When Trip Planning Travel Distances Are Important
Even if travel distances were the first concern of map makers the technologies we have developed so far allow us to calculate travel distances in miles, air miles, nautical miles and kilometers. Travel distances are essential particularly for trip or vacation planning, thus one can appreciate the fuel costs as well as the necessity of eventual stops on the way, and therefore the afferent hotel bookings. The Internet is the most comprehensive resource for travel distances and calculators although the traditional map systems provided by AAA and Rand McNally continue to stay in business. Moreover, the competition is made tighter with the services offered by Google Maps and MapQuest.
Google applications are really great for calculating travel distances, and it seems like they’ve kept their promise to dominate the web with the free services they offer to all searchers. For access to the Google Maps page you need to have a regular free Google account; once you enter the points of origin and destination, the distance measurement tools show all the distance specifics with utmost accuracy. Thus, besides the travel distances you can also click other links in the menu that include gas prices, great sights to visit and weather forecast.
For the calculation of travel distances, Google is so far the most user-friendly program, but MapQuest should not be ignored either. This online service is also widely used thanks to the fast way of accessing the information: type the place of origin, the destination point and press enter. You will be provided not only with a map and the travel distances, but indications for how to move around are available too. For the moment, MapQuest is preparing the release of a more comprehensive program that would compete with the giant Google on an equal foot; this will most certainly imply an adaptation of the tools to be more user friendly.
Presently, time and space perception has changed radically and the modern means of transportation reflect this change. The travel distances between LA and NY appear shorter by plane but longer by train or car. In fact, the mobile element in the equation is not distance as such, but our perception of it in terms of time. We now tend to say: how long does it take to get to location X instead of how far is location X? Costs, on the other hand are other ways of considering travel distances: gas, food, lodging, they all have to be covered out of the personal pocket. Hence, make sure to calculate the travel distances well and include them in the overall planning for your trip.
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Tagged with: travel • travel distances
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