When embarking on family travel, the aim is to focus on quality time together and to limit kids’ access to screen time; however, family travel apps can undoubtedly be lifesavers! The whole family can benefit from family travel apps on their iPhones or Android phones. Some apps will help plan family travel, and others will keep kids entertained. Check out our list of apps to ensure the whole family gets the most out of their travels!
Best Travel Planning Apps For Families
Before you even begin your travels, be sure to download these apps to help prepare and organize your trip.
PackPoint App
The PackPoint app will help the whole family get organized for travel. This app enables you to create a comprehensive packing list based on factors such as length of travel, weather at your destination, number of nights you will be away, and any activities planned during your trip. This app is one of the best family travel apps because of how simple it makes packing!
Travelers also have the option to sign up for PackPoint Premium. This premium service lets travelers connect their app to TripIt (more info below), customize activities and packing lists, and share lists with other travelers. If you get overwhelmed with the packing part of travel prep, you will love the PackPoint app.
MyTSA App
MyTSA App provides families with 24/7 access to all the information they need to know about airport security. For example, it allows you to search its database for items that can and can’t go in checked and carry-on bags. This is particularly helpful for families with infants and young toddlers traveling with formula, breastmilk, snacks, or medications. The app also allows you to check delays and weather conditions at the airports you will be traveling through and how busy the airport is likely to be on your date and time of travel based on historical data.
TripIt
The TripIt app gathers all your travel information and compiles it in one convenient and accessible location. You simply send your information, including hotel bookings, flight information, car reservation, and more to the TripIt team. They will then create an interactive itinerary you can access on your mobile device. TripIt will also send notifications and alerts of changes in your plans. For example, if your flight is delayed or your gate has changed, TripIt will immediately alert you!
There is also the option to sign up for TripIt Pro. TripIt Pro provides a whole slew of benefits for a reasonable annual price. Benefits include fare tracker (airfare price drop alerts), a seat tracker (alerts when better seats are available), a point tracker (keeps track of rewards), and international travel tools (information about specific countries).
Baby Changing Stations
Ever wonder if there is a baby changing station nearby? Or are you looking for a family room? With Baby Changing Stations, you can see what’s around you or further down the road. You can also pick how you want to get there, via Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze. You can see reviews of locations before you show up and leave a review to let others see what you think of it. If you find a great spot not on the app, you can add locations so others can get there too. The app also shows the availability of handicapped stalls, toddler protection seats, and sinks in handicapped stalls.
BabyQuip
With BabyQuip, parents can easily travel with little ones, as this company is excellent at helping you create a home-like experience wherever you go. As the #1 baby equipment rental service and marketplace, BabyQuip offers thousands of clean, safe, and insured baby gear items to families on the go. Providing this service to families who would rather not haul bulky baby gear when traveling makes BabyQuip unique. Thankfully, there is an app to manage these services. With the BabyQuip App, you can:
- Book. Browse a wide selection of baby and toddler gear and choose what you want to rent. BabyQuip services over 1,000 cities across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia anywhere, anytime.
- View. Quickly access your upcoming baby gear rental reservations when you are on the go.
- Manage. Forget to add an item? Did your travel plans change? Do you need to extend your dates? No problem! You can modify existing reservations easily in the BabyQuip app.
- Message. Contact your BabyQuip Quality Provider through the app when you are on the go. A Quality Provider is one who owns, rents out, and delivers the baby gear.
Hopper
Hopper is a wonderful family travel app that monitors price changes, so you don’t have to. Hopper started tracking flight price changes to help travelers get the best flight deals. Now, families can browse flights, hotels, rental cars, and homes. Through Hopper, families can save money with flash deals and earn Carrot Cash™, which can be used later for discounts and more savings.
Best On The Go Travel Apps
The following apps will help make your travels smoother while you’re on the go and trying to get from point A to point B with the family in tow!
Waze
Waze is an indispensable navigation app that will help get you to your destination in the most timely manner possible. This app uses real-time traffic information to help you avoid congested roads and traffic jams and report minor and major accidents ahead of your route. In addition, it gives you an accurate estimate of your arrival time, a feature that can also be shared with your friends and family so that they know when to expect you!
