This seems to be a popular question by the travel community, so I thought I would write a quick post about it. Here is a list of our top 6 favourite travelling Apps that we use, and would highly recommend.
Finding a Camp Site
1. WikiCamps Australia:
By far our most used travel App, with over 13,000+ Australia wide camp sites to choose from. It's basically a user generated database of Aussie campgrounds, caravan parks, points of interest, dump stations, water taps, toilets & showers etc. Our two favorite features are:
You can set the filters to exactly your needs. For example, we travel with our 2 dogs and we obviously always need somewhere dog friendly to stay, so the filter is always set to find us only spots where dogs are allowed, which means we never see all the places we miss out on staying (because that can be a kick in the guts sometimes!!)
It also allows you to see your trip in a map or list format, which is pretty handy when you are trying to plan out your next stop or when you want to see your overall trip. This was the result of our 4 month East Coast trip before we had to turn around and come home.
2. Camps Australia Wide:
Another really convenient resource to have when trying to find places to stay whilst caravanning or camping. We have this as an App as well as the actual 'Camps Australia Wide' guide book, which was a gift given to us just before we hit the road.
We used this App in conjunction with WikiCamps, as we found that not all camps sites are across both Apps, so we would cross reference them when we were planning our next stop.
Mark would have one App open and I'd have the other and we would look at all the sites in the vicinity we wanted to stay in and would then share different camp sites and their reviews. Lots of phone swapping until we found one we both loved and could agree on. We got quicker at this as time went on, I promise.
3. Hipcamp:
We found this easy-to-use App that allows private landowners to earn some money by hosting their properties to travelers - campers, glampers, caravanners etc to offer them a unique outdoor experience. It's a win-win for everyone really!
We have had a few no-hassle stays using HipCamps. This was one of them, just as we crossed the NSW border from Victoria (just in time before VIC went into another lockdown). We had this entire 10acre property along the river, all to ourselves! It was such a lovely few days with not a soul in sight. Very relaxing!
If you are a land owner and are interested in hosting, it's a lot easier than you probably think. Just click here hipcamp.com/en-AU/r/taylap9577ce or use my code TAYLAP9577CE when signing up to start earning some money and provide travelers with some unforgettable memories!
FYI - Starting a listing is completely free and easy—it only takes minutes from start to publish.
For the Dogs
4. Pupsy
This is a really helpful App to search for places and services in the area that welcome your fury friends, including dog friendly accommodation, parks, beaches, cafes', etc.
A top resource to have at your fingertips, especially whilst travelling and not being familiar with the area! It saved us a number of times on keeping the dogs entertained whilst out and about, and I would highly recommend for you to download this if you are travelling with dogs!
5. Mad Paws
This one is if you want/need a pet sitter. We never actually booked a sitter whilst we were on the road, but we did come close a few times. I was often scrolling to see our options, because I was curious as to who was available. All options looked great, but I just couldn't personally bring myself to drop my dogs off somewhere and go exploring without them! Especially considering the nature of our trip was to spend time together as a family after the tragic loss of our son. Look at them having the time of their lives!!
Regardless, we did consider it a few times. In particular when we had wanted to visit a National Park or stay at a friends house who also had dogs. But, at the end of the day, we knew before we left for our trip that we were going to miss out on visiting certain places when taking the dogs, but it was still a no-brainer for us and we wouldn't of had it any other way. But I believe many people would find this App super helpful for many reasons, so I just had to share it.
Weather
6. WillyWeather
Mark swears this is the best and most reliable App he could find for all things weather. In particular, his favourite feature is being able to look at the tide times in detail.
If you haven't already noticed, Mark is obsessed with fishing, so he is always on it checking out the latest updates so he can get back out there and do what he loves doing. He reckons it's also handy
for wind, rainfall, moon, sun & swell forecasts, if that is your thing!
We hope this helps. Cheers guys
Mark & Tayla
Chayce'n Adventure
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Lots of interesting and helpful hints. 💙💚🦋💜🐕🐕