Driving Trip Planning

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BolderBoy
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Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

I'm not finding a utility to do this on the web (and no discussion of it here on the forum) and am seeking suggestions from the assembly.

I want to make a driving trip of 1800 miles. In a recent test I've discovered that I can do 400 miles without much effort, but 700 miles is a near-killer for me. And it really isn't the miles, it is the TIME. The 400 miles took 6-7 hours (about 1/2 on interstate), the 700 miles took 12 hours (600 of it on interstate).

Both tests included some stopping along the way.

So my limit is about 8 hours of driving in one day and must include stopping at every rest stop along the way to get out and stretch, etc.

What I seek is an on-line trip planner that allows for laying out the route and breaking it up by HOURS of driving, so that I can use the 8 hour point each day to drill down into the route and see what sort of motel/hotel options I can find.

Anyone else wish that trip planners worked this way?
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Kenkat
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Kenkat »

You might be able to use Google Maps for this.

First, plot directions for your entire trip from point A to point B. Then, use the + symbol to add a destination; you will have to use a bit of trial and error to get to your 8 hour target, but you should be able to figure it out. Add as many interim destinations as needed and eventually you should end up with a day by day plan that fits your desired time constraints.
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JMacDonald
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by JMacDonald »

I take long road trips. If I am going to be driving on major highways, I figure that I can travel about 60 miles in an hour including short breaks to get gas, coffee, food, and restrooms. That would mean I would travel about 500 miles in an eight hours drive. Now If I am on secondary roads, I figure to drive about 50 miles in an hour.

I don't worry about motels along major highways as there are plenty of options along the way. Secondary roads do not usually offer the same options.

Just figure how far you can drive in a day and pick that area to select your motel.
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BolderBoy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

So far so good with responses. I've pondered doing it like that. But a cleaner solution is a routing planner that allows choosing breakpoints by HOURS via pointing at the route. Google Maps contains all the underlying data to provide that option for planning - strange they don't. They don't even provide for pointing at points along the route to show how many miles it is from the start point.

Insofar as finding a motel for the night, are you saying you don't make advanced reservations, but simply hit/miss until you find one? Could end up sleeping in your car at worst, right?
dolphinsaremammals
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

I thought AAA had some sort of trip planning, but I haven't actually used it.
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BolderBoy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:I thought AAA had some sort of trip planning, but I haven't actually used it.
In BH fashion, I'm looking for "free".
The Wizard
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

I had this same problem during my 4-week, 6100 mile driving trip to New Mexico and back in July.
I needed to get there for an event by a certain date, so I left a week ahead of time with a rough idea where we would be when.
Being retired allows more time for the trip and more time for doing stuff during the day aside from driving.
I played with Google maps for a bit, but didn't find it to be too helpful for overall planning.

For the return drive (NM to MA), I had a rough idea when I wanted to get home (the 29th, 30th or 31st), so I just winged it.
I'd plan the next day's drive on my smartphone the night preceding and get at least some idea where I might be stopping for the following night.
Then around noontime the next day, I'd pull over and use my smartphone to book a modest motel (usually).
As far as things to do during the day, I had a mix of things planned well in advance along with ad hoc things on the spur of the moment...
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kaudrey
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by kaudrey »

Well, hours are very iffy because all it takes it one accident or a construction zone and you are completely thrown off (take it from someone, who, unfortunately, regularly has to travel up and down the East Coast from DC to NH).
The Wizard
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

BolderBoy wrote:
dolphinsaremammals wrote:I thought AAA had some sort of trip planning, but I haven't actually used it.
In BH fashion, I'm looking for "free".
It's "free" for members but very rudimentary and practically worthless: just a marker on a map showing which highways to take from point A to point B...
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The Wizard
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

BolderBoy wrote:So far so good with responses. I've pondered doing it like that. But a cleaner solution is a routing planner that allows choosing breakpoints by HOURS via pointing at the route. Google Maps contains all the underlying data to provide that option for planning - strange they don't. They don't even provide for pointing at points along the route to show how many miles it is from the start point.

