Experience with Route Planning Software
 

Hi,
Just wondering if anybody has used, or can recommend any route planning software for travelling by road around Europe?
Have noticed there are a few on the market like AutoRoute 2005, Route 66 and Route Finder. Any suggestions or help would be greatly apreciated.

There are quite some online route planners as well, such as:

www.map24.com
www.viamichelin.com
www.mappy.com

Last week there was an article in a Belgian newspaper where they tested some online route planners, and they absolutely preferred map24 over all the others.

map24 is not terribly user friendly, but it seems very powerful. I have used Michelin with mixed results. For a trip to Germany, the time estimates were well underestimated; for Norway, right on the money. Shell also has a great international route planner.

If you mean software to use whilst navigating European roads, the two that I've tested are Microsoft AutoRoute and Michelin Maps & Route Planning. Both will locate your position with GPS. For another 100€, Michelin will sell you Via Michelin Navigation 3, which "talks" you through your route.

We have always found both mappy and viamichelin to overestimate the amount of driving time. But then we're not exactly snail-like.

The fact that the under-estimate involved only Germany may mean that you were driving slower than the average speed they anticipated.

nytrav--- We are well aware of speed factors in Germany and even though my hubby kept up pretty well with traffic, the estimates were well off. We have traveled in Germany quite a bit and actually, I think Michelin needs to factored in the increasing truck traffic aruound the Rhine area. Never seen it so congested with large commercial traffic.

On the other hand, they estimated 8 hours Stockholm-Oslo and it took us 8 hours.

Thank you all for your replies.

I am aware of the online route planners suggested but was looking as Robespierre mentioned for software to use with my notebook when there is no internet connection.

Robespierre,
I have seen the viamichelin stuff on the net but wasnt sure if it was PC based or PDA only? I want something PC based for my notebook.

What are your thoughts on Autoroute and the Michelin program? Would you recomend one over the other?

Thanks again for your replies.

Both will run on a laptop. Michelin will also run <i>as is</i> on a PDA, but AutoRoute requires that you snip sections of the map to download to a smaller device. Both will plot a route, display driving directions, times, and distances, and show your route if you have a GPS (I have a Pharos GPS-360 on the HP laptop and a Globalsat BC370 on my iPAQ). Both will re-calculate your route if you divert from the plan, but only AutoRoute will do this with one mouse click.

Michelin also integrates with their computerized Red Guides and a limited subset (Points Of Interest) from the Green Guides.

AutoRoute costs about $100 less than Michelin (and is often found heavily discounted on eBay, which Michelin is not). If all you need is basic route-finding and navigation, I think Microsoft is what you want.

I forgot to mention that you can sample both of them:

<b>http://www.shop.viamichelin.co.uk/pr...emo_PPC_EN.zip
</b>

<b>http://www.microsoft.com/streets/try/default.mspx</b>

(AutoRoute is the same software as Streets&amp;Trips.)