First the question: when you go somewhere or plan to go somewhere you never went before, do you buy a map or do you make your own using the Google, Mapquest, or Yahoo once you know each destination?
Now for the explanation as to why I am asking.
Before we went on our trip, my husband had bought one of those book maps at the Canadian Tire, and so I had to go from this page to that, since it seemed all so mixed up. We had to stay on the inter=state all the time, and the only places we got to see were motels, Burger kings, Taco Bells, Wendys, etc. and maybe a small general store or so. The only time we got to see a Mall was when we got lost and round up in a mall parking lot and when we went to the Columbus Mall.
Now it seems that all the inter-states, and traffic circles bypass the cities and if they do not, go through the business parts of the city and not the residential, unlike in Canada where the main highways will do so. And if you're out boating, you can easily get lost, especially without one of those portable marine GPS systems.
I did not use the Google or Yahoo to draw the directions, because this was a spur of a moment and I did not have a laptop with me, and besides my husband did not tell me what states he was going through. (He said we were going to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore, but we did not.) He was in a hurry to get home.
So do you depend on these fold out or book maps or do you construct your own?
[question posted by suspenseful]
responses and comments:
When going to a new place I always use Yahoo maps. Not only can you view and print the exact directions you can also view and print a driving map. It makes it so much easier. [Terri_R]
I should have done that. Usually I use Google, but well we had no idea where we were going. [suspenseful]
I use Mapquest all day every day, My husband is a driver and can get pretty much anywhere without a map so we use it mainly for finding peoples homes that he delivers to. We find mapquest pretty reliable, but sometimes we have to use another site. [cupoftea]
I am more a visual person, and I find the folding and book maps difficult, so I prefer to use the Google maps. [suspenseful]
Whenever my hubby and I go somewhere which is rare!LOL He will look on the computer before we leave the house. He doesnt buy those fold up maps. Oh how I wish I had a laptop or one of those new LOL [TerryZ]
Same here. I am saving for a laptop and I want a really good one, not one that will be obsolete in a year or so, then we can make a map, but then we will have to get a printer to keep in the car as well. [suspenseful]
well when me and my family are going anywhere that we are not too familiar with we always use mapquest on line and also we have a gps system to put in the car,this thing is so great and you could never get lost. [3lilangels]
we got our gps system from ebay for only $100 and if you go to the garmin site they are way more expensive.but they do come in handy and work great.hope this help you out. [3lilangels]
Hello suspenseful Lately, I have just been driving in the general direction (North, South, etc.) and the closer I get, I'll call a friend who is familiar with the area and ask for more detailed directions. If I can't get signal, I use a signal booster I purchased from cell accessories site. I almost bought a GPS navigational thing this weekend, but I'm going to wait a couple more months and hope for cheaper prices around Christmas for GPSs and maybe Blackberry Storm prices. Sometimes I have used mapquest and the like, but most of the time I just start driving and hope I hit the spot. On occasion, I will break down and buy a map. [Transdisc]
My husband buys map but when I want to find out someplace, I usually go online and go to the Google map place, and print a map. I am also better at finding directions by the scenery. As for finding directions, you can tell me husband how to get there, but unless he looks at a map, he's lost. Me, I get lost if I look at a map, all those blue and red lines, squiggly lines, small numbers, etc. [suspenseful]
We always make our maps with Google Maps, when we need them. If it's just a short trip, I will usually just write down the directions, but for a longer trip, we'll print out the maps. At the same time, though, we keep a road atlas in the car for long trips, so that we can look and see if there are any places we want to stop, or how far it will be to the next rest stop or town, and things like that. [scarywhitegirl]
We have a gps called mapking to direct us to unknown places. Also my husband gets a printout of driving instructions from the street directory on the internet. Both mapking and printout are a great help and easy to drive around. [veenakh]
I generally go to mapquest.com but I have found that sometimes their maps aren't entirely accurate. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~ [twoey68]
Yes, it's aggrivating to take a map on a trip only to find out half way there that the map is no good. The last map we used from Mapquest got us almost 50 miles off our track. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~ [twoey68]
Unlike in Europe, USA, Canada and other advanced countries where the infrastructure is developed so much, and it has been very well mapped down to the location of individual house, in India, hardly anyone uses the road map to locate a place. Why, many people just like that arrive with only a name of a person or firm and ask for addresses or location. Though a city like Bangalore where I live has grown into an international standard city, still shopkeerpers, policemen and postmen are of great help in indetifying the place or a person or a thing quite easily and off late many flyovers have come and it is difficult to direct any one to take one route because it may turnout to be round about trip. But still I do not see any map in anyone's hand except some foreigners who take the map with them and enquire location showing in the map.So it may take another decade or so for people to get used to read the map and locate the place here. [ssh123]
