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Road trip planning software?

dtrimble

dtrimble

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 7, 2008
46
3
San Francisco, CA, USA
So I've spent the last few hours tediously finding the precise locations of various stops along the USA's Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. Since the freeway doesn't entirely exist anymore, I'm recreating it from known reference points, old and new photographs, etc.

Problem is...I couldn't find any decent road trip planning software for Mac OS...so I tediously did this by creating landmark points in Google Earth.

I'm no where near done at this point, and wouldn't mind starting all over if I can find decent software for planning travel.

Any suggestions? I do have a 2 year old version of Microsoft Streets & Trips for Windows tucked into storage somewhere. I may decide to use it through Parallels, but I would greatly prefer to find something available for the Mac.

Any suggestions?

Dan
 
aaronw1986 said:
What about mapquest.com ?
Click to expand...

Well, for that matter, if I'm already using Google Earth I could simply use maps.google.com, which is a bit more robust than Mapquest.

I guess what I"m looking for are features more explicitly tailored to travel planning than just geographic reference, like integrated cost estimators, updates to gas and alternative routes based on traffic patterns or other changes, support for GPS, etc.

Google Maps would be great except it gets to be PAINFULLY slow when you have a lot of waypoints in place--and I'm running on a 2.4 Ghz MBP with 3GB. I will probably need about 300-400 total.

I also can't use Google Maps without an internet connection. I have a Verizon aircard, but in the middle of nowhere, it frequently gets weak signals, if any at all.

Google Earth works ok, but doesn't handle driving directions between waypoints very effectively.


Dan
 
I wish Trimble outdoors would develop their apps for the iPhone. I assume from your name you work there :)

Nav apps are hard for the mac, i also use Google. Garmin has some decent stuff to go along with their receivers but its more targeted at hiking, outdoors etc. Its also still in beta.
 
robanga said:
I wish Trimble outdoors would develop their apps for the iPhone. I assume from your name you work there :)

Nav apps are hard for the mac, i also use Google. Garmin has some decent stuff to go along with their receivers but its more targeted at hiking, outdoors etc. Its also still in beta.
Click to expand...

LOL. Nope, I don't. I recall even applying for a job there a long time ago, and never got a call back!


I hear their software is quite good.

dt
 
dtrimble said:
Regrettably, no. I tried it out a few weeks ago. Really nice software though, and great for hikers and runners.


dt
Click to expand...
i understand this thread is quite old, but i thought id add my piece incase another stumbles across this thread with the same question as dtrimble here.
i came across the closest thing your going to get to what you where asking for, its an app called knapsack
its got a nice GUi good features, built in map and everything. plus a diary planner and the ability to drop pins on the map and add details to the pinned location, even photos aswell.
so, if your still on the road mate, you should try this out, im going to..

kay

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/27111/knapsack
 
Also looking

iamkay said:
i understand this thread is quite old, but i thought id add my piece incase another stumbles across this thread with the same question as dtrimble here.
i came across the closest thing your going to get to what you where asking for, its an app called knapsack
its got a nice GUi good features, built in map and everything. plus a diary planner and the ability to drop pins on the map and add details to the pinned location, even photos aswell.
so, if your still on the road mate, you should try this out, im going to..

kay

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/27111/knapsack
Click to expand...
Surprised there is no software like MS Streets and Trips on the MAC. Trying to make a clean break from the PC and finding a few gaps like this and no Calendar Creator for business use. Still love what I've seen so far.

Tim
 
drthurston said:
Surprised there is no software like MS Streets and Trips on the MAC. Trying to make a clean break from the PC and finding a few gaps like this and no Calendar Creator for business use. Still love what I've seen so far.

Tim
Click to expand...


Tim,

It's worth making the transition from PC to Mac, but for some users, it will never be a "clean" break in the sense that you can summarily and entirely banish the usage of a PC. Of course, every user is different, and I don't know what your requirements or usage needs are. In my case, there were a few things that I couldn't get by without, simply because of the nature of my work.

Trip planning software is one of them. For business, I've become accustomed to using Microsoft MapPoint, which hasn't even a remotely distant cousin on the Mac. There's simply nothing available to do what it does (e.g. beyond trip planning, integrating data sources for purposes of defining anything from sales territories to population counts by county).

One day I may write up a new software app for the Mac that will do this kind of stuff. But that's not a trivial undertaking, and I haven't the time to do it right now.

At any rate, it's WELL, WELL, WELL worth making the switch to the Mac. Even if for no reason other than it will run two computers in one. I have Windows XP running on my MacBook Pro, and I keep it around for MapPoint, occasional Salesforce/Outlook integration stuff, and a handful of other things. Plus, as a backup in case anything else creeps up that I can't find something comparable for on the mac.
 
Any Updates?

I too am looking for a more sophisticated trip planning application for Apple Mac.

I tried Knapsack but its not what I am looking for and the application is very difficult to move around.

I was hoping for:

Trip PLanning to and from defined location
Travel Time
Gas Consumption and Estimated Costs
Ability to select hotels
A VERY advanced feature for attractions and sightseeing (with pictures)
:D
 
Travel Program for OSX

This program is a little dated and will be surprise if it is still being published
but it is the nearest thing to "MS Streets and Trips".

Route 66 Route USA For the Mac.
Listed at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Route-66-USA-2004-Mac/dp/B00013MS7O

I use it on my MacBook Pro when i cant get online. It works in a pinch.

Good Luck
 
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Wishful thinking

Sure would be nice if a competitor could match Streets/Trips planning ability, or if they would at least port a version to Mac. I look for something like this every couple of months and am losing hope.:apple:
 
drthurston said:
Surprised there is no software like MS Streets and Trips on the MAC. Trying to make a clean break from the PC and finding a few gaps like this and no Calendar Creator for business use. Still love what I've seen so far.

Tim
Click to expand...

Tim, what kind of Calendar Creator do you need? I've seen some Mac options for such, but if you can narrow down more specifically the kind or functions you require, I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Fortunately, the gap between PC and Mac has MASSIVELY narrowed over the last 5-6 years, but you're right--there's still a few left over waiting for someone to tap into it...
 
routebuddy?

has anyone tried routebuddy? NOt sure if it is just a glorified google map that you pay for or there is more to it than I am seeing?
 
10smom said:
has anyone tried routebuddy? NOt sure if it is just a glorified google map that you pay for or there is more to it than I am seeing?
Click to expand...

Yep, and it's nothing close to Google Maps. It seems primarily designed for GPS waypoint recording rather than route planning. The biggest problem with RouteBuddy, besides a mildly clunky interface, is that it has a very poor demo that consists of SMALL maps of the Yosemite Valley and Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a consequence, I couldn't try out it's route planning capabilities (meaning directions, hotels, waypoints, and so on from one place to another) -- even if it appeared the software has that functionality. (It does not appear to.) I also couldn't find anything but a topographical map of Yosemite and Santa Fe within the demo software.

If I can't try out it's full capabilities, there's no way I can justify shelling out $100 for a product that doesn't appear to have the functionality to begin with. And it may well, but if you're going to offer a demo, you'd think they'd offer...well...a real demo!

That said, it's closer than anyone else has come since the Route 66 software died in 2004.

I actually wouldn't mind creating a route planning product for the Mac. The problem is the major companies that provide the map data itself (e.g. NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas, etc.) do not offer an API designed for Mac applications. If I can find a way across that barrier, the rest of a Mac application would be fairly straight-forward...
 
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