The estimated reading time for this post is 5 minutes
If you’re planning a road trip soon, don’t leave the house without grabbing the iExit app for your iPhone and/or iPad. Memorial Day weekend is around the corner and that’s the unofficial start of the summer for many people in the US. To celebrate what really should be a somber holiday, many families head out for a mini-vacation, while dreading jammed highways and miles between rest stops.
Whether you’re leaving for Memorial Day weekend or planning a driving vacation for the summer, you need to buy iExit from the iTunes App Store (an Android app is in the works). iExit is an app that provides essential information about what rest areas, stores, hotels, and restaurants are available at upcoming highway exits.
I have discovered the hard way that you can’t always rely upon exit signs to reliably inform you which facilities are located conveniently off of the exit. One exit sign I know of on I-95 lists about ten restaurants off of that exit. Not only is the closest restaurant about five miles away from the exit, the traffic pattern to get on and off the highway is extremely complicated. The exit is definitely a trap for unwary travelers.
Now anyone armed with iExit won’t be fooled by misleading highway signs!
The beauty of iExit is that it both tells and shows you which facilities are at the nearest exits. You can look at a list to see which facilities are located at nearby exits and how far the distance is to each one. You can also look at a map to see the location of the facilities to avoid any complex traffic patterns. On the large iPad screen you can see both the map and the list at the same time (good news, the same app works on both the iPad and the iPhone).
Here is what the list looks like on the iPhone:
Here is what the combined list and map look like on the iPad:
You can customize your searches too, based upon what your needs are. Need a restroom fast? Then just search for rest areas or restaurants. Forgot to pack sunscreen for your trip to the shore? Check iExit to find a Target on the way to your vacation. Notice your fuel gauge running low? Search for the nearest gas station.
You can also filter your searches for things you don’t need to see. If you don’t need to see hotels or gas stations but you do want to see restaurants and convenience stores, you can customize your search easily.
You can search by favorite restaurants too. Let’s say the only restaurant everyone in the family agrees upon is Chipotle. You can search to see if there is a Chipotle within a reasonable driving distance.
iExit makes searching more efficient in many ways. Sure, you could search on Google to find the closest Chipotle’s but the closest one might be out of the way for you. iExit figures out which locations won’t take you on an inconvenient detour.
Do you have a child who is newly potty trained? This app may just be worth getting an iPhone for, so you can locate the closest restrooms when you are in a hurry. I wish I had this app when my kids were young!
Another handy feature of iExit is the ability to place a call on your iPhone directly from the app. Let’s say your trip is taking longer than expected and you decide to stay in a hotel for the night. You search on the app for a Staybridge Suites to see if one is close by and along your route. iExit tells you there is one eight miles down the road, two exits away. You press the call button on the app to see if they have a one bedroom suite available that will comfortably sleep your family of five and accommodate Fido. You’re in luck, they have plenty of room for you, your family and Fido. Imagine what a challenge that would have been without iExit!
Words to the Wise
- Don’t use this while you are the driver. Give your iPhone or iPad to your significant other in the passenger seat. If you’re traveling alone with the kids you may still be able to use iExit. The app is so easy to use so a kid in the back seat may be able to help, unless they’re still young enough for a car seat, and even then they may be able to figure it out.
- Keep your iPhone or iPad plugged into a car charger when using this app (See, Ready, Set, Charge! to learn more about charging your devices on the go). This app uses Location Services to determine where you are. Location Services can really drain your battery quickly so keep device charging while you use the app. The app isn’t very useful if your device has zero battery life left!
- To maximize the utility of iExit, use it in combination with the Google Maps app Show Traffic feature (See, Killer Apps to learn how to activate Show Traffic on Google Maps). By checking with Google Maps, you can avoid getting off the highway and ending up on a side road jammed with traffic.
- Combine your use of iExit with the Gas Buddy app to find the most convenient gas station with the best prices.
- Load the app on both your iPhone and iPad. The iPad app has a much better viewing area, but your kids may be busy using your iPad in the back seat to entertain themselves when you need to use iExit. Do you really want to interrupt their Angry Birds game to use iExit? I didn’t think so. Similarly, your spouse may be using the iPhone to call work when you hear a voice from the back seat whining that she’s hungry. Then it’s okay to interrupt her Angry Birds game!
I haven’t even begun to explain all the other nifty features of this app. I will let the developer do that for you in this handy YouTube video:
Bottom Line
If you’re planning a road trip and have an iPhone and/or an iPad, then you should get iExit. The fewer hassles you have during your travels, the more you will enjoy your vacation!
Do you have an upcoming road trip planned? Is knowing the best place to stop important to you? Let us know in the Comment section below!
* Image by fakoman
** Image by Tony Hammond
Hi Carolyn,
Found your blog thanks to 1000 likes in 90 days.
Love your post on the iphone app..looks like a great addition for any traveller.
Not being a techie got a question for you…. does the app only work in the US or willit work worldwide?
Great post.
Cheers
Bryan
Hi Bryan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! No worries about not being a techie here. This blog is intended for everyone, Geek Speak is translated into plain English for all to understand.
Great question about using the app outside the US. I didn’t see any indication that the app works outside the US on iTunes, on the app developer’s website or in the YouTube video. But just to be sure, I have sent an email to the developer with your question. The Wonder of Tech has many international readers who will be interested in the answer to your question.
