Best mapping software?

May 30, 2007 8:44 AM

What is the best free online directions service for a long road trip?

I'm traveling from Boston to New Orleans, with a few stops along the way. Google Maps? Yahoo? MSN? MapQuest?

posted by names are hard to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

I'm usually partial to Map24, which allows waypoints and has a nice "fly through this route" function (like google earth, but in a browser and without distracting satellite images)
posted by mkb at 8:47 AM on May 30, 2007

I've never had a problem with Google maps with many intra- (TX) and interstate road trips, whereas MapQuest had some strange anomalies in several of the times I used it. Though that was before Google Maps became available so they may be more accurate now.

Print your directions from the web but be sure to have a nice detailed road atlas that you can thumb through on your trip.
posted by Burhanistan at 8:49 AM on May 30, 2007

For simply directions, Google maps is the best, double true! I used to use tripquest/mapquest exlusively beforehand, but I don't think any other free online map service has matched google yet on functionality, innovation, and absence of clutter (ads, etc). MSN and Yahoo are a close 2nd.

Mapquest has become a little slower than I remember, but still appears to be a decent choice as well...especially if you need lodging, dining, camp, etc. information beforhand (I usually wing it). I think it'll come down to personal preference for look and feel....but if site-seeing It's a shame that the Google earth community isn't integrated with google maps.

I'd plug your trip into all of the ones mentioned above...you might come across the best purely on personal preference.
posted by samsara at 9:22 AM on May 30, 2007

Don't use Yahoo. Just this past week it misidentified a perfectly valid Boston address. My wife said she often gets wrong info using their maps. I've never had a problem with Google, but I second the suggestion for investing in a good road atlas.
posted by otio at 9:24 AM on May 30, 2007

I recommend getting a TripTik from AAA, after you put in your zip code check under Travel Tips. My friends and I used this to travel from New Jersey to Nevada and it was fantastic.
posted by infinityjinx at 9:30 AM on May 30, 2007

MapQuest. Run the exact same route in MapQuest, Rand McNally.com and Google Maps and check the results against each other. MapQuest is more detailed and more often then not, is correct. I ran a sample route that I know well - my house to my work and both Google and Rand McNally missed a major turn in their directions that would have thrown off those that are not familiar with the area.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:39 AM on May 30, 2007

When I drove CT to FL, we went to AAA, got maps, but not a triptik (because I didn't think of it), guidebooks, a copy of an East Coast guidebook that was for off-the-freeway stuff, and printed out directions from Google, Mapquest, Rand, AND Yahoo. There weren't many deviations, but between them and the maps, we were fine.
posted by cobaltnine at 9:46 AM on May 30, 2007

MapsOnUs is another option.
posted by qvtqht at 9:48 AM on May 30, 2007

I use Rand McNally for this sort of thing, and haven't had problems yet.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 9:59 AM on May 30, 2007

I tend to rely on Google maps, but lately it's told me to turn onto non-existent roads a couple of times on short local trips.
posted by ludwig_van at 10:12 AM on May 30, 2007

You might try this google maps route planner someone made...
posted by twiggy at 10:18 AM on May 30, 2007

I second (or third or fourth) the AAA Triptik advice -- it's more personalized and suggests options for lodging, food, etc. It's been a while since I've used it, but I think they offer a lot of other suggestions too. Much more useful than a simple A-to-B route planner.

Also check out Roadside America if you are looking for strange and interesting sights to see along the way.
posted by Alabaster at 10:45 AM on May 30, 2007

samsara: I was so totally coming into this thread to make a "double true!" comment. Nice work.
posted by rlef98 at 10:56 AM on May 30, 2007

I successfully made it from Michigan to Oreogn using AAA TripTix and Mapquest printouts.

A good old-fashioned regional map or U.S. map is also useful to have around, especially if you deviate from your original plan or add additional stops.

I don't recommend Google Maps as they've been wrong on more than one occasion.
posted by click at 11:17 AM on May 30, 2007

dittos to the triptik from AAA. They give you maps, mark your path in small chunks, recommend stopping points with hotels and food etc, and even call out contruction zones and paths around it. with regard to online maps i have had marginal success with Google Maps (it did wacky things like take me down dead end roads, highways that don't exist anymore etc...) and with that said, GM is far better than the other various online things.

all that being said, for $299USD you can buy a TOMTOM ONE gps (comes with US and Canada maps and a memory card) and take care of all your navigating etc... while allowing yourself to be more spontaneous (IE "hey, wonder where this side road goes") without ending up like a character in the first chapters of a Stephen King book. YMMV.
posted by chasles at 11:57 AM on May 30, 2007