How to Plan a Route and Make a Drive-Time Map
Updated 5 October 2026
To plan a route, add two or more stops in the Route Planner and press Get route. To see how far you can travel in a set time, switch to Reach area and choose 10, 20 or 30 minutes. Either way you can download the result as an image or PDF.
Route or reach area: which one do you need?
A route answers "how do I get from A to B, and through C on the way?" You get the road line, the distance, the travel time and turn-by-turn directions. A reach area answers "where can I get to within 20 minutes of here?" It draws a shaded zone around a starting point, which is ideal for delivery areas, commute checks, store catchments and property searches.
Plan a route step by step
- Open the Route Planner and keep Route selected.
- Add your first stop. Type a place name in the search box and choose a result, or tap the map to drop a stop.
- Add the rest of your stops. Drag any stop to move it.
- Press Get route. The line, distance and time appear, with directions listed below.
- Choose a map view, line colour and thickness, then download.
Choose the travel mode
Pick Driving, Truck or Walking before you press Get route. Driving finds the fastest road route for a car. Truck uses a standard truck profile, so it avoids roads a lorry should not take. Walking follows paths and pavements and gives a far more realistic time for a city centre stroll. The same stops can give very different routes in each mode, so it is worth trying more than one.
Let it find the best order
If the order of your stops does not matter, choose Best order. The planner keeps your first stop as the start and arranges the rest to make the trip shorter. For a loop that ends where it began, choose Round trip back to the first stop. If the order does matter, for example hotel, then museum, then dinner, keep Stops in the order I added them.
Make a drive-time map
- Switch from Route to Reach area.
- Add one or more start points. A shop, a depot or a home all work.
- Choose the times you want, for example 10, 20 and 30 minutes.
- Press the button to draw the areas. Each time band gets its own shade, so you can see how the distance grows.
Use this to check whether a customer address falls inside a 20 minute delivery zone, or to compare two possible office locations by how many neighbourhoods each one reaches.
Read the numbers with care
Times are estimates without live traffic. Rush hour, roadworks, weather and one-way streets can change a real journey a lot. Treat the result as a planning aid, not a promise, and always check the road conditions before you leave. Distances can be shown in kilometres or miles.
Download and share
Pan and zoom until the frame shows what you want, then choose PNG, JPG or PDF and a quality level. PNG suits slides and websites, JPG gives a smaller file for email, and PDF is best for printing. Credits are added to the image automatically.
Tips for a cleaner route map
- Zoom before you download. The image matches the frame you see, so fit the whole route in view and leave a little space around it.
- Pick a calm base map. Light or Streets keeps the route line easy to follow, while Satellite is better when the surroundings matter.
- Use a thicker line for slides. A medium or thick line stays visible when the image is shrunk onto a slide or a phone screen.
- Keep stop names short. "Hotel" or "Day 2 lunch" reads better on a map than a full address.
Common questions
Can I plan a route with more than two stops?
Yes. Add as many stops as you need for a trip, and use Best order if you want the planner to arrange them.
Does it avoid tolls?
There is no toll option. Use the directions to check the road names, and plan with care.
Can I mix my own pins and a route on one map?
Draw routes and notes in the Map Studio when you want pins, labels, a legend and a scale bar on the same image. The Route Planner is for road routes and drive-time areas.
Ready to plan? Open the Route Planner. If you are mapping a holiday, the itinerary guide shows how to turn the plan into one clear image.