A mobile phone can be a great help during your campervan road trip. They can guide you the way, warn your speed if it exceeds the speed limit, help you to find the nearest gas station, and much more. Here are some mobile apps we find very useful during our trip to New Zealand and Australia.
Camping Amenities Apps
Camping amenities are important during a road trip. Camping apps contain all information we need, for example, nearest campground locations, groceries, petrol stations, dump stations, information center, police stations, and so on. Just everything you need for on your trip. We consider these apps as a must have
For this purpose, there are several apps available for download. However, these are two mobile apps that we used:
Wikicamps
Wikicamps app is available in 5 countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and the US. The database of this app is kept up-to-date by users. Users are able to pin a campground location, upload a picture of the campground as well as give comments/review about it. Information about campgrounds cover free and paid campgrounds. There are several filters of campsite features you wish to have.
Wikicamps works fine offline by downloading the map and all the related information in advance. It covers a lot more Point of Interest (POI) and campground locations than any other apps. Comments and reviews are not pre-moderated, so the information is always updated and can be viewed by other users directly.
Campermate NZ
Campermate available only in New Zealand. It covers a lot more information on types of amenities compared to Wikicamps, like laundromat locations, ATM, public showers, road warnings, and so on. Information about campgrounds cover free, low cost and paid campgrounds. A pre-downloaded offline map is available. Some of the information in this app like site picture is pre-moderated, so it’s not immediately available to public view.
Navigation Apps
Another useful mobile app for a road trip is navigation apps. These apps offer a great deal of help, especially for travelers who are not familiar with the area. For our road trips, we often use Google Maps and Here WeGo. Google Map requires an internet connection and allows you know the real-time traffic conditions. Meanwhile, Here WeGo doesn’t require an internet connection and also comes with speed limits information, a feature that Google Map doesn’t have. The app will warn you if you exceed the speed limit, which is very useful to avoid unnecessary speeding fines.
Weather Apps
Weather apps are basic apps on every mobile phone. It usually already pre-installed. But if you don’t have one, try to download them from iTunes or Google Play. There are plenty apps available in the market, like AccuWeather, Weather Bug, and much more.
It is nice to have this app on your mobile phone. It will help you to forecast the weather so that you can adjust your travel plan if necessary.
Mobile flashlight Apps
This app sounds simple but we found it very helpful during our trip. Some apps available for download are Flashlight (iTunes), Brightest Flashlight (Android), and much more.
Apps for Muslim
For Muslim travelers, we also recommend having apps to show local prayer times and qiblah direction. Some recommended apps are Muslim Pro or Islamic Finder (Android and iOS). Don’t forget to adjust your local time so that the prayer times can adjust accordingly.
Find out more information and tips on campervanning here.