Insofar as finding a motel for the night, are you saying you don't make advanced reservations, but simply hit/miss until you find one? Could end up sleeping in your car at worst, right?
I use the TripAdvisor map option along with an assortment of motel apps on my smartphone and never have a problem finding motels the same day. This works a lot better if you're in the passenger seat while your co-pilot minds the wheel...
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BolderBoy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

Agreed that construction delays can throw a wrench, so plan on the low miles side per day just in case. Motel booking at noon on the way... An idea, but I don't have a cell phone and I'll be driving alone.

But I'm amazed that there isn't something akin to what I seek already in existence. Seems like a simple piece of coding to add the option to choose hours vs miles of travel per day.
The Wizard
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

BolderBoy wrote:So far so good with responses. I've pondered doing it like that. But a cleaner solution is a routing planner that allows choosing breakpoints by HOURS via pointing at the route. Google Maps contains all the underlying data to provide that option for planning - strange they don't...
Actually, the google map function DOES give you hours:minutes to get from point A to point B.
The PC version even allows you to drag the blue-line route to go via obscure back-roads routes; can't do this on the smartphone app so easily.
But yes, you end up doing each day as a separate routing. Would be nice if they had some sort of composite folder to allow one to play with multi-day trips better...
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The Wizard
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

BolderBoy wrote:Agreed that construction delays can throw a wrench, so plan on the low miles side per day just in case. Motel booking at noon on the way... An idea, but I don't have a cell phone and I'll be driving alone.

But I'm amazed that there isn't something akin to what I seek already in existence. Seems like a simple piece of coding to add the option to choose hours vs miles of travel per day.
The plus-side with using the google maps/navigation app on a smartphone is that it DOES incorporate slowdowns due to heavy traffic for whatever reason. That part of the routing turns RED and the time to destination changes accordingly. It may even re-route you around the slowdown, but you do need to have active cell data coverage, seldom an issue in heavy traffic zones.

BUT...if you're doing a road trip without a cell phone, much less a smartphone, then you'll have to get paper maps and pretend it's the 1950s all over again...
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Dutch
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Dutch »

For on the fly, on the road, planning I find a car GPS invaluable.
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BolderBoy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

Dutch wrote:For on the fly, on the road, planning I find a car GPS invaluable.
I'll have in-car navigation available, but it doesn't allow pre-planning motel stays.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by bhsince87 »

I've never seen anything quite like that. And I'm sort of a map nut.... But you can get something close from google maps.

I do it like this:

First, pick the trip's start and finish destinations (ultimate finish, not a rest/stop way point just yet), then allow google to find the best route between the two.

If you like that route, fine. Otherwise, you can drag and drop parts of the route to other roads. That can be handy sometimes. But what works even better is to right click on a point on the map where you'd like to go, and add it as a destination point. This is also the feature I use to dial in segment times.

Once you have a route planned, then have google "list all steps" for the route. This list will give you a time estimate between certain way points, turns, etc. You can eyeball that list, and look for something that's close to 8 hours away (or whatever time target you desire).

Then use the browser's "back" button to revert to the route view. Now just eye ball a spot on the route that is near the 8 hour spot noted above. Right click the route at that point, and "add as destination".

Then "list all steps" again, check out the times, and see how close your first guess is to your time goal.

Repeat the process until you home in on your target time.

It sounds more complicated then it is. I can usually get within 15 minutes with 2-3 iterations, in a minute or two.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

bhsince87 wrote:I've never seen anything quite like that. And I'm sort of a map nut.... But you can get something close from google maps.

I do it like this:

First, pick the trip's start and finish destinations (ultimate finish, not a rest/stop way point just yet), then allow google to find the best route between the two.

If you like that route, fine. Otherwise, you can drag and drop parts of the route to other roads. That can be handy sometimes. But what works even better is to right click on a point on the map where you'd like to go, and add it as a destination point. This is also the feature I use to dial in segment times...
OK, that right-click destination point thing is neat. You can then reorder the destination points (DPs) on the left to get them in the right order.
But some DPs are overnight stops and some are daytime points of interest; I need to play with this myself for a bit...
https://goo.gl/maps/l9YHS
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BolderBoy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

bhsince87 wrote:I've never seen anything quite like that. And I'm sort of a map nut.... But you can get something close from google maps.

I do it like this:

First, pick the trip's start and finish destinations (ultimate finish, not a rest/stop way point just yet), then allow google to find the best route between the two.

If you like that route, fine. Otherwise, you can drag and drop parts of the route to other roads. That can be handy sometimes. But what works even better is to right click on a point on the map where you'd like to go, and add it as a destination point. This is also the feature I use to dial in segment times.

