Swap stressful journeys for serenity. Gone are the days of the simplicity when van life was just you and the open road. Of course, it’s easy enough to throw the phone out of the window and live like this. But blending the beauty of modern technology with the VW BusLife truly enhances the experience. While no one wants to be glued to their phone, technology makes travelling in your VW Bus a whole lot easier. The market is full of great apps to stop you from getting lost, feeling isolated, and having a whole host of road-worthy struggles. We take a look at the top 5 must-have apps for VW BusLife.

Google Maps

No more potholes, ending up in Romanian fields, being stranded on the side of mountains, and disagreements with your co-pilot. Google maps is a must for anyone hitting the road. Google maps is more than a replacement for your trusty creased and torn paper map. Along with taking you from A to B, the app also has a ton of features to help avoid toll roads and take the scenic route. The built-in navigation system also updates you of the best route and traffic situation in real time.

More than a handy driving tool, it’s great for city wandering, bike trails, and lets you ‘street view’ roads in up to 50 countries. Perfect for checking if your VW Bus will make it up that rural route. Finally, Google Maps can be used offline in its simple format, as long as you have downloaded the area you need while connected.

Park 4 Night or IOverlander

Wild campers rejoice. Park 4 Night is a great app, mostly used in the UK and across Europe for those who don’t want to spend hours after dark searching for a decent spot. The app invites you to search specific areas for great parking spots. It covers everything from campsites to carparks to farms and off the beaten track stashed away spaces.

IOverlander is a good American alternative that not only covers camping spots but also helps you to find WIFI, showers, toilets, and whatever facilities will turn the hard stresses of van life into a dream. The shared knowledge that both these sites rely on is a testament to the beauty of the community when it comes to BusLife.

Gas Buddy

Another great app for the VW BusLife across the USA. Gas Buddy helps ensure that you don’t find yourself stuttering to a stop on the highway. This simple app gives you a fully comprehensive list of the nearest gas stations in your area. It offers complete with up to date pricing so you can pick the most economical solution for your own guzzler.

You can also filter results to pick gas stations with bathrooms and other such amenities. You can choose a hook up depending on price or location. If used right, the gas buddy app will not only save you from being stranded but can save you a ton of money on fuel too.

MyRadar

Weather matters more to those who semi-live outdoors. The VW BusLife crowd who need to know when to pop down their roof from hurricane winds. They need to know how to find shade beneath trees from boiling sunshine. And they need to know how to seek shelter from the storm. A well-involved weather app can make planning and preparation so much easier.

While a generic weather app is a must for chasing the sun, MyRadar goes above and beyond in the world of weather. You can follow tide changes, watch what’s coming, and generally avoid those black spots. This is an especially important app for those taking their VW Bus up in the mountains where weather changes happen in a flash.

Couchsurfing

Having your own VW Bus means that you always have a bed to sleep in because after all – home is where you park it. So what good is an app dedicated to sofa surfing? Couchsurfing has come a long way since its humble beginnings, and it’s a great app for meeting people in new places thanks to its relatively new feature called Hangouts.

Travelling in a bus can sometimes be lonely. Hangouts allows you to touch base in a place and to meet people who share similar interests. You can pick your own style of hangout – whether that’s going for a walk in the woods or hitting up the bars. Simply peruse the hangouts in the area. If you don’t see anything that grabs your fancy, create your own and be notified when someone wants to join. It’s also a great way to meet local people who will be able to share inside knowledge of where to dine, what to see, and maybe even where you can park your bus.