After some advice on navigation for road trips. I’ve used Waze and Google maps on the phone for years (dash mounted hands free obvs) but find both are limiting if I want to build a custom route that takes in a few more wiggles rather than just the faster at or most traffic free route.
Wondered what more experienced car road trippers used to plot interesting routes?
As a cyclist I use Strava to plot full custom routes and the OS maps app for hiking, but don’t think either would really work for the car.
Am I going to need to do separate Sat Nav like a Garmin for such duties? Or is there anything available for the phone?
TomTom’s phone app is better for navigation than Google Maps because:
The info on screen is much better.
It has a great journey line feature so you can see how close you are to the nearest fuel, car park, speed camera etc.
No adverts, or as much screen clutter.
It stores maps locally by default so if the signal isn’t great you’re OK.
But…
It’s not free (although not hugely expensive)
The search isn’t quite as good.
It isn’t as easy to set things up on a PC and sync with your phone. It does in theory but is inconsistent.
It stores maps locally by default and you need to update them manually every so often.
It’s always been a challenge to do that sort of route online . I’m still old fashioned with the MX-5 and use a Garmin which allows you to create a route as detailed as you like using lots of way points but it’s fiddly, would love something reliable to enable a route plot on a PC and transfer to a phone.
What you need is a tool called MyRouteApp. https://www.myrouteapp.com/en
It gives you exactly what you ask for in the way of designing routes. You can export the routes to certain Garmin and Tomtom devices and it also has it’s own separate Satnav app for IOS and Android devices. (Make sure the device you buy or want to use with this supports itineraries.)
I have a gold licence and have used it for a few years now and produce itineraries for all our Region’s monthly drives (South West Midlands) from the route instructions produced by the members. I then download the itinerary file for the inbuilt tomtom in my Sport Graphite and make it available for members.
Additionally, it has a huge library of routes produced worldwide that you can search for and use.
Click on “use route” to open the website. Close the initial window and you can then see the route in the app. You will need to register for a free account to modify the route, and can subscribe to unlock lots of additional functionality. There are lots of helpful video courses under the “support” link.
My Garmin Nuvi is vastly better than the MZD satnav system, and it has free lifetime maps and current traffic info. No phone needed.
Their Basecamp route-plotting program on the PC is very fiddly, with a steep learning curve, but it is still a lot better than some of the CAD software I used to be inflicted with at work. It is very good once you’re used to it.
A couple of years back I took it to Germany for a twelve day trip with all the routes and destinations pre-programmed into it here using Basecamp. This way I didn’t have to learn a strange satnav in the hire car while leaving the carpark before the exit pass timed out! In fact if I had paid for the optional extra (!) satnav in the hire car for twelve days I could have bought two Garmins.
Back when the world was still partly black and white, I had lots of fun with the pre-Windows version of AutoRoute. (Running on a mouse-free Amstrad!) The feature where you could put in a number of places and it would calculate the fastest/shortest/most scenic route was wonderful. I planned a road trip around all the capital cities of Europe with it. Shame I was only 16 at the time and there doesn’t seem to be a piece of software now with the same feature but…
Struggled with Basecamp, beyond fiddly, gave up in despair. I’m a wizz with autocad, but that’s 20 plus years of daily experience, and being able to keep the same customised set up each time it changes!
I use a road map, an expression which , bizarrely , has come to mean political strategy . It’s made out of paper , and not only shows roads, but contours and other features. I believe they may catch on .
If I want to find my way in town , then Waze is excellent . But it’s no fun.
So do I for finding the twisty bits, and then using the nav to keep me on them. But I guess its a lost art now but I have no idea at all how I would find my way, solo, just using the papery things now. I always loved all maps as a kid, (still do really) and would follow progress when out with the family on long trips, and I recall thinking how cool it would be if our actual position showed up as a dot on the map!
I have been playing around with Scenic on some of the runs I did recently, allows you to plot a route with loads of way markers and then easily follow it as if it was Waze/Google Maps on your phone
Edit: Also allows you to import route you have done on Google Maps but you only get so many imports without paying
Some good suggestions in there, I have used Garmin a bunch for longer cycle touring stuff, rides over 100 miles in a day require more than just the phone battery. So Im aware of its complexity, but also its detail, presence of contours and accuracy. Seems like it might still be the way to go. I just really didn’t want to have to run a second device on the dash.
Im actually going to have a go at using the Outdooractive/Viewranger OS based app that I use for greenlaning in the Landy and see how that works. @ian.prossor Ill certainly give Scenic a look too. That sounds very interesting, thanks for that suggestion
And to those so obviously offended by my suggestion that a real man would ever use anything other than a paper map, a sextant and the North Star; Im deeply sorry huns.
I’ve used CoPilot for a few years.
All the maps can be stored on device, which is ideal if you are going into remite places with no data signal, but the big feature that I love is that you can tell the app what sort of roads you want to use. E.g. avoid motorways, favour secondary roads, etc. You can then save this driving profile. I have a ‘Touring’ profile and a ‘normal’ profile. Then there are pre-loaded motorcycle, bicycle and walking profiles. You can put in pins to ‘route through here’ or ‘avoid’
All of your routes can be saved on device
Unfortunately their paid version has gone to some form of subscription payment now.
