Trip Planning Software

PosterBoy

Hey guys,

As some of you are sure to know by now I am planning to take a road trip next year. I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on any trip planning software?

It's not something I have really looked into before. I could just get Streets and Trips 2003 and install it in VPC, but I'd really rather not. VPC is a pig.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

--PB

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jfpoole

I've used Streets and Trips before and it's a great piece of software. There have been several occasions where I've used Streets and Trips instead of traditional paper maps while I'm in the car.

As far as I can tell, though, there's nothing comparable available for the Mac. I suppose you could use Mapquest (although I've gotten directions of dubious quality from it before), but it's not something that you can download and put on your iBook.

Moscool

Hey Poster Boy:

Some comments which are not necessarily aligned with your Canadian trip but that you might find useful...

- GPS sucks unless you are driving on your own. A good map-book, read by (in your case) lady friend, is by far the best way to get around. I guess we need another level of intelligence in the software design. Perhaps next year?

- Mapping sites are better than mapping software, because they never become obsolete... My world favourites are www.multimap.com and Via Michelin (look for it from www.michelin.com). Both are Europe centric but Multimap has a good map engine for Canada)

So when I travel in deep rural France or in the back-streets of a complex UK suburb I start by mapping my directions on multimap or Via Michelin, and then let my wife do the fine tuning/inspirational bit. Works everytime!

Incidentally, I have looked quickly at the CAA site: it doesn't seem to offer routing but it looks like it does have a lot in terms of trip planning on a Province by Province basis. You've probably already considered it for your Grand Tour. If not...

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