Road Trip Planner » Documentation

myscenicdrives.com Road Trip Planner FAQ

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How much does it cost?

Our Road Trip Planner is free. Please consider supporting the website by purchasing a National Park or National Forest Pass. And of course, tell your family and friends about us!

Why do I need an account?

A free account allows you to create, edit, and save unlimited trips. You can add custom places of interest, share trips, and more.

How do I get started?

Once you have signed up, create your trip by choosing your starting location and your destination or create your trip from one of our scenic drives.

Next add stops by searching or clicking on the map and selecting a destination or Find Nearby Places of Interest from the menu.

Look over the directions, if necessary make changes, then print or export to your GPS.

There is also a video overview available.

Do I need to download any software?

No, the myscenicdrives.com Road Trip Planner works right in your browser. We recommend using the latest version of the browser of your choice for best results.

How can I plan a trip with more than two stops?

After entering your starting and finishing points on the first screen, you will be able to add as many stops as you would like by either clicking on the map, searching for destinations, or clicking “Add Destination” below your Road Trip Plan.

How do I enter an address?

The easiest way to enter an address is to use the Add a Destination below your last Road Trip Stop (its also under the Add menu), or you can type the address in free-form in the search bar.

How do I get directions?

Directions can be found above the Road Trip Plan, or by clicking on the Map, or by selecting Directions from the Map menu. You can get Printable Directions by clicking the Print button in the lower left corner of the screen or by selecting File in the top left corner of the map and then Print.

Do you support Electric Cars? How do I configure Electric Vehicles?

Yes, we fully support Electric Vehicles. For complete information, see our Electric Vehicles section of our documentation.

How do I save?

Each operation that you do is stored immediately and there is no need to save individual actions.

How do I get campgrounds?

In the Directions section, you can click on “Find Nearby Campgrounds”, or you can click on the map and select “Find Nearby Campgrounds”.

To change the To Do List to Campgrounds, check the checkbox in the Trip Properties.

How do I change the chosen route?

To change the chosen route, simply click on the road you’d like to take on the map and select Add Waypoint. For best results with waypoints, avoid adding them at intersections or in the opposite flow of traffic. You can also change the road preferences under the Trip Properties.

Do I need to plan the entire trip in one sitting?

No, your trip can be planned in as many sittings as you’d like. Simply sign in, open your road trip, and you can continue planning where you left off.

How do you calculate the number of hours per day driving? How can I change it?

The default is 8 hours of driving per day. Sometimes it will be different than this if you have an overnight stay at a stop or if the next destination is deemed close enough for a little extra driving. Please keep in mind that the driving time is an estimate and does not take into consideration traffic, weather, and other delays.

You can change the hours per day in the Trip Properties both for the default of the entire route or specific days of the trip.

How do you calculate the fuel costs? How can I change it?

The fuel costs are calculated based on an average miles per gallon and the estimated cost per gallon in the United States.

You can change the default under Trip Properties.

How do I make an overnight stop? How do I schedule stops?

To schedule a stop, click on the Edit button to edit the Destination Properties. Under the Schedule tab, you can configure how many hours or nights you’d like to stop for.

How do I make a scheduled stop not be part of our driving time?

When you schedule a non-overnight stop, you can check the checkbox to not substract the time from your driving time. Please make sure that you are well rested for your driving portion so that you arrive safely at your next destination.

How do I optimize my route?

To optimize your route, choose the Optimize Stops from the Map menu above the map. This will optimize your route for distance from your first stop to your last stop.

How do I change the order of my stops?

To change the order of your stops, go the Road Trip Plan and there you can either click on the stop and drag it to the place you want it to be, or you can click the Up and Down arrows on the right side of the stop until it is in the place you want it to be.

Can I add Flights? Trains? Ferries? Cruises?

Yes, you may add travel that does not include driving by clicking the “Add Destination” menu item from the “Add” menu and selecting the “Non-Driving” tab. Here, select whether it is a flight or not, then enter the origin and destination airport codes or addresses, and approximate travel time. When you update your directions, myscenicdrives.com will generate the directions to your origin, and then from your destination.

How can I change the map style?

You can change the map style in the Trip Properties under the Directions Tab.

How do I rename my trips?

You can change the name of a trip in the Trip Properties.

How do I share my trips?

The easiest way to share your trips is via the Trip Sharing under the File menu which quickly shares the trip via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Networks. You can manage permissions in the Trip Properties.

I shared my trip via e-mail, but the recipient never received it?

Double check that the recipient’s e-mail address is entered in correctly and have the recipient check their spam settings. E-mail shares are sent with the trips@myscenicdrives.com e-mail address so they may need to add that address to their address book.

What are Activities?

Activities are similar to your regular stops, except they are not scheduled and directions are not provided to them. Each stop can have any number of activities associated with it. For more information, see the documentation.

When I drag an activity to become a stop, sometimes it does not work. Why?

Activities without location information cannot become full-fledged stops at this time. To make it a stop, add a new stop and remove the original activity or e-mail us.

Where are Activities on the Mobile Version?

Activities are not yet available for our Mobile environment.

How do I import trips from other tools?

You can do this via the Import Tool under the File menu.

Do you support Excel files? How do I create a CSV?

While we do not support Excel directly, you can save your document in a CSV file and import it. To do this in Excel, select File, Save As, and for the Save as Type, choose CSV (Comma Separated File). Once saved, you can import it into our Road Trip Planner via the Import Tool under the File menu.

