Overview

TREK is a travel-planning workspace built around the trip rather than the booking: it brings itinerary, reservation, budget, packing, and journal records together. Its emphasis on self-hosting makes it a particularly strong fit for technically confident travelers and groups who want to run their own service.

It is unusually broad for a free, open-source planner, but choosing it also means taking responsibility for deployment and upkeep. Travelers seeking a conventional hosted app should compare alternatives.

Key features

Collaborative trip planning

Collaborators can edit itineraries together, see live presence, chat, run polls, and track attendance. Read-only public links offer a useful middle ground for sharing plans with people who should not change them. This makes TREK well suited to group trips where coordination matters as much as the schedule itself.

Routes and reservations

Places can be moved between days, routes optimized by distance, and a day handed off to Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions. Reservation import is supported, and records for flights, stays, and restaurants can hold confirmation numbers, files, and statuses. Keeping those details with the itinerary is practical; Google Maps provides the final directions rather than replacing a dedicated navigation app.

Budgets, packing, and journaling

Budgets handle multiple currencies and can be summarized per person or per day, useful for groups splitting costs or tracking a daily allowance. Packing-list templates and assignments help divide preparation among travelers. Optional Journey adds travel journaling and can sync photos from Immich or Synology Photos; other optional addons include Atlas travel statistics and Vacay vacation planning.

Maps, weather, and AI integration

OpenStreetMap powers place search by default, with Google Places as an option. Weather forecasts extend 16 days through Open-Meteo without requiring API keys. An optional MCP server supports OAuth 2.1 and is intended for use with Claude, Cursor, or another agent. These integrations extend the planner, but the core appeal remains organizing a trip in one shared workspace.

Self-hosting and data control

TREK runs on hardware its operator controls, storing trip data in a SQLite file on a volume and offering scheduled snapshots with retention policies. The maker lists JWT sessions, OAuth 2.1, OIDC single sign-on, and TOTP multi-factor authentication, as well as compatibility with Authelia, Authentik, and Keycloak. Those options will matter to operators who want control over deployment and access; they also put setup, backups, and ongoing operation in the user's hands.

Deployment documentation covers Docker, Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes, Unraid, Proxmox, Raspberry Pi, and Apple Silicon, with AMD64 and ARM64 images. A PWA can be installed on a device's home screen, and offline access is supported. The live demo needs no email or sign-up and resets every hour, making it a low-commitment way to explore the app.

Pricing

TREK (self-hosted): 0.00 USD per free. The plan is free for personal and internal company use under the AGPL-3.0 open-source license. There is no free trial because the plan is free, and the available pricing model has no paid tier to weigh against it. The trade-off is operational rather than financial: users supply and manage the hosting.

Platforms

TREK is primarily a web app, with support for Android, iOS, Linux, and self-hosted deployment. Its installable PWA can be added to a device's home screen. Calendar sync and offline access are supported.

Who it's for

TREK is a strong choice for technically capable travelers, families, and trip groups who want shared planning plus control over where their data lives. It is also compelling for internal company use, which the free license explicitly permits. People who do not want to host or maintain software themselves should favor a hosted alternative instead.

Pros and cons

Pro: It combines shared itineraries, reservation records, budgets, packing, and journaling, keeping practical trip details alongside the schedule.
Pro: Free use for personal and internal company purposes, with open-source AGPL-3.0 licensing, avoids a recurring plan charge.
Pro: Operator-controlled hosting, scheduled snapshots, and several authentication options offer meaningful control over data and access.
Con: Self-hosting requires the user to provide and operate the deployment, a real burden for travelers who expect a managed service.
Con: The live demo resets every hour, so it is useful for a quick look but not for keeping a trial trip intact.

Alternatives

For a broader category browse, start with Travel Itinerary Apps or AI Travel Planners.

Stippl is a better fit for travelers who want a hosted Android, iOS, or web planner with a free plan covering unlimited trips, destinations, activities, co-planners, expenses, and journal entries, plus AI generation, PDF export, and calendar sync.
Pilot suits travelers who want a free Android, iOS, or web itinerary app with route and map tools, reservation and file import, and real-time collaboration, without taking on self-hosting.
TripBuddy is another free Android, iOS, and web option, with every trip, day, and crew size included.
NxVoy Trips may suit travelers interested in a chat-based planning option; its free plan includes 5 chats and 50 messages per session, with a premium plan for fuller access to Shasa features.
Navly is an iOS and macOS alternative centered on an AI travel-planning assistant, map and location context, and itinerary building; its free plan can be supplemented by a 2.99 USD once Day Pass that does not renew automatically and lasts 24 hours.
Mindtrip offers a web and iOS alternative with Basic and Premium plans whose prices are custom pricing.
Layla is a web, iOS, and Android alternative with a Premium plan offering unlimited app access at custom pricing.
GripaTrip is a web, iOS, and Android alternative with weekly, monthly, and yearly subscriptions at custom pricing.

Verdict

Choose TREK if your group wants a capable, collaborative trip planner and you are comfortable running the software yourself. Its combination of trip tools, data control, and free personal and internal company use is the case for choosing it; the need to self-host is the clearest reason to look elsewhere.

	TREK	Visit A City
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Linux, self-hosted, Web	Web, iOS, Android
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Reservation import	Yes	—
Route planning	Yes	—
Shared itineraries	Yes	—
Offline access	Yes	Yes
Calendar sync	Yes	—
Primary platform	web	web

TREK vs Visit A City

TREK

Visit A City