadies are potentially taking 12 people to Canada this summer. That is a lot of people to get on the same page. Sometimes not everyone has an iPhone, which messes up group messaging. Not everyone has unlimited texting, so they don't want to waste their texts receiving your funny memes. Groupme allows everyone to recieve the same message and reply to each other using wifi. This communication app is so simple my grandparents used it to organize my families trip to Mexico.

Those are the three apps I would recommend using in the preliminary stages of planning your outdoor travels to make things easier. Let me know if you end up using these apps. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them!

Remember, everyone deserves a breath of fresh air!