Most navigation apps are built to get you somewhere as fast as possible. brieflylost is built for the opposite: the drives where the road is the point. You tell it the kind of drive you're after in plain English, and it plans a route along country lanes, B-roads and quiet A-roads instead of motorways — free for your first 50 routes a month, on iOS and Android.
That makes it a different kind of tool from the big map apps and from the motorcycle-focused route planners. Here's how they line up.
At a glance
| brieflylost | Google Maps | Waze | Calimoto | Scenic | Kurviger | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for scenic / back-road driving | ● | — | — | ● | ● | ● |
| Genuinely avoids motorways & big roads | ● | Partialsetting exists, still uses A-roads | Partial | ● | ● | ● |
| Plan from a plain-English description (AI) | ● | — | — | — | — | — |
| Designed specifically for UK roads | ● | Global | Global | Global | Global | Global |
| Works for cars and motorcycles | ● | ● | ● | Bike-first | Bike-first | Bike-first |
| Voice turn-by-turn navigation | ●free tier | ● | ● | ● | Premiumfree tier is visual only | ● |
| Share a route with one link | ● | ● | Partial | ● | ● | ● |
| Offline maps | Planned | ● | — | ● | ● | ● |
| Price | Freemium50 routes/mo free · Premium £4.99/mo | Free | Free | Paid~£50/yr, no full free tier | FreemiumPremium ~£4/mo | Freemiumfree tier + paid Pro |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS only | iOS, Android, Web |
● = yes · Partial = limited or with caveats · — = no. Pricing and features are approximate and accurate as of June 2026 — check each provider for the latest. brieflylost is an independent app and isn't affiliated with any of the products above.
Head to head
brieflylost vs Google Maps
Google Maps is unbeatable for getting somewhere quickly and for live traffic. But its "avoid motorways" option still tends to push you onto big A-roads and dual carriageways, and there's no way to say "give me a pretty drive." brieflylost starts from the scenery, not the schedule — choose it when the journey matters more than the arrival time.
brieflylost vs Waze
Waze is a fast-route, community-traffic app — brilliant for the commute, but it has no concept of a scenic detour and will always nudge you back to the quickest line. brieflylost exists for the days you want the long way home, not the shortcut.
brieflylost vs Calimoto
Calimoto is a superb motorcycle route planner with a curvy-road algorithm and offline maps, but it's a paid subscription (around £50/year) and built around riders dropping waypoints themselves. brieflylost has a real free tier (50 routes a month), works just as well in a car, and plans the route for you from a sentence.
brieflylost vs Scenic
Scenic is a polished, well-loved motorcycle nav app — but it's iOS-only, and on the free tier you only get "follow-the-line" maps: voice turn-by-turn navigation is Premium-only. brieflylost includes full voice turn-by-turn in its free 50-routes tier, covers Android too, and leans on natural-language planning instead of manual waypoint dropping.
brieflylost vs Kurviger
Kurviger's winding-road algorithm is a favourite among European riders and it has a usable free tier. It's powerful but fiddly, and tuned for motorcycle touring across Europe. brieflylost is purpose-built for UK roads and trades manual route profiles for a "just describe it" approach.
Which should you choose?
Need the fastest way there? Use Google Maps or Waze. A serious motorcycle tourer who'll pay for fine-grained control? Calimoto, Scenic or Kurviger are excellent. Want an app with a genuine free tier that turns "a relaxed loop through the Cotswolds avoiding the motorway" into a real route, in a car or on a bike? That's brieflylost.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for scenic driving routes in the UK?
It depends on what you drive. brieflylost is built specifically for scenic UK driving in a car or on a bike — you describe the drive you want and it plans a route along country lanes and B-roads instead of motorways, with a free tier of 50 routes a month. Calimoto, Scenic and Kurviger are excellent motorcycle-first planners with curvy-road algorithms, but they're paid (or part-paid) and aimed mainly at riders. Google Maps and Waze are free and reliable for speed, but only loosely support avoiding motorways.
Is brieflylost free?
brieflylost is freemium. You get 50 routes a month free — including full turn-by-turn navigation, plan and navigate modes, and route sharing — with no card required. If you need more, Premium is £4.99/month for 1,000 routes a month. The app itself is free to download on iOS and Android.
What's a good free alternative to Calimoto, Scenic or Kurviger for back-road drives?
brieflylost offers a free tier — 50 scenic routes a month — for back-road routing in the UK. Unlike the motorcycle-first apps, it works for cars as well as bikes and plans routes from a natural-language description rather than requiring you to drop waypoints manually. Kurviger also has a free tier, while Calimoto and Scenic need a subscription for full features.
Why doesn't Google Maps give me proper scenic back roads?
Google Maps and Waze optimise for the fastest, most efficient route. Their "avoid motorways" setting helps, but it still tends to route you onto large A-roads and dual carriageways rather than the small lanes and B-roads that make a drive enjoyable. Apps built for scenic routing, like brieflylost, deliberately prioritise those smaller roads.
Take the road worth remembering
Free to start on iOS and Android — 50 routes a month, no card needed. Describe your drive, and brieflylost finds the back roads worth taking the long way for.