TREK

Overview

TREK is a collaborative trip planner for people willing to run their own software. It brings schedules, reservations, budgets, packing, and trip notes into one workspace; its strongest case is for groups that value control over where their trip data lives.

The trade-off is operational: self-hosting gives the operator control of the hardware and backups, but also responsibility for deployment and upkeep. Travelers who want a conventional hosted service should look elsewhere.

For other itinerary tools, compare Travel Itinerary Apps and AI Travel Planners.

Key features

Group itineraries and coordination

People on a trip can edit the itinerary together, see live presence, chat, run polls, and track attendance. Read-only public links let a group share its plans without opening them to edits. That combination is useful when a trip involves both active planners and people who only need to follow along.

Routes and reservations

Places can be moved between days, routes optimized by distance, and a day's plan sent to Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions. This makes TREK useful for organizing a schedule, though Google Maps handles the final navigation. Reservation records cover flights, stays, and restaurants, with space for confirmation numbers, files, and statuses; reservation import is supported.

Budgets, packing, and journaling

Budgets handle multiple currencies and can be totaled per person or per day, giving groups practical ways to divide and track trip costs. Packing lists support templates and assigning items to people, which helps make shared preparation concrete. A journal is included, with the optional Journey addon able to sync photos from Immich or Synology Photos.

Maps, weather, and addons

Place search defaults to OpenStreetMap, with Google Places as an option. Forecasts extend to 16 days through Open-Meteo without requiring API keys. Optional addons broaden the package with Atlas travel statistics, Vacay vacation planning, Journey journaling, and MCP integration; the MCP server supports OAuth 2.1 for use with Claude, Cursor, or another agent.

Control and deployment

TREK stores trip data in a SQLite file on a volume and supports scheduled snapshots with retention policies. Operators can deploy it with Docker, Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes, Unraid, Proxmox, Raspberry Pi, or Apple Silicon; AMD64 and ARM64 images are supported. Listed security options include JWT sessions, OAuth 2.1, OIDC single sign-on, TOTP multi-factor authentication, and compatibility with Authelia, Authentik, and Keycloak. This is a substantial set of controls for a self-hosted planner, but configuring and maintaining them falls to the operator.

The web app can be installed as a PWA on a device's home screen. Android, iOS, and Linux are also listed platforms. A public demo needs no email or sign-up, but resets every hour, so it is better suited to a brief look than to keeping trip work.

Pricing

TREK (self-hosted) costs nothing. The free plan is for personal and internal company use under the AGPL-3.0 license, and there is no free trial because the product is free. The published license and use terms make it a fit for individuals and internal teams; running it still entails managing the service yourself.

Platforms

TREK is primarily a web app, with Android, iOS, Linux, and self-hosted platforms listed. Its PWA support provides a home-screen entry on mobile devices, while deployment choices range from small systems such as Raspberry Pi to Kubernetes setups. Offline access and calendar sync are supported.

Who it's for

TREK is best for technically capable travelers, groups, and internal teams that want shared planning while keeping the service and trip data on hardware they control. Its reservation records, flexible budgets, packing assignments, and coordination tools give a group more than a bare itinerary. It is a weaker fit for people who do not want to operate software or who expect a standard hosted app.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Live collaborative editing, chat, polls, attendance, and read-only sharing cover several parts of group coordination.
• Pros: Itinerary, reservation records, multi-currency budgets, packing assignments, and a journal keep trip details together.
• Pros: Self-hosting, scheduled snapshots, and multiple authentication options give operators control over storage and access.
• Cons: Self-hosting means the operator must handle deployment and ongoing upkeep.
• Cons: The demo resets every hour, limiting its usefulness for sustained planning.

Alternatives

Choose Stippl if you want a free-plan option described as having unlimited trips, destinations, activities, co-planners, expenses, and journal entries, plus AI generation, PDF export, and calendar sync.

Pilot is another free web, Android, and iOS option, with an itinerary builder, route and map tools, file and reservation import, and real-time collaboration.

TripBuddy suits readers seeking a free option described as covering every trip, every day, and any crew size.

Mindtrip is a web and iOS alternative with Basic and Premium plans described in terms of admins, messages, indexed pages, and guides.

Layla is a web, iOS, and Android alternative whose Premium plan offers unlimited app access.

NxVoy Trips is a mobile and web freemium alternative with a free plan capped at 5 chats and 50 messages per session.

Navly is an iOS and macOS alternative with a free AI travel-planning assistant, map context, and itinerary building; its Day Pass costs $2.99, paid once and lasts 24 hours without automatic renewal.

SMOVECITY is a free alternative for iOS and Android.

Verdict

Choose TREK if your group wants a capable, open-source trip workspace and is prepared to run it on its own hardware. Its breadth of planning and coordination tools, paired with control over data and backups, is the main reason to choose it. Look elsewhere if you want the convenience of a hosted service without deployment and maintenance responsibilities.