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Route planner

Hitting a UK road / French route / German stra ß e?

Wherever the stra ß e takes you, we’ve got you covered .

You’ve got your route covered .

Now, what about your vehicle?

Route? Check .

Passport? Check .

Breakdown cover? Check it out .

If you’ve got a journey ahead, whether it’s small or large, the Green Flag Route Planner can help you get there with minimal fuss.

The route planner isn’t limited to the UK. You can get accurate directions across Europe. Remember that European breakdown is worth considering if you’re heading to the continent, because repairs and getting back can be costly and ruin your trip.

Once you enter your start point and destination the route finder will map out the best routes for your journey, giving you an estimation of time and an accurate mileage count. It’s easy to add waypoints, so if you know you need to take a detour en route then you don’t need to workout separate journeys.

The route planner will give you a list of directions to your destination, and each individual direction has its own mileage, helping you to keep on track and stay clear of wrong turnings.

Before you head out make sure you’re covered with breakdown cover so you can get back on the road if anything should happen on the way.

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The best route planner

Get directions and use the Google Maps route planner suitable for: car, bicycle, public transport and walking.

Search, find and plot the quickest or shortest route

Planning your journey in or to the UK, Europe and more? Find local businesses, view maps and get directions in Google Maps.

Real-time navigation in over 220 countries and territories.

Most complete for both free off- and online navigation.

Traffic information

Up-to-date overview of traffic jams and road works.

Google Route Planner

Use the Google Maps route finder & journey planner to search, find and plot the quickest or shortest route to your destination. Enter multiple addresses to create waypoints in your travel plan.

Save important places or routes? Create and share your own maps including photos and driving routes with the free Google My Maps service.

Which route finder & journey planner is the best?

These days there are all kinds of great technologies available that are designed to get you to your destination quickly, efficiently and even with a little bit of fun.

Chances are pretty good that on your last trip to an unknown or new destination, possibly with a few stops in between, you used a journey planner app on your phone or tablet to get there. For people who make their living by being constantly on the move, these tools are indispensable and essential.

But what is currently the best free route planner with unlimited stops?

This, of course, depends on the type of routes you want to create. In fact, there are plenty of free software available for mapping out routes, suitable for different purposes: delivering goods, external sales, shopping, exercising or just travelling.

However, there are not so many options when it comes to free route planners, where it is possible to plan an unlimited number of stops. Most of these apps have great “freemium” options that help you plan your trip, but if you need more extensive features, you may need a paid subscription for the necessary functions.

Based on 10 free route planners with the possibility of unlimited stopovers, we have concluded that Google Maps is by far the best in the test. We have included the following brands and companies in our review:

– De Lijn route planner – NMBS route planner – Mappy route planner – VAB route planner

The Netherlands

– ANWB route planner – TomTom route planner – Routenet route planner – ViaMichelin route planner

United Kingdom

– AA Route Planner (Review) – RAC Route Planner (Review) United States – MapQuest Directions (Review)

Other popular route planners are of course the NS journey planner , Fietsersbond route planner and 9292 OV .

The winner and market leader in the field of map technology is none other than Google Maps. It allows you to easily find destinations and plan routes on your phone, tablet or any other device of your choice. Its turn-by-turn navigation is one of the best and most accurate map sources in the industry.

Google Maps is mainly used for personal and recreational purposes, but can also be used to plan different types of routes, including for some small businesses. We cannot ignore the fact that it is simply the easiest tool to get from A to B. The fact is that its influence on the way the world travels was and still is considerable.

How do you plan a route with multiple stops in Google Maps?

What many people do not know is that you can also use Google Maps to plan a journey with more than 10 stops. However, this requires a little skill. By knowing the ins and outs of Google Maps, professionals can use it to plan their daily travel routines in the most efficient way.

Google Maps is now such a big player in the field of free travel planners, route planning software and road maps that many other apps use Google’s technology as the basis for their own mapping software.

With many ground-breaking and innovative features, such as Street View, Google Maps is a real powerhouse and an invaluable resource for millions of people around the world.

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Get directions and show routes

You can get directions for driving, public transport, walking, ride sharing, cycling, flights or motorcycling on Google Maps. If there are multiple routes, the best route to your destination is blue, all other routes are grey. Some directions in Google Maps are in development and may have limited availability. 

Important: Stay alert when you use directions on Google Maps. Always be aware of your surroundings to ensure the safety of yourself and others. When in doubt, follow actual traffic regulations and confirm signage from the road or path that you’re on.

