Exploring the Map Features at the Maps Website
Maps.com has a home page which begs to be looked at in more detail. If you want a map, this is by far the best place to get it from.
But there are plenty of free features to explore here, and you can reach them all by clicking on the ‘free stuff’ button in the bar across the top of the page. From here you will go through to the page where you can access all the maps you need.
If you are planning a holiday in America, you will be able to explore all the areas you want to visit long before you even leave home, as it’s this country that Maps.com really excels in covering. The nature of the maps used makes it desirable to print some out to pack in your suitcase, in readiness for your dream holiday.
Using the search facility
Maps.com provides very detailed maps in response to search queries, and as such the more boxes you can fill in the better your search results will be. The information you are prompted to enter is as follows:
- The actual address of the place you want to find
- The name of the city it’s in
- The state (you can provide a country here)
- The zip code
Maps.com then returns a colourful and detailed map of the area you want to look at, providing plenty of information to help you find what’s of interest in the surrounding area. These maps are perfect for tourists planning to visit American soil.
When your search results appear you will also see a selection of options for maps to buy. This adds an extra and very useful option for you if you wish to obtain more than a print out from your computer. However the free maps you will find on screen should more than meet your needs.
How user friendly are the maps themselves?
When you use the free maps on this site you would be forgiven for feeling you are almost there. The street option is very well laid out, easy to read and is clearly marked with all the more important roads – interstates and highways are all well labelled, so if you are planning on driving when you get there you will be able to pre-plan your route extremely easily.
But when you click the satellite option you will feel as though you are already taking that helicopter ride over your destination. The detail is incredible and you can zoom in very close and not lose focus – which is perfect when you are exploring a big city like New York and you want to take a closer look at some of its world famous landmarks.
The hybrid option overlays the street names for ease of use, but it doesn’t just take into account the fact that you might be travelling by car. If you look up New York City and use the hybrid feature, you’ll also see the ferry routes to and from notable destinations such as Ellis Island, the home of the Statue of Liberty. This is a superb and easy to use feature that makes planning your next break even easier.
Other useful features
Advanced Mapping is also available if you want to get more out of the Maps.com experience. This provides you with a whole host of web tools to help you, and there are several options available for usage as well, enabling you to select the best option for your needs.
For those of you who are looking forward to their annual holidays, the week long subscription is the best choice. There are also one month and one year options. The seven day pass should provide you with plenty of time to find everything you need though; make up a list of what you want to find before paying for access, so you won’t waste any time or miss anything out when your subscription starts.
It’s a fantastic tool that adds even more versatility to the website.
Driving directions
All you need to do to access the perfect set of directions is to fill in your starting point and destination with as much information as you can. Remember to fill in the city and state each time to return your directions as fast as possible – and it really doesn’t take long.
The real bonus of this aspect of the site is the detail which is included with the step by step directions. Some sites are a little vague in the directions which are returned to you, but Maps.com does far better. If the road name stays the same but the road forks, it will tell you explicitly what to expect. The same level of detail applies to road signs – again, you are told exactly what the sign will say and what to watch for.
Your start and end points are clearly marked with a green and red dot respectively, and the estimated time and distance are also included for your convenience.
If you need help
While there is no specific help section, the free maps are so easy to use that it is really not needed. If you do stumble and require some assistance, all you need to do is select the customer service option on the menu bar and fill in your details together with your query.
Maps.com has specifically designed the free section of the site to be completely user friendly and usable without help – so you won’t be likely to need the customer service anyway.
In conclusion
Maps.com has obviously taken its time to provide a site which is the definitive resource for finding and mapping locations throughout the USA and Canada. For British holidaymakers going abroad to these countries, there is no better site available to use in order to find all the information, images and directions you need.
Make sure you print everything you need while visiting the site itself, so you can create the perfect itinerary and plan for a dream holiday in America.