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TRAVEL 10 Road Trip Apps You Must Have This Summer Life is a Highway… Words by Craig Agranoff Summer is officially upon us, and that means road trips. Whether you're planning to drive across the county, across the state, or across the nation, when you leave Southern Florida, you'll want to have some apps to keep your trip safe, interesting, and fun. Here are some cool ways to make your hot summer travels easier. ENTERTAINMENT Spotify & Pandora (Spotify.com/us/) (Pandora.com) Burning mix CDs or filling your iPod with tunes is no longer hip. Playlists have gone mobile and are more connected than ever with services like Spotify and Pandora, which often come built into new cars today. So connect your smart phone or device and stream the tunes as you drive. Spotify, Pandora, and similar services have apps and many car or car audio manufacturers do as well. The service you choose will depend largely on your tastes and what you're using outside of the car. Spotify connects with other social networks and makes personal, as well as shared play lists so you can listen to your own tunes or pull music that your friends like by listening to their playlists or linking to them live to hear what they're listening to at the moment. Pandora is available in more vehicles as a built-in option and has simpler controls while you're on the go, so it may be an easier solution if you're not a 24/7 audiophile. Free versions can be upgraded to more useful and commercial-free paid versions. Audible (Audible.com) Looking to learn something or finally get to that book you've been putting off? Audible is perfect. Listening to an audio book is a great way to pass the miles. Ask any truck driver. This service makes getting to where you're going more enjoyable. Free on iOS and Android, book costs vary by membership type and book. The License Plate Travel Game (Itunes.apple.com/us/app/license-plate- travel-game/id426062360?mt=8) Remember sitting in the back seat as a kid, bored out of your skull while your parents drove you to yet another lame family vacation? The license plate game was one of the few family games you could play on a road trip without resorting to violence. Now, you can play using this app, even if you're the only one in the car! The app keeps score for both new and already-found plates. It's available on both iOS and Android. PIT STOPS GasBuddy (Gasbuddy.com) You have a navigation system or Google Maps on your smart phone? What about finding the cheapest gas? With fuel at $3.50 or more per gallon this summer, saving is important. Getting a few cents off per gallon on a road trip can add up to a hundred or more saved. That's where GasBuddy comes in. This app shows you the lowest cost gas along your route or even just in town. Driving an extra couple of miles off track can mean big savings. Free for both iOS and Android phones iExit (Itunes.apple.com/us/app/iexit-interstate- exit-guide/id401746066?mt=8) If you're wondering where to find something other than the usual fast food chains or are hoping for something specific (or anything, anything at all interesting) at the next exit, then iExit is the app you'll need. This is a great little tool that shows you what's coming up at the exits ahead and what types of things are available at each one. From restaurants to hotels to attractions, iExit lists it. A great app available on iOS and Android. Roadside America (Roadsideamerica.com) Road trips are all about those bizarre little stops you made on a whim. Don't miss any of those fun opportunities. Using Roadside America, you'll find out where the three- eyed alligator, largest ball of twine, Petrified Forest, and other attractions might be as you're driving. Make the detour and get the photo to remember forever! TRAFFIC Inrix (Inrix.com) If you don't have a SiriusXM traffic subscription for your nav system, then Inrix is the tool to have. Giving live, useful traffic information on your phone in real time, this app can save you hours of frustrating gridlock. Available for iOS and Android and featured in many Toyota vehicles. Trapster (Trapster.com) What good is having the open road if you end up with a ticket for speeding? Trapster gives real-time information about known speed traps and warns you when you're approaching one. This free app can save you hundreds in fines. Available on both iOS and Android. ACCOMMODATIONS Priceline (Priceline.com) Thanks to Priceline Negotiator William Shatner, you can get great deals on rooms and rentals. Scheduling weeks in advance is no longer necessary to secure great prices. Instead, you can find the best deals, negotiate a price, and make the reservation at the rest stop outside of town or right in the parking lot of your hotel before you walk in. Available free on iOS and Android. Yelp (Yelp.com) Once you're settled into your room, why sit around and watch boring TV? You're road tripping, man! Get out there and see the world! With Yelp, you can find fun things to do in the area and even new friends to do it with. Whether you're interested in finding a club, restaurant or game of miniature golf, Yelp will show you where to go. ML MIAMI LIVING 83