I was wondering if anyone else used Google Earth to research their trips and how they liked it.

I haven't used it to research trips, but I have "google earthed" places that I have been before. My favorite to look at is the Palace of Versailles.

I use it to look at the area, to see if a place is wooded or close to the sea or lake. It adds a new dimension to research, have you tried it?

Hi N,
Yes.
Yes.

I'm using it to plan some upcoming trips and to revisit places I've been. The pictures others have posted are great for the most part. Some are out of place and I've seen some that I've put on my list of what to see when I get close by. I've been to Konigsee many times, but never in winter. This picture may change that.
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/77204.jpg
Awesome.

I have used mappy and really like it. I don't know how mappy compares to Google Earth. If I have a complete address, I can zero in on the map first and then switch to the aerial view. Without a complete address it's less useful, though still fun. On slow winter days, I sometimes look at places we've stayed or visited.

The aerial views on Mappy are from Google Earth, so there's no difference

In my opinion, the most fun you can have with Google Earth is to go to a mountainous location and then change the angle of the view, the 3D effect can be amazing. Try it somewhere like Lauterbrunnen to get some idea of what the view up to the Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch is like...

Alan

I prefer google maps (maps.google.com) over Google Earth for trip planning.

Google earth is a more powerful tool, but google maps are available on any internet computer, even with dialup.

I have created and saved my own map locations, restaurants, hotels, sights, etc online & access them when traveling.

Google Earth is very good for researching house rentals - for confirming the blurb that most agents are full of and then to map directions - does anyone know how up to date the photos are?

I've used it to look at the apartments that I'm considering renting in various countries. Gives me an idea of location in comparison to sites and other areas, as well as what the general area is like.

Ever zero into your own house? I see that mine has my sun umbrellas in the yard. So the pics were a while ago.

Pictures from my neighborhood are ~4yrs ago - late fall 2003.

Google Earth is just simply awesome. For those of you with Garmin GPS and who have ordered the Mapsource DVD's, did you realize that you can take all the places you plotted in Mapsource (and downloaded to your GPS) then copy them into Google Earth? It gave me an excellent idea of just where some of my hotels and recommended restaurants were. A regular map doesn't give you any concept of elevation but with Google Earth I was able to see just how mountainous some of those routes through Southern Bavaria were.

Google Earth also helped me determine where my Priceline hotel in Berlin was located. A regular map didn't indicate just how many buildings were on that same block. With GE I was able to pick out the color and shape of the hotel lodged between all the other Communist-era high rises.

Sometimes the views are very old.

For instance, we have a house in Florida that is three years old.

When we use either Google Earth or Google Maps, all you can see is a large piece of cleared land.

BUT. It shows the apartment building where we are renting in Lisbon.

I've used it to get an idea of how the area looks before I travel there. What I mean is you can change the view to a more flat view, like you were driving down the road. It helps me recognize a turn off or building even if I've not been there. I love the program and I'm glad to hear of the stuff you can use it for that I didn't know.

I think they change the images more often in bigger cities (London, Paris, NY..) or at least that is what it seems to me

I use Google Earth to visit my house/village in France when I get homesick for it.

Yes, use it for trip planning also.

I think it's awesome!

Coincidentally, I was just talking to a colleague about this today. I told her that the map of my town is so old, my three year old house just shows up a plot of dirt.

Just to prove this, I loaded up maps.google.com, which I assume uses the same satellite images as Google Earth. And what do you know - my house showed up! So it does look like they are updating things.

I use it quite often to locate city addresses.

I've also used it to help plan sailing routes.

As many Marinas have wifi, you can use it to check the next days sail, entry to ports etc.

And, yes, I use charts too !

Peter