Thanks for coming by to visit and for leaving a comment. 🙂
That’s a fantastic little app. I LOVE it. I remember all the many roadtrips we’ve taken as a family – and trying to watch for the signs that tell you what’s up ahead. This is great though; because you’ve got a listing of all the restaurants. When you’re getting hungry – just wait for your favorite! 😀
Hi Christian, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech! I am so glad you love this app. I agree with you, how great is it to know what restaurants are at the upcoming exits. So often our family would hold out for “just one more exit” waiting for our favorite restaurant, give up and eat at a greasy spoon, only to discover that our favorite restaurant was just one more exit away!
This app is going to make a lot of families’ road trips much more enjoyable! Thanks for your visit and your comment.
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you so much for spreading the word about iExit. I am the developer behind the app and love to hear when others find my work helpful. To answer a reader’s question and add a few clarifications:
1) iExit only works in the continental US (so no Hawaii or Alaska) and at this moment, there are no plans to expand to other countries.
2) The YouTube video applies to an outdated version of iExit. The latest version is 3.0, which contains a much improved user interface and several more features.
3) iExit actually doesn’t support direct searching for restrooms. It does allow you to see upcoming Rest Areas, which usually have nice restrooms. There are plenty of fast food chains that are known for having nice restrooms, so you can also search for those chains. But in this current version, iExit doesn’t support direct searching for restrooms.
Thanks again for the nice review of iExit. I hope you find it useful on your holiday road trip!
-Evan Metrock
http://www.metrocket.com
Hi Evan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Thank you for coming by and answering Bryan’s question and providing other helpful information. I have edited the post to make clear that the app helps you search for rest areas, not restrooms specifically.
I have also updated the YouTube video embedded in this post to a more recent version of the video. The video still applies to a previous version of the app, but is more current than the YouTube video I had originally embedded in this post.
Evan, your visit and comment are greatly appreciated. It means a lot to The Wonder of Tech readers to have a developer participate in the discussion!
I hope your holiday travels are safe and enjoyable.
Hey Carolyn,
I love the iPhone, in fact I just installed iExit and will have to give it a whirl as I’ll be driving up to Washington DC this Thursday to hear Robert Kawasaki speak on SEO and business. I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure there is gonna be tons of traffic around DC. Thanks for the detailed review!
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with an app call Trapster, it’s something that you should look into as well, I guarantee you’ll like it. Basically it shows where the police are, any road stops, stop light cameras, etc. all in real time with user inputs. And has a GPS built into it for similar features of iExit.
Great stuff.
Hi Vitaly, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, using the iExit app should be very helpful in traveling up I-95 to DC. There is always a lot of traffic in the DC area!
Yes, I am familiar with Trapster, but I have mixed feelings about the app. I have many dear friends who are police officers and I wouldn’t want to make their jobs more difficult. On the other hand, I wouldn’t like to get caught in a speed trap either!
Thanks for your app suggestion and for visiting!
I would definitively get it if I lived in the US, it probably doesn’t work that well in Norway 🙂
Looks awesome.
Jens
Hi Jens, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech and congratulations on earning a medal as a Top Commenter for May at The Wonder of Tech!
You’re right, iExit doesn’t work in Norway, but if you find a Norwegian app developer who needs an idea for an app, iExit is a great one.
If you plan a driving holiday in the States, make sure you include downloading the iExit app as part of your plans!
Hi Carolyn,
Looks like a real travel must-have. Does it have a trial version? I’d like to know how it works first. Thanks! 🙂
Regards
Hi Calli, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech. iExit does not have a trial version, though that is a good suggestion for the developer. You can watch the YouTube video above which provides a really good explanation of the app, even though it’s an older version of the app.
Well, I am going on a road trip tomorrow but I’m not driving. I believe my pilot has an iphone but she also has a GPS. How different is this from the GPS? If you can believe this, which you probably can, I don’t own an iphone or GPS. Shock, shock!!!
Me, I usually map out where I’m going before I leave the house. Plus for this particular road trip, we’re taking sandwiches so we won’t have to worry about hitting some fast food joint. Not my thing!!!
But that is a cool app Carolyn. There you go again, sharing so many neat things. Do you think that some day I’ll be able to use just a few of these? Okay, I have to upgrade on my technology first, I know!!!
Thanks young lady!!!
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech! When I read the first two sentences of your comment, I thought you meant you were taking your private jet, lol!
A GPS is different from this app because the GPS probably can’t tell you which facilities are at each upcoming exit. Though you don’t need to eat on the road, you still may want to know which restaurants are ahead to use their rest rooms.
You sound very organized for your trip, I hope you have a great time!
Hi Adrienne, that’s a great question about what makes iExit different than a GPS device.
The primary job of a GPS device is to tell you how to get to your destination. The primary job of iExit is to tell you where to stop as you’re driving to your destination. iExit is not a navigation app, it is a travel app.
Most GPS devices have point-of-interest features that might suffice to find the next Chick-Fil-A, for example. You can also use Google Maps on your iPhone to see what Chick-Fil-As are around you. But for $2, iExit brings a convenience factor to that problem by grouping places by exit, and telling you the next exit with a Chick-Fil-A within seconds of loading the app.
I hope that helps explain it. Have fun on your road trip!
Hi Evan, Welcome back to The Wonder of Tech! Thank you for your very helpful reply regarding the differences between the iExit app and a GPS device.