Summers are made for road trips! But driving for hours can be boring. One way to encourage them is with a car tour. Have you tried one? Driving tours provide a fun and easy way to get to know your surroundings while traveling. Simply download an app for your location, connect your phone to the car’s speakers, and enjoy commentary as you pass points of interest. Apps often share stories, anecdotes, and other information to bring the place to life. Once you start the tour, there is nothing to do. Audio plays automatically at the right time using GPS positioning. Some tours also provide driving directions, so there’s no need to use two apps at once.
But what if your hearing loss makes it difficult to follow audio feedback? It can be especially difficult if the narrator has an accent or uses unfamiliar terms or place 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 life saver for me.
Transcripts available on many driving tours
I hadn’t thought to check if the driving tour also included written commentary, but when the narrator started talking about Loki and selling himself to the Jotunn (giants) on our recent driving tour of Iceland, I quickly started looking for a transcript. Fortunately, the tour had a «Learn More» button at the bottom of the map. When I clicked on it, I saw many options, including «Read Script.»
The transcription worked very well and allowed me to read along with the spoken commentary. It was also helpful for my family as I was able to fill in some of the blanks they were having difficulty with due to unfamiliar terminology.
Two examples
Below are two recent driving tours I have taken with transcripts. The one on the left is Action guide Iceland. The one on the right is from GuideAlongTurn down the road to Hana Maui.
It is easy to find driving tour guides for a wide and varied set of destinations, both domestic and foreign. Guides come from a variety of companies, so be sure to review your options before your next road trip. I certainly plan to!
For more tricks for traveling with hearing loss, read the Hearing Tricks section of Hear and Beyond: Living Skillfully with Hearing Loss.
Readers, do you like car tours?
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