Once you have a route planned, then have google "list all steps" for the route. This list will give you a time estimate between certain way points, turns, etc. You can eyeball that list, and look for something that's close to 8 hours away (or whatever time target you desire).

Then use the browser's "back" button to revert to the route view. Now just eye ball a spot on the route that is near the 8 hour spot noted above. Right click the route at that point, and "add as destination".

Then "list all steps" again, check out the times, and see how close your first guess is to your time goal.

Repeat the process until you home in on your target time.

It sounds more complicated then it is. I can usually get within 15 minutes with 2-3 iterations, in a minute or two.
This is splendid and I just tried it, BUT they have apparently turned that feature off and simply show a step of 1700+ miles and 26 hours, with no time breakdowns in the subheadings. Darn.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

BolderBoy wrote: This is splendid and I just tried it, BUT they have apparently turned that feature off and simply show a step of 1700+ miles and 26 hours, with no time breakdowns in the subheadings. Darn.
It worked fine for me so far, I just need to find a way to SAVE it for future reference; probably should have used the Create Map feature initially and saved it in My Maps.
Anyhow, click on this link for the map I created (on a Windows PC) and then click on "List all steps" on the left side for a mileage/time summary.
https://goo.gl/maps/l9YHS
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

The Wizard wrote:
BolderBoy wrote: This is splendid and I just tried it, BUT they have apparently turned that feature off and simply show a step of 1700+ miles and 26 hours, with no time breakdowns in the subheadings. Darn.
It worked fine for me so far, I just need to find a way to SAVE it for future reference; probably should have used the Create Map feature initially and saved it in My Maps.
Anyhow, click on this link for the map I created (on a Windows PC) and then click on "List all steps" on the left side for a mileage/time summary.
https://goo.gl/maps/l9YHS
Ooops, thanks. I skipped a step in the instructions by bhsince87.

Clever and will probably do the job.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

I think you're overthinking, overplanning and destined to fail. What I do: put cb radio in the car and magnetic antenna on the roof. Get the radar detector fired up. Put the garmin in place. Hook my phone up to charge and get it on google maps. Have a road atlas in the back seat. Keep the laptop ready.

Here's the thing. If you have 2000 miles planned and a car catches on fire in your route ten minutes into your trip, you're hosed and your entire trip plan is foiled Be ready to divert. Keep track of where you are. Take a big delay to stop for coffee and some time with your atlas and laptop.

When I've about had it, I'll stop for food and look to where the next cheap motel might be. The difference between one in Harrisburg pa and 40 miles up 81 is $100. I never make reservations because I might push farther after dinner to extend the day.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

Jack FFR1846 wrote:I think you're overthinking, overplanning and destined to fail. What I do: put cb radio in the car and magnetic antenna on the roof. Get the radar detector fired up. Put the garmin in place. Hook my phone up to charge and get it on google maps. Have a road atlas in the back seat. Keep the laptop ready.

Here's the thing. If you have 2000 miles planned and a car catches on fire in your route ten minutes into your trip, you're hosed and your entire trip plan is foiled Be ready to divert. Keep track of where you are. Take a big delay to stop for coffee and some time with your atlas and laptop.

When I've about had it, I'll stop for food and look to where the next cheap motel might be. The difference between one in Harrisburg pa and 40 miles up 81 is $100. I never make reservations because I might push farther after dinner to extend the day.
Jack, have you considered writing Humor Articles for The New Yorker?

But seriously, I do similar, minus the Garmin and the laptop, letting the smartphone handle those functions. I do tend to reserve online to eliminate any problems, but waiting till noon or later to get a handle on where I'm going to be that night...
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by jlawrence01 »

BolderBoy wrote:I'm not finding a utility to do this on the web (and no discussion of it here on the forum) and am seeking suggestions from the assembly.

I want to make a driving trip of 1800 miles. In a recent test I've discovered that I can do 400 miles without much effort, but 700 miles is a near-killer for me. And it really isn't the miles, it is the TIME. The 400 miles took 6-7 hours (about 1/2 on interstate), the 700 miles took 12 hours (600 of it on interstate).

I have been driving between Chicago (or Columbus) and Tucson a lot recently. I am of the age where 500 miles is about all want to drive in a day (although I drove 750 last Saturday).

