meg

I want to use Mapquest to determine how long it will take to drive from one place to another...how do I do this? I don't have specific addresses, just cities and places, ie Las Vegas to Lake Powell.

Thanks.

Sonnery

Meg -

Try www.freetrip.com I think it does a better job of time and distance. Check it out, I think you will like it.

thereuare

Just go to www.mapquest.com, click on Driving directions, put in the cities and states... the next page will give you directions, and at the bottom tell you the distance and time it should take.

Dave

Meg,

I have found that Mapquest consistently overpredicts driving times (I usually stay within 5mph of limits and stop every 1-2 hours). Mileage and routing are usually fine, but driving times are almost always off by quite a bit.

Try www.mapblast.com instead - much more accurate in my experience. There is no need for a specific address, just leave those fields blank.

Lynn

Meg, you'll need to take the advice you get from Mapquest with a grain of salt. I made the mistake of using Mapquest and got incorrect instructions to my destination. Unfortunately, the result was that my husband and I arrived late for the wedding of a family member. After we returned home, I e-mailed Mapquest and told them what had happened; they never bothered to respond to my message. I'll never use them again. Do yourself a favor and try one of the other map sites suggested by the other posters; or better yet, check a road map!

Pearce

I had never heard of freetrip.com, but I love it! As soon as I saw it posted here, I went and tested it. Because we go to southern Michigan from southern Indiana at least once a year for the past 23 years, we've tried lots of routes and now know the absolutely fastest way to get there. I have never yet had a map site give me the directions we use--this one did! I didn't even have to use any of the special features (preferred/avoided routes, etc.). Thanks for letting us know about it! I will definitely trust it for other directions. But, as always (and as the sites themselves say), I would never follow their directions without using a map to confirm it.

gail

My favorite (!) Mapquest experience is using directions to get to a location in a neighboring county. I was supposed to teach a class so I was trying to get there early. Imagine my suprise to be sitting at the end of a dead-end court looking at a field, with no idea how to get to my destination! Good thing old fashioned maps are still around! I seldom use Mapquest anymore....

Joanne

I, too, have found thta Mapquest underestimates drive times. I think they just plug in the speed limit, and don't allow for traffic.

Gail, what an unpleasant surprise that dead-end street must have been! I've never had that happen with Mapquest, but I HVAE had it happen with a "real" map, which apparently included "paper streets" -- ones for which permits have been granted, but never built.

lost

Two Mapquest experiences:

I was driving in Arizona, and Mapquest instructed me to "merge" onto a highway. When I got the the spot, I was left with the choice of going east or west on the highway. (Of course, I chose the wrong direction.)

A friend, using Mapquest's instructions, got to the spot on one highway where Mapquest instructed to exit onto another highway -- which happened to be overhead and with no extrance ramp at that spot. My friend's comment: "I guess Mapquest just figured I was traveling in a helicopter."