Forum Discussion

Honeybee8888's avatar
Honeybee8888
Explorer
Mar 18, 2019

Mapping Points of Interest

I am really not happy that GS is killing their current Trip Planner with no immediate replacement. In particular, I use it to find points of interest along my trip route. Does anyone have suggestions for good programs that would replace this feature? I have a lot of internet sites (such as Roadside America, et al) which do this, but having all kinds of options in one handy program ALONG THE ROUTE I planned to drive was invaluable, and the only really irreplaceable aspect of the program for my purposes.

Plenty of maps are out there, and plenty of ways to find a campground-- but I don't want to have to look at an entire state map to find fun ideas along the road I'm planning to drive. Suggestions? Thanks!!

Debbie
  • Honeybee8888's avatar
    Honeybee8888
    Explorer
    Mar 20, 2019
    Thanks for these great ideas. I don't need anything to download-- I am not that sophisticated! What i want is to see POIs within maybe 50 miles of the route I am designing myself. If something cute comes up, I am happy to detour, take back roads, etc. I'm looking forward to exploring the sites mentioned-- I'm already intrigued by RoadTrippers, and will check out RV Wizard and POI Factory also. Thanks!
  • one_strange_tex's avatar
    one_strange_tex
    Explorer
    Mar 19, 2019
    There is an internet site called POI Factory. It is free but you must create an account to use it. The points of interest files are subscriber generated and maintained. They come in various formats that can be transferred into your GPS or trip planner (GPX, KML or CSV, for example), but it is somewhat of a "hands on" process. The iOS world (Apple) has an app called POI viewer which helps to visualize the POI locations. This has become much harder due to the restrictions Google has put their Maps offering, as schlep1967 has pointed out above. There is also a site called GPS Visualizer which is also somewhat "hands on."
  • Jayco23FB's avatar
    Jayco23FB
    Explorer
    Mar 19, 2019
    rr2254545 wrote:
    RV Trip Wizard is great have used it to plan 3 5,000 mile trips and even a car rental trip in Europe - it has a "points of interest" tab that has lots of choices - Yes it $39 per year but well worth it - the app is linked to RV park Reviews and unlike google you are down load the trip to my RV Garmin


    X2 - I signed up after a recommendation on this forum. I think it is better than the GS system.
  • schlep1967's avatar
    schlep1967
    Nomad
    Mar 18, 2019
    Thank Google for the change. I used another free mapping program for creating GPS files that used google maps as a base. Seems recently google decided to not allow the use of their mapping without charging them. So all the free mapping programs based on google are having problems remaining free.
  • rr2254545's avatar
    rr2254545
    Explorer
    Mar 18, 2019
    RV Trip Wizard is great have used it to plan 3 5,000 mile trips and even a car rental trip in Europe - it has a "points of interest" tab that has lots of choices - Yes it $39 per year but well worth it - the app is linked to RV park Reviews and unlike google you are down load the trip to my RV Garmin
  • valhalla360's avatar
    valhalla360
    Navigator
    Mar 18, 2019
    Google Maps - zoom in to the route and search attractions (or whatever you are looking for).

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