I use MapQuest and enter Chicago and Tucson. Then I pull out the Rand McNally and start working on the cities I want to stop in. That way, I know that I can find a reasonably priced lodging (Priceline/Hotwire). Every third or fourth day is a rest day where I enjoy the sights in a city. Last December, we spent the day in OKC; in March, Austin.

To me, this is the easy part. The HARD part is finding out all of the construction zones. For example, driving Columbus - Ottawa three weeks ago included a 1.5 hour park of I-271 east of Cleveland and an equal delay on the QEW in St. Catherines, ON. I guess that I could go back a few decades and request a Trip-tik from AAA and get that info but that seems overkill.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by JupiterJones »

Here's how I'd do it, using Google Maps on a computer:
  • Type in your start and end destinations. Google will map the whole route out for you.
  • Grab the "end" marker with your mouse. Drag it backwards along the route.
  • Google will recalculate the time for you on the fly, right there by your mouse, as you drag.
  • When you get to how every many hours you want, stop.
  • Zoom into that area. Search in the map for hotels. Pick one close to where your new "end" is (or at least an area that has a few and that looks good.)
  • Leg one is done. Repeat from the top, but using this new "end" location as your new start point.
Granted, this doesn't save the cut points. You'll have to record them somewhere and the rebuild the route later with the destinations specified manually.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Mick »

There is a tool, I have been using it to plan a two week drive around the Northwest. On https://www.myscenicdrives.com you can specify the default driving time per day and give it an adjustment factor. I initially used it to find scenic spots in the area I wanted to explore. Ended up using it to layout the whole trip with notes on possible drive adjustments or places with good reviews to stay at. It has a few quirks but is a great resource.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

jlawrence01 wrote: ...The HARD part is finding out all of the construction zones. For example, driving Columbus - Ottawa three weeks ago included a 1.5 hour park of I-271 east of Cleveland and an equal delay on the QEW in St. Catherines, ON. I guess that I could go back a few decades and request a Trip-tik from AAA and get that info but that seems overkill.
Construction zones are readily available on the google map smartphone app, along with the realtime traffic backup resulting.
But not all such zones show up, it seems. Some remote state highways were being repaved in Colorado last month with no indication on google map. But the delay for one-way traffic was only 5-10 minutes...
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

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JupiterJones wrote:Here's how I'd do it, using Google Maps on a computer:
  • Type in your start and end destinations. Google will map the whole route out for you.
  • Grab the "end" marker with your mouse. Drag it backwards along the route.
  • Google will recalculate the time for you on the fly, right there by your mouse, as you drag.
  • When you get to how every many hours you want, stop.
  • Zoom into that area. Search in the map for hotels. Pick one close to where your new "end" is (or at least an area that has a few and that looks good.)
  • Leg one is done. Repeat from the top, but using this new "end" location as your new start point.
Granted, this doesn't save the cut points. You'll have to record them somewhere and the rebuild the route later with the destinations specified manually.
So far, I like this method the best. Others?
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

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Mick wrote:There is a tool, I have been using it to plan a two week drive around the Northwest. On https://www.myscenicdrives.com...
What amused me about this site were the states lacking "scenic drives". Groan. What a negative advertisement.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

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Jack FFR1846 wrote:I think you're overthinking, overplanning and destined to fail. What I do: put cb radio in the car and magnetic antenna on the roof. Get the radar detector fired up. Put the garmin in place. Hook my phone up to charge and get it on google maps. Have a road atlas in the back seat. Keep the laptop ready.
... and don my warrior garb each day before embarking!
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Doom&Gloom »

BolderBoy wrote:
Dutch wrote:For on the fly, on the road, planning I find a car GPS invaluable.
I'll have in-car navigation available, but it doesn't allow pre-planning motel stays.
Not sure what in-car navigation you have, but if it's Garmin, check out their free download of BaseCamp. In fact, you may be able to use that for what you need even without a Garmin account, but I'm not sure. BaseCamp isn't as intuitive to use as I'd like, but it works for me in planning long trips.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Epsilon Delta »

BolderBoy wrote:Agreed that construction delays can throw a wrench, so plan on the low miles side per day just in case. Motel booking at noon on the way... An idea, but I don't have a cell phone and I'll be driving alone.

