5 Best Smartphone Apps for Your Camping Road Trip in the Balkans
Sara Vozlič
11/11/2024
A road trip in a camper van is one of the best ways to explore a country. You never need to pack and unpack your luggage, you can easily reach places which are off the beaten track and you can enjoy the ultimate freedom since you never need to book or reserve a hotel.
However, there are also challenges for road trippers. Not all of them but at least some challenges can be addressed with the right apps on your mobile device.
Here is 5 best apps for your roadtrip:
Park4night
Maps.me
ParkMe
Toilet finder
Wifi Map
Find a place to sleep - park4night
Most countries in Europe don’t allow wild camping. The chance of getting caught is low but some countries impose an unpleasantly big fine. The good news is that you don’t need to take this risk. Many destinations offer a growing number of free parking spaces where campers can stay for a maximum of 24 hours. Some even provide fresh water, electricity, or allow you to empty your grey water tanks.
They can be located in unpleasant industrial areas, in locations with amazing views, or nearby to important attractions. The best way to find out about them is “park4night” (android / iOS), possibly the biggest and most popular camping app in Europe. The app does not only lead you to the parking spot but also tells you what amenities they offer and provides detailed ratings from other users.
The basic version is free but it requires an internet connection. For a small fee, you can download the pro version which also works offline.
Download an offline map - Maps.me
Admittedly, we found some of the most beautiful places on our road trips after we got completely lost. No doubt it’s fun to roam around without having to reach a specific destination, but there are also times when it is just troublesome to get lost. For example, if you have to return your camper on time or don’t want to miss a pre-booked tour or your flight back home.
For all these situations we recommend you install a good offline map service. Why does it need to be offline? The advantage is that you can download the map of a whole country before your departure. This means you don’t need to use potentially expensive data roaming once you hit the road. It’s also useful when you’re in remote areas with poor signals.
There are several apps on the market, so test them before your departure and see which one works the best for you. Our favorite is “maps.me” (Android / iOS) which uses the highly reliable data from OpenStreetMaps. The app's navigation is very similar to Google Maps and tells you how long it takes to reach your destination – but without draining your data plan.
Find a car park - ParkMe
Finding suitable parking spaces in big cities can be a nightmare. Having a proper parking app like “ParkMe” (Android / iOS) can save you a lot of hassle. This app helps you to find the nearest car park and its charges (hourly or daily), the expected occupancy, and sometimes the maximum height, which is useful if you’re driving a camper vehicle with an extended roof.
If you prefer to use street parking, the app also takes into account the likelihood of finding a parking space in the street you choose or in any street nearby. This helps you to decide which area of the city is worth trying. Our favorite function, however, is a timer that reminds you when you have to refill the meter or move to the next parking place.
Finding public toilet - Toilet Finder
In case your camper van does not have a proper toilet, then you should install an app that helps you to find public toilets. We use an app called “toilet finder”.
This app has a database of more than 150.000 washrooms all over the world. The listed places are divided into categories like public toilets, petrol stations, or restaurants. Furthermore, the app informs you if there is a fee charged for its use and the level of cleanness.
Finding good internet - Wifi Map
While it is nice to opt for a digital detox for a couple of days, for many of you the internet is simply essential to daily lives. It doesn’t matter if you have to send out some important work emails or if you just want to share your latest travel adventures with your friends back home.
Finding good internet can be tough on a camper trip. Hotspots apps help you to find the nearest Wi-Fi access points. Make sure you have the one that fits your needs because some just list open hotspots while others have a huge collection of passwords that were collected by thousands of other users.
Our favorite is “Wifi Map” (Android / iOS). This App does not only list a large number of usable hotspots but also points out the direction to the nearest phone tower. So if you want to improve your connection by changing your location this helps you to find the right direction.