We use those book maps or fold out map, but I never could get them straight. We would like to ask people, but especially in America, unless you go to the motels, it is hard to ask perfect strangers. I prefer finding places by the scenery, but if I have not been there, I have to rely on my future memory. [suspenseful]
I have to say neither, I mapquest it, or pull up an online map service and get a map that way, print it out (on one of my multifunction Inkjet printers at home or in the office), great for short and semi long distances that its just easier. IT gives you turn by turn and if you are alone you don't have to try to read a map while driving. Mooch [oneandonemakesix]
That sounds like the best idea, but we had no idea where we were going, we were just following the interstate and turning at the towns. [suspenseful]
well maybe asking someone seems more efficient,but i prefer to make my own.i am good at finding directions on a map. by the way,i don't think using internet is a good idea,expect that the location you search for is too small to find on a map. [lidan0825]
I prefer to use Google, but I am not that good at finding directions on a fold out or book map. I am better at seeing locations, and the visual things, not lines. [suspenseful]
I definitely make my own. I am a mapquest girl, even though mapquest is usually awful and gets me lost. It's just so easy to navigate. I don't read maps or Thomas guides. I'm terrible at it, actually. I can't read a map to save my life. Just give me step by step directions, please. [dfn12968]
I have to know if there are any landmarks first and I cannot read maps. [suspenseful]
When we were overseas we used to have GPS in our car so we would use that, since it was the easiest way.Now we would just print the map from google.For me it is just much better like If I should drive after regular map.I would be lost!!!!!!. [laurika]
I know they are expensive here.That one was inside in the car already, it was great. [laurika]
There's still a Canadian Tire up there? I'll be darned. Anyway, I sometimes get a map from triple A and other times, I make one from Mapquest. It depends, mostly on whether I'm going to be near Triple A and need something anyway, or I'm on the computer and my computer isn't going so slowly that I need to "get out and push it." [writersedge]
Still is. My husband has a Canada Tire Optinum Master Credit Card and if he shops at Canada Tire, he gets points. We also get our gas there. I usually go to Staples, where I get points. I suggested he go to the latter and pick up a map there, but he had to go to Canada Tire and spent half and hour looking for the map selection before he found it. [suspenseful]
Hello! I'm not very good when it comes to looking at any map, i'm not a good navigator, i'm a disaster when it comes to directions. LOL!! My father always have a map in his car just in case and my hubby too, but I prefer drawing as I love to draw or asking some people around about the area and ask for some landmark or any signs. But from time to time I do try looking at the map for directions and the internet is very good that you can search and look for some direction details which are very helpful too. Have a great weekend! *smile* ciao! c",) [fab315]
I sometimes think we just need the map to start with, because on the roads, they have all these signs, and directions that the next exit is for such a such a place, but my husband insists I look at the map to make sure, even though he finally decided to write down each turn and each road on a piece of paper. [suspenseful]
Me and my husband normally will check first on the Internet about the route from the map from mappy, and then in the car we also have a map which is really helpful when we need to find a place, since we are living in the new neighborhood at this time. But sometime, my husband also try to find his own way to make a short cut. [nyumix]
My husband has to do the whole map thing. He's terrible at short cuts, always getting lost that way. [suspenseful]
The answer is easy,if I have a map,I'll serch the place on it.If now I am on the front of my computer,just sufing on Intnert.Easy? Yes,just do the eastest one. You just think too much.That needn't worry more [Delisa]
I just got too sick at having to look through the book map, and squint at those small lines and small numbers and have him ask, "could you see if we are still on I-90?" when it is obvious by the traffic signs along the interstate that we are. [suspenseful]
I hate the prospect of getting lost so I generally plan ahead and print off directions from Mapquest. I also recently bought a GPS navigator for the car which is great but I still take a print-out as back-up. [inked4life]
The print-out is a good idea, and if we had the money, we would get the GPS. [suspenseful]
hello suspenseful my family and i have a road atlas that we use each time that we travel somewhere that we have never been before. i know that it is outdated, but the main interstates and highways stay the same on it. and where my hubby works, he delivers things and he never knows where that he will be sent next, so before he leaves on a trip out of town, he will look up where that he is going on Mapquest, or Yahoo. and so sorry that you-all didn't make it to see Mount Rushmore. i have never been there either. have a beautiful day! [RLFinNash]
i am so sorry to hear that. hagd. [RLFinNash]