• On your computer, open Google Maps .

• Click points on the map, type an address or add a place name.
• Choose your mode of transportation.

Tip: To choose another route in any transportation mode, select it on the map. Each route shows the estimated travel time on the map.

Google Maps transportation modes

You can get directions for different modes of transportation in Google Maps. Learn about the differences in features and availability between each mode:

• If you want to change a driving route, click and hold a spot on the route and drag it to a new spot on the map.

• Not all cities have public transport directions in Google Maps. Before you can get public transport directions, your local transport operator needs to add their route info to Google Maps.

• If you want directions in an area with ride or taxi services, you can compare ride services with public transport and walking directions. Find out how to request a ride .

• Directions to multiple destinations, or waypoints, aren’t available for public transport or flight searches.
• Learn more about how to search for flights .

• Learn how to get directions for motorcycles .

Add multiple destinations

You can get directions to multiple destinations for all modes of transportation except public transport or flight.

• Add a starting point and a destination.

• You can add up to nine stops.
• Click on a route to get the directions.

Tip : You can search for places along your route.

To change the order of your stops: 

• Find the destination that you want to move. 
• Drag the destination.

Preview directions in Street View

• On your computer, under the route you want, click Details.

• Point to a step in the directions. If Street View is available, you get a preview photo.
• To get Street View for other steps in the route, in the bottom-left box, click Previous step or Next step.

Customise your route

• Choose Options .
• Tick the box next to 'Tolls' or 'Motorways'.
• Get directions.
• After you get your directions, click Leave now .
• To change your travel dates or times, select Depart at or Arrive by .

When you enter a destination in Google Maps, we show you how to get there using different travel modes, like driving, cycling or walking. 

Sometimes, the transport options that we show you are ranked according to a combination of objective factors designed to help you find relevant and useful information. These factors can include duration, distance, price, your mode preference or the relevance of a mode to your query. Generally, the most important factors are your mode preference, trip durations and sometimes price.

Where available, we also show you other mobility services like public transport, scooter or bicycle rentals and vehicle ride services. These mobility services are provided by third parties who have made their transport data publicly available or who have a partner agreement with us. Any partnerships or business relationships that we may have with any transport service providers do not influence the ranking of these services.

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Best online route planners 2022

Which web-based journey planner makes the most sense.

With the summer holidays fast approaching, the number of British drivers hitting the road to travel to family, friends and beach resorts is only set to increase – and this means an inevitable rise in traffic and congestion.

One way to avoid being stuck in nose-to-tail hold-ups is to use a route planner ahead of time, so you can see where traffic hotspots might be, plot any lunchtime stop-offs, and even plan for any electric-vehicle charging needs.

Over the years, in the era of built-in sat-navs and smartphones, these pre-journey web planners have become less important. However, many providers have pivoted their model to allow you to plan in advance and then transfer to an integrated companion app. This is in addition to calculating journey times based not only on live traffic, but also on what the traffic is likely to be based on your chosen departure time.

For those travelling to remote parts where signal might be at a premium, the ability to print off hard copies of turn-by-turn instructions still has its uses, too.

We put eight route planners – all of them free to use – to the test, to see which one you should load up before your next road trip.

How we tested them

We put the eight route finders to the test with a journey from the Auto Express headquarters in central London, out through north-western suburbs, to the home of UK motoring: the British Motor Museum in Warwickshire. 

This allowed us to test city, A-road and motorway route planning, with each planner graded for accuracy, live traffic alerts and route options. 

Also taken into consideration during the test was the ability to print out turn-by-turn directions, how easy the planner was to link to an app and any other useful extra features offered.

Previous test winner Google Maps comes out on top again because it really does do everything you need, and in an easy and intuitive way. Waze and Bing Maps join it on the podium, and are great alternatives if you prefer the user interface. 

Google Maps

• Website: maps.google.co.uk
• Rating: 5 stars

Google Maps has long been our favourite route finder, doing everything simply, quickly and easily. This is the fifth time that we’ve awarded it top spot in this test, and for good reason. 

Searching is easy, and the planner has a wealth of options for fine-tuning your trip including live traffic, predicted traffic and app sharing. A bonus is the ability to switch between satellite imagery and a traditional map, as well as using Street View.

Of course, it’s embedded with the full power of Google, so you can find landmarks and other useful locations on your route extremely easily. It’s hard to see how it won’t always be the best of the bunch.

