Track and map your travels

Summer travel and vacation is upon us and as many of us hit the road, we’re sharing our travel with friends and families. In this digital age, instead of postcards, we’re posting real-time maps, photos, video and travel reports. Let me show you three ways apps and the Internet can help you share your traveling adventures.

For iPhone and iPad users, check out the free Track My Tour app and website. You start a route and through the app, add updates as you travel. It grabs your GPS location from your device and dispays it, and your comments and the photos you take on an interactive map. Here’s one I’m doing on a tour of the Great Lakes. It’s free, though there is an upgraded version that lets you have some extra features.

Check My Tour is a similar app, geared towards cyclists and motorcycle trips, though it will also work with regular roadtrips. It is for Apple devices but also Android smartphones.

Then there’s My Trip Journal. This allows you to set up your own travel blog website. It maps your routes and lets you write reports and updates and allows you to have a travel journal that can be viewed by whoever you share it with.