With RouteYou, you can easily plan routes for all kinds of activities, such as walking, biking, motorcycling, horseback riding, and more. Use the app for quick and easy route planning, even when you're already on location. For more options and flexibility, visit the route planner on the website, our "Swiss army knife." Discover how you can create and customize your ideal route with the step-by-step guides below.
To the route planner
There are several ways to access the route planner.
You can access the planning module in the app in two ways:
- At the bottom via the "Plan" button
- Via the shortcut at the top of the homepage
There are three ways to open the route planner on the website:
- Via the main menu on the top left
"Plan a Route" "Create a Route"
- Via the shortcut at the top
"Plan a Route" "Create a Route"
- Via the direct plan button:
How to plan a route
Find out how here to plan a route step by step.
The options marked with a are only available with a RouteYou Plus account.
Once in the route planner, you will find five useful setting buttons at the bottom for planning a route that best suits your needs.
GOOD TO KNOW IN ADVANCE
- Depending on your account type and certain choices you make during the planning process, some buttons may not be available. These buttons are gray.
- A dark border around a green button means that you have already entered a value for that item.
- When you open the route planner, your most recently planned route is automatically loaded. Want to plan a new route? Click on the three dots in the white box and select the "reset" option.
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:
- First choose your desired activity type.
This determines which routing will be used to generate the route. By default, we use RouteYou's "nicest" routing options. You can adjust these settings later by using the "More" button.
The routing options explained.
- Choose the location you would like to map out a route to.
The next steps depend on your choice of the type of route you want to create.
When you choose the "Loop" option, you ask the RouteYou system to suggest a loop route from a specific location based on your preferences.
- Tap on the search bar under "Start Point". You will be offered three options:
- Type in the address where you want to start and then select from the list of suggested addresses that is displayed.
- Or choose "my current location" below the search bar.
- Or select a location on the map.
- Tap "Confirm" at the bottom.
- Indicate the desired "Distance" for your route. The system cannot make a suggestion without this information.
PLEASE NOTE
The accuracy of the estimated distance depends depends on the density of the chosen routing network. A different routing option or a different routing direction may lead to a different result. For example, the "walking - most scenic" network is much denser than that for "walking - nodes" network. For node-based routes, this may result in a larger difference between the set distance and final distance for your route.
You will now see an initital result:
The loop route appears on the map with a white box that contains the route information.
Tap on the box, and you will see a brief preview of the route details page for this new route.
Start navigation immediately or continue to adjust the route.
- You can adjust the loop route via...
A. The setting buttons at the bottom:
- You can change the options you've already set (activity, type, start/end point or distance).
- You can choose which "wind direction" the loop should go in (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW)
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Use “More” if you wish to further fine-tune the routing.
The options displayed here depend on the choices you made earlier. The combinations follow a kind of tree structure that adapts based on your choices.
More information about the RouteYou routing options.
B. The "Adjust" function in the white box.
Use this option to reroute through specific locations:
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Point of Interest (POI): Select a location from the provided lists of points of interest, rest areas, parking lots and other interesting places.
More information on adding a point of interest or POI while planning a route.
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Your own waypoint: Add your own waypoint or an additional route point, via the
"Add your own waypoint" button. This places a waypoint pin in the center of the map. Move the map until the pin is in the right spot. Confirm to set this point as a new intermediate waypoint. This point will be integrated at the most logical spot along your route.
- Select your starting point.
- Select your end point.
Each time, you will be offered three options:
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- Type in the address where you want to start and then select from the list of suggested addresses that is displayed.
- Or choose "my current location" below the search bar.
- Or pin a location on the map.
- Tap "Confirm" at the bottom.
You will now see an initital result:
The route will appear on the map with a white box that contains the route information.
Tap on the box, and you will see a brief preview of the route details page for this new route.
Start navigation immediately or continue to adjust the route.
- You can adjust the route by using...
A. The setting buttons at the bottom:
- You can change the options you've already set (activity, type, start/end point).
PLEASE NOTE
"Distance" and "Direction" only apply to loop routes. For a route from A to B, both options are determined by the waypoints you choose.
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Use “More” if you wish to further fine-tune the routing.