View Google Maps

• Website: waze.com/livemap
• Rating: 4.5 stars

Once the new kid on the block, Waze is now well established as a super route planner. Last time we ran this test, we were pleased to see the web-based journey planner had been updated to fall in line with the quality of the app, making use of the community-based traffic data. Journeys are accurate and timings based on live data. 

The website is fully integrated with the award-winning app, with intuitive buttons to let you transfer your journey to a smartphone. We were also impressed by the ability to schedule a journey with a desired arrival time, and Waze will prompt you when it’s time to set off based on traffic at that moment.

• Website: bing.com/maps

Microsoft’s version of Google is not far off our winner. Place searching and nav are intuitive, and you can easily add rest stops. Traffic is colour coded, and there’s a clear way to print. One frustration is that there’s no obvious way to share your planning with an app – a shame in a connected world. 

Not seen elsewhere is live Highways England traffic-camera feeds, showing flow at that location – really useful in bad-traffic areas.

View Bing Maps

• Website: wego.here.com
• Rating: 4 stars

Here’s a top company that provides software for car makers’ own sat-navs, and its WeGo route finder is impressive. It looks more advanced than Bing or Google, but is actually a bit less intuitive. That said, all the core functionality is there, although whether it’s accounting for live traffic isn’t all that clear. It is easy to transfer a planned route to the HERE app or print directions.

View HERE WeGo

TomTom MyDrive

• Website: mydrive.tomtom.com

This online route finder started life as a companion site for those who owned a TomTom sat-nav, but now it’s transitioned to work just as well for those without. Functionality matches its rivals’, too. 

A unique feature is the Thrill option, to give a more scenic route based on how hilly or winding you want it to be. We also like the motorcycle-friendly route option. If you own a TomTom, you can share your progress directly to your device, too, or just with your smartphone to turn it into a sat-nav. 

View TomTom MyDrive

Via Michelin

• Website: viamichelin.co.uk/web/routes
• Rating: 3.5 stars

A bright spot here is a function to calculate the cost of a journey and then generate an expense receipt. The planning functionality is solid, with accurate routes and the option to take current traffic into account. 

Yet while the options to tailor your journey are quite extensive, it’s a shame most are hidden behind complex and cluttered filters. You can print directions easily, but again there’s no option to share with an app.

View Via Michelin

AA Route Planner

• Website: theaa.com/route-planner
• Rating: 3 stars

The AA is better known for breakdown cover than route planning. Its online offering falls behind some of the tech-based firms’, with a slightly outdated site and functionality. But the basics are all there and you can use the AA’s library of live traffic alerts to tailor your journey to avoid jams. 

However, it’s quite clunky to use and the adverts make it messy – especially when compared to the simplicity of our top-ranked sites. While you can print directions, there’s no way to share with a paired app.

View AA Route Planner

RAC Route Planner

• Website: rac.co.uk/route-planner

As with the AA, the core function of getting from A to B is there, with accurate routes, yet the user interface is not as smooth as our winner’s. Location look-up could be a lot better and there’s no way to use predicted traffic for future departures. Again, printing directions is easy, but there’s no app. Importantly, the RAC offers the option to calculate how much the trip will cost in fuel.

View RAC Route Planner

Now read our list of the best sat-nav apps ...

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UK Road Trip Planner

Planning a UK road trip is a popular way to explore the countryside of the UK. While we personally love train travel around the UK we know that there are a multitude of advantages when it comes to exploring by car (and we have often combined train itineraries with car trips at various places to be able to visit sites not easily accessible by rail.

As we are often asked about UK road trip itineraries in our Facebook group we have put links to all relevant articles and podcasts below to create the ultimate UK road trip planner.

🚗 You will need a car! Read our complete guide to renting a car in the UK

UK road trip planner

UK Road Trip Itinerary Planner | The 7 Best Routes

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Cornwall Road Trip Itinerary [with logistics + practical tips]

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Episode 32: Trip Report – A month-long road trip exploring Britain (London, England, Scotland & Wales)

This post may contain compensated links. Please refer to my disclosure here for more information. In episode 32 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast I chat with…

Episode 30 – Scotland Road Trip Itinerary

Podcast Episode 18 – The Bruns 4-week family trip around England & Scotland

Best Scotland road trip itinerary (10, 14 & 18 day options)

Planning a Scottish road trip? Our detailed Scotland road trip itinerary includes many of the most popular destinations, scenic routes, landmarks and sights when touring…

UK road trip podcast episodes

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