Before heading out the door, jump on the internet and enter the addresses of all the places you need to stop or fire up the iPhone app (more on that below). Route4Me plots your whole route for maximum efficiency. It will also map out a round trip so you can get back to where you started, without trying to backtrack using the initial directions. For a more global approach to navigation—if you're traveling beteween cities, for instance—furnish airport codes, landmarks, cities, or even zip codes, to find optimal routes.
Route4Me figures out where you are using your iPhone's geo-location feature. If you want to skip that step and enter your own starting location, you can do that, too. Then simply add the addresses of everywhere you want to go and the app does the rest. You'll get estimated trip time and mileage to help you plan ahead, and turn-by-turn navigation so you won't get lost along the way.
Route4Me stores your favorite locations so you can return to them quickly in the future. it also snags addresses from your phone's contact book and tracks places you've visited recently to make adding destinations really easy.
The app runs $1.99 in iTunes but it's a handy tool to have on-hand when you need it. It's perfect for getting organized before you run errands, but it's also a terrific way to plot out impromptu carpooling situations, and great for sightseeing while traveling.
What tips do you have for optimizing your errands and multi-destination car trips? Share them in the comments.
Route4Me [iTunes App Store]
