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Sometimes, when travelling between places, (particulary driving) I would like to get/see/do something else on my way. Most map tools (eg Google Maps) provide a way to search for points of interest of a particular type (eg Supermarket, Swimming Pool, etc) in a specific area. They also mostly offer some kind of route planning serivce.

What I'd like to know is if there is a route planning tool/service that lets me combine the two - ie "All Chinese restraunts within X km/ Y Minutes of route". Answers that work anywhere preferred, although answers for tools with limited geographical availability would also be helpful. Bounties will be awarded for anything that can do the same for public transport journeys.

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  • Do you mean before you actually travel or is a satnav/GPS tool that does while traveling going to do it for you.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 12:06
  • @Willeke Oops. Some kind of pre-travel route planning system is what I am after.
    – CMaster
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 12:12
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    I usually use 'maps' view of the tripadvisor. Zoom in in general area of interest (e.g. some city along the route) and switch back to 'list' view. This is of course far from ideal, so I +1 your question.
    – rvs
    Commented May 9, 2016 at 16:42

3 Answers 3

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Google Maps now has this feature built-in:

  1. Start navigating from your current location by car:

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  1. Click on the search button:

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  1. Select a pre-defined POI type or search for something else:

enter image description here

Voila! You now have a list of locations to visit, as well as how much time the visit would add to your drive.

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    found it on the phone now. It's only possible once you are actually on the route though - which is definitley useful, but I'd like to be able to do it when planning the route.
    – CMaster
    Commented May 11, 2016 at 9:45
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    @CMaster you can start navigating between two given points without actually being there
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Commented May 15, 2018 at 16:17
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+75

Roadtrippers might be what you are looking for.

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You enter the route you want to take, choose a distance from that route and the site will find things of interests according to what categories you selected.

(Note that I am not aware if it works well outside the US. It's possible that the site won't find points of interest.)

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  • It appears to work outside the US, although it's search results for start/end points give US locations a massive prirority. The main down side appears to be you can only find PoIs in categories that the developers think are interesting - although there are a lot of those.
    – CMaster
    Commented Jun 27, 2016 at 15:44
  • @CMaster, that's a downside for sure, but so far, it seems like the only option...
    – JS Lavertu
    Commented Jun 27, 2016 at 20:55
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Similar to @rvs's comment, I have also used "Tripadviser"'s app which gives you such feature. Wherever you are, just go to the app and you can choose what kind of attractions, ... you are interested in. Although, since it is mostly based on reviews and feedback, it may not be so informative for all locations. By the way, watch out for the battery usage on your phone (or tablet). It consumes a lot!

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