Google Maps

...however personally I have found Google maps to be the best available mainly because there are so many features to take advantage of.

Coverage

Firstly a big benefit for me is the fact that I can easily plan a route across a number of borders, something that is not easy with other route planners, driving in Europe while on holiday is made a lot easier as I can plan the complete route from home to final destination. In ...
...Viewing Options

Google maps allows for a number of different viewing options. This is really helpful especially when the route includes city driving. The Map view has a simple street grid just like a normal map all of the streets are labelled the detail of which will depend on the scale being used, the wider the viewing area then only main roads will be labelled, close up views will provide every street name. This is the main view ... more

I'm one of those people who would prefer to look at a map when I'm planning a route rather than rely on a satellite navigation system, call me old fashioned, in fact you can also call me tight as I see no real benefit to splashing out the cash on one based on the type of journeys that I do.

When I'm driving somewhere I like to have a geographical feel for my location, what that means to me is that I like to have a sense of whether I should be travelling north, south, east or west on a journey, what the local landmarks are and other destinations along my route. I have tried a number of different route planners during my time however personally I have found Google maps to be the best available mainly because there are so many features to take advantage of.

Coverage

Firstly a big benefit for me is the fact that I can easily plan a route across a number of borders, something that is not easy with other route planners, driving in Europe while on holiday is made a lot easier as I can plan the complete route from home to final destination. In addition once the route has been plotted should we wish to take a detour to visit somewhere slightly off our planned route you can use a drag option to slightly change your route and I can take in the new destination without having to load in additional locations manually, this is really useful when we have over night stops planned as well that may be off the main highways.

Viewing Options

Google maps allows for a number of different viewing options. This is really helpful especially when the route includes city driving. The Map view has a simple street grid just like a normal map all of the streets are labelled the detail of which will depend on the scale being used, the wider the viewing area then only main roads will be labelled, close up views will provide every street name. This is the main view that I use however I will also switch over to satellite view which gives you a satellite picture however street names are still displayed. This view is great for assisting with the directional sense that I like to get and allows you to actually see the road you will travel on and the geography of the land. I tend not to print my route using this view as it takes a while for the printer to do this and the quality I not always great but it is very useful in the planning phase. The other view option is terrain which I find the least beneficial.

Zoom Option

One of the great things with Google Maps is that you can zoom in and out of your view, most people start by checking out their house in satellite view but this is a great facility for when planning a route or just wanting to check out a famous land mark, this also helps you identify how current the satellite view is based upon your knowledge of the area, for example the image of the place I work is at least three years old as I can date the fact that recent buildings are not shown.

Getting Directions

You simply need to either put in the zip code or post code of your starting point and then the equivalent code for your final destination and the route will be set for you with the starting and final destination labelled A and B. You can then use the options set out above to refine your route or if you think there is a better option you can use the drag and drop option to change the route. Sometimes the option given will take advantage of motorways based on time rather than the shortest distance in miles or knowledge of congestion hot spots may mean that you want to change the route. The only time I have found problems with this method is when my final destination is a residential area in a large city and then the postcode can be too general especially if the street is a long one, then the system is only good enough to get you in the general area you want to be in.

As well as the driving option you can also select for shorter distances a walk option or for non drivers public transport options are also shown if you select that option. This is really comprehensive and combines bus and rail options where available.

Printing and Saving

Printing the route planner is easy enough and you will get the full route written out with distances and times showing plus along the right hand side of the page are some mini maps to help explain particular road transitions and junctions. You are also able to save a link to the page for future reference and send it to another e-mail address. All of these options can be found on the right hand side of the page.

Overall Google Maps is now my travel planner of choice; it is also fun to play with and to see satellite pictures of all those places you want to visit. It is not ideal for finding locations in cities based on a general postcode I guess for that the old sat nav is still ideal but it requires no financial outlay to use providing you have a computer and internet access which if you are reading this then you do already. I hope this has been of help to you. 

...less