Tour driving apps - The good, bad and ugly

[DCwom]

We're considering renting a car on some of the islands for our POA cruise, and am wondering about the tour apps for the islands. They sound like a reasonable way to navigate rather than using a tour book, maps, etc. Are they better for one island verses another? The road to Hana sounds like a good candidate, and maybe Waimea Canyon but I'm not sure about the other islands tour apps.

 

   Thoughts, experiences?

[princeton123211]

7 hours ago, DCwom said:

They sound like a reasonable way to navigate rather than using a tour book, maps, etc. Are they better for one island verses another? The road to Hana sounds like a good candidate, and maybe Waimea Canyon but I'm not sure about the other islands tour apps.

 

   Thoughts, experiences?

The GuideAlong apps-- used to be called Gypsy Guide-- are exceptionally good. Hana is great, Big Island, Kauai, etc are great too. It will adapt to where you are in real time and help you find places you wouldn't have found on your own. 

[trivia addict]

Thank you Princeton 123211. I will use this information also!

[Panhandle Couple]

Can verify, we loved the Guidealong app and narration.  We used the whole islands package.

You do here some stories more than once on different islands. You can simply skip them.

[philv]

I used Gypsy app, guidealong.com, in 2022 for road to Hana. It was great. Learned a lot about Hawaiian history along with directions to local attractions. Really enhanced our experience.

[Free2bMeForever]

I travel alone, so I don’t have a navigator and the research I did on both Shaka and GuideAlong (Gypsy) indicates that they do stories and directions, but integrate with blue tooth speakers, but NOT Android Auto or Car Play.  Guess I will need to buy a holder for my phone, but it would sure be nice to have something integrated on the much larger navigation screen. Will be using the Shaka app next week on Oahu, so I’m sure I will have a better idea after that.  

[princeton123211]

9 hours ago, Free2bMeForever said:

I travel alone, so I don’t have a navigator and the research I did on both Shaka and GuideAlong (Gypsy) indicates that they do stories and directions, but integrate with blue tooth speakers, but NOT Android Auto or Car Play.

They do integrate into CarPlay-- I just did the Hana road like 3 weeks ago in a rented Chevy Suburban from Avis and the audio played through the whole car with CarPlay with zero issue. This is specific to GuideAlong/Gypsy-- its been years since I used Shaka and fine GuideAlong to be better overall.

 

Once you get started with the app there's zero need to see the screen so the fact that the screen part does not integrate doesn't really matter. Everything is audio and it is cued up and started in relation to your position on GPS. It will even dim whatever music you are playing from your phone when the narrations come on so you can listen. 

[Panhandle Couple]

7 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

They do integrate into CarPlay-- I just did the Hana road like 3 weeks ago in a rented Chevy Suburban from Avis and the audio played through the whole car with CarPlay with zero issue. This is specific to GuideAlong/Gypsy-- its been years since I used Shaka and fine GuideAlong to be better overall.

 

Once you get started with the app there's zero need to see the screen so the fact that the screen part does not integrate doesn't really matter. Everything is audio and it is cued up and started in relation to your position on GPS. It will even dim whatever music you are playing from your phone when the narrations come on so you can listen. 

I can verify that it also worked thru Apple car play in a Jeep.

[Free2bMeForever]

Thanks for that info.  I actually chatted with GuideAlong customer service and was given incorrect info based on your experience!

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Free2bMeForever said:

Thanks for that info.  I actually chatted with GuideAlong customer service and was given incorrect info based on your experience!

I think what they might have meant is that it won't appear on the infotainment screen or be able to use the app within CarPlay but it certainly will play over the cars speaker system (which is the most important part). 

[DCwom]

14 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

I think what they might have meant is that it won't appear on the infotainment screen or be able to use the app within CarPlay but it certainly will play over the cars speaker system (which is the most important part). 

I agree, I'd expect the Bluetooth to pair with the car audio, that's a phone function, not really an app function. We'll be using the app in about 3 weeks on all 4 island and I have a question for those who have used it, how far away does it suggest sights, places, etc.? For example, if you're halfway up the coast of Oahu how do you decide where you might want to turn-around? Do I need to map out a potential end point ahead of time, and then just use the app for the drive, or does it suggest to keep going further and further?