But I'm amazed that there isn't something akin to what I seek already in existence. Seems like a simple piece of coding to add the option to choose hours vs miles of travel per day.
Get one. I think you can get a smart tracphon for a month for $50. Apart from actually finding a room, you can negotiate a cheaper rate if you call from the parking lot instead of walking up to the front desk.

One variable is your schedule. Some people get up at 6AM and drive till 4PM. I prefer to start later, take breaks for attractions and dinner, final stoping for the night maybe at 9PM. The later you want to stop the more important it is to book ahead.
Minot
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Minot »

MS Streets & Trips. You can do a 14day free trial and see if it's worth it to you to purchase it. On the Route Planner, click on More Options, then select the Profile tab. It will let you input your start and end times for each day, plus length and frequency of stops in between.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by livesoft »

We took a "wing it" trip very successfully. Basically, we knew how far we wanted to go for the next day, but not the day after. So each morning, we already had a hotel reservation for that night and we made a hotel reservation for the next night. We were always making a hotel reservation about 36 to 40 hours ahead of time. Some of our hotels had no vacancy when we arrived and were definitely turning people away.

So it seems a smart phone is all one needs nowadays to plan a trip and not be too detailed about it. For instance, we never had to worry about a hotel 3 or 4 days into an unknown future because we didn't know where we would be then.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Toons »

Google Maps,Use phone app,Gps info ,search for lodging while on the road,call around ,rate shop. :happy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by bhsince87 »

BolderBoy wrote:
JupiterJones wrote:Here's how I'd do it, using Google Maps on a computer:
  • Type in your start and end destinations. Google will map the whole route out for you.
  • Grab the "end" marker with your mouse. Drag it backwards along the route.
  • Google will recalculate the time for you on the fly, right there by your mouse, as you drag.
  • When you get to how every many hours you want, stop.
  • Zoom into that area. Search in the map for hotels. Pick one close to where your new "end" is (or at least an area that has a few and that looks good.)
  • Leg one is done. Repeat from the top, but using this new "end" location as your new start point.
Granted, this doesn't save the cut points. You'll have to record them somewhere and the rebuild the route later with the destinations specified manually.
So far, I like this method the best. Others?
I like that one too! More elegant than my method. And I'm pretty sure I can remember the name of my destination, even with my crappy memory....
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by jlawrence01 »

The Wizard wrote:
jlawrence01 wrote: ...The HARD part is finding out all of the construction zones. For example, driving Columbus - Ottawa three weeks ago included a 1.5 hour park of I-271 east of Cleveland and an equal delay on the QEW in St. Catherines, ON. I guess that I could go back a few decades and request a Trip-tik from AAA and get that info but that seems overkill.
Construction zones are readily available on the google map smartphone app, along with the realtime traffic backup resulting.
But not all such zones show up, it seems. Some remote state highways were being repaved in Colorado last month with no indication on google map. But the delay for one-way traffic was only 5-10 minutes...
My cell phone has that app.

I see what you mean BUT ... it is not picking up any of the construction zones on I-90 west of Chicago AND it directed me over a road that has been closed all week.

Back to the drawing board.
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by The Wizard »

jlawrence01 wrote:
The Wizard wrote:
jlawrence01 wrote: ...The HARD part is finding out all of the construction zones. For example, driving Columbus - Ottawa three weeks ago included a 1.5 hour park of I-271 east of Cleveland and an equal delay on the QEW in St. Catherines, ON. I guess that I could go back a few decades and request a Trip-tik from AAA and get that info but that seems overkill.
Construction zones are readily available on the google map smartphone app, along with the realtime traffic backup resulting.
But not all such zones show up, it seems. Some remote state highways were being repaved in Colorado last month with no indication on google map. But the delay for one-way traffic was only 5-10 minutes...
My cell phone has that app.

I see what you mean BUT ... it is not picking up any of the construction zones on I-90 west of Chicago AND it directed me over a road that has been closed all week.

Back to the drawing board.
I know exactly what you mean.
Give it another ten years and things will be even better than they are now..
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Zapped »

BolderBoy wrote:Google Maps contains all the underlying data to provide that option for planning - strange they don't. They don't even provide for pointing at points along the route to show how many miles it is from the start point.
Looks like you're satisfied with the Google Maps suggestions so far. Just wanted to make sure you realize that you certainly can indicate "points along the route to show how many miles it is from the start point". What I'll describe is in the modern Google Map desktop interface, not the "Classic" mode.

