Summers are made for road trips! But driving for hours can get boring. One way to jazz them up is by using a driving tour. Have you tried one? Driving tours provide a fun and easy way to learn about your surroundings as you travel. Simply download an app for your location, connect your phone to the car speakers and enjoy commentary as you pass points of interest. Apps typically share history, stories and other information to bring the location to life. Once you start the tour, there is nothing to do. The audio plays automatically at the appropriate time using GPS positioning. Some tours also provide driving directions so you don’t need to use two apps at once.
But what if your hearing loss makes it challenging to follow audio commentary? It can be especially tricky if the narrator has an accent or uses unfamiliar terms or location names. The good news is that most driving tours provide transcripts that can be viewed in real time along with the commentary. This was a lifesaver for me.
Transcripts Available on Many Driving Tours
I hadn’t thought to check if the driving tour also provided written commentary, but when the narrator started talking about Loki and selling out to the Jotunn (giants) on our recent driving tour in Iceland, I quickly started searching for a transcript. Luckily, the tour had a “Learn More” button on the bottom of the map. When I clicked on it, I saw many options, including “Read Script.”
The transcript worked great and allowed me to read along with the spoken commentary. It was helpful for my family as well since I could fill in some of the blanks they struggled with given the unfamiliar terminology.
Two Examples
Below are two recent driving tours I have done with transcripts. The one on the left is from Action Tour Guide Iceland. The one on the right is from GuideAlong‘s Road to Hana Maui tour.
Driving tour guides are easy to find for a wide and varied set of destinations, both domestically and overseas. Guides come from a variety of companies so be sure to check out your options before your next road trip. I certainly plan to!
For more Hacks for traveling with hearing loss, read the Hearing Hacks section of Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss.
Readers, do you enjoy driving tours?
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