If we are just driving around Washington DC and wanting to get to some place, we use to use google maps or yahoo maps and print off the directions there. Now my husband has a bought one of those electronic map thingies (sorry don't know what their called besides its named TomTom LOL) and we use that. I am happy that he invested in that little gadget which was not cheap I might add, but it has saved us countless times and are now able to go anywhere we want to without having to worry about getting lost and or finding how to get home. Sometimes it doesn't always get us on the right roads because TomTom doesn't know that a certain road or bridge is closed, but 98% of the time I would say it works fine for us. [maddysmommy]
We should get one of those, and there were a lot of detours during to the annual custom of road repair and construction. [suspenseful]
When I had to get to Birmingham to my aunt's funeral, I used Mapquest, which is quite good. I want to get a car next time and use Onstar for the use. [Savvynlady]
I use Google Maps. I found that we had difficulty with Mapquest. [suspenseful]
It depends on the circumstances. If you are in a big city, and you have a computer connected with Internet,using map(you can find a map of the city in most of time) or Google or Yahoo may help you find what you want easily. But if you are in a small town or somewhere in the countryside where you can't find on a map,especally you are in jungle,Google and Yahoo is useless too,not saying you can't connect the Internet. On such circumstances you need to ask local people if you can communicate them. If you can't,try some way to communicate them. [tujiagirl]
I am rather good at speaking to strangers, but my husband is not. So I guess that is what I have to do on our next trip. [suspenseful]
I haven't done any long travels but i've gone to a few far places here within the country. and I usually don't encounter problems coz I'm always with someone who knows the place I'm going to. ^__^ so I guess, it will be travel guides for me. rather than a map. but of course, its not always possible to take a guide when you're on a private trip, I could go for a map but I think its better to have a gps. but i've heard its too expensive. ^__^;; but one thing for sure, you should always get an updated map. I think some maps sold in bookstore are not updated so we have to careful when buying one. ^__^ [secretbear]
We would probably get a gps but then my husband will tell me to look on it to see where we are going, just to make sure it is correct. [suspenseful]
I can't really answer on my own, but my husband uses google. He doesn't even want to hear toher people's directions for local places, sure he can find a better way. Me I don't use any kind of map because I'm slightly dyslexic - not as far as reading but in understanding maps (and doing things like aerobics!). So not only do I not drive because of a slight dyslexia/dyspraxia but I can't help as a passenger with maps! For me, before my baby, I took buses and walked everywhere. [artemis432]
I do reverse letters sometimes, but that is all. I like google map but I do not like having to look on those book maps and going from one page to another to see how far the highway goes. I would rather check the landmarks. [suspenseful]
Btw, going on a spontaneous trip like that - how fun! !! [artemis432]
It sure was. I wish we went into the towns, I am an inveterate window shopper, and when we got to the Columbus Mall, we could not do any shopping because the stores were not open (except for Pennys and Sears) besides my husband kept to the highway and drove like he does when we have gone to Saskatoon and are rushing to get home, very fast, just a little above the speed limit so I did not think we were going to stop anywhere. I got the feeling he was trying to avoid going to the cities and meet people. [suspenseful]
The last out of town trip I had, I bought a fold out map which proved to be worth it for me and my companions. We were all new in the place, you could clearly spot us as tourists in the place because we were looking at the map every so often. The map really did help us a lot and we didn't need to ask for directions as much. Because of the map, we maximized our stay at Baguio. [dianne17k]
I do not like fold out maps, I find them hard to fold correctly. I prefer printing out a map or writing down where to turn and a scenic landmark to make it easier and Google maps seem the best bet. [suspenseful]
I've used MapQuest quite often but like some other posters have said the directions aren't always accurate. The last one I used was a different site and it was perfect but I can't remember the name of it right now...lol. I've got it save on my computer though, so I'll find it eventually. Getting the directions printed out sure does beat trying to unfold and read a big bulky map. Annie [anniepa]
It's kind of funny: to find a place..I usually print out google instructions, buy a map then then with both of these available one amongst the travellers tends to think they know better then both these sources and we try their idea and then we get lost..9 times out of 10 [littlefranciscan]
Hi suspenseful, If i want to anywhere that i didnt go. First of all i will ask to friends and parents whether they know that place.or from their experience they can help me. If it is very abroad and its a well known place.i will look through Google Earth.if it very local or less well known place,i prefer yahoo local maps. Always keep in touch Happy Myloting:-) [ajesh_pullad]
I always make my own. I google what I want and write down the directions. Then we follow them the best we can. Sometimes we get lost other times we dont. Usually though were spur of the moment and are already in the car when we decide to go somewhere so we wing it. We get there we get there if not oh well we had fun trying. LOL [copperkitten]
I used to use Mapquest, but then I found Google maps, but my husband goes and buys a map book at Canadian Tire and he uses that, but the print is so small and he, being near sighted can see close print but I need my glasses and sometimes the lines are close together. With google I can at least draw a map. [suspenseful]