The options displayed here depend on the choices you made earlier. The combinations follow a kind of tree structure that adapts based on your choices.
More information about the RouteYou routing options.
B. The "Adjust" function in the white box.
Use this option to reroute through specific locations or to plan further to C, D, E, etc.:
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Point of Interest (POI): Select a location from the provided lists of points of interest, rest areas, parking lots and other interesting places.
More information on adding a point of interest or POI while planning a route.
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Your own waypoint: Add your own waypoint or an additional route point, via the
IMPORTANT
Did you adjust your route by adding a POI or waypoint? When you return to the planning module, the setting buttons will have disappeared and you will no longer be able to adjust these items.
Not satisfied with your adjustments? Click on the cross at the top left. You will then be asked if you really want to exit.
- "Yes, delete my route": your adjustments will be deleted and you will return to your originally planned route.
- "No, I want to keep my route": you will remain in the current screen and can navigate directly or save the route for later.
Satisfied with your route?
- Start navigation immediately using the "Start Route" button.
The route will then be automatically saved under "My Routes".
- Select "Save Route" in the white box at the top right.
You can now set the details of your route and save the route under "My Routes" to navigate later.
TIPS
- Would you like to start over? Then click on the three dots in the white box and select the "Reset" option.
- Want to undo one or more steps? Use the Undo button
at the top right.
In the route planner, you will see
- a map on the right that you can use to plan your route. With the map layers icon
on the top right, you can set various map layers and map details that can make planning your route easier.
- On the left is the planning module with many options and functions to best tailor the route to your needs and preferences. Depending on certain choices you make, you will be offered different options.
The first choice to make is whether you want a route from A to B or a loop route.
The main difference is how the route is planned:
- If you want to go from A to B, you plan your own route step by step. This gives you complete control over the route you you want to take, with the option of choosing specific waypoints yourself.
- If you plan a loop, RouteYou will automatically generate a route based on your preferences (see below).
In both cases, you can adjust the result.
TIP
If you choose a route from A to B, you still have the option of returning to A and making it a loop. When you start planning, a specific button will appear at the bottom:
Return to starting point
When you start planning, this icon 
appears, allowing you to turn the elevation profile on or off.
On this elevation profile, as well as in the lower left corner of the map, you can read the total length of your planned route. This will help you to accurately estimate the distance.
For both A to B routes and loop routes, you can choose a specific mode/activity type for which you want to map out a route.
The icons let you choose between walking, biking, motorcycling, horseback riding or boating. Via the three-dot icon, 
you can access the remaining options and see even more choices. Depending on what you choose, other routing options will be offered in the next step.
The routing you choose determines which type of road will be followed when planning your route. If you pin waypoints to plan your route, a route will be calculated between those waypoints based on a specific routing method. The most classic routing methods are the shortest and the fastest routes. RouteYou also offers an option to choose the most scenic routes!
When planning a loop route, two additional items will appear in the planning module:
- The length slider allows you to set the desired length of your route.
- The compass lets you set the direction (relative to your starting point) in which the loop route should be planned.
- The From bar is at the bottom of the planning module.
You can use this to enter your starting location, or you can click on the desired location on the map. - For a route from A to B, there is also a To bar.
Use this to enter the next location or your end point. - As you plan, Via address bars will also be displayed
This is where the locations of your intermediate waypoints are entered.
The"Add Destination" button allows you to add Via address bars when planning a route from A to B.
At the bottom of the planing module you will see a white bar containing a number of faint sticky buttons. These become visible as soon as you start planning. The white bar is "sticky," which means that it remains visible and is presented on top of the information in the left-hand column. This is to make sure that it is easily accessible.
These sticky buttons give you direct access to certain functions:
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Undo: this allows you to undo your last action. For example, you can remove your most recently added waypoint.
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Redo: if you have undone an action that you want to keep, you can redo it with the push of a button.
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Return to starting point: complete your route from A to B by having the system generate a route back to your starting point (A) based on the set routing. This is how you can map out your own loop route
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Save: This opens the pop-up for saving your route.
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More: Here you have two additional options:
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Add a point of interest: add new points of interest yourself while planning. (More info)
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Clear route: clear the already planned route and start over.
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