Let's say you've put Denver CO as your starting point and have plunked down Santa Fe NM as your destination (390 mi, just under 6h estimated). Maybe you decide that's too short for a full day's drive. Just grab the destination pointer in Santa Fe with your mouse and as you further along your intended route (while still holding it), Google Maps will dynamically update the mileage from the starting point and the estimated drive time at the destination pointer as you move it. If you release it at some other destination, Google Maps will highlight the new route in blue and suggested alternatives in a darker grey.

It's true that you can't simply hover along an existing route to see that kind of dynamic info, but the dynamic update of the pointer as it moves is pretty slick. And much better than we'd have gotten on paper maps of yesteryear.
- Jim in Austin, TX
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GerryL
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by GerryL »

In 2000 I did a 9-week round the country drive (solo) and started plotting using Trip Routing software that came with a Rand McNally road atlas. Ended up ditching that for Google Maps and good ol' AAA maps and guide books -- and a spreadsheet where I plotted planned mileage and overnights. I updated the spreadsheet along the way with actuals as well as fuel costs. I learned on that first trip that there are a few hours in the afternoon when I may be too sleepy to drive and have to work that into the plan. It could be a dangerous lesson to ignore.

Did another round-the-country trip 7 years later using the same tools to plot a different route. I am now getting ready for a more modest drive from OR to WY and SD and back (to a pair of Road Scholar programs). Google Maps and paper maps do it for me. I now have a Magellan GPS, which is useful for getting to specific addresses, but the GPS doesn't really let you select or even preview the route.

And I generally do not make reservations for each night. The AAA guide books and the motel coupon books you can pick up at highway info stops offer options and hints as to where to find economy accommodations along the way. Have only had occasional challenges getting a room but have never had to consider sleeping in the car.
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CABob
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by CABob »

I have an old version of Microsoft Streets and Trips software on my computer. I'm not sure if the software is still available or not. It will plan a route and break it into days. The days seem to be about 8 hours driving time. I'm not sure if that can be adjusted or not. It does not seem to necessarily break at an especially good place to be looking for a hotel.
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flyingaway
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by flyingaway »

I have been physically in all 50 US states, DC, and Puerto Rico. When I was a student without a cell phone, I did not book any hotels in advance. At most rest areas, there are booklets with hotels and motels with directions and discounts, I just chose one in the evening and drove there, hoped it had a room. These days, I always use a map atlas and find the approximate hours to reach a city or town in the evening and book a hotel in advance (days before the actual trip) in that city or town. The actual distance and driving time are calculated by using the Google or MSN map (directions).

Now, I am thinking to drive from the lower part of US through Canada to Alaska. Has anyone here done that before?
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William4u
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by William4u »

We do similar long car rides regularly. I just do the google map and when it says that the trip is 24 hours total, I just divide the trip into 4 sections. I then just eyeball the three areas that we will stop in to spend the night. If one of the areas is close to a close friend or family, I will call them up. Otherwise, we look at tripadvisor or some similar site for recommended accommodations. Googling "B&B" or "hotels" while google maps is focused on the area often works, and comes with reviews. Usually a well-regarded and modest B&B or hotel is in the area.

I then look for halfway places for lunch, again on tripadvisor, urbanspoon, or yelp for a highly regarded restaurant in the area. That way, we drive for 3 hours, get a fantastic lunch at a local place, and then drive for another three hours to our hotel. I usually aim to eat lunch early (11:00am) so we can get to our destination before rush hour.

It works for us!
Dougroseville
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by Dougroseville »

Mick wrote:On https://www.myscenicdrives.com you can specify the default driving time per day and give it an adjustment factor.
http://www.myscenicdrives.com is great. It does not completely replace Google Maps or GPS, but it it is very good for planning a long trip to plan for being at a particular location on a specific date. It will export Points of Interest (POIs) to import to GPS and create a PDF file of a planned trip. I am a little worried that it seems like a small development team and it might disappear at some point.