How do I export trips to my GPS or other tools?

You can do this via the Export Tool under the File menu and following the instructions here. If you need help, send us an e-mail with your GPS model information and we’ll help you out as best as we can.

Do you have a list of supported GPS devices?

Because our GPS exports are industry standard files, they should work on a wide-variety of devices, however, each device uses the data differently. Look for devices which support multi-point routing and importing from GPX or KML files. If you need help, send us an e-mail with your GPS model information and we’ll help you out as best as we can.

Do I need a GPS to use your service?

No, we provide printable directions with both a list of turn-by-turn directions and turn-by-turn maps which can easily be used without a GPS device or as a complement to your GPS.

What is a Waypoint?

A waypoint is a destination which is used to indicate a route preference other than what the Road Trip Planner suggests. For best results, avoid placing waypoints at intersections and on the opposite flow of traffic.

Does it work in Canada? Mexico? Europe?

Yes, the myscenicdrives.com Road Trip Planner does work in all countries which have Google Directions, although it is optimized and includes more information in the United States and Canada. Should you have a suggestion to make your international use easier, please let us know.

Is it safe/secure?

We make every effort to ensure that our site is available and that your data is protected. We are not responsible for loss or inaccessible data and encourage you to backup your road trips by exporting them regularly.

We take your privacy seriously as you can read in our Privacy Policy. That said, your data privacy is as private as you make it. If you elect to share your data with specific individuals or anonymously, we will oblige.

The website looks weird today.

If something looks weird or doesn’t work just right, reload your web browser. If the problem persists, send us an e-mail.

I cannot get the planner to go on a certain route. Why?

When the software does not want to take a particular route, it may be due to road closures caused by construction or weather. By adding more waypoints, you can sometimes get it to follow the desired route. If you believe there is something else happening, please e-mail us.

I keep getting an error that it cannot find directions between A and B. Why?

This can happen if the software is unable to find a route between the two points. Double check the position of the points to make sure they are correct. Sometimes a point may not be close enough to a known road (for example, it may be in the middle of a Lake or National Forest) or that the two points are separated by an ocean. This could also happen with some of our campgrounds which may require a hike to get to. If you believe it is a different issue, please e-mail us.

Why was my road trip not divided up into days?

This can happen for a few reasons. First, if your trip is less than the configured hours-per-day setting in the Trip Properties, the Road Trip Planner will treat this as one day.

Another cause for this is that your trip may contain cross-ocean segments. For example, this could happen if you were doing a trip from the continental United States to Hawaii. In this case, we’d recommend that you have a Road Trip from your location to an Airport or Cruise and have a separate Road Trip for your Hawaii portion of the trip.

If you believe it is a different issue or need help with a work around, please e-mail us.

My trip is not being divided into days as I would like. How can I fix it?

There are some helpful tips available in the Working with Days section of our documentation. If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail us.

Is it possible to disable the Days Feature?

Yes, at the bottom of the Day tab within the Trip Properties, there is a checkbox to disable the Days feature.

Is it possible to enter budget/cost information?

Yes, we calculating approximate fuel costs and support entering daily budgets and costs associated with stops. For information on how this works, please refer to the Managing a Budget section of our documentation.

How long do you keep routes for?

You may delete your trips as you feel necessary, but we do not delete your road trip plans. We may delete aspects of your trip which can be regenerated, such as directions.

How many routes can I have?

We do not limit the number of trips. That said, we do encourage you to delete trips which you no longer need.

Does it work on IPad or Android Tablets?

Yes, the myscenicdrives.com Road Trip Planner does work properly on IPad and most Android Tablets.

For best results on Android Tablets, make sure to use Full-Screen mode. If this is unavailable in your default browser, consider using Dolphin or an alternative browser available in your app store of choice.

In the unlikely event that you cannot scroll with one finger, try to scroll with your index and middle finger together.

If you are having any issues, please e-mail us.

Does it work on IPhone/Android/etc.?

We provide a mobile-friendly, full-screen touch-friendly interface to the myscenicdrives.com Road Trip Planner. From your IPhone or Android web browser, simply point your browser to myscenicdrives.com and select the Road Trip Planner. Once signed in, you can create new plans or edit your existing plans. For more information, please see our documentation..

If you need access on another device, please e-mail us.

Do you have an API or Widget?

Our API and widgets are presently in testing. If you would like to use our API, please e-mail us.

Can I use this for Commercial Use?

Please contact us before using myscenicdrives.com for commercial use.

Help! I hit back and I lost my work!

Don’t panic — we saved your work for you. Simply open the saved copy.

Can I undo?

Yes! Simply clicking on the Edit menu just above the map and select “Undo”. You can undo up to the last 5 operations. Want to change something back — just click on “Redo”.

What does X do?

Throughout most of our UI, you can just hover your mouse for a moment over the element and it will tell you a bit more about what it is and what it does. For a further description, take a look at our comprehensive documentation.

Why doesn’t... or Could you...?

We love to hear your suggestions, especially enhancements that will make your road trip planning easier. Please send us your questions and comments and we’ll gladly help.

Other questions?

Check out our documentation and if you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, or anything else to share with us, please e-mail us.

myscenicdrives.com
4574 36th Ave W
Seattle, WA 98199
info@myscenicdrives.com