Next time you plan to head out for a road trip, grab your Garmin GPS navigation system and check out Roadsideamerica.com. RoadsideAmerica (RA), the internet guide to offbeat tourist attractions, just launched a GPS System Routing/ Travel Guide called “Attractions and Oddities.” Roadside America is for tourists who like to find obscure spots off-the-beaten path. Right now the Travel Guide is only available for Garmin GPS devices, but it will also be available for Tom-Tom GPS systems in April 2011.
The Oddities GPS System Travel Guide from RA tracks locations, directions, hours and contact information for more than 5,000 offbeat attractions and locations. The travel guide also has thousands of photos. Users can select what type of attractions they want to see, such as nature or landmarks, and then explore places not found in the mainstream tourist maps.
“A dedicated GPS system is great for providing precise routing advice and directions,” said Doug Kirby, publisher and editor of RoadsideAmerica.com. “Attractions and Oddities makes it easy to take a spontaneous side trip to the bizarre, just by hitting ‘Go’ to a nearby place listed on your GPS system. And from there, pick another crazy sight…a giant beetle statue leads to a huge rocking chair, which leads to an alligator farm, and by sunset you’re standing on a UFO watchtower wondering what happened to your day.”
The Roadside America Travel Guide is an add-on that can be downloaded for almost any Garmin navigation GPS system. The “Attractions and Oddities” GPS system guide will work on most Garmin GPS systems including Nuvi and Zumo.
Updates to the Garmin GPS App:
The RA GPS system travel guide does not automatically update the same way a Garmin GPS tracking system does. The “Attractions and Oddities” Guide doesn’t interact with a live data network like a mobile computer or smart phone. Over time, what is most likely to change about an attraction is operating hours and whether it is still in business. Some places are very small, volunteer facilities. If a phone number is provided, call ahead before any significant trip or detour.
For more information, please check out Roadside America.