One Travel App We Won’t Travel Without

I’m not really sure how we first heard about the GuideAlong app, but I’m very glad we did.

GuideAlong is essentially an interactive tour guide for road trips. We first used it a couple of years ago during our trip to Banff, Alberta, and quickly became fans.

The app offers narrated tours along popular routes through National Parks and other major tourist destinations. Using your phone’s GPS, it knows exactly where you are and provides commentary about what you’re seeing as you travel.

What makes it stand out is that it does much more than simply describe the scenery. It recommends destinations, provides turn by turn directions, and suggests hiking trails, scenic overlooks, and worthwhile stops along the way. It even includes practical information such as parking recommendations, trail difficulty, and approximately how much time you should allow for each stop.

The narration is exceptionally well done. It combines local history, interesting stories, legends, and practical travel tips. The narrator also points out which attractions are truly worth your time if you’re on a schedule and highlights the places you really shouldn’t miss.

What really makes the experience enjoyable is the delivery. It feels less like listening to an app and more like having a knowledgeable friend riding in the back seat, sharing stories, giving directions, and occasionally making you laugh. It never feels scripted or mechanical.

One feature we especially appreciate is that once you purchase and download a tour, it works even when you lose cell service, something that happens frequently in National Parks and other remote areas.

Since Banff, we’ve also used GuideAlong while exploring Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and we’re currently using it along the Oregon Coast.

The company offers tours for many more destinations than the ones we’ve visited. Whenever we begin planning a trip, one of the first things we do is check to see if GuideAlong has a tour available for that area. The tours aren’t free, but we’ve found them to be reasonably priced and well worth the cost.

Their customer service also impressed us. During one trip, I noticed that the narration referenced a landmark used to identify a turn, but the landmark had been removed after an accident. I sent them an email, and they responded quickly. They thanked me for letting them know, explained they were already aware of the issue, and said the narration was being updated.

This is not a sponsored review. We aren’t receiving anything for recommending GuideAlong. It’s simply a product we’ve used on several trips, and one that has made our travels more enjoyable.

If you’re planning a road trip, especially through one of our National Parks, I encourage you to take a look at GuideAlong. It has become one travel app we won’t leave home without.