AAA Joins Free Internet Mapping Fray
Move over, MapQuest and Google Maps. There's a new kid on the free access Internet mapping scene, and it's actually an ol' reliable - AAA. North America's most popular automobile club this week announced that, for the first time in the Auto Club's history, it was making its proprietary TripTik® Travel Planner available online for free to non-members.
What already sets TripTik apart from its online competitors is a functional breadth and depth that AAA officials describe as "mind boggling," "fast" and "very user-friendly." After giving TripTik a try for myself, and comparing it to the other online mapping tools I've used, I'd have to agree.
If you're driving to Myrtle Beach from Boston, for example, simply enter your starting and ending address information, and you can get a printable .pdf version that includes detailed directions and maps; construction alerts; traffic advisories; bridge/ferry/tunnel information; and a notes section at the end.
A comprehensive mapping feature can also give you tons of information about the area you're visiting - all on one screen. Let's say you're not sure where you want to book your hotel, but know you need to stay in a central Myrtle Beach location on Ocean Boulevard. If you enter "2000 N. Ocean Blvd.," "Myrtle Beach" and "South Carolina" in the "Make a Map" feature, the results will include information on the following travel items within an estimated 15-block radius:
- 22 AAA-approved hotels/lodgings, with diamond ratings for each
- 19 AAA-approved restaurants, with diamond ratings for each
- 5 gas stations, including updated price-per-gallon figures
- 5 "savings partners" among local businesses
- 3 area attractions
- 2 event information entries
OK, now the drawbacks, and how we can help you overcome them:
- TripTik's "legend" feature doesn't provide explanations on the Diamond Rating System, or how it's devised for rating hotels and restaurants. I needed to use AAA's general search feature to find that information on its FAQ page. Once here, I was able to understand the difference between the use of red and black diamonds, for instance.
- Though the printable .pdfs for directions offer lots of added nuggets as described above, the detailed site information you retrieve online for individual map locations (like the 2000 N. Ocean Blvd. example) doesn't translate into printed form. If you're traveling with your laptop and have Internet access, though, the information is easy enough to retrieve from scratch.
- Though they present a solid representative sample for a given area, AAA-approved hotels and restaurants are not all-inclusive for that area. Using the 2000 N. Ocean Blvd. example, TripTik won't give you any information on a great little place for casual oceanfront dining - Bummz, which is right next door. If you can't find information about a specific hotel or restaurant on TripTik, try TripAdvisor.com.
Overall, though, AAA's TripTik is a great, free service whose capacity is already light years ahead of MapQuest or Google Maps. Give it a try, and tell us what you think!
The AAA service may not recognize some addresses. I tried to map out a trip on it, and it wouldn’t even accept the zip code for the destination. I tried the same thing on Mapquest, and it worked fine. Guess it can’t all be perfect.
Man, this is a really good system. I’ll be curious to see how Mapquest and Google step up their games in response.
The gas prices feature is great. Provides prices from only a day or two before.
PDFs for these maps are great for printing purposes, but just make sure you’ve got an updated version of Acrobat Reader on your system. Otherwise, you’ll have trouble downloading the file.
PDFs for these maps are great for printing purposes, but just make sure you’ve got an updated version of Acrobat Reader on your system. Otherwise, you’ll have trouble downloading the file.