Our favorite Road Trip Companion
When we take road trips, we’re usually visiting multiple national park sites.
And I may have a bit of another obsession…
Collecting stamps in my national parks passport book.
I’m currently up to 64.
The Problem I Didn’t Realize I Had
On our trip to Hawaii, I planned for us to fully explore the island, which meant a lot of driving.
The landscape is beautiful, but without context, it can start to feel like you’re just… driving past things without really understanding what you’re seeing.
So, naturally, I went to the internet to research.
Enter: Shaka Guide
That’s where I discovered Shaka Guide. Shaka is a GPS-activated, self-guided audio tour.
I purchased the Big Island package, and off we went.
It completely changed the experience!
It felt like having a personal tour guide in the car with us.
We learned about:
history
culture
geography
hidden spots we would have driven right past
It told us about caves and lava tubes that we never would have seen. There were no signs, no indications that something great was hidden around the next curve.
Bringing It Back to the Mainland
When we got home and I started planning our 8-week Southwest trip, I kept thinking about our wonderful little guide in my phone from Hawaii.
So… back to the internet I went.
That’s when I found GyPSy Guide (now called Guide Along).
They had guides for several parks we were already planning to visit.
I bought the Southwest bundle.
Why These Guides Work So Well
These guides are one of the easiest ways to level up a road trip.
They:
know exactly where you are
trigger automatically as you drive
give you time to decide if you want to stop
add context to what you’re seeing
They turn a scenic drive into an actual experience.
The Mistake We Won’t Make Again
When we visited the Grand Canyon, we did everything “right.”
We stopped at the overlooks. We admired the views. We drove all around.
But something felt… off.
The whole visit felt a little underwhelming.
The next day, I realized why.
We had completely forgotten to turn on the guide.
Now we have to go back.
How I Use Them Now
Now, every time I plan a trip, I check both:
to see if there’s a guide available for the parks or routes we’re visiting.
They’re constantly adding new locations.
(And it honestly feels like the fastest way to get them to create a new guide is for me to visit somewhere they don’t have one yet.)
A Few Practical Notes
The guides never expire
You can purchase ahead of time
Bundles usually offer better value (and inspire you to visit more places)
They often run sales
I’ll frequently buy guides in advance for trips I’m planning.
If you read my trip posts or use one of my research guides, you’ll probably see these mentioned more than once.
Because they consistently make exploring:
more engaging
more interactive
and a lot more meaningful
Final Thought
If you’re already putting in the effort to get somewhere incredible…
It’s worth knowing what you’re actually looking at when you get there.
