Review by Ty Arthur

When putting together a family trip, whether across the state or even across the country, a map planning tool can save you a lot of headaches ahead of time and ensure you are fully prepared. Microsoft Streets and Trips is a comprehensive map program that lets you check routes between cities or drill down to a street-by-street view to see what an area in any given town has to offer.

Although this software is polished and packed with features, let’s get some of the negatives out of the way first. Streets and Trips 2011 absolutely would not install on my Windows 7 laptop no matter how many times I tried, throwing me an error message that a critical component couldn’t install before shutting itself down. I finally gave up and popped it in my Windows XP desktop, where the installation went off fine without any hiccups. I have no idea if this is a frequently encountered problem or not, but you should be aware ahead of time that you may need to end up calling tech support if you are running Windows 7.

Now on to the big issue: almost all of the program’s features can be found for free online using various resources like Google Maps, Mapquest, and so on. If you don’t mind going to a few different sites, you mostly don’t need Streets and Trips.

Despite this major flaw, there are some aspects of the program that may still make this worth a purchase. Streets and Trips prompts you to download new construction info to help plan around detours that may slow down your planned vacation. It also helps you plan the shortest route over long distances, and lets you add your own icons and notes to locations on the map. There is a feature to locate nearby areas of interest, such as campsites and restaurants, but most GPS units already do that for you these days anyway.

If you already have a GPS unit in your car and an Internet connection at home, there isn’t a huge need for Streets and Trips. If you prefer the ability to access maps and routes without having to be online (like checking maps from your laptop in your car), or want to plan a trip at the computer and add your own notes to locations with your family, then this can be a solid investment.