How the latest GPS technology can power your next road trip

Finding the right tool can amplify your travel experience. Whether it smoothly guides you through unfamiliar territory or simply helps you find the local food that you heard all about, the power of GPS can greatly enhance your trip.

TripAdvisor

There’s an app for everything these days, so whether you’re looking for the best coffee in a new city or just want to find the best flight deals, your smartphone probably has you covered. Another bonus to all this technology at our fingertips is GPS, which gives you the power to find anything and go anywhere.

GPS can help you do a number of things: It can help you get out of a tight spot when you get lost, find places of interest that might not otherwise be signposted, point you in the direction of the best local food in the area, and it can even help you find your parked car after a day of exploring.

The travel giant has its own app that makes a great companion on any road trip. If you find yourself in a city you haven’t had time to research then you can use the ‘Nearby’ function on the app to work out exactly what there is to do.

This will help you to find accommodation and restaurants with parking. This is a much better alternative to driving around looking for somewhere suitable.

Another great feature is the ability to book accommodation right from the app based on your location. This is handy for anyone who doesn’t like to book too far in advance as you can just drive until you find a town or city you’d like to spend more time in.

CoPilot

If you don’t want to fork out for a new GPS unit but need a navigation app that’s not going to drain your roaming data, CoPilot is a good choice. You can download the maps for the city, country or continent you need so you always have a map available, even with roaming data switched off. This gives you the freedom to navigate to somewhere beautiful before turning on that precious data for a quick Instagram post or Snapchat.

Waze

If you’re going to be driving around a new city and aren’t sure where the traffic hotspots are, Waze can pinpoint issues and accidents, helping you to avoid congestion and continue onto your next destination. It works much like Google Maps in that it collects data from nearby users but it takes things a step further by making it easier for those users to share new information.

Live Trekker

If you want to map and record every step of your journey, but you’re worried about missing out on it all from behind your phone, this is the app for you. It creates a digital journal of your adventures and maps it all out with a red line. It also tracks speed and altitude, which is great for road trippers and cyclists. At the end of the day or even the end of the trip, you can go back to the app and add in notes and pictures to create a multimedia-rich travel diary that you can share with friends and family.

Rome2Rio

Looking for an app that can help you safely navigate multiple continents and multiple methods of travel? Rome2Rio does just that and can help you plan the adventure of a lifetime.

Spotted by Locals

This is one of those apps where you really get what you pay for. If you want to live, eat, drive and explore like a local, this is a must-have. With plenty of European cities on offer at £3.99 each, you’ll be able to find some true hidden gems on your next city break.

By Jess Shanahan www.avis.co.uk/inspires