When we were in Italy last summer we used the Michelin Driving App, which tells you all the routes from A to B along with any toll costs and approximate petrol costs. It was super useful and I found it to be accurate. I keep reading that times given by driving apps are not even close to accurate (though most comments are about Google Maps.) Has anyone ever used this app while driving in Ireland? TIA!
Posted by
Colorado Springs
3085 posts
The problem typically is that the driving apps show drive times based on the posted local speed limits, which on rural Irish roads (anything other than the motorways) can be impossible to achieve unless you have a death wish. The rural roads are usually narrow, twisty-turny things with no shoulders, making it difficult to get around slower traffic ahead (bicyclists, sheep, cattle, pedestrians, etc). That's why the usual advice is to add about 30% to whatever times you see posted for travel durations between specific points.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12315 posts
You want Via Michelin.
I use it all the time for estimating driving times. It doesn't factor in bathroom, food or sight stops but it will tell you tolls along a particular route and estimate gas costs if you tell it the car you are driving.
I've found it's best to add ten to twenty percent to the driving times because you won't be the most confident driver getting around towns or smaller country roads. On the highways, you probably drive at roughly the pace they estimate. The app assumes you are driving the speed limit and I don't think plans time for stops at traffic signals. Most people say Ireland is even slower because so many roads, once you're off the highway, are barely wider than one car and have multiple blind turns. You may only end up averaging 45 km in a 70 km zone (the speed Via Michelin expects you to go).