Uber
Let Uber take the driver’s seat and get you to your destination on time. This ridesharing app will get you a reliable ride in minutes and is available in over 500 cities worldwide. Once you request your ride on the app, it allows you to track your driver’s vehicle type and arrival time on a map. Traveling with a large family? Uber vehicles can pick up larger groups if the vehicles are available during your preferred time.
USA Rest Stops App
Parents on road trips have all heard the familiar “are we there yet?” from their kids. That, and requests for potty breaks, are givens on any road trip. Thankfully the USA Rest Stops app will help you to map out your stops along your journey on all interstates and highways. In addition, the app will show you traditional rest stops, welcome centers, and service plazas on turnpikes.
KidzOut App
The KidzOut app is a must-download! This map-based app will help you locate everything kid-related on your journey. The GPS uses your location to help you find the nearest diaper-changing station, kid-friendly bathrooms, restaurants, parks, and playgrounds!
BestParking
To eliminate the stress of finding a parking spot, especially when visiting a large city with children, the BestParking app is one of the best family travel apps for parking assistance. Travelers can browse available parking spots and price compare. In addition, each parking spot can be reserved ahead of time. With the BestParking app, travelers don’t need to worry about grabbing a parking pass as this app creates a mobile parking pass.
ATM Hunter
The MasterCard ATM Hunter app is a quick and convenient resource for locating the nearest ATM when you need one. You can search for any bank ATM or your bank’s ATM to avoid withdrawal fees. This app also shares which stores accept MasterCard® PayPass™ so you can plan accordingly.
AirHelp
With AirHelp, families can feel protected and comforted knowing this family travel app will help with delayed flights, canceled flights, missed connections, and uncooperative airlines. Instead of making claims with the airline yourself, AirHelp will do all the dirty work for you. They even handle all the legal fees! AirHelp reports that families could claim up to $700!
Roadtrippers
Are they planning a good ole family road trip? With the Roadtrippers app, families can type in their starting and end locations to receive suggestions for great places to stop along the route. Travelers can search for places to camp, sights & attractions, fuel & rest stops, and more. The Roadtrippers app defines its results based on whether you travel by car or RV. This is a great family travel app for memorable family road trips!
Hoptale
You can’t take a family trip and forget to record all those unforgettable memories! With the Hoptale app, families can create a virtual travel scrapbook/journal on the go. Hoptale takes all of your photos, your itinerary, your map, and your journal and combines them into one giant travel story! Users can even share their trip with other members of the family.
AllTrails
AllTrails is a fun family travel app that encourages families to get out and hike together! With AllTrails, users can search for nearby trails to hike. The distance, estimated time to hike, and difficulty level are provided for each trail so you can decide which path is best for all family members. There is even a filter to search for kid-friendly trails, which is super convenient if you are away from home and need to learn about nearby trails.
Related Articles:
- Pros & Cons of Screen Time for Small Kids
- Family Road Trip Survival Guide
- BabyQuip Baby Gear Rentals: How to Get Started
Best Entertaining Family Travel Apps
These apps are great apps to get the whole family involved. They are sure to be a hit amongst all age groups!
Charades! Kids
Charades! Kids are the perfect family-friendly app and are specifically geared toward kids. Developed by the same people who created Charades!, this classic game is geared towards kids and features age-appropriate categories such as Animal Kingdom, Fairy Tales, Dance Moves, and Movie Characters, just to name a few. Kids must guess through clues from friends and family before the timer runs out!
Kids Map
If you are looking for an educational geography app for younger children, Kids Map is the way to go. Kids Maps puzzles are all about making educational learning fun with easy-to-use, colorful geographic map puzzles for kids. Kids Maps aims to help young children (ages 2+) learn geography through a fun, interactive map puzzle game that uses colorful artwork, voice, sound & animation to teach.
Heads Up!
