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Shaka Guide alternatives: five audio tour apps, and when Shaka is the better pick

Shaka Guide is the one to beat for Hawaii and national-park drives: 106 tours with offline maps and turn-by-turn directions, from $4.99 to $24.99 a tour. Its closest alternative is GuideAlong (formerly GyPSy Guide), with a Road to Hana tour from $14.99 and a free Oahu drive. For more places, try Action Tour Guide; for city walks, VoiceMap or Stories. We make Stories, one of the alternatives here, so we've kept to what each company publishes: their own sites and App Store pages, checked on November 7, 2026 and linked at the bottom.

By the Stories team · Checked November 7, 2026 · Sources

Shaka and five alternatives, side by side

App	Tours	One tour	Bundles and passes	Free to try
Shaka Guide	106: Hawaii, national parks, scenic drives and 17 walks	$4.99 to $24.99	Island bundles $34.99; all 21 Hawaii tours $79.99; national parks collection $199.99	Audio previews on each tour page
GuideAlong	98 destinations in the US, Canada, Iceland, Mexico and more; mostly drives	Mostly $14.99 to $24.99	Bundles, such as Utah's Mighty 5 for $39.99 (App Store)	Waikiki to Hanauma Bay, and Calgary to Banff
Action Tour Guide	230+ in 40+ states and 15+ countries	Gettysburg $14.99, Grand Canyon $16.99 (App Store)	Action+: every tour for $99.99 a year	A free demo in the app
VoiceMap	2,353 in 87 countries, mostly walks by local writers	$3.99 to $19.99 (App Store price tiers)	Credits that discount the tours you pick	Some free tours, and previews
Autio	20,000+ short stories across the US	No single tours	Plans for 30 days, 1 year or 3 years ($14.99 to $69.99 in the App Store)	Your first 5 stories
Stories (ours)	34 in the US: 29 walks and 5 drives	$4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones	Stories Pass: every tour for a year, $39.99	Stop 1 of every tour, in your browser

Prices in US dollars on each company's own site or US App Store page, November 7, 2026, before any sale (Shaka's site runs them).

Shaka Guide vs GuideAlong on the Road to Hana

The two apps Maui visitors weigh up on travel forums. Both play offline and tell you where to turn.

	Shaka	GuideAlong
Price	Classic Road to Hana $24.99; the Loop and Reverse versions $19.99 each; Maui 6-tour bundle $34.99	Road to Hana, all routes, from $14.99; Maui bundle from $19.99
What you get	27 stops on the Classic tour, with stories, music and travel tips	500+ audio points, with trip planners and suggested itineraries
Try it first	Audio previews on the tour page	A whole free tour on Oahu, Waikiki to Hanauma Bay
In the car	Apple CarPlay; not Android Auto yet	Audio through CarPlay and Android Auto
Before you go	Download over Wi-Fi at your hotel	Download before you lose signal
Who it covers	Its App Store page lists Family Sharing	One phone per car, played through the stereo
App Store (US)	4.9 from 15,436 ratings (its Maui app: 24,494 more)	4.9 from 16,343 ratings

Neither tour expires. Stories has no Hawaii tours, so it isn't in this one.

When Shaka is the better pick

You're going to Hawaii
21 tours across Maui, Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island, with a bundle for each island and one for all of them.
You're driving a park or a scenic road
Its menu lists 55 national park tours and 36 scenic drives, from Yellowstone to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
You want to be led
Turn-by-turn directions and an offline map, with stories, music and travel tips, even where there's no signal.
You want a long track record
10 years of tours and 1M+ downloads, its site says, and a 4.9 average on the US App Store.

The alternatives, by trip

The Road to Hana for less
GuideAlong, from $14.99 for all routes. Try its free Oahu drive first to see if you like the style.
Several national parks
Action+ is every Action Tour Guide tour for $99.99 a year. And the free National Park Service app has maps for 420+ parks, self-guided tours and offline downloads.
City walks
VoiceMap's Freedom Trail is $11.99 for 44 locations; ours is $4.99 for 10 stops, and you can play stop 1 in your browser first. Shaka splits its Freedom Trail in two, $6.99 and $4.99.
Road trips without a plan
Autio plays short stories about the places you pass, across all 50 states. Your first 5 are free.
Outside the US
VoiceMap (87 countries) or GuideAlong (Canada, Iceland, Mexico, Scotland, Australia).

Where Stories fits

Walks in US towns, and a few drives
29 walks in 24 places, from Salem and Savannah to New Orleans, and drives on Route 66, the 17-Mile Drive, Skyline Drive and Gettysburg. Every tour is $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones.
Hear it before you pay
Stop 1 of every tour plays in your phone's browser, with no app or sign-up. The app adds GPS auto-play and offline downloads.
What we don't do yet
Hawaii, Alaska, most national parks and anywhere abroad. A synthetic voice reads our stories, and our app has 2 App Store ratings so far.

Stories tours on the same routes

The Freedom Trail and Gettysburg are on both apps, and Skyline Drive and the 17-Mile Drive are scenic drives like Shaka's. Press play on stop 1 to hear one.

Stop 1 is free, no sign-up. The whole tour is $4.99 for your group, on up to 4 phones.

Walk

Boston, Massachusetts

Freedom Trail Walking Tour

Ten stops from Boston Common to Copp's Hill, past the Old North Church steeple where two lanterns hung on the night of April 18, 1775.

1 h 17 min · 10 stops · 2 mi · $4.99

Drive

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg Battlefield Driving Tour

Nine stops from McPherson Ridge, where Buford's cavalry held on July 1, 1863, to Soldiers' National Cemetery and its 979 unknowns.

1 h 15 min · 9 stops · 13 mi · $4.99

Drive

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Skyline Drive Through Shenandoah

Six stops from Dickey Ridge at mile 4.6 to Lewis Mountain, opened in 1939 as the park's area for Black visitors.

2 h 37 min · 6 stops · 64 mi · $4.99

Drive

Pebble Beach, California

17-Mile Drive: Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach

Seven stops from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach Golf Links, opened in 1919, with Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress between.

41 min · 7 stops · 7.6 mi · $4.99

Questions people ask

Is Shaka Guide worth it?

For a Hawaii or national-park drive, a lot of travelers think so: its main app averages 4.9 from 15,436 US App Store ratings. A tour is a one-time purchase that never expires, plays offline and gives directions. If price matters most, GuideAlong's Road to Hana starts at $14.99, against $24.99 for Shaka's Classic tour.

How much does Shaka cost?

The app is free. Tours cost $4.99 to $24.99 each on its site, island bundles $34.99, all 21 Hawaii tours $79.99 and the national parks collection $199.99, before any sale.

Is the Shaka app free?

The app is free to download; the tours are paid. You can play audio previews on each tour page of its website before you buy.

Shaka or GuideAlong for the Road to Hana?

Both play offline and give directions. Shaka's Classic tour has 27 stops with music and works with CarPlay; GuideAlong is cheaper, from $14.99, and plays through CarPlay and Android Auto. Try GuideAlong's free Oahu tour, or Shaka's previews, before you choose.

Does Shaka work with Android Auto?

Not yet, its site says. On Android you play the audio from the phone or through the car stereo. It does work with Apple CarPlay.

Is there a free alternative to Shaka Guide?

GuideAlong has two free tours (Waikiki to Hanauma Bay, and Calgary to Banff), the National Park Service app is free, Autio gives you 5 free stories, and stop 1 of every Stories tour is free in your browser.

Where these facts come from

Checked November 7, 2026. Prices, catalogs and ratings change: check each app before you buy. Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us at support@winding.ai and we'll fix it.