We used it for planning our roadtrip (see graphic) at: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=139322
atfish
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by atfish »

flyingaway wrote:I have been physically in all 50 US states, DC, and Puerto Rico. When I was a student without a cell phone, I did not book any hotels in advance. At most rest areas, there are booklets with hotels and motels with directions and discounts, I just chose one in the evening and drove there, hoped it had a room. These days, I always use a map atlas and find the approximate hours to reach a city or town in the evening and book a hotel in advance (days before the actual trip) in that city or town. The actual distance and driving time are calculated by using the Google or MSN map (directions).

Now, I am thinking to drive from the lower part of US through Canada to Alaska. Has anyone here done that before?
We have drove from Tenn. to Alaska 3 times. We really enjoy the trip especially Banff NP in Alberta Canada, British Columbia, and all of Alaska. We only make hotel reservations in Watson Lake Yukon and Tok Alaska. The roads can vary from good to very bad. We are presently in beautiful Valdez, AK (temp is presently 51 deg.). Last week we went into Denali NP and got to see 12 grizzly bears, 7 moose, lots of cariboo, mountain goats, a red fox and a golden eagle. Didn't get to see Denali (Mt. Mckinley) due to cloud cover. Alaska is beautiful almost anywhere you go.
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xplorer
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by xplorer »

We took an extended 11,000 mile 47 day trip last year (a loop from the east coast to the northwest and southwest). We planned the trip during the previous winter using Garmin's free Basecamp software (http://www.garmin.com/en-US/shop/downloads/basecamp). Basecamp allowed us to plan our daily routes picking lunch stops (at state park picnic areas), sights to see and explorer, and motels for overnight stays. Once we entered all the locations of interest to us into basecamp connecting the dots into an efficient and logical route was way easy! Especially since we spent 80% of the time on state and US routes NOT interstates so we could really get the feel for local communities. Another great source is Readers Digest's, The Most Scenic Drives In America (http://www.rd.com/advice/travel/the-mos ... erica-all/) which lists great drives in the US and some may be fairly close along your route. Basecamp is a pretty functional routing package for driving as well as hiking, biking, etc. Once you get the hang of it you can bang out a week long trip in no time at all and include as much detail as you want (e.g., input # minutes at rest areas, etc. and it can find motels, eating establishments, fuel, ATM's, etc.). You can also get updates on construction zones and road closures. Best part is you can download all your route planning into the GPS and actually use it on your trip. From practical experience you will want to leave yourself some leeway because no plan is ever perfect...something will always change it. I have no financial interest in Garmin or its software products but encourage you to check out the link above if you want to see what their package will do. I do use their GPS even in my new Toyota Highlander Limited because the built-in mapping software is way too inaccurate for my liking...a different story for a different day. Enjoy your trip!
dickenjb
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by dickenjb »

kenschmidt wrote:You might be able to use Google Maps for this.

First, plot directions for your entire trip from point A to point B. Then, use the + symbol to add a destination; you will have to use a bit of trial and error to get to your 8 hour target, but you should be able to figure it out. Add as many interim destinations as needed and eventually you should end up with a day by day plan that fits your desired time constraints.
+1

That is what I do. And I agree, 8 hours on the road is a personal max.
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BolderBoy
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Re: Driving Trip Planning

Post by BolderBoy »

Just to close this out.

I took the trip (to the BHs conference) and have a few comments.

First, the fellow who said I was WAY overthinking this was absolutely correct. I made no reservations along the way and easily found accommodations wherever I decided to stop for the day.

Traveled I-80 eastbound. From the Illinois/Indiana state line to Philly was 100% toll roads - came to about $100. The Pennsylvania portion ONLY accepts cash, which I found out the hard way. I didn't much care for that routing. Traveled I-70 Westbound and much preferred that (some tolls, but not significant). Gasoline came in at about $700 for the trip. Beautiful Fall colors for the part of the trip that 1) was in sunshine and 2) had deciduous trees.

Did about 500-600 miles per day, but mostly wasn't committed to it - stopped when I was tired for the day. Started out a couple of days in the dark and do NOT recommend that - unfamiliar road + big trucks + dark is pretty scary. Beginning of trip failed to consider time zone changes factor into 'when to stop' each day.

Drove the speed limit for the whole trip and am sure I'm ranted about on hundreds of FB pages across the country. Drivers in Chicagoland drive 80mph in posted 40mph work zones and think nothing of it.

Thanks to all who made suggestions.

PS - that was my last cross-country drive to the East.
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