Heads Up! is a fun family app developed by talk show host Ellen DeGeneres that involves the whole family. One family member holds their phone up to their head and tries to guess what is on the digital card that appears on the screen through clues from family members. This app will have the whole family entertained!
Stories Podcast
This is the perfect companion to the family road trip. So put the screens away and use your ears to listen and imagine the fun and creative stories told on this application. Your children will not be disappointed with the many silly stories.
On the Stories Podcast, they perform a new story for your children every week. The stories range from retellings of fairy tales like Snow White to classic stories like Peter Rabbit and even completely original works! Everything is G rated and safe for all ages—the perfect kids’ podcast for imaginative families. So whether you’re driving with your children or just want to limit your kids’ screen time, Stories Podcast delivers entertainment that kids and parents alike will love.
Plates
The Plates Family Travel app is a FUN road trip game that keeps track of the vehicle license plates and car logos you see while traveling. As you find license plates and car logos, check them off your list. Each item you find earns points. Play just for one trip, or keep your game going as long as you want! This can be a family project as you build your collection of sightings together. Save each game you play to look back at later and compare other games. Share statistics from your current game or one of your saved games with your friends via email. Check out the map feature that shows where you found each item on the current trip or your saved trips.
Roadtrip Bingo
Pass the time with Roadtrip Bingo! A fun and nostalgic game for anyone who needs to pass the time while traveling with kids. Those long car rides are now more fun with Roadtrip Bingo, the classic-style bingo game for your iOS Device. Roadtrip Bingo is a FREE Universal App, which you can use on any Apple mobile device.
Roadtrip Bingo brings you the same fun and playability children and parents have enjoyed for generations. However, this board is unique because it lets you customize your gameplay with endless possibilities. You get an assortment of color tiles allowing you to play any color bingo you wish. Different colored cars? People with different colored clothes? The possibilities are virtually endless!
The iPad version offers a multiplayer game board, so two side-by-side game boards can play for head-to-head bingo action. So much fun!
Road Trip Travel Games
Are you looking for one app that includes a bunch of road trip travel games in one place? Road Trip Travel Games is the one to download! This app contains road trip games like Name That Tune, 21 Questions, and more. What’s extra fun about this game is how it keeps score for each player playing. In total, there are 11 road trip games to try, making this another one of the best family travel apps out there!
Trivia Crack
Have some trivia wizards in the car? Trivia Crack is a popular game where players can either compete against the computer or each other. The app’s audio and visual effects are fun and captivating, helping to pass the time on long road trips. Families will love testing their knowledge with Trivia Crack!
Geo Touch
Geo Touch: Learn Geography is an educational app from which the whole family can learn. Players try to place puzzle pieces together to form various geographical locations. You’ll see landmarks, flags, capitals, and more. Together, the whole family can test their geography knowledge and learn more about where they are traveling to.
Duolingo
Are they taking a family trip to a foreign-speaking country? With Duolingo, family members can play games to learn new languages for free! Goals are created to keep players motivated to keep learning. You may be surprised by how much can be learned in a short period of time. Before you know it, the whole family will be talking to each other in another language!
Best Watchdog App
Common Sense Media
The Common Sense Media app is in a category of its own! This watchdog app is an all-encompassing app that provides parents with age-appropriate ratings and reviews on all forms of media and technology, including movies, apps, video games, TV shows, and music! Common Sense Media rates media based on age appropriateness, quality, and learning potential to help parents make a fully informed decision about the media their kids use and consume daily.
These family-focused travel apps will be indispensable when planning and enjoying your next road trip or travel adventure. Everything you need for a smooth, efficient, and fun-filled vacation is literally at your fingertips on your mobile phone. It doesn’t get much easier or more convenient than that!
Jennifer O’Neill is an Independent Quality Provider with BabyQuip, helping families travel lighter and happier. She is a mother of two boys and enjoys working out, spending time with family and friends and of course, traveling.
All of these apps sound great. The article was definitely informative. Your site is extremely helpful.Thanks for sharing!
Never heard of some of these, what a great idea. Downloading KidzOut now.
These are all great tips. Thank you for sharing,