Free route planners are one of the best travel tools on the net. The most powerful will not only give you the fastest route from A to B (or Ashford to Brussels), they can suggest alternative routes (fastest, shortest, toll free, even scenic routes), suggest interesting stops on the way, give details of hotels and restaurants on route, tell you how long the journey will take and can even calculate it's cost.
Three of the best internet route planners are:
UK and European route planner - the RAC's free 'Plan Route' service is simple and easy to use. It offers great directions for destinations in both the UK and mainland Europe. You can choose the 'fastest' or 'shortest' routes, add up to three places you need to travel via (very handy if you want to travel from the UK to Europe via a port or the tunnel) and pick 'short' or 'long' driving directions.
UK route planner - the AA route planner is the best of the bunch for the UK, but only okay for Europe. It provides clear maps and excellent directions, including landmarks such as pubs or service areas. Unfortunately it gives the choice of 'in Great Britain' or 'in Continental Europe' and so it struggled when we asked for a route from Ashford to Paris - you need to get one route for the UK leg of your journey and one for the European leg
European route planner - the Via Michelin provided by the people who bring you the Michelin hotel and restaurant guides (and tyres). This is the best route planner we have found for mainland Europe but not so good for the UK. It will calculate the cost and journey times of up to five route types - from 'recommended' to 'shortest' or even 'scenic' (France only). This may sound unnecessary, but it's great when deciding whether the time saved by travelling via toll roads is worth the extra cost. You can pick summary or detailed instructions, the maps are very clear and, as you would expect, the guides for hotels and restaurants you will pass on the journey are excellent. It also has a handy 'traffic and weather' section.
Another popular route planner (but with too many adverts for our liking) is provided by Multimap.
Articles