Sometimes the best travel tools are the simplest ones. Whether you’re meeting up with friends or family who live a few hours away, planning a road trip or just trying to find a fair place to meet someone, there’s no reason one person should have to do all the driving.
Instead of staring at a map and guessing which town is halfway—or relying on someone else’s suggestion—there are free online tools that will do the work for you.
One of my favorites is whatshalfway.com.
Just enter your starting point and the other person’s starting point, then choose the type of place you’re looking for. The site finds the halfway point and helps you find somewhere nearby to meet, eat or take a break.
You can search for restaurants, cafés, accommodations and other places of interest, or enter your own keyword if you’re looking for something specific.
What’s especially useful is that Whatshalfway isn’t limited to two people. Its Meeting Planner lets you enter multiple starting locations and find a central place for everyone to meet.
It’s also handy for road trips. The site’s Journey Planner lets you enter your origin and destination and plan stops along the way. You can even add multiple stops to break a long drive into more manageable sections.
That could come in handy if you’re driving across the country and want to figure out where to stop for lunch, spend the night or simply stretch your legs.
And it’s not just for U.S. road trips. Whatshalfway says its service works in more than 120 countries.
Another website you can use try is meetways.com.
MeetWays has a similar premise: Enter two addresses or ZIP codes and it will calculate the halfway point. You can also enter what you’re looking for—such as pizza, coffee or a hotel—and it will suggest places around the midpoint.
MeetWays can provide driving directions and local reviews, and you can adjust your trip based on your mode of transportation and whether you want to avoid highways or toll roads.
It’s a clever tool for meeting friends and family, planning a business meeting or breaking up a long road trip. And if you’re looking for an overnight stop, enter “hotel” as the point of interest and it can find hotels around the halfway point.
Of course, before heading out on any long drive, check current traffic, weather and road conditions. A location that’s technically halfway by distance isn’t always halfway by driving time, especially when traffic, construction or mountain roads are involved.
But the next time someone says, “Why don’t we meet halfway?” you don’t have to pull out a map and start guessing. Let technology figure it out for you.
My husband and I need a place to stay for one night between Raleigh NC and Litchfield Ct. is there some place along the Civil Rights trail?
I need the town or city that is halfway between Kimball, NE and Nolanville, TX going south in Colorado.
I’m trying to figure out what’s halfway to 80 rocherty rd Lebanon pa from 654 saint joseph st in Lancaster pa
Best meeting place between Middletown Ny and Orlando Florida ?
Dear Johnny,
My husband and I are planning a two week trip to the area of the Shenandoah National Park, in Virginia ( near Harrisonburg),
leaving on September 16, 2022 and returning home to Lincoln, Vermont on September 30, 2022.
We want to make it a two day drive getting there and coming home with one overnight each way. We are members of Marriott Int’l. And would like to use our rewards points if possible, but this is not essential.
Can you suggest a midway point that would offer us a peaceful and quiet night’s sleep, but also have something to offer since we would be arriving early in the afternoon.
I’m sorry but I don’t know. The link on this post should help if you spend some time on it
Half way point between Newton, NJ and Sunshine House in Deer Isle Maine?
What restaurants are 1/2 way between Deerfield, NH and Brighton, MA?
We were looking at our family trying to get together at a central location. Some live in Lubbock Texas some live in Medford Oregon and the others live in Jacksonville Florida. We were trying to find a place that would be approximately the same miles to travel for all of us. You help would be appreciated.
Where is a good halfway, middle place between Mobile,Al, Tuscaloosa, Al and Ardmore, Tn. We three sister to get together and celebrate our mom passing in Oct of last year. Don’t what anyone person to have drive far.
Where can I meet for lunch half way between Ephrata, Pa and Allentown, Pa?
What is the halfway point between Aurora, CO and Crossville, TN?
Sorry should be halfway point not play point. Microphone don’t listen right.